Vietnam Part 2: Hoi An – How I Loved This City! (August 4 – 9)

I loved Hoi An so much…this has to be one of the longest posts I’ve done with more photos as there was just so much to take photos of.  I could have easily stayed here another week!

When I was in Vietnam in 2008, I heard many people talk about Hoi An and heard it was such a great town. I also heard it was the best place to have tailor made suits. That was all I really knew and during that trip, I sadly ran out of time and wasn’t able to visit as I ran out of time and had some visa and round the world ticket issues…so I knew I would return one day. So Hoi An was one of the two must see place on this trip.

After doing some research on hotels, I found most are located just outside the old quarter and I found one that had great reviews on trip advisor and was walking distance. At my first hotel, called Hai Au Hotel, I met the most friendly and hospitable staff. They just welcomed me in and offered up all sorts of help on what to do in town as well as all over Vietnam, which was great as I needed to figure out my trip for Halong Bay, so this was very helpful. I basically got assigned my own hotel hostess and her westernized name was “Yummy!” Literally…she called herself Yummy as did everyone else, so Yummy was my girl and helped me plan my time and activities in Hoi An and really went out of her way to make sure I was enjoying my time and getting along ok which was really nice.

Exploring the Old Quarter

Hoi An has many sights to see in the old quarter but you have to find a ticket book to purchase a entrance ticket. This ticket allows you to chose any five of almost 25 places to visit. So I set off on foot with a little map from Yummy and tried to find the closet ticket booth to start my exploration. The sights vary from Assembly Halls, bridges, cultural performances, residences and galleries. So lots of choices and if you want to see more, you just buy another ticket for another five sights.

Half the fun of the old quarter was walking around the streets, getting lost and seeing where you end up. I stumbled upon the main market where all the locals sell fruits, veggies, meat and fish, but I’ll talk about that later as part of my cooking class as we went there with our leader.

So I went and explored the streets, visited some of the assembly Halls, the Japanese Coverred Bridge, saw a cultural dance/musical performance. Here are a few of the photos from inside:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Local Hoi An Dish – White Rose

I read about one of the local dishes called White Rose and figured I would have to try it at some point and ended up having it for lunch my first day. I wasn’t starving but wanted a little something and it was perfect. When I stopped, I really was just so hot and wanted a cool drink and saw one of my a known Sauvignon Blanc wine from New Zealand and was sold on this one café. So I got a glass of wine and figured I would try to White Rose. The White Rose is a rice flour dumpling filled with shrimp and pork topped with a vinegar sauce and dried onions. It was very light, delicate and tasty. Such a great light treat. I didn’t realize how many times I would eat this as it was on every menu, and over the course of my stay in Hoi An, I sampled many varieties and they were always different. This first version was one of the best as I looked back and compared.

What was funny about this lunch stop, I used the time to get out of the extreme heat, enjoy some wine, use the wifi to correspond with Yummy as I had to book by Halong Bay trip as the companies I wanted were almost full on the dates I wanted. So I had to stay for another glass of wine. In the end, my New Zealand wine was 84% of my total bill and the local food was a mere 16%. Guess it pays to eat local.

After more walking and exploring town, I came across the main river. Yummy had told me to go to the far side of this river to explore more of the local restaurants and see how the locals live so I did just that.

Photo Extortion

I was taking some photos of the boats on the river and these two woman almost ran up to me with their fruit baskets. I first was thinking…how do they know I love fruit so much and may want to buy some. Then they asked me if I wanted to take their photo. I figured if I did, they would want me to buy fruit which I would have anyways.   So they both poised for me, smiled and were very cute. After I took the photo, they wanted me to give them each 100,000 dong ($5 US). Keep in mind a beer only cost 10,000-15,000 dong so this was crazy money they wanted and they knew it. I laughed and said no…but I would buy fruit. They tried to sell be fruit for 50,000 dong which was also crazy. In the end, I bought some fruit from both of them at a fair price and went on my way. They tried to scam the wrong girl – I paid them for the goods I bought.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fresh Beer – 3,000 Dong!

After I was dripping in sweat and tired again, I stopped at one of the restaurants on the river for a drink. I was just going to get a beer and then I saw a sign that read “Fresh Beer – 3,000 dong”. I thought…is that for real? 3,000 dong is only $0.15 cents. There has to be a catch. Maybe you have to order some food or it’s only one beer at the price to hook you. So I asked when I came to sit down as I knew I was getting something. The waitress said no catch – just 3,000 dong for the beer. Then another tourist man said he’s been drinking them for hours and it’s good beer. So sold…I sat and started with my fresh beers.

A short while longer, a Dutch girl walked in. She was on her own and sat down. So the tourist man, this Dutch girl, who I later learned was named Michelle and I started talked from three different tables.   After a few minutes of chatting, I invited MIchlle to join me if she wanted so we weren’t talking over others. So this beer stop started what turned into a five day travelship with Michelle and me.

Michelle didn’t know about the fresh beer so I told her and she switched to it and we sat there till 7:00pm (when they stopped serving it and we started about 3:00pm). I think I had 7 glasses of the fresh beer before we had to order the real “expensive” local bottled beers (15,000 dong or about $0.75). So I think my bill was about $1.75 for 4 hours of drinking by the river. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon and I made a new friend with Michelle.

As Michelle and I were talking, we both realized we were traveling on our own, had similar interests in how we wanted to spend our time in Hoi An and decided to join forces and for a while. So the next day we decided to meet up and see what trouble we could get into.

Custom Made Suits in Hoi An

I was interested in getting a suit or two made in Hoi An as I heard this was the best and cheapest place to do this in Asia. When I was with Vanessa in Thailand in 2008, she decided to get some suits main in Bangkok and I considered it, but just didn’t have the excess cash to do it. So I learned about the process then and loved the suits Vanessa had made. This time in Vietnam, I deciced I should do it. Michelle had a friend that had suits made at a tailor shop named Kimmy’s and Michelle knew she was going to go there based on the preveious recommendation and I said I would join.

So Michelle and I met up there the next morning and started the process…and it was quite a process. From the moment we sat down, we were greeted by two lovely women, Vee and Anna and each of them became our own personal consultants. Vee was mine. She brought me a laptop computer with all sorts of pictures of suits, dresses, jackets and other clothing items I could consider having made and it was up to me to make a list of what items I liked and then we would discuss. They were all knock off designs of the major designers. So after I selected a few styles I liked, we discussed, selected fabrics and cuts and started. Then Vee actually spoke about another type of suit she thought would look good on me and was not on the computer. It was like a traditional Channel style suit and she drew me a picture and we pulled a few up on the internet. I really liked what I saw and her diagrams looked great so I was in. So somehow…my one or two suits already was three suits. So the plan was to get measured at 11:00am, come back for my first fitting the next day at 3:00pm, the next fitting at 9:00pm and be ready to pick up or arrange shipping on the 3^rd day at 2:00pm. It was crazy they could make custom made suits that fast. After the first fitting, I really liked what I saw, and decided to add a fourth suit in another color.

We also realized the “Channel suit” as we called it would take additional fittings to get the clasps across the chest aligned just right so I had to come back a few more times, but Michelle and I worked this around easily with our Happy Hours and massages so not a big deal.

Happy Hour while we Killed Time between Fittings

Michelle and I had one fitting and then had to come back three hours later for another fitting so we figured we would ride our bikes around the old quarter and maybe find a nice happy hour.  We luckily found a fabulous happy hour and my new favorite Passion Fruit Mojito.  So we sat here for three hours, more drinks than I can count and had a great time.  Then it was time to hop back on our bikes and go back for another fitting.  Oh the memories of drinking, biking like we did in college.

One of the master tailors came to personally fit my jacket with me at 9:30pm and after he refit the jacket, he took it under his arm on his moped to go back to his factory to continue to sew it up. I had to get a picture of him as he was about to ride away with my jacket.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also talked Michelle into adding two more pieces to her items as she was getting two jackets, one dress and one pant and I told her she should get more bottoms to go with the jackets to extend the life. In the end…she realized I was being practical and was glad she got more pieces as well.

So in the end, I walked away with 4 suits (4 jackets, 4 dresses, 4 skirts, 1 pant and 1 custom blouse) and Michelle ended up getting 2 suits (which I think she got 2 jackets, 2 pants, 1 skirt, and 1 dress). Both of us were really thrilled and I’m having my shipped by sea so I may see it in October I think.

Here is a picture of my consultant Vee at the very end of my last fitting when she came back to make sure I was all set. In this photo, she was giving me a “5” as she wanted me to get a 5^th suit but I said 4 suits was more than enough and I was done. Vee was super suit and very helpful and very good at her job. I would highly recommend Kimmy’s Tailor shop and the details are listed below in the logistics.

 

The Beach in Hoi An

After we did our initial suit consultation and measurements, we had a lovely lunch in town and then rode our bikes out to the beach. It was only about a 5k bike ride to the beach and we were able to see a lot more of the town and country side along the way. We crossed over some bridges, saw some local fisherman and eventually reached the beach and were able relax and take it in. It was a lovely day at the beach.

Vietnamese Cooking Class

I knew I wanted to take a cooking class in Vietnam and looked into a few. The one I decided on in Hoi An was highly recommended by my hotel, rated high on Trip Advisor and was a little different as it involved the usual trip to the local market to shop for the local ingredients and then preparing the usual dishes, but this cooking class also took a 45 minute boat cruise up the river to a local village where the cooking class took place. This seemed like a different and fun experience and was the final selling point for me. I’m really glad I selected this class as this cruise and local village made all the difference.

So Michelle and I started off visiting the local market and our guide walked us around and explained all the local ingredients we were buying and we really saw how the local ladies worked and sold goods at the markets. There was a separate area for fruits and vegetables, raw meat and fish and even the fresh noodles.

 

 

Once we arrived at the village a lady came in a little canoe to pick us up from the larger boat and took four of us in a smaller boat through a water coconut trees to the cooking class. It was such a nice traditional Vietnamese experience.

 

 

Four Dishes we Prepared and Cooked:

During the cooking class, we had a lovely older lady that was teaching us how to make four dishes. She spoke very little English and had a translator most of the time as she demonstrated how to do everything and she used a little humor to make it fun. Here are some of the shots from the class.

Goi Cuon (Fresh Spring Rolls)- Fresh Rice Paper Salad Rolls with Pork and Shrimp with a Tangy Peanut Hoisin Dipping Sauce.

 

Banh Xeo – Crispy Vietnamese Crepes filled with pork, shrimp, bean sprouts and green onion. Served with lettuce leaves, fresh herbs and nuoc

 

Bun Bo Nam Bo – Herbed salad with rice vermicelli and sautee beef, topped with roasted peanuts and hot soy sauce vinaigrette

 

Pho Bo Hanoi – Beef rice noodle soup infused with beef bones, cinnamon, ginger and star anise

 

Enjoying my River Front Balcony

We loved my river front balcony.  We had breakfast out here each morning, and enjoyed a nice Chilean wine I brought with me one night.  So nice and peaceful to watch the boats go by and the lanterns as well.

 

Other sights from Hoi An:

There was so much to do and see in Hoi An and words can’t capture it all. I just loved taking pictures so here are the remaining photos of the fun times I had.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Logistics:

Hotels:

Hai Au Hotel – (www.haiauhotels.com) – This was a 5 minute walk from the old quarter. Nice place, but after a couple nights, I wanted to move to be closer to the river and restaurants/bars. Most hotels are located outside of the old quarter so this seemed ok when I booked, but I’m glad I moved closer in. The staff here was amazing and part of the reason I stayed 3 nights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Huy Hoang River Hotel – (email: [email protected]) This is right on the river and by the local markets. Better location and I got upgraded to the river front room which was nice!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Restaurants: These were both recommended by Yummy at Hai Au and both were amazing and super reasonable in price.

1. Mermaid – www.restaurant-hoian.com. I went for a late dinner and barely got in as it was very popular.
2. Miss Ly Café 22 (22 Nguyen Hue St) – We went for lunch as this place normally has a line out the door at dinner and was very popular. The food was amazing.
3. Wrap and Roll (7 Nguyen Phuc Chu – far side of river from main old town – need to cross bridge) – really great local dishes

Cooking Class: – Thuan Tinh Island Cooking Class – (www.cooking-tour.com) – Loved this cooking class and can’t recommend enough. Just do it and don’t consider any others in town. You will love it!

Tailor Shop: – Kimmy Tailor Shop – www.kimmytailor.com – I had a great experience here and had 4 custom made suits. Very professional, quick with fittings, alternations and making the suits fit just right. They are being shipped to me so I should see them in a few months since I was still traveling and didn’t want to carry them.

Spa: Palmarosa Spa – www.palmarosaspa.vn – we found this on Trip Advisor and so glad we did. Michelle and I ended up getting a scrub and massage and it was amazing with such care given to us. We read they booked up in advance and reservations were needed. When we turned up in the morning, they were booked, but were able to fit us in at the end of the day, so plan ahead for a wonderful spa. Very reasonable prices