Welcome to the Beautiful City of Hội An in Vietnam!
We came to the beautiful city of Hội An in Vietnam. During our full day exploring, we walk around the Ancient town of Hoi An, and along the river (Thu Bon River). While walking around we encountered some amazing bridges including the An Hoi Bridge and the Japanese Bridge (Cau Temple). After exploring, we headed back to our hotel for a quick tour of the grounds, pool and our room. After our hotel, we went out again to explore Hoi An at night. We found a place called Burger Craft that has burgers and craft beer.
No tourists in Hội An
Colourful, quiet city
It is a gorgeous day here in Vietnam. We are in love with this country. We came to Hội An because we heard amazing things about this city. We came to the river in the old town where there were all sorts of lanterns around. They call this the city of lanterns and they light them all up at night. What you will notice in this city are these beautiful bridges because the river runs through them. That is why we are on the hunt for a very unique bridge. It is currently very quiet because Vietnam has just opened (we’re visiting in April 2022). We notice that this town is really colourful and the way people get around is mainly by scooter or by bicycle. We are in central Vietnam just along the coast there are some beaches not too far from here which unfortunately we won’t have time for on this visit.
The Japanese bridge in Hoi An
Hội An’s Ancient town
We read that the population here is around 120 thousand. Hội An is an exceptionally well-preserved ancient town example of a Southeast Asian trading port dating back from the 15th to the 19th century. This city is 2000 years old which is pretty cool. Also, the bridge we're looking at is pretty iconic as well. People who have been here before will be shocked to see how empty the streets are. Since we heard from friends, family and other people that normally the streets are just packed with people. This bridge is absolutely beautiful. We had read that it costs money to cross the bridge, but that’s not our experience, we’re able to just walk right over (there appeared to be a paid museum connected to the bridge). This bridge is the symbol of Hội An, it represents the harmonization of cultures, specifically, Vietnam, Japan and China which was also built by the Japanese between the 16th and 17th century. While walking around, you can notice how beautiful the buildings are. Fortunately, this city was not destroyed during the Vietnam war.
The Ba Mu Temple Gate (stock image)
The Ba Mu Temple Gate
This is how pretty the city is you're just walking along the street and found yourself in this beautiful place. It has a little pond all kinds of lily pads and then a very ancient wall on one side. It is the Ba Mu Temple Gate which dates back to 1626.
The Weather in April
The weather in Hội An has been really warm, but we haven't really been sweating that much because the temperature has been really nice. Most days have been around 25 celcius and not humid. However, today, the humidity is out and where sweating.
Little Riverside hotel pool in Hoi An
Where to stay in Hội An
There are so many accommodation options to choose from in Hội An and for every budge. We picked Little Riverside Hội An. At the entrance of our hotel, you can see the bicycles that are free to use for hotel guests. The entrance is also cute with all these fountains and lanterns. Staying in Vietnam is really not that expensive. However, this hotel was about 70 USD a night and that includes breakfast. However, you can easily find a place for like thirty to fifty dollars. The hotel is right by the river (hence the name), however our room doesn’t have a river view. The 70 dollars also gets you access to their rooftop pool with the view of the river. In our room, there is a nice king-sized bed with an amazing Asian theme. There is a tv and a mini bar over on the side desk and a patio. The bathroom is our favourite part, there is a huge bathtub, a sink toilet and a nice rainfall shower-head.
Looking for another hotel or budget? Check on this handy hotel/accommodation map here:
Hội An lanterns At Night
Hội An At Night
We later headed out to check out the city in the evening. We were surprised by how many people we found outside given how quiet it was during the day. Hội An at night just lights up. You will start to see lanterns around, and it is so colourful. There are tons of people coming into this city and there are not even that many tourists here. This place is beautiful at night and we don’t even know if we could compare it to another place, it’s very unique. We have been to a lot of European cities that light up beautifully at night but this one maybe takes the cake.
The lights and river at night
River tour on a boat
We thought that we may take a boat ride at night since it would be fun to float around and see the lights. We were initially approached by a few different sellers, they said is 50,000 VND for two people. At night, you will find a lot of people hustling to get you to go on a boat. After passing by a few sellers we were approached by two more who offered us a boat for 100,000 VND (double the price of the previous spot). Once they agreed on 50,0000, they corralled us into this little tiny boat. Be prepared that although the vendors are very nice and friendly they can also be quite pushy. However, it’s all worth it after getting on the boat. This is a bucket list moment here. It is so beautiful on the water, there are so many boats and lights. It is one of the most beautiful things we have ever seen. Moreover, we like how peaceful it is out here. Even though there are a lot of boats but everyone seems to not collide. We’ve heard that on the full moon of each month, there is a lantern festival, where you light all those candles and put them in the water. It is supposed to be really beautiful. Unfortunately, we are missing it by a day or two but this gives us a good reason to come back. The ride itself lasted about 10-15 minutes and was totally worth it.
Craft Beer and Burgers
Finding Western Food in Hoi An
Because we’d been eating only Vietnamese food for days we’ve decided to try something different. We came to a place called Burger Craft. It is a kind of hipster burger joint mixed with craft beer place. Right here, on the side of the street, we have our beer and it is not just any beer, this is a Vietnamese craft beer. It is an IPA. It is nice and hoppy. We have ordered some delicious burgers and they are about to arrive. We have been eating a whole lot of really delicious Vietnamese food lately. However, sometimes you just need something different to eat, something a little bit of comfort food. We went for a Thai veggie burger, it has some peanut satay sauce, and some veggies on there. It has a really nice flavour, it is Thai spiced. So we’re not really cheating on Asia at the moment! The other burger was the classic burger that has some lettuce, tomato and some secret sauce. The patty is an Australian-grade patty. We could use some cheese but we opted not to go for the cheese one. Overall, it is really great burger. Also, we got some fries and some cajun sauce on them makes a great combo.
We had such an amazing day exploring the beautiful city of Hoi An! Watch the full video of our day here:
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