The former harbour town was an important Vietnamese trading centre in the 16th and 17th centuries, where Chinese from various provinces as well as Japanese, Dutch and Indians settled down.
The architecture and atmosphere of the place brings one back a few centuries. Ok, think about those Chinese drama series settings with family houses, gardens, full moon and martial arts. You'll get the picture.
Day 1 - Arriving at Hoi An
We flew with Silkair, which was departing from T1, but we went to the newly built T3 to take a peek:
T3 departure hall
Looking for food.Our flight brought us to Siem Reap first for a half hour transit:
Siem Reap - our supposed next destination in July
And wow, were we impressed with their airport
Making our way back to the plane
Typical colonial building
Dining cum breakfast area
The staircase from the reception leads up to some rooms on the 2nd level.
Standard non-garden view roomWe were a bit skeptical about walking to town at night, considering what happened in Hanoi. We were also a bit worried since it was so quiet and no motorbikes or people walking around, but we eventually did take a stroll to the town centre for dinner:
Hoi An town at night
Lanterns everywhere (the woman is digging her nose, a national past time we've observed over two trips to Vietnam)
Thu Bon (if I remember correctly) river runs through Hoi An town
One of the many tailors
Hoi An town at night
Lanterns everywhere (the woman is digging her nose, a national past time we've observed over two trips to Vietnam)
Thu Bon (if I remember correctly) river runs through Hoi An town
One of the many tailorsWe dined at a place called Cafe 96 which was recommended on the TripAdvisor forum for its white rose (a shrivelled version of "har gaos") and grilled fish wrapped in banana leaf. We've had better.
The stores were mostly closing by 9pm, so we made our way back to the hotel on foot.
Day 2 - My Son ruins
Yay! I like visiting ruins. Since we might be skipping our trip to Siem Reap and we had so many days in Hoi An, we arranged a private driver to the My Son ruins, another UNESCO World Heritage site.
Looking bloated. Who's that in the background? Kaypoh.
Intricate carvings on the walls
Carvings of Hindu gods
"Hello?! Anyone there?"
Statue of a God without the head
Doing the touristy thing
Strike a pose
Peeping
Ta-da!
Tomb-raiding
View from inside
An outer cloister
The stores were mostly closing by 9pm, so we made our way back to the hotel on foot.
Day 2 - My Son ruins
Yay! I like visiting ruins. Since we might be skipping our trip to Siem Reap and we had so many days in Hoi An, we arranged a private driver to the My Son ruins, another UNESCO World Heritage site.
Looking bloated. Who's that in the background? Kaypoh.
These relics were from the Champa kingdom who were mainly an Indianized kingdom that controlled central and southern Vietnam from the 7th century through to 1832. There's an extensive history of the Champa kingdom in Wikipedia which you can read up on.
The most significant site for the Cham temple architecture is here, in My Son (pronounced as "mee-sawn"). It was heavily damaged by US bombing during the Vietnam War and what remains now are ruins and relics that have been extensively restored.
The most significant site for the Cham temple architecture is here, in My Son (pronounced as "mee-sawn"). It was heavily damaged by US bombing during the Vietnam War and what remains now are ruins and relics that have been extensively restored.
Intricate carvings on the walls
Carvings of Hindu gods
"Hello?! Anyone there?"
Statue of a God without the head
Doing the touristy thing
Strike a pose
Peeping
Ta-da!
Tomb-raiding
View from inside
An outer cloisterTwo rooms were allocated to display some relics. I overheard a guide mention that none of these here are the original ones that date back to the 7th century. Not sure how true this is though:
The rest of the body got bombed
An altar. Ever wondered why there's a drainage-like system built into it? Hehe.
Headless god again. The head is the most vulnerable part of the statue, hence most of the statues are headless.
Making our way to another site nearby. This site had lesser ruins than the one before. It's mostly grass.
Jungle
There were stone tablets dotted around the site with scriptures engraved onto them.
Restoration at work
MAJOR reconstruction!
70% of it had toppled down.
On our way back, we stopped for petrol. Works out to be about SGD 1.35 per litre. Hmm, it's ok I guess.
The rest of the body got bombed
An altar. Ever wondered why there's a drainage-like system built into it? Hehe.
Headless god again. The head is the most vulnerable part of the statue, hence most of the statues are headless.
Making our way to another site nearby. This site had lesser ruins than the one before. It's mostly grass.
Jungle
There were stone tablets dotted around the site with scriptures engraved onto them.
Restoration at work
MAJOR reconstruction!
70% of it had toppled down.
On our way back, we stopped for petrol. Works out to be about SGD 1.35 per litre. Hmm, it's ok I guess.The tour to My Son ended around noon and we were dropped off at our hotel, so we washed up and made our way to town for lunch and our first visit to the tailor.
On our way to town, cutting through the market along Bach Dang street. I saw a pair of earrings here but I didn't get them. Hmm, I should have. Damn!
An old house at a street corner
Bach Dang street - the street right next to the river.
Lunch was at Banana Leaf Cafe along Bach Dang Street. Service was substandard. The fried wontons were fantastic though!
Continuing our journey to our tailor - Yaly
On our way to town, cutting through the market along Bach Dang street. I saw a pair of earrings here but I didn't get them. Hmm, I should have. Damn!
An old house at a street corner
Bach Dang street - the street right next to the river.
Lunch was at Banana Leaf Cafe along Bach Dang Street. Service was substandard. The fried wontons were fantastic though!
Continuing our journey to our tailor - Yaly
Yaly tailors is one of the most prominent and popular tailors in town. Almost every tourist goes there and tour guides bring their customers there too (also because they earn commission by doing so). Plenty reviews of Yaly are available online. Yaly is also known to make anything and everything, although occasionally, certain designs might be a bit daunting for them to copy or reproduce. They've also got the widest range of fabrics to choose from and a lot of them don't come cheap, well not for me.
I made a white dress with cotton and polyester and it cost me USD 45! I also made a cotton shirt for 28 USD and a vest for 25 USD. Bear in mind that I chose the second lowest grade material.
Making my way around Yaly
I made a white dress with cotton and polyester and it cost me USD 45! I also made a cotton shirt for 28 USD and a vest for 25 USD. Bear in mind that I chose the second lowest grade material.
Making my way around YalyI guess it's always a better alternative for odd-sized people to have their clothes tailored (people like Bunny). But for me, it can be rather costly if I wanted something of good quality because I'm usually able to just buy clothes off the rack. But since we were in Hoi An, we might as well just make some stuff to bring home!
Going over to the other side to choose fabric
Bunny had a few shirts made (two from other tailors) as well as a linen jacket, and she's very happy with her purchases because it's so hard to find clothes that fit her nicely. It's easier to bring a sample and just let them copy it (which I did for my dress), although they have a lot of catalogues for you to choose from.
Hmm, think I've found the right one!
I happened to go upstairs to choose buttons, lo-and-behold! It was a sweatshop upstairs! Adolescents were seen sewing and ironing. Another sweatshop that belongs to Yaly is right next door. But I guess it's the norm in Vietnam, for children to start working at a young age.
I must say that Yaly is still a tad bit overpriced if you're looking for something simple, like a business shirt or pants. Oh, and they even make shoes!
Continuing on our journey for Day 2...
By the time we left Yaly, it was nearing dinner time so we walked around a bit more, looking at t-shirts and other handicraft, before settling at a restaurant named Faifoo (Hoi An used to be known as Faifoo). And we saw this sign along the way:
Farking service!!! Hahahaha!
Our view of the street from Faifo restaurant along Phan Chau Trinh
The interior of the restaurant - very Chinese.
By the second night in Vietnam, I was already craving for non-Vietnamese food. So we ordered fries, a pizza and spring rolls, along with Larue Beer.
A lantern's growing from my head.
Going over to the other side to choose fabric
Hmm, think I've found the right one!I must say that Yaly is still a tad bit overpriced if you're looking for something simple, like a business shirt or pants. Oh, and they even make shoes!
Continuing on our journey for Day 2...
By the time we left Yaly, it was nearing dinner time so we walked around a bit more, looking at t-shirts and other handicraft, before settling at a restaurant named Faifoo (Hoi An used to be known as Faifoo). And we saw this sign along the way:
Farking service!!! Hahahaha!
Our view of the street from Faifo restaurant along Phan Chau Trinh
The interior of the restaurant - very Chinese.
By the second night in Vietnam, I was already craving for non-Vietnamese food. So we ordered fries, a pizza and spring rolls, along with Larue Beer.
A lantern's growing from my head.Day 3 - Cham Museum, Marble Mountains and China Beach
Making our way to Danang where the Cham Museum is located.
Cham Museum houses the largest collection of sculptures and relics from the ancient Champa kingdom and is also the only museum in the world that is dedicated solely to this era.
God Uma - the goddess of light. Uma is another name for Devi, Parvati and Durga. She is the most complex and the most powerful of the goddesses. She is a "shakti" of female energy. No wonder this was the first picture I took. Hmm.
God Ganesa
Plenty more halls to explore but they essentially had the same artifacts in them.
The lion - we found this sculpture quite funny. Most of the lions were made this way.
An altar
Garuda bird
Dragon and me
Dragon and Bunny
Most of the relics here were from My Son.
Yes, the building is very run down and old. Just like the Danang airport.
Restoration in progress. Looks fun!
Comparing sizes
Making our way to Danang where the Cham Museum is located.
Cham Museum houses the largest collection of sculptures and relics from the ancient Champa kingdom and is also the only museum in the world that is dedicated solely to this era.
God Uma - the goddess of light. Uma is another name for Devi, Parvati and Durga. She is the most complex and the most powerful of the goddesses. She is a "shakti" of female energy. No wonder this was the first picture I took. Hmm.
God Ganesa
Plenty more halls to explore but they essentially had the same artifacts in them.
The lion - we found this sculpture quite funny. Most of the lions were made this way.
An altar
Garuda bird
Dragon and me
Dragon and Bunny
Most of the relics here were from My Son.
Yes, the building is very run down and old. Just like the Danang airport.
Restoration in progress. Looks fun!
Comparing sizesWe spent about an hour there and continued our journey to the Marble Mountains. The Marble Mountains are inland karsts and represent the five elements. Buddhist sanctuaries can be found on the mountains and there are numerous cave entrances and tunnels.
At the foot of the mountain - a start to a treacherous climb (less treacherous than Sapa of course!)
I hate steps! Especially under the scorching sun!
Are we there yet?
Finally. A temple.
And a pagoda.
Entrance to one of the caves
At the foot of the mountain - a start to a treacherous climb (less treacherous than Sapa of course!)
I hate steps! Especially under the scorching sun!
Are we there yet?
Finally. A temple.
And a pagoda.
Entrance to one of the cavesAnd this was what we saw once we were in the cave:
I think we stumbled upon a photography outing comprising mostly of Japanese men with Nikon and Canon DSLR cameras. They had their tripods set up and were shooting away at the model standing in the middle of the cave.
We moved on to another cave and tried venturing through it, but to no avail. So we did a "u-eey" and exited it.
Some other buildings on the mountain
I can only read the first two characters.
Erm, Asian Quasimodo?
I think we stumbled upon a photography outing comprising mostly of Japanese men with Nikon and Canon DSLR cameras. They had their tripods set up and were shooting away at the model standing in the middle of the cave.
We moved on to another cave and tried venturing through it, but to no avail. So we did a "u-eey" and exited it.
Some other buildings on the mountain
I can only read the first two characters.
Erm, Asian Quasimodo?We finally reached the viewpoint. Time for some panoramic shots:
There were plenty of marble sculpture stores at the foot of the mountain and here's one of "Ben", Fu, Lu and Shou.
We stood there watching a herd of kamikaze cows slowly strolling towards the sea.
There were plenty of marble sculpture stores at the foot of the mountain and here's one of "Ben", Fu, Lu and Shou.
Our next stop was China Beach, just to catch a glimpse of the area where the US troops first stepped onto Vietnamese soil:
We stood there watching a herd of kamikaze cows slowly strolling towards the sea.We return to the hotel around 1pm and made our way to town again after washing up. We headed straight to Yaly for our first fitting, informed them of some changes and decided to explore the town a bit more, since we didn't really manage to over the past two days.
Lunch was at a roadside stall that was catered mainly for tourists.
I had the Central Vietnam version of pho bo. It's tastier than the northern version and less bland. Bunny was having the cao lau, a local Hoi An cuisine.
The street where the roadside stall was. We bought some cheap Vietnam t-shirts from the stores on the left.
Bicycle parking lot.
We crossed the bridge to take pictures of the ancient town from the other side.
Thu Bon river
The Japanese Bridge - which is also the symbol for Hoi An. It was built by the Japanese community in 1593 to link them with the Chinese quarter. What's interesting is the art stores you'll find on the other side. It's also much quieter there. I liked that part of the town.
On the bridge
Crossing over to the other side of town.
Bargaining with the girl over a lamp that I bought for the house.
We saw chihuahua looking mongrels everywhere.
Vietnamese coffee
Bunny and her teeny conical hats
Making our way back to check-in to our second hotel
Lunch was at a roadside stall that was catered mainly for tourists.
I had the Central Vietnam version of pho bo. It's tastier than the northern version and less bland. Bunny was having the cao lau, a local Hoi An cuisine.
The street where the roadside stall was. We bought some cheap Vietnam t-shirts from the stores on the left.
Bicycle parking lot.
We crossed the bridge to take pictures of the ancient town from the other side.
Thu Bon river
The Japanese Bridge - which is also the symbol for Hoi An. It was built by the Japanese community in 1593 to link them with the Chinese quarter. What's interesting is the art stores you'll find on the other side. It's also much quieter there. I liked that part of the town.
On the bridge
Crossing over to the other side of town.
Bargaining with the girl over a lamp that I bought for the house.
We saw chihuahua looking mongrels everywhere.
Vietnamese coffee
Bunny and her teeny conical hats
Making our way back to check-in to our second hotelWe stayed for two nights at Ha An hotel and another three at Swissbel Golden Sand Resort. Here are some night shots of the hotel:
Standard room
Hotel lobby
BBQ seafood buffet
Taking a stroll around the resort after a filling dinner
The 150m long pool
Cua Dai beach - We learned that it's pronounced as "kerrr dai bitt"
The currents here are pretty strong.
View of the resort from the beach
Golden Sands was fantastic! The pool and beach wasn't crowded, the food was quite ok (although we suspect that it gave us food poisoning) and the service wasn't too bad either.
The tennis court
The lush greenery
Standard room
Hotel lobby
BBQ seafood buffet
Taking a stroll around the resort after a filling dinner
The 150m long poolDay 4 - Chillin' in the resort and to Yaly for second fitting
We woke up early, had breakfast and relaxed on the beach and at the pool till lunch time.
We woke up early, had breakfast and relaxed on the beach and at the pool till lunch time.
Cua Dai beach - We learned that it's pronounced as "kerrr dai bitt"
The currents here are pretty strong.
View of the resort from the beach
Golden Sands was fantastic! The pool and beach wasn't crowded, the food was quite ok (although we suspect that it gave us food poisoning) and the service wasn't too bad either.
The tennis court
The lush greeneryReturned to Hoi An town for second fitting:
Had lasagna and a passionfruit cake at a cafe.
Walked past the oldest house in Hoi An (forgot its name).
Lacquerware
Cantonese Assembly Hall
We went back to the same cafe for Vietnamese coffee and a happy hour mojito for Bunny
Had lasagna and a passionfruit cake at a cafe.
Walked past the oldest house in Hoi An (forgot its name).
Lacquerware
Cantonese Assembly Hall
We went back to the same cafe for Vietnamese coffee and a happy hour mojito for BunnyWhile we were being fitted for the second time at Yaly, Bunny had a food poisoning attack. She was blacking out, had severe abdominal pain and was breaking into cold sweat. Thank goodness someone asked her what's wrong and showed her where the toilet was, in which she did all her business at (meaning puked and diarrhea). She was in no state to stay out, so we went back to the hotel and ordered room service:
Poor thing!
Poor thing!Day 5 - Tailor-hopping
It was MY turn to get food poisoning after Bunny's attack the previous night. I woke up at around 630am and felt terribly nauseated. So I went to the toilet but couldn't puke and ended up having diarrhoea the entire day.
I couldn't eat anything because I was always wanting to vomit but I never did the entire time. So we didn't do much and just chilled at the beach and pool again, and accompanied Bunny to Yaly and some other tailors to replicate some shirts of hers.
She's extremely happy with her purchases.
Getting bored at another tailor.
It was MY turn to get food poisoning after Bunny's attack the previous night. I woke up at around 630am and felt terribly nauseated. So I went to the toilet but couldn't puke and ended up having diarrhoea the entire day.
I couldn't eat anything because I was always wanting to vomit but I never did the entire time. So we didn't do much and just chilled at the beach and pool again, and accompanied Bunny to Yaly and some other tailors to replicate some shirts of hers.
She's extremely happy with her purchases.
Getting bored at another tailor.
Day 6: Last day to chill before heading back to Singapore
Playing in the kids pool!
We're so gonna miss this!
Danang airport's one and only departure hall - it reeked of feces. Serious. And the walls were peeling. Ewww.
Goodbye Vietnam! It'll probably be our last trip there.
Playing in the kids pool!
We're so gonna miss this!
Danang airport's one and only departure hall - it reeked of feces. Serious. And the walls were peeling. Ewww.
Goodbye Vietnam! It'll probably be our last trip there.
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Lau Sai Festival 2008
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