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Published: August 16th 2006
Chinese influences
A Chinese temple in Hội An. The town's ancient architecture is riddled with Chinese, Japanese and even European influences.It's six in the morning. Fresh (or not-so-fresh) off our night bus from Nha Trang, we set off on a couple of
xe ôm to find our hotel, which I had booked the day before. We are staying in a tiny five-room hotel going by the name
Minh A. It is a 17th-century house which up until a few years ago was inhabited by the descendants of a Hội An merchant family. Because commerce is what Hội An was, and is, built on.
Also known in those early days as Faifo, Hội An was an important commercial hub in the 16th and 17th centuries, inhabited by Chinese, Japanese, Dutch and even Indian traders. Today many of the shophouses owned by those traders still exist, in a wonderful state of preservation. Hội An is one of the numerous World Heritage Sites in Việt Nam and a very popular stopping point on the "usual" Hà Nội-Sài Gòn (or vice-versa) route.
It's about 7am when we arrive at
Minh A. The previous guests staying in the room we are to occupy have still not checked out - the staff at the hotel can see that we are nearly falling asleep after our
Hội An shophouse
A typical building in one of Hội An's narrow streets. Many of these old shophouses are still fully active - as pharmacies, tailors and all sorts. 11-hour bus ride so kindly offer us the staff bedroom to snooze in while we wait for our room to be vacated. The house is made entirely of wood, with a pretty little courtyard in the middle - carved wooden panels cover the walls, and the interior is decorated with wall hangings and framed calligraphy. The whole effect is extremely attractive and we're lucky to have got a room here at such short notice !
One of the main pleasures of Hội An is walking the narrow streets of the old merchant quarter by the river, admiring the abundance of immaculately preserved shophouses and residences. Silk awnings and brightly coloured paper lanterns complete the look. Hội An is apparently one of the best places in Asia to get hold of some tailor-made clothes. Indeed, the town's compact centre postively crawls with tailor's shops, and in some places the air is filled with the sound of scissors and sewing machines. Sadly anything we buy has to be either sent home (with no guarantee of it arriving, especially in Việt Nam !) or carted around the rest of South East Asia. So we simply look - which is more than enough
Ceramics Museum
This stunning wooden building acts as a tiny museum displaying a variety of ceramics of the type that were traded in Hội An centuries ago. !
A particularly pleasant way to while away an evening in Hội An is to sit by the riverfront watching the small boats go by, sipping on a lovely
bia hơi (local draught beer). Despite the increase in popularity of Hội An as a stop-over point on any trans-Nam trip, it is still very quiet and relaxing here.
The food has been a highlight of Hội An. There are several dishes the town is famous for, dishes which can't be found anywhere in Việt Nam let alone the rest of the world ! One such speciality is
cao lầu, a dish of rice noodles (which have to be made using water from the
Ba Le well in the town) served with herbs, crispy croutons and crumbled toasted rice cakes - delicious ! One afternoon here we went on a short course to learn how to make some Vietnamese delicacies - including spiced minced prawns squidged around pieces of fresh sugar-cane and grilled. Mmmmm...
Another highlight near Hội An are the Chăm ruins of Mỹ Sơn (pronounced
"Mee Sern"). These are the remnants of brick temples built by the Chăm civilisation which flourished in what is now Central
Calligraphy
Beautiful Chinese calligraphy adorns many buildings. Vietnamese too used to be written in Chinese characters. The top two on this sign perhaps mean "Hội An" (since they read "Hei An" in Japanese...)?... Việt Nam between the 7th and 13th centuries. The Chăm regularly clashed with the Khmers further south, and many of the bas-reliefs at the Bayon in Angkor portray massive sea battles between Khmer and Chăm civilisations. The ruins are classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (as is Hội An, incidentally) and are indeed impressive. In terms of size, scale and preservation they have nothing on Angkor, but what they do have - which Angkor lacks - is a beautiful natural setting of wooded hills all around.
We have had a lovely, peaceful few days here. The town's ancient charm is very conducive to relaxation, not to mention consumption of lots of Vietnamese food and
bia hơi !
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Marie
non-member comment
Oi, no entry for a fortnight
Will, are you slaking? Also, please put less food in your entries - I get hungry every time, unless you are talking about fried water cockroaches. Glad you are seeing so much and things are going well. Lots of love, Marie