Hoi An is our first real introduction to the French influence on Vietnam.
Head south through coastal rice paddies before traversing the spectacularly mountainous Hai Van Pass. After a brief visit to the beautiful China Beach, arrive at Hoi An. Recently declared a World Heritage site, Hoi An was known as Faifo to early western traders, it was one of South-East Asia's major international ports during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Today, parts of Hoi An look exactly as they did more than a century ago and it retains the feel of centuries past, making it the sort of place that grows on you the more you explore it.
The drive from Hue took about 4 hours but that was with several stops including an oyster farm. The most fun was stopping at China Beach and getting my feet in the water.
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| In the South China Sea at China Beach |
But the most spectacular was the view of the mountains and Danag from the Hai Van Pass.
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| View of the road across the Hai Van Pass and down to the city of Danang |
Hoi An is a lovely small town. After lunch we wandered through the Old Town filled with shopping. The custom tailors are supposed to be great here but I am not sure if it is a price hike due to the holiday or normal fees but the prices are not great especially for the quality of fabric available. There is some really interesting architecture that is a mix of Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese. The 2 days we have here are just relaxing and fun.
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| Streets of Hoi An are covered in lanterns |
Since it is still the Tet holiday, we stumbled upon a local fair complete with a talented competition and games.
I even got brave enough to try the street food!
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| Dinner along the river |
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| Carmen, Me & Lauren buying lanterns |
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