Hoi An, the city that disappointed us the most in Vietnam
The Good of Hoi An; the old part
We spend 1 day in Hoi An and we expected a lot, but it turned out to be a bit disappointing. The small town of Hoi An has a lovely old part by the river. It is full of Chinese and Japanese influences and is reputed to be the most beautiful city in all of Vietnam.
Thanks to the fact that many buildings have preserved their old and traditional architecture a short walk along the main street of Hoi An can quickly transport you to the past. Its market; full of people selling all kinds of food, its small bridges; where a beautiful Japanese bridge stands out, its Chinese lamps, its wooden boats sailing on the river and its typical Vietnamese hats help all this.
The Bad of Hoi An, a very tourist city
But, when you leave that area, that street by the river, you come back to reality and it’s just a town. The architecture of the houses is not so special anymore, the noise of the motorcycles breaks the silence and most of the temples and museums that you find you have to pay to enter.
Every step you take there is a tourist stand where they sell souvenirs and you can’t stop foreigners from buying things or going to a local restaurant to take cooking courses. You can see that the city is in the middle of Vietnam, where all the tourists pass by…
Visit to the My Son ruins: The best of Hoi An
Today is our second day in Hoi An. At 5 a.m. we went to see the Hindu ruins My Son. These ruins are one of the most important vestiges of the Champa culture, an ancient civilization installed in Southeast Asia that was finally absorbed by Vietnam.
They are quite beautiful temples, although they were destroyed by the Vietnam War. Out of 70 that only 20 are left. Right now many are under reconstruction, but I still think it was worth the visit.
Next Destination: From Hoi An to Hue, the Old Imperial City
At 1 o’clock we took a bus to Hue, the old imperial city where the Citadel is located and inside, the Purple Forbidden City. It’s been raining for two days without stopping. Let’s see how the trip goes with this rain…
If you found this post about our experience during 1 day in Hoi An interesting, I encourage you to value it, comment on it and/or share it. If you plan to travel to Vietnam, you may also be interested in our list of Travel Tips for Vietnam and the Sapa Rice Terrace Hiking Route.
