Hoi An was our favorite city in Vietnam. It's such a charming little city with a look that throws you back a couple hundred years. It had served as one of Vietnam's main trade and shipping cities and was especially popular with Chinese traders, many of whom settled in the city so there is a strong mix of Vietnamese and Chinese culture in the town.
Now Hoi An features a wonderful and unique old town with tailors, craftsmen, museums and restaurants mixed with locals that just keeps it so interesting. And did we mention that it was a shipping city? Yup, it was... but now it's known for its beautiful beaches as well.
Unfortunately we liked Hoi An so much, that we have a ton of pictures... so we apologize for the picture overload from here...
Another sleeper bus, this one from Nha Trang to Hoi An. We actually scored with this one. We bought the five seats in the back that were all together. It was one big happy bed.
Armed with our Lonely Planet we visited several of the Chinese houses that were built by the current residents' ancestors. It was quite an experience to be in these homes that were built 200+ years ago and to see how the descendants honor their ancestors.
Here this brother and sister showed us their home. They are descendants of Chinese traders and grew up speaking Chinese in the home. So they got a kick talking to the girls in Chinese...
The entrance to their home...
Another home, same type of thing. They love holding Ryann and we love other people taking care of our kids ;-)
The inner-courtyard of their home...
Lots of Chinese-styled temples here...
Definitely a Daoist (Taoist) theme to the rockery in the garden here. It's interesting to see Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism and even Hinduism mix a bit throughout our travels.
These red cones are spirals of incense and all of them were lit. I tried to ask if they had any special meaning, but they didn't speak English, Chinese or even German here... I tried all three.
Yup, we're still in Vietnam. Can't go a day without seeing happy workers portrayed in Communist propaganda.
This is a new security device called the Monkey Wrench designed to prevent the theft of you scooter. It is chained onto the scooter and when people get close, the monkey gets mad to scare you away. After five minutes of watching it, this guy came and his monkey became happy again as they drove away.
We are going to miss our daily coconuts and our daily fruit shakes after this trip. Here's another pineapple shake.
But this shake has the most unique, um, container. It's a plastic bag with a straw inserted and a rubber band tied around to secure it in... cheap, low-waste, ingenious!
Who needs a hotel? Just sleep on the bus or on the beach, it's all good...
In case you were wondering, we did get a hotel at another $15/night. Love these prices!
Tally grew up too quickly on this trip. We had no idea that she would get her first kiss here. This boy wanted a hug, Tally was happy with that. But then he just grabbed her and planted one on her... I guess that's the way it always works with boys...
You pick out a general style, then customize the design, material, heel height, color, etc, and they make your shoe for you. 
Unfortunately we didn't find out until it was too late that some of the shops take pictures and make custom-made Converse Chuck Taylor's with the picture printed on the fabric used for the shoe.
The riverwalk area is beautiful day and night...
Planning a trip to Vietnam? Definitely come here!
1 comment:
I take it all back. The United States will probably be boring for you all. I am very jealous. Can you meet me there in case dad doesn't think it is a good idea? We probably should save our money but that looks so inviting especially with the little girls.
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