Hoi An -- City of Lanterns

Hoi An is a beautiful old city on the banks of the Thu Bon River. It was the most important trading port in central Vietnam in the 15th-18th centuries with large influence from Japanese and Chinese traders. Around the end of the 18th century, Hoi An lost its status as a trading port due to the silting up of the river. As a result, the city became a backwater, untouched by the next several hundred years of Vietnam history, including the American War. Therefore, the old town remains an exceptional example of an old Southeast Asian trading port.

The city is particularly well known for its covered Japanese Bridge, which dates from the 16th-17th century.

No, we do not know the couple in traditional Vietnamese dress in the boat posing for (wedding?) photos, but we thought they created a great shot of the bridge. We saw a lot of people wearing traditional clothes (including matching outfits) in Hoi An, which is known for its tailors, and where many tourists have clothes made at very reasonable prices. We indulged in this tradition as well, getting a few items made. It was a fun experience and we are very pleased with the end product.

Hoi An is also famous for its colorful silk and paper lanterns, which are everywhere in the old part of the city, including on boats that cruise the river at night. Many people told us that Hoi An was their favorite place in Vietnam, and the romantic vision created by these lanterns is likely why.

We took a tour to My (pronounced me-ee) Son Sanctuary, which was constructed as a (Hindu) temple complex by the Cham people over 1000 years (4th-14th century). Unfortunately, after significant renovation work in the 1930's and 1940's, the US bombed this area in 1969 leaving many buildings destroyed. Also, many of the best statues have been removed to museums, including the one we visited in Da Nang. Nonetheless, it is still an impressive site.

One of the coolest things we learned on this tour is that to this day, archeologists and scientists cannot figure out what the Cham people used between their bricks to prevent  moisture from getting between them (very important in the wet Vietnam climate). Despite the passage of so many centuries, no one can explain how they built some of their temples.

A second stop on our tour gave us the opportunity to see rice paper being made, which was great since we have eaten so much of it while we have been here. We even got a chance to try it ourselves.

Note how tall Shana is compared to our diminutive hostess -- the Vietnamese are definitely not a tall people. What they lack in stature they make up for in kindness.

Another great outing was to the Hoi An Silk Village, where they make silk the old way.  On our walk there Google Maps sent us where no roads exist yet, and we ran into this fellow, despite still being in the city.

Once we found our way to our destination, we took a tour to learn about the silk making process starting from the silk worms.

The white things in the picture above are silk worms, which we watched being added by hand to this board, while the yellow things are the cocoons of silk worms that were previously placed. Next, we saw the process by which they extract the silk fibers, which requires boiling the cocoon.

This looks like an incredibly tedious process, but it was amazing to see the silk fibers being pulled directly from the cocoons.

Finally, we saw a woman weaving on a very old-fashion type loom (yes, that silk ribbon in the photo on the right is what she is making).This loom requires that she reset the threads repeatedly using the weighted strings and a foot pedal on her right so that the pattern is correctly repeated through the cloth. 

Perhaps the best thing we did in Hoi An was have two 90-minute massages in the five days we were there. While this would be an extremely expensive luxury in the US or Europe, in Hoi An it cost about $20 for each massage. They even give you tea when you arrive and before you leave. It was fantastic!

We really liked Hoi An. The only thing that took away from it was the constant attempt of people to sell you things -- food, boat rides, pop-up greeting cards, small toys, etc., etc. Shana calls this "chicle, chicle" after the children trying to sell tourists Chiclets gum in Tiajuana. It was a constant barrage that took away from Hoi An's charm. Vietnam may have a communist government, but the people have embraced capitalism in a big way, espeically in Hoi An.

Next, the Imperial Capital of Vietnam's last Emporers, Hue.

Hasta pronto,

Jeff and Shana