Hoi An: Suit Fittings, Lantern Lightings and Spring Rolls

Where did I stay? The Sunflower Hostel, Hoi An

How long for? 3 Nights

As we were deciding where to go on our first night in Vietnam, someone read out a description of Hoi An as ‘the most romantic city in South East Asia’, and they were spot on. The red and orange lanterns floated delicately on the river, the colourful bunting that lined the streets of the Old Town and the floral dresses of tourists and locals alike who were clearly dressed up for a night in the stunning Vietnamese town. We stuck out like sore thumbs, sweaty and tired after a 11-hour overnight bus from Dalat (with no air con obviously). We blended in more at the Sunflower hostel. Slightly out of the town centre with yellow walls and a mountain of rentable bikes, filled with backpackers looking for a sociable but cheap room for the night.

Okay, so once we had somewhere to stay, what do you do with 3 days in one of the most compact and exciting towns in Vietnam? Here’s my top 5 must do’s in Hoi An

(Disclaimer: At some point in my life, I WILL be going back here! It was possibly my favourite place from our entire trip and 3 days didn’t do it justice but if time is tight…)

1.       COOKING CLASS

As a group, I think one of our favourite days in Vietnam was the cooking course we did in Hoi An. (Apologies to those who didn’t make it…) We did the Bay Mau Cooking Class and had the most amazing day, helping to gather the ingredients in the market, crabbing using the traditional Vietnamese way on basket boats and cooking pho, spring rolls and some other Vietnamese dishes. By the end, we were absolutely stuffed!! There are loads of different cooking classes to choose from so have a little browse (but we would recommend the one we did!)

2.       HIRE BIKES AND EXPLORE

The first morning in Hoi An we hired actual bikes, (not motorbikes just yet) and cycled all round Hoi An, over the bridge and round the other side. It was a easy and quick way to see a lot of the town and get a sense of the culture and beauty of it. We ended up finding a really small café overlooking the water down a remote sand track. The lovely lady behind the bar let us have a swim in the infinity pool after finishing our coffee, we were overwhelmed by her kindness. In Britain, I’m sure we’d be charged £20 to enter.

3.       MARKET AND OLD TOWN

Most Vietnamese/Thai towns and cities have an exciting, crowded market to explore. I think what I liked about the one in Hoi An was the colour. As you walked through from the vibrant green fresh produce, past the delicate metal earrings, to the abundance of clothes shops, overflowing with brightly coloured shirts, shorts and dresses, there was so much to see and buy. The boys all kept it classy, buying banana shirts and different coloured fabric shorts, although I wouldn’t expect anything else.

4.       SUITS

Now I didn’t actually do this one, but Hoi An is famous for their tailoring industry. The boys each got tailor made suits in an array of colours and linings (then proceeded to carry them, vacuum packed, around Thailand.) Although it wasn’t dirt cheap, each of them paid somewhere around £80 for a new, tailor made and designed suit. Shame none of them have anywhere fancy to go back at home.

5.       THE RIVER AT NIGHT

One of my best memories from Vietnam was sitting on the side of the street with a smoothie, watching people letting lanterns go over the river, with the orange and red sun setting in the back drop. Sound idyllic and overly romantic? It certainly was. It was one of those moments that I like to think about, if I could paint, I would paint what I could see. Exactly as it was.

So that was it. There were my top 5 things to do in Hoi An if you don't have very long. As I said before, I would love to go back and have a little longer to do everything, fingers crossed!

I hope this helps and inspires some of you to visit one of the most beautiful towns in Vietnam.

Thanks for reading,
Laura x