Hoi An Things to Do

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One of the nicest things to do in Hoi An is walk along the narrow streets of the old town absorbing its atmosphere.
It might be hard to believe today, but Hoi An was the most important port of Vietnam from the 16th to 18th century. The town grew in prosperity exporting silk, sandalwood, mother-of-pearl and spices. Merchants from Japan and China and from distant Europe came here in big numbers, some deciding to stay longer than their business required. Whereas Europeans left few traces, the Japanese and Chinese highly contributed to the development of Hoi An. Thus the town, as we see it today, is a unique blend of local and foreign influences.
In 1999 the Old Town of Hoi An was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a well-preserved example of South East Asian port.

Cua Dai Beach is the best place to go swimming while in Hoi An. Although some of the more upmarket hotels have their own pools, there's nothing better than swimming in the sea. Cua Dai Beach consists of fine yellow sand with hardly any stones. Furthermore, at its developed parts, it is very clean as well.

The beach is very nice and great for a relaxing day, were it not for the vendors. You won't have ten minutes undisturbed here as mostly old, toothless women come towards you every some moments to try to sell you coconuts, mangos, cigarettes, necklaces and what have you. Usually, a simple "No, no!" will be enough to make them give up for now - but nothing you say is strong enough to make them give up forever. They seem to think that if you don't need a cigarette and a mango now, you might need one five minutes later... The best is to either ignore them or to friendly refuse all offers.

Btw, just placing your towel and stuff somewhere in the sun and then be undisturbed is similarly impossible. Every ten meters, a new restaurant wants to have you as their guest. The typical deal is that you get a nice deck chair in the shadow for free if you eat at the restaurant later. If you only take a drink, a cheaper and less convenient deck chair waits for you. As the prices are not above the usual prices, you might want to consider this.

If you want to spend a really relaxing time, several of the very upmarket resorts at the beach have their private beach where I suppose the vendors are not allowed.

Walking on Duong Nguyen Thi Minh Khai behind the Japanese Bridge, you'll experience something completely unusual in Hoi An. The shop-owners there are for whatever reason not at all importunate. They let you pass by their shops without immediately urging you to buy from them, they even let you stand in front of their shops without dragging you in, and if you're extra-lucky, they even let you enter and exit their shop without selling anything to you. This is really special, because everywhere else in Hoi An, the thing that is most annoying is the persistence of vendors and tailor shop owners. I couldn't find any reason for this special situation, but perhaps this part of town is more laid-back. So if you want to shop undisturbed, you should go there. The shops offer the same stuff as everywhere so you won't miss anything.

The Japanese Bridge is the most famous of Hoi An's buildings declared UNESCO world heritage. Located at the western end of the old town connecting Duong Tran Phu and Duong Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, it is a popular landmark. It's a small bridge that was built more than 500 years ago by Japanese inhabitants who wanted to connect their quarter with the nearby Chinese quarter. Although small, the bridge appears quite massive. This is due to two things: first, it has a roof and thus looks more like a house than a bridge. Second, the Japanese architects were afraid of earthquakes so they made it extra-robust. Also, note the relative simplicity of this bridge, especially in comparison to Chinese and Vietnamese buildings.

Probably the most important sights for those of you who are interested in Hoi An's architecture. Houses declared as UNESCO world heritage sites are found all over the old town. Among them are nine types:

*houses and shops
*wells
*family chapels
*pagodas
*Vietnamese and Chinese temples
*bridges
*communal buildings
*assembly halls of Chinese congregations
*tombs

While walking through the streets (especially Duong Tran Phu) of Hoi An will give you a good overview about the structures of the buildings, you might want to learn more by entering them. For that, you will have to purchase a tour pass for $5 that gives you access to some (not all!) of the buildings. It is moreover useful to have your guidebook handy so that you can read all about what you see. For a quick overview, however, seeing the buildings from the outside is enough. As many of them nowadays house souvenir shops, you can visit them for free.

Whether you want it or not, you'll sooner or later end up at Hoi An's riverside promenade anyway. The street is called Bach Dang, and in my opinion is one of the best places to just stroll around. However, this can be quite exhausting because literally everybody will address you to a) come into their restaurant, b) take a one-hour boat ride or c) look into their shop. If you're brave enough to ignore all this, you'll have a good time. And why not walk around first, and then treat yourself to some delicacies in a restaurant at the riverside or enjoy the breeze and the view while being rowed on the river?
In case you just want to be left alone, try the following: Just turn left immediately before Cam Nam Bridge and go down some steps. To your left, there's a newly built, completely tourist- and vendor-free promenade that the locals like to use for a little walk or a game of soccer. Though you don't have all the charme of the other side, you still see several points of interest, e.g. how a typical Hoi An house and garden looks like.

Hoi An's market is typically Vietnamese: It's narrow, full of people, similarly smelling like fish and bananas and everything but hygienic... In one word: It's an experience! Starting at the elsewhere mentioned Banana Split Cafe which sits conveniently at one edge of the market, you'll come by several souvenir stalls first. Vendors, mostly women, will address you immediately: "Siiiiir, look into my s'op please!" If you do that, don't wonder if you come out packed with souvenirs that you don't really need... Interestingly, everything from a food stall to an airconditioned store counts as a "s'op" in Hoi An. Well, back to the market. Having survived this tour de force, you're entering the real market with its numerous fruit and meat vendors. Protected from sun and rain by a shabby roof which hardly lets any light in, dozens of women try selling everything from eggs to crabs, from dragonfruit to beef, from herbs to ducklings... It's great to be in the middle of all this hustle and bustle, and photo opportunities are manifold.

Albeit all the traders are used to tourists walking through the market, respect their wish not to be photographed if they don't want to. Or at least do it from further away when they don't recognize it.

You'll need 5-10 minutes to cross the market, depending on how much time you actually spend looking at the stalls. In case you're exhausted after that, a stop at one of the beautiful riverside restaurants might be a good idea. Their row starts where the market ends.

I dearly wanted to do a cooking school whilst in Hoi An but ran out of time.
But for the benefit of other travellers, I do want to tell you about Red Bridge. It seems to be the best of many cooking schools here.
They have various half & full day cooking tours. All include a visit to the markets to learn about all of the ingredients that will be used in the cooking lesson later. You then board the Red Bridge boat for a cruise along the Hoi An River to the cooking school's location. They have a swimming pool there that you are free to use after the cooking tour has finished and they provide towels & showers.
Prices in March'08 were US$18 for half day, US$30 for a full day, and they also run an evening class for US$10.