This post is a continuation from Hue: The Imperial City.
On Day 6 of our food explorer tour of Vietnam organised by Peregrine Travel, we drove from Hue to Hoi An. Our trip notes read:
“On arrival, a walking tour will take you around the major sites of Hoi An’s charming Old Town, including an historic house (formerly home to a prominent trader), the Japanese Covered Bridge, a Chinese assembly hall and a museum. You will notice a distinctly Chinese appearance to the pagodas and assembly halls scattered along the small streets.”
Hoi An is one of the cutest places around. And by cute we don’t mean twee or kitsch. It is a relatively small city, smaller in population than Hobart. It is attractive, charming, a sanctuary of peacefulness. It is a delight to spend time in.
The features and attractions of Hoi An can be classified in a number of ways.
First and foremost, there are the streetscapes and the lanterns.
Then there is the river running through the town, with its myriad of surprises.
There are important cultural and historical sites.
At night, the lanterns and the river shine.
Perfection is sometimes interrupted by less than perfect weather: on the second night of our stay, rain from a cyclone centred 400 kilometres to the south started to fall. Within 24 hours the river was overflowing and some of the restaurants we had visited had water halfway up the table legs. However, Hoi An remained picturesque and calm in the face of inundation.
Another feature that clearly defines Hoi An is food. We ate at lovely restaurants, went on a street food tour, spent three hours bike riding in the country to visit vegetable growers and spent another three hours at a cooking school.
Click here for the continuation of our gourmet tour of Vietnam: Hoi An – The Food.