Hoi An is my favourite town so far. It is a small 3 laned town on the banks of a river and is a living museum of historic life. It is such a beautiful town. No cars are allowed in the town. The town is decorated with lanterns everywhere and on certain days only lanterns are used to light up the town.
We had beautiful dinners (went there 2 nights in a row!!) at the Cargo restaurant which overlooked the river. There were lovely scenes and photo opportunities in the town.
Hoi An is also the tailor capital so great place to have outfits made in a day.
We also had an unusual experience when we turned local for the day by helping a local vegetable farmer tend his farm and grow some vegetables. Thsi was followed by a cooking demo where we cooked rice pancakes with beansprouts which we had for our lunch. It was such a fun experience.
On the way to this farm, we met an old vietnamese lady (pictured) who is 81 years old and had 8 grandchildren. She was so lovely and friendly and happy to chat with us and exchange smiles and laughs. She was extremely beautiful and photogenic - I really liked her.
Just outside the hotel, a 2 km road takes you past rice paddy fields where people are working alongside water buffalos and the Mekong river where people are fishing. The road also leads to the local beach. The hotel provided bicycles and I decided to explore Hoi An. Those who know me will be shaking their heads and saying 'do I never learn'. Nothing unusual about riding a bike you say except the last time I did it was 3 years ago in Zanzibar when I got on and off the bike within seconds while also managing to break my wrist and dislocate my shoulder!!!
The ride was really beautiful and the beach fantastic with fishermen coming in with their catch. EVeryone is so friendly here. Definitely worth doing/visiting.
