Hoi An

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If you travel for unique experiences, skip Hoi An. I've heard it was an extraordinary place just a few years ago, but the hordes have moved in. Unlike Sa Pa, there were no mountains to slow its development, so it's already become what the towns around Sa Pa will become in 10 years.

Sophisticated video ads for tailors pop up on Facebook. It costs $6 just to cross an ordinary walking bridge in the old town. Safari-style Jeeps clog the streets. Evenings in the old town are eclipsed by thousands and thousands of Korean tourists taking selfies.

I actually had a pretty fun time riding a bicycle through all of this. I was still feeling pretty sick, so I didn't take any tours into the Marble Mountains, which also might have been good.

If you're somehow able to ignore all those negatives, I probably envy you.

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