Hoi An Vietnam
I had this calling towards Hoi An, Vietnam.
I felt it in my bones that I would find peace and joy in this town. That it would be a great place to write, eat healthy and relax.
I was so right 🙌🏻
I spent 2 weeks here. Days filled wandering the rice fields, markets, river side, old town, and beach. Eating all the noodles and drinking all the fresh juice in sight... desperately hoping to not get run over my a motorbike because, well that's just Vietnam.
My Homestay, Red House
I slept so well at Red House Homestay! A homestay in Vietnam refers to little hotels that are run by a local family. They usually live there and typically interact with you. This family was SO lovely. They often brought me surprise snacks or juice as I hung by their pool, I got to play with their kids, and they even invited me to a family dinner!
The dinner consisted of like 20 family members. They kept bringing me SO much food, they love to stuff you full in Vietnam and liquor you up. I think with the little English they speak, forcing heaps of food and alcohol on you is their way of communicating their welcoming to you. I declined the dads offer for a beer 6 times before I realized he was not going to take no for an answer! Finally I pretend to drink one while he did 47 different cheer chants!! The night ended in me singing Silent Night to everyone while he played it on guitar... wait what? HILARIOUS. It was March! He could only sing it in Vietnamese, but seemed the only English song he knew and he had me sing it in English.. twice!! #highlightofmylife
I stayed in the neighborhood of Cam Chau, situated in between the charming downtown referred to as ‘Old Town’ and the beach! It was the perfect spot for me as it was quite, but still around things, and the bicycle my homestay gave me allowed me to make a quick ride to either! If you ever find yourself here and are looking for the best hotel to say in Hoi An, this homestay was superb.
Cafe culture
I could sit in cafes all damn day and that’s exactly what I did in Hoi An! Full days were spent sipping fresh juice and writing or researching for my next adventures. All of Vietnam is littered with cafes, coffee here is amazing and a huge part of the culture! Have you ever had Vietnamese coffee? Dangerously delicious... (they add sweetened condensed milk)
Not sure if the ladies at my favorite cafe, Coco box, wondered what the heck I was doing when I came in 5 days in a row for HOURS each day. Sitting in the same spot on my lap top only consuming juice all day.. I kicked ass in my first ever 5 day juice cleanse! They were so lovely and greeted me each day with ‘welcome back’ and a huge smile, sometimes a giggle probably thinking she’s back... again!
My other favorite spot, Vegan Zone, had the best vegan curry and peanut butter banana smoothie. The staff here could not have been nicer. They welcomed me at the door each day and would lead me to 'my table.' When finished, they would walk me out to the street and watch me ride away and wave goodbye.. this was hilarious to me and so cute. The lady there always said 'I so happy you come visit everyday, everyday you here, I so happy everyday.' I am literally here everyday, I am here right now and it is my last night, they are gonna die when they find out!!
I found so many lovely cafes in Hoi An. My main goal was to be heathy so these were the ‘pricier’ places (vegan curry was the most expensive meal they had... $3.30). Some of my other favorites were Chu Chu Juice Bar, Karma Waters & Dingo Deli.
Markets
I bought fresh fruit everyday from the local market in my neighborhood. It was much smaller and more ‘local’ than the big central market in Old Town crawling with tourists. I turned heads every row I walked down. Literally they would see me and then turn to their friends and giggle ‘who is this tall girl, why she have no hair’ is what I imagine they were saying 😂
I ordered a smoothie each time, they spoke no English and the Vietnamese put sugar in EVERYTHING!! I had to use google translate to order with the lady, always emphasizing no sugar.
The Old Town market was much larger and the people are pushy for you to buy. As soon as you even think about turning your eyeballs to even look their shops way they are there to say ‘hello, you buy something?’
I smile and say no thank you and keep moving but some of them just follow you! This market had clothes and accessories so I did venture in once or twice. But that was all I can take, trying to make it outta there alive !! The market in my neighborhood was nothing like this.
Getting custom clothing made
Hoi An has over 400 tailors in the city. You cannot go anywhere without seeing rows of tailor shops. It is known as the spot to come to get a custom suit or clothing. I can get anything I want made?! Sign me up! Living out of a back pack for so long, I know exactly what I need and like to wear. I took this as my opportunity to rebuild my wardrobe for when I return home. Cheaper than shopping in the States, and made for me! I shipped home custom bathing suits, jump suits, dresses, shorts, and jackets.
You walk in and there are hundreds of materials and styles to choose from, making an interesting and overwhelming experience. If you do not know exactly what you want, good luck because the choices are endless. The shops can be very busy and hectic with ladies running all over the place. They speak well enough English but it still presents a barrier. Especially when it comes to talking about your vision for your item. At home I could really sit and chat with a sales lady and exchange opinions, here it is much different. I left a few times feeling so overwhelmed and rushed, however some of that was my own fault. I made a few mistakes with my first coupe items. You need to really tell them what you want and not be shy. I particularly found it difficult to feel a fabric and then know how it would look and effect the style of the clothing item. Making some of my dresses turn out more formal than I wanted.
Overall I love so many of my items! It saved me money and was fun!
The Charm of Old Town Hoi AnThe Old Town is so charming, especially at night when the whole city and river is lit up with colorful lanterns. Lanterns is Hoi An's thing, they are hanging above every street or shop. It is so beautiful. There is endless shopping, people watching, and food options in Hoi An. Cobblestone streets, colorful buildings and flowers everywhere. This place is picture perfect.
Scuba & The Beach
I spent one full day with Blue Coral Diving to scuba dive and visit Cham Island. My main reasoning was to test out if my ear had healed from my last scuba dive in the Philippines, and it had! So now I have peace of mind for my big Borneo scuba diving trip coming up. The staff, boat and my overall experience with these guys impressed me, it was wonderful, especially the staff! I was super nervous about having ear problems and my instructor Chris from England was a freaking rockstar. He has been diving for 35 years and made a huge effort to put me at ease and help. The actual dive was nothing to write home about (as expected) but Cham island surprised me, the beach was really lovely and lunch was delicious.
From my homestay I could ride my bike to An Bang beach. I spent one afternoon there, to begin writing this blog actually! There are a lot of restaurant options and beach chairs to lounge. It was nice for one afternoon but I actually preferred pool side time at my homestay!
Tourism
The Old Town of Hoi An can get pretty crowded, it is certainly touristy but I can definitely see why. I love it here, it is so beautiful. At night time Old Town gets extremely crowded with a mess of boats on the river to light the lanterns. While beautiful, watching from the side lines once was enough for me. Staying further out from the center was the right choice, I had the best of both worlds!
I have never seen so many glamour shots being taken by all the Chinese and Korean etc tourists. They are shameless and it cracked me up, I cannot lie.. made me feel better about anytime I have felt ridiculous taking a photo. They want the weirdest pictures taken and tripods for your iPhone are a thing if anyone was wondering. My people back State side thinking we have a problem with cell phone addictions (we do), it is nothing compared to most of Asia.
My favorite part is all the photos people try to sneak of me, and it is my MISSION in life to catch them and strike a pose. They never know what to do and run and hide. I wish I had someone to follow me around with a video camera you guys it would be GOLD.
Bang for your buck
I would say Vietnam is the cheapest country I have ever visited. Food, drink, accommodation, excursions and shopping all SO affordable on the US dollar. I ate and stayed at fancier places than I normally would have, all because it was just so affordable.
Average meal, local style: $1.20-3.00
Average meal, nicer restaurant or non local food: $3.00-6.40
Morning smoothie: $0.86-1.80
My nice clean private room, with AC: $12 a night
*I got a deal for staying longer, normally my room was $15 a night. However this was way nicer than I needed and I originally planned to move to a $9 a night private room with AC but the reservation got messed up and I really liked the Red House anyways.
I love Hoi An!
This two weeks here was everything I needed and more. I do not want to leave, and I love that feeling! There is so much to do here, living is easy, I just love it. It is one of the few places I leave thinking 'I could live here.' I wrote, I relaxed, I ate healthy and did not drink alcohol or eat ANY sweets (what?)! I was able to take the time here to really reflect on a lot of things personally.
I arrived in Vietnam in a different state of mind than I am leaving, and I am so thankful for that.
Next stop... is a long weekend in Hong Kong to visit from friends from HOME who now live there WOOHOO. They were colleagues of mine and moved out to Hong Kong to start-up an office over there, I will be their first visitor how exciting!!!
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