Hoi An

Hoi An is a great holiday destination (and once considered by China and Japan as on the most important trading post in Asia), it has a bit of everything and although its quite touristy its easy to spend quite a few days there.

The town itself is very laid back and beautiful with lots of really quaint French colonial houses. It is chock full of lantern sellers and tailors (so you can walk away after a few fittings with a very dapper suit for a steal.)

The moment we arrived we hired bicycles (a good way of avoiding people trying to sell you above mentioned suits!) and popped off down to the beach and from there around the local country side.

A lot of the Vietnam war played out in this area and it does have a familiarity from iconic movie scenes and photography. Its hard to imagine what it would be like in that terrible time compared to how peaceful and rural it seems today.

In the centre of town the market buzzes in the morning and afternoons when people (who don't have fridges) come to get their fresh food for the next meal.

 

 I honestly thought that the national costume of conical hats was a bit of a cliche but no. In a country where white skin is (sadly) prized and sunscreen is relatively expensive the conical hat rules.

 They are all about free range chicken.

And what holiday destination is not complete with out a bit of history chucked in? My Son is the religious center of the ancient Kingdom of Champa and is set in a beautiful valley. What was once something to rival Angkor Wat is now a fraction of its former glory due to American bombing but is still atmospheric in its overgrown glory particularly on a quiet dew drenched morning.

 

Its mysteries include how they were able to bond their amazing brick work together (new attempts to rebuild look frankly shoddy up close) and their long forgotten language and script.

As i have mentioned before the food in this region is really good. The local delicacies of Cau Lau (a dry noodle dish) and White Rose (shrimp steamed dumplings, below) can only be made in this area as its "secret ingredient" is the water that can only be draw from specific Cham wells.