25 July 2018, Wednesday
As it turned out, my overnight bus from Hanoi did not take me directly to Hội An. At 7:25am, we arrived at Huế, an ancient coastal city located in central Vietnam. We were told to alight and transfer to another bus, which would only depart about an hour later. Naturally, I bought a cup of cà phê sữa đá for VND 20,000 (S$1.20) while waiting for the transfer bus to arrive.
At 8:46am, we boarded the second bus and moved off from Huế. There were more people on this bus than before, as some of them were dropping off along the way at Da Nang, another major city near Hội An. There were not enough seats for everyone so those dropping off at Da Nang had to sit on padded mats placed upon the floor.
The 120km journey from Huế to Hội An would take over three hours. We had a 40-minute meal break in between at 10:08am, where I bought a plate of egg fried rice and a can of Coke for VND 50,000 (S$3.00).
We then arrived at Da Nang at 11:37am and dropped off some of the passengers before continuing our way. Finally, at 12:29pm, we arrived at Hội An. Even though it had been a long 17-hour journey from Hanoi, I didn’t mind it that much. At least there was air-conditioning and the bus was clean and comfortable.
At this point in my trip, the travelling had become part of the journey and adventure. Being on a slow bus ride allowed me to rest, listen to music, read a book or even just enjoy the scenery. By this time, I was winding down and I just wanted to chill. I didn’t plan to chase after all the tourist attractions or spend too much energy.
After alighting from the bus, I flagged down a taxi and took a short ride to my guest house near Hội An Ancient Town. For my accommodation, I used booking.com and booked Qua Cam Tim Homestay, located at 92 Nguyễn Phúc Tần, Phường Minh An, Quảng Nam province. My two-night stay cost US$43.20 (S$56.70). It was more than what I would ordinarily have paid for a bed in a dormitory, but I wanted to pamper myself a little here.
The past six days were tiring and physically draining, as I travelled considerable distances from Zhangjiajie to Fenghuang to Changsha to Nanning to Hanoi and finally to Hội An, sleeping in a different place each night. Two of those nights were spent on a train and a bus. I felt like I was just passing through those cities because they happened to be along the way. Now, I wanted to really have a good rest and take my time to enjoy Hội An. I was excited because it was my first time here.
I had a private room to myself on the second floor. It came with a large bed and an attached bathroom, and was very clean and spacious. I liked that it was really a homestay as the family lived in the same landed property. I took a long shower to refresh myself and then relaxed on the comfortable bed for a while.
As I was figuring out what to do for the next two days here, the lady of the house very helpfully gave me many suggestions. She operated a travel desk in her living room and had connections to many local tour operators. She recommended a day trip to Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I had never heard of it before but it certainly looked interesting, something like the ruined temple complexes at Angkor Wat. I decided to book the tour for tomorrow, at a cost of only VND 150,000 (S$9.00).
As I browsed through one of the brochures, the Traditional Countryside Bicycle Tour caught my eye. At the time, I had never joined a bicycle tour before so I was very keen to try it out. I booked the tour for Friday morning, at a cost of VND 550,000 (S$33.00). The same tour in the afternoon was cheaper (VND 390,000 / S$23.40) as it excluded lunch. However, the timing was not suitable as I would not be in time to catch my overnight bus to Nha Trang later that night.
With my itinerary for the next two days settled, I happily headed out at 3:00pm to explore Hội An Ancient Town. Qua Cam Tim Homestay is located on the An Hoi islet, very close to the Night Market and the centre of the ancient town, but on a quiet side street. The location was simply perfect.
The Night Market was not set up yet but I saw a roadside stall selling Bánh tráng nướng, or grilled rice paper. It is a traditional Vietnamese snack, something like a rice cracker and shaped like a taco. The soft rice paper skin is grilled over charcoal, making it crispy. Common toppings are dried shrimp, fried shallots, mayonnaise and butter. I first tried it when I visited Ho Chi Minh City in 2017 and I loved it, so I bought one here without hesitation. It cost VND 30,000 (S$1.80). Somehow, it wasn’t as tasty as the one I had in HCMC.
I soon reached the Thu Bồn River, where I saw many small wooden boats docked by the water’s edge. I crossed the river and entered the heart of Hội An Ancient Town. This charming and picturesque town was inscribed in 1999 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is recognised as an exceptionally well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port dating from the 15th to 19th century.
According to its UNESCO inscription, the town reflects a fusion of indigenous and foreign cultures, primarily Chinese and Japanese with later European influences. The entire town comprises a complex of 1,107 timber frame buildings with brick or wooden walls.
As I walked among the old buildings by the riverside, I couldn’t help but draw parallels to our very own Boat Quay along the Singapore River. Perhaps if we didn’t choose to commercialise 50 years ago, this is how the Boat Quay and Raffles Place area will still look like today?
I walked towards the Central Market. Along the way, I saw many locals riding old school bicycles and street vendors wearing traditional conical straw hats. Outside the market, many vendors had set up makeshift stalls selling vegetables and fruits by the roadside. Despite Hội An being one of Vietnam’s most-visited tourist destinations, it was nice to see that it had retained its traditional local flavour.
At about 4:00pm, I popped in to one of the bars for a bottle of local Larue beer, which cost only VND 17,000 (S$1.02). I took my time to cool down and write my journal while sipping on my beer. That’s how you spend Happy Hour!
I later found myself at a shop called Reaching Out Arts & Crafts (click here) and entered for a look. It is a social enterprise established in 2000 with the vision of providing opportunities for people of disability to learn skills and gain meaningful employment so that they are able to integrate fully with their communities and lead independent and fulfilling lives. The shop carried exquisite items like handmade jewellery and accessories, home furnishings, furniture and more. To show my support, I bought a small notebook for US$4.
Not far away was the Japanese Bridge, also known as the Covered Bridge. This is one of the landmarks of Hội An. There are various sources proclaiming different dates for its completion, but according to the sign on the bridge, it was built in the early 17th century. At the time, the Japanese lived in Hội An Town. They built the bridge that they could do business with the locals living in the residential area across the stream.
The bridge itself is not very long. Its most striking feature is its ornate tiled roof, supported by wooden beams. The entire bridge rests on stone arched pillars. Keeping in line with the old, ancient look of the town, the bridge appears grimy and weathered. The bridge was restored in 1986, with the arch being put back after the French flattened it to make a road for cars to pass through.
I continued roaming the area and came across a pushcart stall selling Thailand banana egg roti. It is a crepe pancake with banana slices topped with a generous dose of chocolate sauce. I had tried this in Chiang Mai before and I liked it, so I forked out VND 30,000 (S$1.80) to buy a serving of it. It was very yummy and sinful indeed. Help, I just can’t stop snacking!
After a short rest in my room, I went out again at 6:45pm to explore the Night Market. With the sun down and the street lights up, the entire area came alive as it was transformed by the dozens of stalls set up in the middle of the road. They appeared there as if by magic; they certainly weren’t there when I passed by the area just a couple of hours before.
Like your typical Southeast Asian street market, the stalls here sold clothes, fashion accessories, toys, bags, shoes, souvenirs and lots more things you don’t need but are nice to look at anyway. The atmosphere was lovely and I had a good time browsing to see what was on offer.
My dinner was a bowl of beef pho (VND 40,000 / S$2.40). It tasted ok but it didn’t come with many slices of beef so it wasn’t very satisfying. Nevertheless, this gave me more opportunities to try out even more food.
I walked past a stall and was captivated by the young man using two flat trowels to “attack” something mushy on a metal plate. Upon closer inspection, I saw that he was actually making ice-cream rolls. It looked interesting so I paid VND 30,000 (S$1.80) for a portion so that I could observe him making it.
The fun thing is that the ice-cream roll is made to order and you can customise it. He asked me to choose a flavour for my ice-cream and a fresh fruit to go with it. I can’t remember now if I chose any fruit but I definitely chose mint for my ice-cream, as always. He then poured cream and milk on the flat, cold metal plate and added mint flavouring.
To prevent the mixture from freezing, he used a pair of trowels to mash it in a rapid chopping motion. After mixing evenly, he spread it out as a thin layer over the metal plate, then used the trowel to scrape the almost-frozen mixture into small rolls. He put the rolls into a cup, then added a stick of waffle cone and flourished it with toppings of my choice. What an interesting dessert!
As I approached Thu Bồn River, my attention was invariably directed to the stalls selling the colourful lanterns. These lanterns are undoubtedly the trademark of Hội An Ancient Town. The stalls were side by side and they had their lanterns on full display, casting a warm glow with their various hues of red, yellow, blue, purple, green, orange and white. Some of the lanterns were shaped like hot-air balloons while others were round like pumpkins. The prettiest ones were those painted with beautiful floral designs and birds.
These lanterns are made up of a bamboo frame and Vietnamese silk. They were so pretty it was hard to take my eyes off them. At the time, I didn’t know that they are collapsible, or I would have considered buying one back home.
I continued my walk along the riverfront, which was dominated by restaurants decorated with many of the colourful lanterns. It was buzzing with activity here, with live bands and al fresco dining creating a wonderful atmosphere.
To round off the night, I treated myself to another Bánh mì (VND 20,000 / S$1.20) before heading back to my room at around 8:15pm. I spent my first day in Hội An just the way I liked it – with lots of eating, window shopping, taking photographs, walking around aimlessly and chilling. More to come tomorrow!
I have edited a tour diary video capturing the highlights of my three days in Hội An. You can watch it below to catch some of the activities I did in Day 1: