Backpacking in Vietnam. Hội An (Part III)

Hội An, the charming small town in the heart of Vietnam is a must-see place on your way to the north part of the country. The well-preserved Ancient town as well as the bustling restaurants along the river turns Hội An into a preferred travel destination and a place where you can take a deep breath before you dive into the real adventure.   

Getting there

There’s buses from Ho Chi Minh to Hội An but if you have the same ambitious plan to travel all the way from south to north in less than 10 days forget about it. 

I took a domestic flight with Jetstar Pacific from Ho Chi Minh (SGN) to Da Nang (DAD) for only 50$. 

So here we go, on my 2^nd day in Vietnam I was riding planes again. 

The life of a flight attendant on holiday 

The departure was at 09:15 am and an hour later I was already in Da Nang. From  the airport we took a taxi (make sure it’s a metered one) to the bus station in Da Nang (it will cost you around 100 000 VND). 

From the bus station you can take the yellow bus that goes to Hội An. You can’t buy the ticket from the ticket office but only from the bus and the reason behind this is that the ticket for tourists is at least 3ple the price for locals. You will pay 50 000 VND and you won’t receive any official ticket. 

The lady in the bus, which at the beginning kindly gives you the first seats in the bus especially saved for tourists,  no longer after that will start shouting at you and will show you a piece of old paper, where it’s written in a very clear English that the price for the ticket is 2-3$. I’m not saying this will break my bank account but all I’m saying is that being ripped off is one thing, being ripped off in a rude way is another thing.  

The yellow bus to Hội An

The moment we arrived in Hội An a heavy rain started so we were stuck in a local restaurant for the next few hours. The streets turned into rivers where instead of boats you could see motorbikes. 

Where to sleep?

Meanwhile we found a lovely hotel in Booking. Huy Hoang River is perfectly located in the old town and a double room will cost you around 19$ (430 000 VND). A breakfast is also included.

Things to do

Walk in the Ancient town

The architecture here is something you won’t see anywhere else in Vietnam. All houses are old and painted in warm yellowish colors. Here you can see how the traditional Vietnamese houses looked like. A bit touristy to my taste, still I have to admit Hội An is one of the most beautiful cities that I saw in Vietnam. 

You can also find the best souvenirs and handcrafted gifts. Shopping is highly recommended activity in Hội An as well as bargaining.

Explore the cultural heritage 

In the 16^th and 17^th centuries, Hội An was the international trading center in Southern Vietnam. Foreign merchants from all over the world came to the city and established their own quarters. 

Because of this the Ancient town of Hội An has a unique concentration of architectural monuments: living house, assembly hall, communal house, pagoda, shrine, temple, bridge, market etc. 

The entrance ticket for the Ancient town will cost you 120 000 VND. This gives you an opportunity to visit 5 cultural monuments. 

The places that we have visited:

Hội Quán Hải Nam (Hainan Assembly Hall) – The beautiful pagoda is used to worship 108 Chinese merchants, who were unjustly killed, because they were mistaken for pirates. Later they were vindicated and named “deities” by King Tu Duc, who granted money to build this assembly hall to worship them forever.

The entrance for this assembly hall is free.

Hội Quán Phúc Kiến (The Fujian Assembly Hall) was created as a place in which residents from Fujian in China could meet up and socialize whilst living or visiting Hội An.

Quang Trieu (Cantonese Assembly Hall). This place was really crowded so I couldn’t see much of it. The most impressive part to me was the fountain with the dragon. 

Japanese Covered Bridge. Definitely, the most famous spot in Hội An.

Legend has it that the bridge was built as a weapon of ancient people to deter the monster Mamazu, which has its head in India, its tail in Japan and its back in Vietnam, from causing earthquakes and other calamities. In fact, it was constructed by the Japanese trading community to connect them with the Chinese area on the other side of a small stream. It remains until today as a spectacular attraction and is a beautiful trace of the Japanese influence in Vietnam.

The Old House of Phung Hung is representing a traditional Vietnamese house but now is turned more into a place for buying souvenirs. 

Tran Family’s Chapel is a similar place, it’s claimed to be the oldest and most historical house in Hội An. 

 So that was our quick tour in the Ancient town of Hội An. In conclusion - one day (even half a day) is enough to see the main spots and to experience the city atmosphere. 

Renting a bicycle and exploring the nearby areas like An Bang beach is also an option. You will see a lot of bicycles in Hoi An and compared to the rest of Vietnam the traffic doesn’t look so crazy here.

Have a walk along the river at night. The lights are magical. 

Try the local food

Of course this is what we have been doing since the beginning of the trip. At the end of the day we were so tired so we just crossed the bridge and we choose the first restaurant we saw - Nguyen Tuyen.  While enjoying my meal, once again I came to the same conclusion: the food in Vietnam is amazing!

Do something stupid

All-time favorite activity:D 

Me and Emanuele have been considering the idea to rent a motorbike and drive from Hoi An to Hue. This was just an idea but at the same evening after dinner we passed by an office for a motorbike rental and we saw the slogan: 

“For people who are looking for adventures”

The next minute we were already signing the papers and arranging the transportation of our luggage. The company has office in Hue (42 Nguyễn Công Trứ, Phú Hội, tp. Huế, Thừa Thiên Huế, Vietnam) so they provide you the service to take care of your backpacks and once when you leave the motorbike in Hue you can have them back. The price we paid for the bike was 25$. I think it was too much but we were so excited we didn’t even try to bargain. 

The funniest thing is that nobody usually will ask for your driving license. You will just get a quick question, actually more like a rhetoric  than a real one:

“You can drive a motorbike, can’t you?” :D

Are you curious to know more about the most adventurous part of my trip in Vietnam? Do you want to know how it feels to ride on a back of a motorbike in a country where the death toll annually is over 14 000 people? How to survive a motorbike crash in Vietnam? (yes, I couldn’t skip this, even though it wasn’t planned).

What are the best things you can see on the way from Hội An to Hue? 

Follow my blog and read my next article about…

...this