Hội An, Vietnam

Hội An is a small city on the coast of central Vietnam.

We stayed at the Minh Phat homestay, a quiet little guesthouse not far from the city centre.

After checking in and dropping off our bags, we made our way over to the Ancient Town. Apparently you can be asked to pay entry into this area of the city, but we weren’t sure how legit this was and as no one stopped us, we didn’t pay anything.

The Ancient Town is a series of parallel streets lined with small shops, cafes and restaurants. The buildings all share the same style of wooden facade and are decorated with LOTS of lanterns.

Lanterns are a big deal here; they are everywhere, although at no point did I see anyone actually buy one...

The Ancient Town is split in two by a river which can be crossed via a bridge in the centre. Lots of people hire boats to drift up and down the river, particularly at night when the town really comes to life.

We had a nice walk around, looked in a few shops and then met up with our Irish friends we’d met in Sapa: Muireann and Patrick. We went for dinner and a few drinks before heading back to the hotel.

The next day, we decided it was time to rent a moped. Our total combined previous experience of driving a moped consisted of the one time I drove my friend’s around a co-op car park for about 2 minutes (and even then, I was sketchy). I didn’t know what the process was of renting a bike but I assumed I’d at least have to show some form of driving license or ID. This is basically how the conversation went:

‘Hi, I’d like to rent a bike?’

*Guy hands me the keys*

Aaaaaanyway... we planned our route to the beach, hopped on and, after a little practise, off we went.

At the beach, we met up with Muireann and Patrick who had saved us a couple sun beds.

It was a really hot day, perfect for swimming in the sea. We chilled here for a while and then drove back to the hotel to get ready for dinner (and drinks).

Next morning, we borrowed some pushbikes from our hotel and went to explore more of the city. 

We headed through the busy streets and into the countryside where we rode along bedside the rice paddies. It was a peaceful morning, away from all the hustle and bustle of the city. 

My favourite part? Almost riding into a cow.

In the evening, we went out of dinner and then (you guessed it!) drinks with our travel buddies.

On our last day in Hội An, we wanted to take a ride in one of the traditional basket boats. The owners of our hotel recommended a place 6km away so we jumped on the bikes and made our way down there.

The boat ride cost us 100,000 VND (£3.30 ish) each; it lasted about an hour and was pretty chilled. We rowed through a palm tree thicket, stopping to take photos along the way. Our guide spoke little English but she still made sure it was an enjoyable experience.

On our way back to the hotel, the heavens opened and absolutely drowned us in rain. We managed to grab some rain macs from a local mini mart before the worst of it came. Good old rainy season.

All in all, Hội An was pretty cool place to visit and we had a great time here. :D

Come at me, bro.