HAPPY IN HOI AN

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After a month on the road, we began feeling somewhat desperate to stay put somewhere and actually unpack our bags. After much consideration of the various towns we should and could visit after Saigon, and those we could or should skip, it was decided that we’d spend two whole weeks in the central Vietnamese town of Hoi An. Even though this town has no train station or airport, it is recognized as one of the key destinations in Vietnam in view of its Old Town’s status as a UNESCO World Heritage site. It also happens to be close to some of Vietnam’s most pristine beaches. But we were going for the culture… obviously!



Though the hotels in Hoi An are plentiful and each more charming than the next, we opted to rent a house in view of the duration of our visit and our pronounced need for space. In other words, we were fed up with sharing a room with our kids… and perhaps the kids were pretty fed up with sharing a room with us!! Vacation rentals are NOT common in Vietnam and even less so in Hoi An, but Arnaud cleverly managed to zero in on the one decent house available for rent on a weekly basis and as luck would have it, it was right on the beach! Furthermore, describing the Hoi An “Temple House” as decent might be an understatement… It is up there in the dream home category for us. The size (just right!), look (loved the antiques, contrasted with polished concrete), and feeling (classy but comfortable) of this house, not to mention the location (beachfront, but off the tourist track) were simply ideal… As an extra bonus, the sweet couple who lived two doors down and came over to clean and garden each day, had a six year old daughter, Na, who became a regular playmate for our kids. We even got Na’s parents to babysit on several occasions. All in all, we couldn’t ask for a better way to savour the best of what Hoi An has to offer, which as far as we’re concerned also happens to be among the best of what Vietnam has to offer.



The location of our house was actually in a small village called An Bang. Though this area is starting to gain popularity, most tourists seeking sand and sun, head 3 kilometers South to Cua Dai Beach. The latter is where all the resorts are set up and hence also where the beach vendors target their efforts. As a result, the only people on the stretch of beach adjacent to our house were the local fishermen minding their own business while catching fish from their traditional round basket boats and us, also minding our business with the daily task of building an even larger sand castle than the previous day’s (quite a family endeavor at times) and jumping around in the surf. Actually, Lea was not minding her own business at all… She was frequently monitoring and photographing the fishermens’ every move, totally in awe of their ability to negotiate the sizable waves, while standing in a 2meter wide basket.



When we were too lazy to cook or ride into town for lunch, we strolled fifteen minutes North to the cluster of seafront restaurants offering just enough variety to keep us returning almost each day. Among our favourites were the Banyan Café, Soul Kitchen, and the spectacularly good Italian food at Luna D’Autunno. And when the surf was a little too large and the sun a little too warm, we strolled fifteen minutes South to one of the resorts where for 10$, we could enjoy the pool and kid’s club for the day. Our main choice for the latter was the Palm Garden Resort & Spa.



Despite these frequent long walks on the beach- which yes, we do all enjoy very much- our primary means of transportation around Hoi An were the two bikes provided with our house, conveniently equipped each with child seats. However, the scooter that was also on offer at Temple House equally came in handy for grocery runs and the occasional family outing. It stands to reason that when you are living like the locals, shopping like the locals, eating and drinking like the locals, you might as well move about like the locals… and so all four us climbed onto our single little scooters and delighted the locals as we drove around town, getting our errands done…en famille. (Note to disapproving safety-loving friends- We were all four wearing helmets and Arnaud proved himself very skilled at navigating through the sleepy provincial traffic. This is not something we would ever dream of doing in Saigon!!)



Among the essential errands needing to be carried out while in Hoi An were our frequent visits to a tailor where we got some of our favourite clothes copied for a nominal price. Hoi An is known as Asia’s tailoring capital and is host to several hundred tailor shops, despite its small size. In fact, one can hardly stroll through the old town without being solicited every few meters to enter a tailor shop to have some clothes made. Choosing the right tailor was no easy task, nor was negotiating a good price. And yet, somehow, despite our decision to have only one item made for each of us, Arnaud ended up with 3 new button down shirts, 1 new pair of Bermuda shorts, 2 new swim suits, and one pair of linen slacks (or something sort of feeling like linen…) Similarly, Lea got swept up into the tailoring frenzy and gained 4 new dresses and a pair of pants. Needless to say, those ladies in the tailor shops have some rather effective sales pitches. Do our new clothes fit well and feel good? Not entirely, but we enjoyed the whole process anyhow… and miraculously managed to fit everything into our ever tighter luggage. Should you be passing through Hoi An and in need of a tailor, feel free to try ours out: Ngan- Hà The Galaxy Tailor on 37 Tran Phu Road.



If not wasting away hours (and Vietnamese Dongs) at the tailor shop, we’d often be strolling through town, taking in some of the sights such as the Museum of Trade Ceramics or the five century old Japanese Covered Bridge, now the emblem of Hoi An. Meals in town would be enjoyed either at one of the food stalls of the central market (for circa 50cents a plate) or in one of the countless little restaurants that have turned Hoi An into a culinary hotspot. The meals we enjoyed most, besides the many home cooked feasts we drummed up on our own, were the sidewalk café lunch at The Pear Tree, the Vietnamese-French fusion dinner with Canadian friends from the Mekong at The Bazar Café, the noteworthy river views from the balcony of the rather touristy Cargo Restaurant, and the very creative Bento Box sampler of local specialties at the surprisingly trendy Maia Riverside Restaurant.



As if the beaches, tailors, and fine dining weren’t enough, the biggest appeal of Hoi An lies nevertheless in its historical esthetic charm. Most buildings in the Old Town are only two stories tall and an intriguing mix of Chinese, Japanese and French colonial architecture with wooden shutters and exposed beams. They typically have balconies along the second level, as well as an internal courtyard, often including a small fountain and plenty of plants. Some of the older houses in town were built in the 18^th century and continue to be occupied by the same family, seven or eight generations later. These tend to be Chinese merchant houses such as the more famous wooden “Tan Ky House” which is open to visitors and belongs to a family who grew wealthy by trading silk, tea, and rice. There are hardly any neon lights in the old town and shop signs are nearly all wood with the names painted or carved on. The overall effect is an alluring little town with narrow streets, filled with colourful lanterns and seductive little shops and cafes.



October and November are considered the single worst months to visit the central coastal region of Vietnam. This is the peak of the rainy season, when the Thu Bon River running through Hoi An often floods and tourists generally stay away. While we did get some rainy days which were dedicated to books and movies or simply enjoying the comforts of our little house, most of our time in Hoi An was blessed with sunshine and pleasant breezes. Furthermore, we found the Old Town to be quite buzzing with tourists and any more would have made it far less appealing. So in our opinion, though we share this secret with considerable reluctance, late October just might be the very best time to visit this enchanting corner of Vietnam!

THINGS WE WEREN’T ABLE TO TAKE PHOTOS OF (or thought best to spare you from…):

• The beautiful sand castle the 4 of us built for an hour, complete with wave-proof moat, which a wave knocked down in 5 seconds… and Arnaud & Mimi rebuilt the next day, even better.



• The taxi driver who got out of our car and took a seat on the curb for five full minutes to take a phone call.



• The all-night 80s themed karaoke party three doors down from our house that felt like it was in our living room.



• The bleach stains all over the clothes we had laundered for 1$ a kilo.



• The man selling gold fish off the back of his scooter… having displayed them each in their own water-filled plastic bag, hanging on a rack behind his seat.



• How we jumped and cheered for joy when we realized Obama will get to stay in the White House another 4years.



• How I cursed and bit my lip when my long awaited pedicure turned into a trip to the hospital and a week of limping.



• The enthusiasm with which the kids went to bed each night thanks to their space-age mosquito net…


This list could be so much longer… but we’ll stop there for now!

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