Hoi An Ancient Town

Hoi An is a beautifully preserved 15th century trading port on the Thu Bon river along the central coastline, south of Danang.  

It’s a melting pot of architectural influences from wooden Chinese shop houses, colorful yellow and blue French villas and even the historic Japanese covered bridge. 

Its name means Peaceful Meeting Place. 

So many tourists are here it’s become a kind of Disneyland experience for me. 

The streets are picturesque and colorful, but crowded.

The buildings have survived wars, floods and cyclones.

There are famous photos of locals cruising the flooded streets in small wooden boats. 

The charm of the town is the moldy, moody colors of the buildings, the flowering plants and trees, and the river running through it with all the painted wooden boats. 

It’s also famous for the handmade silk lanterns hanging from every building. 

At night it’s magical. 

But so many tourists challenge the charm and we prefer to stay out in the village of An Bang for its peace and quiet (that’s often a misnomer). 

Ron and I enjoyed going into town 4 or 5 times, meeting up with our friends Luci and Mark who were staying there.

We wandered the winding streets, had clothing made, drank beer and ate banh mi sandwiches at the same little joint that Tony Bourdain ate at. 

The menu was long and we asked the waiter which sandwich Tony ate. He replied “#3”. 

I said what’s that and he said “ pork, pork, pork”. I had tofu and avocado. 

They were delicious, the bread the star as it was so fluffy on the inside and crunchy on the outside. 

The markets are colorful with abundant fruit, ceramic dishes, lanterns and tons of clothing. Restaurants offered river views, delicious food and rich coffee. 

I learned Vietnam is the second largest exporter of coffee in the world, after Brazil. Our favorite place is The Hill Station. The four of us stopped in for happy hour. Red wine and a lovely cheese board. Nice change after having Asian food for so many months.