Day 2 at Danang! We planned to visit the neighbouring town Hoi An but the hotel service desk recommended that we visit Hoi An in the late afternoon so that we get to enjoy the night life of the town. So with that, we started off our day at the beach enjoying the sea breeze and the sights at the beach.
Cute little penguin is actually a dustbin
Fresh crabs caught in the morning delivered to the seafood restaurants along the beach.
Had baguette with eggs for breakfast.
Hoi An is a city south of Danang and is only one hour drive away. The ancient town in Hoi An was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999 and it is famous for its rich Vietnamese heritage and culture. and for that, we have to pay a small entry fee (120,000 dong) to experience it.
Indeed the place emits a very ancient and peaceful feel. We mesmerised by the rows of chrome yellow houses. Inside these houses were shops selling a variety of souvenirs. There are also a few temples that can be found in the town. As vehicles are not allowed in here, the streets are very spacious.
Cute woven stuff animals! I could not resist and bought a cute little brontosaurus here hehe.
What is a vacation in Vietnam without coffee? We visited Bazar Cafe and had their traditional Vietnamese Drip Coffee. The ratio of the condensed milk and coffee was 1:1. That level of sweetness made us a bit queasy.
The Central Market was also around the corner. As the sun lowers itself to rest for the day, the crowd also began to form in the ancient town.
Ancient houses
We had to try this stall selling this special herbal drink. Mr Mot's stall was decorated with flowers and lanterns and it sure attracted alot of customers. The tea, Chanh Xa, is super refreshing and delicious! I cannot really make out the ingredients but I am sure there is lemon grass and dates(I think?) in it. Travellers be sure not to miss this stall!
The tea is quite refreshing.
At the heart of the ancient town is a river with restaurants lined up along both sides of the riverbank. There are ferry/sampan services for those who want to take a little trip down the river. The waterfront is bustling with activities with rickshaws rides and food & souvenir stalls set up along the river.
One of the iconic places in Hoi An, this is a Japanese styled bridge was built in the 1500s by the Japanese themselves. However, I heard that this was a restored version, with the original flattened by the French to pave roads. But still, this is a pretty nice arch bridge.
We had dinner at one of the restaurants along the river. We requested for a riverside view and they brought us to the second floor. They recommended Shrimps in butter sauce which turned out to be quite delicious but we would give it full marks if it were prawns rather than shrimps haha.
Sweet and Sour Pork
Shrimps in butter sauce
As nightfall came, there came a number of people selling floating lanterns for tourist to send it down the river for luck.
The restaurants lighting up the Hoi An riverside.
It started to drizzle but you could see that it did not dampen the mood of the tourists here. How we wished we had a larger appetite so that we could try out all the restaurants in this ancient town.
In the end, this enchanting ancient town of Hoi An had definitely captured our hearts.
Overall we spent about 7 hours at Hoi An. We would suggest a 5-6 hour time frame if you are a fast walker and not planning to chill much.
