We had heard such amazing things about the town of Hoi An that we decided to dedicate 5 nights. Located about an hour from Da Nang, these 2 places couldn’t be anymore different. Hoi An is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and we all know how much I loved the last UNESCO town, Luang Prabang. Let’s just say… we were not disappointed.

There is a phrase that goes around the long term travelling circuit, travel burnout. It’s hard to believe that travelling to a new location every few days, sightseeing all day everyday, meeting new people, walking endless km every day, waking up at odd hours to catch buses and trains and, researching and booking in spare hours can be tiring… but it is! Ok… maybe when you read it back, it does sound a little tiring. I can only describe it as ‘good and content’ tired, but tired nonetheless. We have had our own personal travel burnout crop up every few weeks in the last 2 months or so. It’s understandable really now. We have been travelling for over 5 months. Hoi An was going to be our haven. We had no plans except to sleep, eat good food, drink excellent Vietnamese coffee and get some clothes tailored. The whole 5 days were perfect. It’s very hard for me to remember exactly what we did each day in Hoi An, but the place stole our hearts. During the day the streets are lined with beautiful French colonial buildings and at night the streets are lit up with hundreds of glorious lanterns. I’ve never seen anything like it before and I doubt I ever will again.

During our time here we ate the most tasty local food we have had in Vietnam so far. Two restaurants that stood out were Morning Glory and The Mango Rooms who we visited with our lovely American friends and Tim and Annie (I told you they would be popping up a few more times). We enjoyed some of the highest quality food I have ever eaten for the price of a gastropub meal. I had the most succulent duck with chocolate sauce and Simon had a tuna steak with mango relish. Both were incredible.

We drank some beers and coffees in some of the local cafes and bars. On our first night we ended up at Dublin Gate (yes, an Irish pub), with live music and the duet were just brilliant. Live music, next to the water and all the lanterns around us. Who could possibly complain? Not me! Another night we went with Tim and Annie to Tiger Bar (we went live here), listened to some awful (I mean excellent really) music and had some amazing people watching experiences. A highlight included the most enthusiastic DJ I have ever seen… I am being sarcastic, he was like a statue, and an overly enthusiastic dancing man. He was so committed to his moves. Maybe the DJ knew he couldn’t compare so didn’t even try?

We had some clothes tailormade. Vietnam is known as a World class destination for tailoring and we had the best experience with a shop called Mr Xe in Hoi An. Simon had a 2 piece cashmere suit made, 2 shirts and a tie. I had 3 dresses and a causal shirt made. It was such a great experience to be measured up, chose your material and style and know the clothes will be perfect for you. Simon had 3 fittings for his suit and my clothes were a perfect fit after only one fitting. We can’t recommend this shop enough and even if you only get one item made, it’s really worth it for the experience. Every time we walked past the shop after our last fitting the staff waved and said hello to us. Great customer service. Our clothes will be coming to an event near you soon!

On other days we walked around the little islands of Hoi An and took photos of the beautiful buildings. One place worth noting is the Japanese Bridge. We saw a similar tiled roof bridge in Hue, but this one was even more special. We walked around the markets, trying some local dishes including Cao Lau, Banh Mi and these yummy chewy donuts.

We visited Cai Bae beach one day by bicycle. We rode through some small back lanes, watching the locals prepare and dry the Cao Lau noodles in the sun and farmers tending to their rice paddies as we passed. Simon only had to reattach the chain on his bike once and we didn’t get killed by the scooters so it was a very successful ride. We ate some lunch at a beachside cafe giving us free lounger rental, Simon went for a swim in the massive waves (he lost his mask :(), and I just relaxed.

We also, as always, played with puppies.

For once, we didn’t hit all the tourist spots, we didn’t go in any of the heritage buildings or museums in Hoi An and it was great! We didn’t need to. The place was perfect regardless. Hoi An is now up there with Chiang Mai and Luang Prabang as my top S.E Asia locations. Beautiful towns with history are definitely the way to my heart when travelling.