Settling into Hoi An

In early April 2024, we finally made it to the destination in Vietnam which seems to make everyone swoon who has ever been to the country, so we were eager to know if it would live up to its hype. The high value accommodation selection certainly did. For the week, we chose to stay on Cam Nam Island, which is known as the “small pearl” of Hoi An, which feels like a practically rural respite a bridge away from the hectic core of the central old town area.

Our boutique hotel called Coco Island Villa felt absolutely luxurious to us….a king size room with balcony, bathroom with tub, kettle/fridge, a beautiful pool and lounge area, shared kitchen, free bikes whenever we wanted to use them, the best breakfasts we’ve had in the country and a funny and fantastic staff. We couldn’t ask for more…especially for $17/night. 😁

Kind and giggly Tram and her assistant cooked an incredible breakfast every morning with so much food we able to eat only yogurt for lunch everyday. 

The view of the pool from our second floor balcony and our bedroom…before we messed it all up. 🤣 There was also an extra large picture window to entertain, or repulse, your spouse. You’ll notice we have a tub, which was a welcome and surprising sight. It’s clear Vietnamese innovation doesn’t offer many of these because…you’ll also notice the placement of the shower head. 🤔🤣🤔

One of seven delicious breakfast options we had available to us. This is a traditional Vietnamese dish from the central region called Mi Quang which is shrimp, boiled quail eggs, peanuts, lime, chilies, and spring onions served with wide flat turmeric yellow noodles. Like pho, you serve it with a pile of delicious greens, sprouts and herbs, but it has less broth. Also, it normally includes pork but Mandy was able to get without. 

Breakfast also included a beautiful fruit plate each morning with the juiciest watermelon and mango and the bland, looks-can-be-deceiving dragonfruit, a mango pancake…and as usual, some of the most delicious coffee because this is Vietnam! Other breakfast options included pho, stuffed omelets, cereal and eggs all served with piping hot French style baguettes. Yes, we were feeling very spoiled, and almost guilty, for our $17/night.

Our watermelon juice welcome drink and Tram photo bombing in the background. 

Our balcony which we could usually handle sitting on until mid morning when it got far too humid. And out the back window, a picturesque landscape of real Vietnam, complete with our little old lady neighbor furiously whacking the grass with a machete. She must have been pissed at her husband….

Maybe one of these signs would help… 💩🤣

The tranquil back alleys we ride our bikes through on Cam Nam Island. 

It was so peaceful there…and the neighbors are so welcoming. Every single person, young and old, said hello or Xin chao when we passed by. A truly special place.  

Hoi An By Morning (We loved it)

The UNESCO world heritage site of Hoi An Ancient Town is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a South-East Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century. Because of this rich imperial heritage and the lack of many similar preserved sites elsewhere in the country, it’s one of Vietnam’s premier tourist attractions and through the years, multiple people have adamantly exclaimed to us that “we’ll love it and we have to go!”

This hoopla also meant it had a lot to live up to. So, did it make us swoon too?

In short, we found the old town with its peppering of crimson lanterns, burnt mustard hues and bursting bougainvilleas to be absolutely enchanting…at sunrise. In the morning light, Hoi An certainly lived up to the name, which means “peaceful meeting place” and we loved it.

But in the late afternoons and evenings, when it was chaotic, tourist choked, and every other person was trying to metaphorically reach in your wallet, we unsurprisingly enjoyed it…a bit less. 

However, in the early morning, with the bobbing colorful boats, lining the palmed riverside waterways, it actually brought back recent memories of Paraty, Brazil….

…with a very obvious Vietnamese facade. The one-person cycle rickshaws that bob and weave the crowds later in the day sleep peacefully in the morning light.

However, the Vietnamese are a morning crowd so at 6:30 am in the main market, as well as nearby streets, were swarming with buzzing motorbikes, fruits and veggies, and fish markets…the true lives in action of the locals who live in Hoi An and seemed to hide, with good reason, later in the day.

But it was very easy to break away from this, if you so choose…

…and appreciate the architecture, which is, renowned for being a unique blend of Vietnamese, Chinese, and Japanese architecture and design. 

The town’s architecture is characterized by its wooden houses, tiled roofs, and narrow alleys, which reflect the traditional Vietnamese style, and can hardly be appreciated at night amidst all the people and shops.

Plus, it was sooo much easier to take a decent photo in the morning! 🤪

This bridge alone probably has hundreds of people on it at any given point in the evenings. On the other side of the bridge, an indication of why it left a bad taste in our mouths, although it looks a whole lot less rowdy in the morning. We’ve pretty much decided it’s best for us to steer clear of any tourist spots with Irish pubs. Unless you’re in Ireland…naturally.

But the wandering is superb, and we felt right at home. 

A few more facts about Hoi An:

• In English and other European languages, the town was known historically as Faifo. This word is derived from Vietnamese Hội An phố (the town of Hội An), which was shortened to “Hoi-pho”, and then to “Faifo”. (Wikipedia)
• its population is around 150,000. It’s growing quickly, unsurprisingly especially amongst expats.
• in the 18th century, it was considered to be the best place to trade in all of Asia, according to Chinese and Japanese merchants. Da Nang took over at the end of the 18th Century. (UNESCO)

Once you start wandering, the alleyways are a whole other world…

It’s absolutely a photographer’s dream.

A bit further afield from the old town, we found Tịnh Thất Thanh An, an eye catching church which we couldn’t find a lot of info about. 

And we especially loved this oasis amongst the rice paddies. When (yes, when) we return, it will be a hard decision on where to stay. As much as we loved Cam Nam Island, these rice paddy accommodations also look pretty enticing.

Hoi An by Night (Not our Jam)

The town of Hoi An is known as “Lantern City.” We are guessing this refers to the historic and twinkling colorful lanterns that are sprinkled throughout its vicinity, not the neon flashes from the Bob Marley and Irish Pub restaurants, nor the fairy light orbs emitting from the grand canal stuffed with tour boats….

As alluded to in the previous section, Hoi An Ancient Town by evening is vastly different than by early morning, but it’s obviously still part of the experience. Also, if this is your jam, great. You’ll love it! 😉 It’s clearly just not ours….

No matter which camp you’re in, like with any touristy place, it still helps to be a little on guard…whether you’re negotiating prices in a clothes shop…dodging cyclo rickshaws…maneuvering clusters of Chinese tour groups whipping through the scene to trail a yellow flag…or warding off overly friendly, perfect English-speaking teams approaching you with a timeshare situation…until you patiently reveal you know what they’re doing, (because you embarrassingly used to be in timeshare sales), you’re not their target demographic, and your nightly budget is $17/night. 🤪

Our favorite part was typically getting to and from old town! By free bike, thanks to our hotel. Our strategy was as follows: we would park at the end of Cam Nam Island by the historic bridge and then walk across using the safety of the elevated sidewalk on either side which was about 10 inches wide. This worked great until a group was walking in the opposite direction and you basically had to play a game of chicken to see which party was brave enough to drop into the single motorbike/car lane a foot below. We usually played this game by age. If the group was older than us, or smiled with a greeting, we almost always risked our lives. The younger or unfriendly ones were more of a skirmish, particularly if they were parked in the middle of the bridge taking selfies. (In reality, all parties survived the game, whether or not you smiled.) 

This is why we did not dare take our bikes into old town. TOO MUCH competition! The streets of the ancient town around 6, nearing sunset. 

If you plan to buy fruit or veggies from these sellers, you might wanna ask “bao nhiêu?” (HOW MUCH?) FIRST. Otherwise, you WILL get ripped off.

You will find lots of ladies walking around in ao dais, or traditional Vietnamese dresses. Some of them appear to be Instagramming while others don’t even need to try. 

Ladies also selling “SPECIAL CAKE BAKE OF SWEET POTATO WITH FRESH COCONUT GREEN BEAN.” We tried one for $.40. It was a bit mushy.

The Ba Mu Temple Gate is a linking gate of two architectural religious structures which are located next to each other, including Cam Ha temple and Hai Binh temple. It was constructed in the first half of the 17th century at a place different from its present location. It is one of the three relics in Hoi An listed as valued monuments.

A selfie in front of the gate (so you know we were there and didn’t just swipe photos off the internet.) 🤣

Dusk arrives, and if you meander away, some of the waterways in ancient town were so inviting.

This was not one of them!!

LESS IS MORE.

Also, we unfortunately could not see the iconic Japanese Bridge from the 17th Century in all her glory, as she was buried under a pile of restoration efforts.

From here we wandered away from the bridge and found some glimpses of the marvel of the town, including lots of “souvenirs,” and other necessities.

Ooo!! Now that is more like it!!

We also passed loads of silk shops. Hoi An is renowned for their custom clothes creation. Supposedly it only takes 3-4 hours from the time a customer comes and gives their measurements to the time the outfit is completed. Again, be cautious and research ahead of time if you choose to do this. Someone close to us got very very ripped off.

Quiet alleyways can still be found in the evening with just a little bit of exploration. And the artwork is just stunning…

An atmospheric intersection in “Lantern City” on an evening ride

To avoid the chicken bridge, one night we tried to take our bikes through the “Hoi An Memories Land” island which based on their half moon light up bridge, must be another VinPearl Disney/Vegas-esque tourist creation. They wanted to charge us to do so, so instead we found out how the locals were doing it…

…and we ended up plowing our bikes up  another unfinished dirt bridge to the other side! It was here, and on our little island, that we met the nicest locals in town…no motive…just because! 😁

The Other Side of Hoi An & An Bang Beach

Hoi An has been just lovely so far. However, it’s definitely not the old town and the touristy areas we love. It’s the quiet areas tucked away from there and the opportunities for a very affordable, healthy and livable lifestyle that speak to us. With that said, cycling with the free bikes provided by our hotel has undoubtedly been a favorite activity. After all, there is just something so dreamy about cycling through the rice paddies of Vietnam and then being rewarded by a lovely beach…

Most of them go somewhere and some of them have dead ends or are “no go” as one local unsuccessfully tried to communicate to us. Google maps isn’t too accurate but when we switched to Mapy and put it on bike mode, it did the trick. You also get the opportunity to cycle along canals, some filled with lily pads and lotus flowers. 

Arriving to An Bang Beach, which seems equally popular amongst expats and locals. When you arrive, a slew of fake parking attendants will tell you where and how to park your bike for an exorbitant fee. There is also a fake guard blowing a whistle and trying to intimidate tourists by waving a baton. This is a scam. You do not have to pay to park your bike at the beach. We rode our bikes directly past them to the left toward Soul Kitchen and parked there.

We had a drink at Soul Kitchen, which was a chill bar with good vibes and live music.

Walking along the beach, we could see the city of Da Nang in the distance. 

Eating our Way Through Hoi An

Being able to eat out daily was definitely a big part of the reason we feel very comfortable, and even bougie, in our Vietnamese life. And this is Vietnam, so while all destinations have a quality, fresh and affordable selection of food, some are simply off the charts like Hoi An, particularly if you prefer to trend toward pescatarian. 

Some of the local specialties we sampled included Cao Lau, Mi Quang Noodles, Rose Dumplings, Spring Rolls, Banh Xeo, and the crowd/Bourdain-pleaser Banh Mi Sandwich. 

The White Rose Dumpling is so called that because of its resemblance to folded white petals. The steamed dumplings have chewy rice wrappers (aka the petals) and succulent fillings of shrimp and mushrooms. Chefs will place them nicely on a plate sprinkled with crispy shallots and green onions, then serve them with a mixture of fish sauce, chili, and sugar. ($2.50/Firefly Restaurant)

Another popular dish in Vietnam is stir-fried garlic morning glory loaded with nutrients. Morning glory has a slightly bitter taste and is often compared to spinach or watercress in terms of texture and flavor. While we enjoyed the dish, it felt like it should be a side and not a whole entree. Fortunately we always share so we made it work. ($1.75)

Cau Lau, invented in Hoi An, is a renowned noodle specialty which embodies the delicious fusion of Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese cuisine. This Hoi An iconic dish includes Japanese udon-like noodles, pieces of roasted pork resembling Chinese char siu, raw greens, beansprouts, crunchy croutons, along with the Hoi An-style special sauce. This dish included pork but it was also available in a vegetarian form. ($1.50) 

Bun rieu is a tomato based noodle soup that has a slightly sweet and acidic taste and is loaded with tomatoes, tofu and mushrooms. ($1.40)

We ate at our favorite restaurant, ROM Vegetarian Restaurant Bistro twice, where we easily had the best fresh spring rolls of our lives. OMG! ($2.20)

A vegetarian Banh Xeo also at ROM which is a savory Vietnamese pancake turmeric, coconut cream and rice flour cake stuffed with egg, bean sprouts and veggies. You then place the cut pieces inside a rice paper wrap like a taco and dip it in chili oil. It is just AMAZING. ($2.35)

A carrot/pineapple juice with a happy moon for $1.60.

A banana flower blossom salad is simple, refreshing and absolutely divine. This one was made with finely chopped banana flowers, carrots, basil, shredded coconut, lime juice, salt, sugar and red chillies. YUM! ($2.20)

All this food, included a cold coconut water, added up to less than $11 with a tip!

A watermelon smoothie for $1.50.

Mi Quong which is shrimp, boiled quail eggs, peanuts, lime, chilies, and spring onions served with wide flat turmeric yellow noodles. Like pho, you serve it with a pile of delicious greens, sprouts and herbs, but it has less broth. Also, it normally includes pork but Mandy was able to get without. We got this for free as one of our daily breakfast options at Coco Island Villa.

A smaller and more overpriced banana salad at a restaurant called Firefly. It was also good but because of the aforementioned reasons, we wouldn’t recommend it as a top choice ($2.75) Another dish at Firefly we got was Red snapper steamed in a banana leaf alongside lemongrass, gingers, chilli, tumeric and spring onion. It reminded us a lot of the national dish of Cambodia. ($5.55) Still a pretty good price for such presentation, but it was hard to beat ROM.

Another dinner we grabbed was at Peanuts Vietnamese Vegan restaurant. We absolutely dug the wide range of veg options in Hoi An. This particular meal included sautéed garlic green beans and red rice, peanut stew, orange “chicken,” Kim chi, and a brownie. A delicious and healthy meal for $8 total. 

A black sesame milk drink. Refreshing and nutty! ($.80)

Thanks to Anthony Bourdain’s visit, the renowned Bánh Mì Phượng is a very popular place for Banh mis in Hoi An. What most people don’t realize is that you don’t have to stand in the clogged line at the front of the stand. You can head straight back, grab a table and be served immediately by the ladies hard at work whipping up the sandwiches in the tiny kitchen. 

We indulged in a chicken and cheese and a tuna seaweed in honor of Anthony with a couple LaRue beers to wash it down. ($4.20) And yes, Chef Bourdain does not lie…they were the best Banh Mis we’ve ever had.