So we decided to go to Hoi An for 4 days from the 28th returning on the 1st. Phil only had to take 1 day off on the Monday which was great. I have time off already at that time so it seemed crazy not to take advantage.
Hoi An is a Medieval looking town that was once Vietnam's most cosmopolitan port. The town has lots of beautiful restaurants coffee shops and shops to look at. They also have around 500 tailors so it is easy to get things made there, had to get a dress made of course. It actually reminds me of Venice or Florence in a way.
One of the streets of the old city.
One of the restaurants overlooking the river.
Looking from the other side of the river over to the old town area.
The 2 of us...freezing for a refreshing change..... in front of some of the many silk lanterns Hoi An is famous for. We saw lots of people making them, they make them by hand, stretching the fabric over the frames. This was also the night of our 28th wedding anniversary....where did THAT time go?
The market on the edge of the river, of course there was also lots of seafood for sale. You can see the people on their motor bikes doing their drive through sales...a common way to purchase things.
The wooden boats can be hired by the hour to float along the river, a bit like the gondolas in Venice. On New Years Eve there were a number of people out on these boats counting down the clock. You could buy candles in paper cups that you also put into the water with a wish for the future. With the candles floating, all of the lanterns and the style of the buildings it is magical at night.
One of the tailors shops that make the Ou Dai, the traditional Vietnamese dress. You will note the old treadle singer sewing machine in the middle of the picture, yes there are lots of these in use there.
We visited a number of the old houses in the old city, most are hundreds of years old. Beside Phil in a Chinese style house are the markings of floods they have had here, the top one was 1964, then 2007, 2009, 1999 in that order. That is a LOT of water. There are Japanese and Chinese influences around the city as both had been trading here for centuries.
The Japanese bridge, which reminds me of an asian version of the Ponte Vecchio in Italy. It was originally built in the 1590's to link the Japanese and Chinese quarters together across the stream.
Phil particularly liked the sign in the front of this cafe.
Vietnamese Specials
Pizza and Pasta ???????
You'll also note the SCOUT sign above the Hai Cafe sign, guess it used to be a scout hall in the past too...unsure how long ago.
We stood in the middle of this bridge at New years to bring in 2013, there were lots of people around and it was a beautiful place to be looking at all the silk lanterns and buildings lit up on both sides of the river.
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