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| Hoi An Ancient Town Entrance |
Hoi An Ancient Town is a relatively well-preserved town that still retains its unique architecture - a fusion of indigenous and foreign cultures (mainly Chinese and Japanese with later European influences). This quaint town is located in
Quang Nam Province, south of
Da Nang,
Vietnam, and sits on next to the
Thu Bon River.
Hoi An was one of the major trading centers of Southeast Asia in the 16th century, and was declared a
World Cultural Heritage Site by
UNESCO in 1999.
Tip: If you can tolerate the heat, you can rent a bicycle and take a ride around the town.
It costs
120,000 dong in admission fees, where part of the admission fees is (apparently) used in the maintenance of the town. There are a lot a tailor shops along the streets of
Hoi An, so if you like your clothes to have that perfect fit, those shops might just be your thing. Some might find it overrated and a little too touristy, but I think there was a good balance that was acceptable (enough)… just think of
Sentosa (
Singapore), only in old architecture which offer a glimpse into what life was life in the past at this (once) bustling port which could do with a little more maintaining for some areas.
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| A little glimpse inside Hoi An Ancient Town |
When we visited
Hoi An Ancient Town, it was scorching hot and sunny! Our guide brought us around to the major points, a tailor shop (where clothes would be ready for you in 24 hours and delivered to your hotel) and pointed out 2 restaurants where we could have lunch at –
Morning Glory Restaurant and another restaurant (which I cannot remember the name of, so no guessing where we had lunch at hehe).
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| One of the first shops that greeted us when we entered Hoi An Ancient Town |
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| These intricate paper craft are actually postcards! How cool is that? |
The architecture of Hoi An Ancient Town brought us back in time with the (mostly) old Chinese rooftops and beams (there were also Japanese and European influences). Though we never got to visit the town at night, she (the guide) also mentioned that Hoi An Ancient Town would look really pretty at night with all the lanterns lighting up the night sky. We braved the heat (as much as we could) and walked around.
Note: If you want to visit the major attractions within Hoi An Ancient Town, than you better not lose your entrance ticket, which is required for entry into attractions such as communal houses, temples and buildings etc…
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| Your guide and ticket which will help you in exploring Hoi An Ancient Town |
After all that walking and the heat, we sought refuge at
Morning Glory Restaurant and had refueled our rumbling tummies. After lunch, we made our way back to the meeting point and headed back to
Pullman Danang Beach Resort. [~Review of
Morning Glory Restaurant coming soon~]
Want to stay in
Hoi An and don't want to spend too much time travel in and out of the town? Than staying over for a night or two might just be the option for you.
I think staying for 3 days might be the maximum to fully explore the town and experience the ambiance, but I might be wrong. If you have stayed in the area before, do share your experience!
When travel collides with a byte, a unit of information made up of bits, TravelBytez is formed: snippets of ramblings on travel, food, shopping, living and anything else that comes to mind.
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