Hoi An is an ancient town is located in central Viet Nam, on the bank of Thu Bon River. It used to be an active small-scale trading port from the 15th to 19th centuries trading with the countries of Southeast and East Asia and the rest of the world. Later in the 19th century the trade declined due to the opening of new routes and that, in a way helped this once bustling town to retain its old-style urban fabric to a large extent. No wonder, Hoi An, formerly known as Faifo, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
I was introduced to this town by one of my friends, who referred to it as the Lantern city! String of lanterns dotted the streets in various colours. The pictures she showed me was no less than that from a fairy tale.
Usually when tourists plan to travel Vietnam, the major cities in the itinerary are Ho Chi Minh city or Saigon and Hanoi, especially due to its access to Halong bay. But that fairy tale image stayed with me and I decided to start my visit from Hoi An.
We visited Hoi an in mid-august, when the high humidity levels ensured that the town had only a few brave tourists during the day time. On the first day, with sweat pouring from every pore, I thought I had made a mistake. Within two hours, we rushed back to our hotel to cool off under the air conditioner.
But evening came with its own weather, the humidity had given way to pleasant breeze and we cycled back to the old town. Cars are not allowed.
The old deep yellow coloured buildings along the Thu Bon river reminded me of Pondicherry in India although I had read that the architecture here is a mix of Chinese, Japanese and French style. Many old buildings still had their timber frame and stood next to each other tightly packed. The Japanese covered bridge is historic and equally mesmerizing is the Ba Mu Temple Gate .
We parked our cycle near the river and decided to wander the by lanes filled with souvenir shops, cafes selling the famous Vietnamese coffee, lots of vendors with street carts and restaurants where one can sample steaming soups, rice paper rolls and much more. A lot of shops organize workshops where you can learn lantern making, Vietnamese cuisine, silk weaving etc.
Another unique thing about Hoi An is their quick and precise tailoring service that can deliver in 24 hours. So you can get any type of dress you wish, stitched in a day.
In every street and corner, you’ll get to see lanterns. Strings of hand painted lanterns across the streets, along the balconies and the best part; in all the boats in the river. As the evening descended, the river on both the sides was lit up with beautiful lanterns in all colours. We hired one of the lantern boats to get a view of the town from the waters while the bands play some great songs in the restaurants nearby. If you wish, you can buy a candle with a cardboard float to let it flow with the river.
It was an evening to remember. Twinkling lights, happy faces and laughter all around, busy feet, slow moving boats and then all of a sudden, rain! We rushed to take cover in a coffee shop, took a table by the street and ordered two coffees, one hot and one iced.
Slowly sipping and observing the life passing by in a blur. Steam rising from filtered coffee cup, old women selling exotic fruits in baskets hanging from bamboo poles over shoulder, wearing a raincoat and her traditional conical hat, locals hurrying over to their homes on bicycles, vendors trying to sell umbrellas while it is raining, boatmen anchoring their boats to the banks and the lanterns twinkling away despite the rains.
