World Heritage Listed Hoi An Old Town on Vietnam’s central coast was an international trading port established in the 17th century. Sitting on the banks of the Thu Bon River and just 5km from the ocean, much of the city’s old architecture remains today, but now manifested as attractive streets of tourist shops and cafes closed to motor cars.Our bus trip from Hue to Hoi An took us through Danang, an apparently modern, prosperous city with some large construction projects underway including several big beachside resort projects. In Hoi An we checked into the comfortable Nhi Nhi Hotel staffed by exceedingly friendly people, just a five minute walk from the old town precinct. On our first night here we had dinner at a riverside café that looked fine from the outside but which proved to be Vietnam’s equivalent of Fawlty Towers. Our experience was essentially a re-run of the episode when Basil was asked to prepare a Waldorf Salad, the only difference being that our tribulation involved a Green Papaya Salad. After waiting fruitlessly for 90 minutes for this and other food to arrive, our patience snapped and we asked for the bill for the couple of small items delivered to that point. The subsequent carry-on by the waiting staff was vintage Basil.
We spent a few hours yesterday walking the beautiful, photogenic streets of the old town and through the rowdy, chaotic seafood market nearby. We had a light lunch along the riverfront, “saving” ourselves for the seafood dinner we intended to have later at the hotel. But within 100 paces of leaving, we found ourselves walking past the Cargo Café, full of western tourists, and from which wafted irresistible odours of fresh coffee, chocolate and pastries. They had the best selection and quality of such items we’d seen for months and within a minute or two we found ourselves seated in the Cargo sipping our coffees, sharing a chocolate muffin and Apple Danish, and watching the comings and goings on the street outside. The American couple sitting next to us introduced themselves. It was Bill and Leah from Washington DC and we shared personal histories and travel stories for a pleasant hour before they left to see the Museum of Trading Ceramics, one of the old town’s many historical attractions.
This morning we took a bus to see the ruins of the ancient Cham city of My Son about 40km southwest of Hoi An. This site is also listed on UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage Register; it contains the ruins of a religious centre established in the 4th century AD by King Bhadravarman and occupied until the 13th century. Although much smaller than Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, My Son pre-dated Angkor by 400 years. The guide who introduced the site as we entered told us that during the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong at one point sheltered here amongst the ruins, attracting American bombing that destroyed a significant section of the complex. Bomb craters are still clearly visible around the site.
We caught a riverboat back to Hoi An, stopping briefly on the way at the fishing village of Kim Bong and passing many fish traps set in the water. Funky Hoi An is a fascinating place and certainly worth a visit for two or three days on any journey up or down the coast.
