A mere 30 minute Grab ride south from Da Nang and we’re in the city of Hoi An, for our final stretch in Vietnam. It’s a mixed set of feelings after nearly 6 weeks here, knowing we’re near the end. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with it’s sky scrapers, air conditioning and more common use of English is calling. But first, one more Vietnam adventure.
We’ve heard that Hoi An is quite charming and something special that we should see. We time our stay for the full moon, which is said to feature lanterns and something of a festive evening atmosphere. Always a bit fearful of a tourist crowd, we choose to stay a 15 minute walk from the main action of ancient town, at the Nam A Mama Villa. Five nights runs us $134, including a comfy bed, AC and daily breakfast. The hosts are incredibly sweet, although a bit hard to understand, and seem genuinely interested in where we’re from and what we’re doing each day. They offer the use of free bicycles if you want, but we never did.
During our stay, we mostly make the journey on foot towards ancient town, but also occasionally opt for a $1 Grab ride, to limit how completely sweaty we are, before we’ve even arrived anywhere of interest.
A smaller city of 120,000 and UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999, Hoi An is best known for its well-preserved Ancient Town and canals. The former port city’s melting-pot history is reflected in its architecture, a mix of eras and styles from wooden Chinese shophouses and temples, to colorful French colonial buildings. The ancient town also features ornate Vietnamese tube houses and the iconic Japanese Covered Bridge with its pagoda. We’ve also heard that this is the best place in Vietnam to get top-notch tailoring work at excellent prices.
We start by getting the best Banh Mi we’ve had in Vietnam, at Madam Khanh- The Banh Mi Queen. The line stretches down the block, but moves fast, with a veritable team of workers cranking out sandwiches at warp speed. We’re willing to wait it out, before realizing there’s an inside where you can be seated almost immediately. Thank goodness, the fans blow and we each get a Banh Mi and a cold beer for just a couple of bucks. Amazing and we return twice more before the trip ends.
Stacey finds a tailor shop, recommended by our hosts. They have a team of professionals in matching outfits, quick to assess your needs, get you measured, and your order in. They seem like experts to us. As we’ve become accustomed in Vietnam, they try to upsell you and ask what else you’d like to buy, more than once. After selecting the cloth and patterns, a pair of shorts and a dress are ordered. We’re told to come back the very next day to try everything on and make sure they fit just right, which they do.
The full moon festival is packed with strolling tourists, boats on the river with lanterns and ladies selling candles that you can float on the water. Restaurants and street food options are plentiful, and it feels like a Babylon of people from everywhere. After coming down on other nights, we realize this is pretty much the same scene every night. Fun, but we’re not sure the “full moon” thing really made a difference either way.
We stroll through ancient town several times in both day and night time settings, with cell phone cameras in hand. The photos will say more than we ever could. It was beautiful, and funky, often crowded. Just what we’d hoped it would be…. We’re lucky to be here.
One of our favorite experiences during our entire 7 weeks in Vietnam happened on our 2nd to last day in Hoi An. Walking along, we had crossed a pedestrian bridge to the far side of the Thu Bon River, to survey the numerous restaurants and a night-market area. We became aware that walking in our direction was a group of 50 or so students, appearing to be around 10-12 years old, we’d guess. Despite being a weekend, the group were all impeccably dressed in little grey and white uniforms and backpacks. Just then, the entire group starting smiling, waving and cheerfully hollering “hello!”. We looked right, left and behind us to see what prompted the smiles and waving, before realizing this was directed towards us! This beautiful group of young kids saw two strangers walking, and took the occasion to greet us with the warmest smiles and most heartfelt greeting we’ve ever seen. Of course, we did our best to wave and smile back, as we both felt just floored by the whole thing. Despite our occasionally annoyances with certain aspects of Vietnam, this is the moment that we’ll remember most.
We’re up early and re-packing yet again. After a quick 7am breakfast it’s time to head to Da Nang airport for a flight to Malaysia. The Grab driver repeatedly swerves into oncoming traffic, while playing some kind of game on his phone. Please let us survive the ride to the airport…. We do, and soon our passports have exit stamps. Technically we are no longer in Vietnam, but rather that sort of in between place that international airports have, neither here nor there. Wheels up, on to Kuala Lumpur.
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