Wandering Hoi An, Vietnam

Vietnam is one of the world’s 10 fastest growing tourist destinations, Hoi An is packed. Loud, noisy tourists abound. Here are my suggestions of how to have a wonderful weekend wandering Hoi An, Vietnam avoiding the crowds.

Hoi An’s developing tourism

Hoi An is a UNESCO World Heritage Centre and a tourist favourite BUT some say it has been spoilt. Recent expansions at Danang International Airport in 2011 (with a further new terminal in the pipeline) have seen an influx of Chinese & Korean airlines. The result is that Hoi An is increasingly teeming with tourists from NE Asia whilst tourist numbers from Europe are in decline.

We are all tourists where ever we come from, but you soon understand that some nations are, how do I say this delicately … louder than others when they are having fun on holiday. Who knew that karaoke and boom, boom music are so important for a great holiday?

Does this spoil the region for the rest… Who am I to say this?

Getting away from the crowds

What I saw was an area of naive tourism, keen to provide what tourists want. If the tourists want dancing and loud music in the once quiet waterways of the palm forest then they will get it. We managed to find peace and we felt some authenticity in Hoi An. It was a wonderful weekend but we worked quite hard to get ‘Far Away From The Madding’ crowds. This is how…

A walking tour of Hoi An town:

You can join several tours of Hoi An town or just do as we did and have a wander ourselves. Hoi An developed by South East Asian Traders from the 15th to 19th Centuries as a thriving port. It’s a hodgepodge of architecture, balconies, and colourful climbing plants that makes it such a unique heritage site.

‘I can guarantee you there is never a dull moment in Hoi An. There is always something interesting to see on a wander’

I don’t know about you, but a lot of the most picturesque places in the world involve water… Here you will want to see the Thu Bon River area with its brightly coloured boats. The area is beautifully decorated with bright Vietnamese lanterns.
The evening tour buses arrive at around 3 pm so unless you are doing battle with the crowds for dinner, go early!

Cycling Hoi An:

A cycling tour out of the city is a must. Mind you we supported the view of our concerned concierge team to avoid the main roads as must as possible. ‘Too many tourist buses, not safe!’ For this reason, we did decide to miss out on the Pottery village, although Mr. Wren thought we were being wimps for this. However, given we are two surgeries down from the last bicycle accident in our family, I thought this was sensible advice!

We cycled through all the pretty back roads and rice fields, passing water buffalo in the fields to the Silk Village and the Vegetable Village. It was everything we wanted from our bike ride, safe, authentic, and full of potholes and charm!

Hoi An Silk Village :

We stopped at the Hoi An Silk Village which ended up being a guided tour that cost 100,000 VND/per person and we thought sounded a bit naff … Remember we are after all living in the land of Jim Thompson silk, and I think I do a pretty good silk tour myself! Thanks to the wonderful Phuong our guide, we really enjoyed the tour.

This was a well-designed and probably our most informative silk tour yet. The tour starts with a refreshing homemade mulberry juice from their own mulberry trees. We then moved inside a traditional house to learned about the Cham culture and the weaving process from the 5th century to the mid-15th century.

One of the most interesting things was seeing the silkworms in various stages of growth. We learned how the farmers feed the silkworms (back to the mulberry trees!) and then watching the silk being unraveled from the cocoons and spun. It’s an impressive process.

Duration: 45 minutes, daily from 8:00am to 17:00pm
Tour Cost: 100,000 VND/pax
Location: Hoi An Silk Village, 28 Nguyen Tat Thanh St., Hoi An, Quang Nam

Hoi An Vegetable Garden

 They say ‘you have to taste a culture to understand it’ (Deborah Carter)

We found this peaceful Tra Que Garden restaurant in the middle of the quaint Tra Que Vegetable Village. Tra Que supplies organic veggies for the whole of Hoi An. As you wander amongst the herbs and plants, – it’s like a humongous allotment plot – you can hear laughter coming from the various cooking schools in the area.
This was our best meal in Hoi An, fresh, flavoursome and full of authentic charm. I can see why this Tra Que Garden restaurant is the number One Trip Advisor Restuarant in Hoi An – it gets my vote as not to be missed great experiences in Hoi An.
Location: Tra Que Vegetable Village: Hoi An City www.traquevegetablevillage.com

NIPA Palm Forest BASKET boat ride: 

This will be the highlight of your trip if you like to enjoy the lush green at one with nature and the environment of this unique salt marsh ecological area.

Or, you like fast rides, a big boozy party, and booming music… and it depends how in tune you are with loud, doof, doof music.

These are two totally different experiences to be had. The only issue is the second makes the first impossible!

OUR BASKET BOAT TOUR:

Above is the card of the company we went with. The cost was 200.000 VND/pax. Very little English spoken, show card to the taxi driver and I hope you get there!

Get there as early as you can. We arrived at 9.30 am. The Gangnam-style music with local guides dancing for tips has well started by 10 am. Enough said…

Each Thung Chai, the traditional conical bamboo basket boats are steered and paddled for you by your own oarsman. The boats are surprisingly roomy and if you want to avoid just going round and round in circles, you will be very happy to have the skills of the super-fit oarsmen
You can enjoy the tour, we were given a Vietnamese hat to wear which was a nice touch and handy as it’s hot.
Wren’s Tip: Take sunscreen and we also had sarongs to keep the strong sun off us.
They have all the moves if you want, including a spin of the boat, which will cause much shrieking if you want this.

When we did find peace and quiet we loved it. Our guide fished out the fruit floating in the water to show us. Other tours give you the opportunity to have a go fishing in the waterways, some of the oars ladies are very creative in weaving the palm leaves.

Deep within palm-covered passages of Bau Mau coconut forest, we came across an old boat hidden deep in one of the backwaters which remind us of the historical importance of this area during the Vietnam war.

It would have been fascinating to have been able to converse more with the paddler. Oh, the stories this palm forest could tell.

Duration: 45 minutes, daily from 8:00 am till late
Tour Cost: 200,000 VND/pax upwards depending on your tour/negotiations
Location: Cam Thanh Village, 3km South East of Hoi An Old Town, Quang Nam

WHERE TO STAY:
For me, a good holiday starts and finishes with a good hotel. We were very happy with La Siesta Resort and Spa, a short walk outside the Old Town. It came highly recommended from two sources on two different continents. And once you know this comes suggested straight from the Melbourne dog park, then you know you can trust the source!

La Siesta Resort and Spa

This is what a perfect day at La Siesta involves for me:
Starting early a 6 am swim in the pool might sound like a barbaric time to awake but one of my absolute highlights was slipping into the warm waters of La Siesta’s saltwater pool and having ALL to myself before the world awakes.
By the time the early risers are down for a swim, I’m having a leisurely coffee & catch up with world affairs swinging on the day bed. At 9 am after the cute bath, and a healthy breakfast we’re off to the beach.

AN BANG BEACH:

A nice sea change away from the hustle and bustle of Hoi An. It won’t win any awards in my book for the world’s most beautiful beach, but then I’m a harsh critic coming from Australia and Thailand!

We take the hotel’s free shuttle to the resort’s private beach at Wind and Moon restaurant.  We enjoy the early morning sunshine before all those sunbeds fill up.
There is time to talk to the locals, aka ‘no, thanks I don’t want to buy a watch, t-shirt, newspaper..’. and watch some of the paragliding action.
12-noon Hotel shuttle bus back to La Siesta Resort, and the gym, lunch, spa, and time for my own siesta beckons. Repeat!

THE CASTLE SPA:

There is plenty of choice for spa relaxation treatments in Hoi An.  We really enjoyed the new Castle Spa which wins the towel folding competition and has a high standard of therapists. There are only two treatment rooms so book ahead, but just look at the foot bath – it’s good enough to drink! The massages, particularly those including the hot stones were of a high standard.
Location: 127 Tran Hung Dao | Cam Pho, Minh An, Hoi An 560000, Vietnam
I hope you’ve enjoyed your little wander around the streets of Hoi An with me. The challenge for tourism development in this area will be to balance the differing requirements of tourists
Do jump in if you have any other suggestions of things you love to do in Hoi An. See you on the next trip!