Why I love Hoi An (and why you will too)
There’s not many places in the world that has left quite the impact as Hoi An. I knew it would be a beautiful and quaint town in mid Vietnam, but I wouldn’t have predicted that I would fall in love with this little place. Safe to say, I extended my visit here with a few days.
There’s a lot of things to love about Hoi An. After having spent countless of days, even months, in huge cities in Asia, I needed a little break from the hustle and bustle. That’s why I decided to pay a little visit to Hoi An. I knew it was one of the most popular tourist destinations in Vietnam, and therefore there would probably be a bit more people there, but I barely noticed. I was too busy looking at all the beautiful architecture surrounding the Old Town. The architecture is a fusion of Chinese, French, Japanese and Vietnamese, so you can be sure that you’ll see some interesting buildings. The atmosphere is very laid back in Hoi An, which I really like, and people here seem to be less stressed and more… happy! Their mood affected my mood. During day time, I rented a bike and went to the beach to get my daily dose of Vitamin D. Then I biked back to grab one of the best ‘banh mi’s I’ve ever tried (which also became famous because of Anthony Bourdain). Banh mi is a Vietnamese style baguette which costs less than one dollar and will fill your stomach up. At least if you’re a small Asian like me.
When in town, you should definitely get something tailor made, since Hoi An is known for this. If you’ve always had a particular item of clothing in mind but never managed to find it in store, you can fulfil your dreams here! Walk amongst thousands of fabrics, talk to seamstresses and go with the one that you feel understands your vision best. It usually only takes about 1-2 days before the garment is ready.
It’s during night time when the town really comes to life. Imagine hundreds of lanterns light up while walking around some of the most photogenic places you’ve ever seen, look into some of the most charming souvenir shops and finally sit down in a cute little café, chatting away with your friends. I think one of the reasons why Hoi An is such a beloved place is because of how calm and relaxing it is. Yes, it’s also incredibly beautiful, but for being such a small place, there’s a ton of things to do here. One of my favorite activities were just to walk around because you’ll discover something new in every corner. Make sure that you put Hoi An in your itinerary, you won’t regret it!
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