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Hoi An was my next step further south. Most of the people from the Hue boat trip headed south the same day I did. Since the buses dropped us off at the same place, we were all able to meet up. At Sam's recommendation, we headed over to a new hotel that had just opened up. The place was fantastic, close to the old market, and even had a pool. The pool was great for those sweltering Hoi An afternoons.
Many scenes from "The Quiet American" (including the opium den scenes) were filmed in Hoi An. The city has Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese and French architecture and was a great place to spend a few days wandering around. There are some really nice historic houses. Many are in great shape, despite the flooding that often occurs during the rainy season each November and December. The Japanese covered bridge is a particularly nice spot.
One of my favorite places was the market. I took a lot of photos there and spent time wandering around. There are a lot of stalls selling tourist junk, but there are many vegetable, fruit, meat and seafood vendors, which makes the place really interesting.
Hoi
An is famous for its tailor shops. There must be hundreds in this small town and the tailors are constantly asking you if you are interested in getting clothes made. All of them have business cards for their establishments, even if their shops are tiny stalls in the market. You can get high quality clothes made to fit your measurements at ridiculously low prices. I had some skirts and a business suit made. Each skirt was only $5.
Hoi An has great food, the best that I had anywhere in Vietnam. Some dishes cannot be found anywhere else in Vietnam, including white roses, which are really nice prawn dumplings. Thet also have these noodles which can only be made with water from a well in Hoi An. These noodles contain pork, noodles, some kind of sauce, greens and these yummy croutons. Good stuff.
I had some really nice dinners with my new friends. Usually, we went out for the day and did our own thing (normally ending up in the pool in the late afternoon because it was so hot) and then we met up for dinner to sample Hoi An's many culinary delights and have a few
beers together. Tam Tam Cafe and Cargo Club were our favorite places and there is nothing like a cold Biere La Rue on a hot day.
One of the best meals we had was at the beach near Hoi An. We rented bicycles and rode to the beach. After spending an afternoon swimming, sunning and fending off an endless stream of hawkers peddling everything you can possible imagine, we went to a beach hut restaurant for beers and a late lunch. For less than $3, I got an enormous plate of rice and one of the best barbecued fish I've ever had, all washed down with a few icy cold La Rue beers. The woman running the place was so sweet and we had a great afternoon.
The vendors were relentless, constantly asking us, "hello, you buy something." They were dressed in long pants and sleeves, and most covered their faces and hands to keep from tanning. White skin is highly prized in Asia. Several of them were very funny, including one woman who offered Hayden a taste of betel nut. It stains your teeth red, but this woman's teeth were completely black. The other funny vendor was
Hoi An conspirators
This is Lili (Germany), Monique (NZ), Darren (Canada), Hayden (NZ), Kevin (Canada). We had a fantastic afternoon eating the best BBQ fish and drinking beer at this beach shack.this woman who knew lots of English slang. When bargaining with her for bracelets, she would say "no way Jose" when you offered her too low a price. She also knew "no s*** Sherlock" and a few other choice phrases.
Hoi An was a fantastic place to visit and I am glad that I spent a few days there before moving further south to Nha Trang and Saigon. I am still missing the food from Hoi An. I hope I can get white roses in the US.
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