Hoi An: Day 45 to 48

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I reached Hoi An from Trang An, taking an overnight sleeper bus. The nearly 900KM journey took about 14 hours, but Vietnam has comfortable sleeper buses and I found the journey alright, even though tiring.

Hoi An, meaning peaceful meeting place, used to be a trading port. Situated on the Thu Bon river, this town used to have easy access to a wide river which made it a port for trading. Today, the river is much smaller and hence the port has moved to Da Nang, changing the economic basis of Hoi An from trading to tourism (90%+ of the work force depends on tourism).

I explored the town the first evening and was amazed by the number of tourists (very large) and the lanterns, lights and lit up boats. It was a kaleidoscope of colors that one can enjoy for hours. Many people do the boat ride and float little lamps onto the river, but my guide in the walking tour next day said that every morning the city has to clean the river of as many as 30,000 lamps and requested that we do not float lamps on the river (I didn't anyways).

In the walking tour, I learnt a few unique things about Hoi An.

It was one of the few cities in Vietnam that was not bombed during the war with USA and hence has retained most of its old buildings, making it a UNESCO World Heritage site.

You will see most buildings are yellow. That's not because of a choice made now, but a principle that buildings can only be their original color and research has found the original color of most buildings to be yellow (probably to deal with the heat Hoi An gets during summer).

Almost every year the city gets flooded, but people are used to it and don't panic, they just move to a higher floor in the house, and if needed, are evacuated by the government. That's why in most houses, you will see the ground floor almost empty.

Hoi An is a melting pot of different cultures, Japanese, Chinese, French and Vietnamese. It retains this unique characteristics as a mark of inclusive nature of its people.

Hoi An is also the city of lights due to the lanterns you see everywhere. The lanterns used to be lit up only on full moon night, but now are lit up every night. The lanterns come in different shapes depending on their country of origin.

Exploring this city and its nook and corners over the next two days was a wonderful experience for me. Hoi An will remain in my memory as a place of colors and a melting pot of people from different parts who have made this place home.

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Photos

Hoi An Colors
Hoi An at night is a kaleidoscope of colors

Hoi An colors
Thu Bon river at night

Hoi An Buildings
Yellow buildings everywhere

Streets of Hoi An
Best explored early morning or late night

Hoi An Lanterns
Lanterns are a traditional craft in Hoi An

Hoi An Lanterns
Lanterns of different colors and shapes

Hoi An temples
Have you ever wondered why dragons depicted in Asia don't have wings and how they fly without wings?

Japanese old house
Old Japanese house and tea ceremony