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Hoi An
Hoi An town is small and
peaceful, the kind of place
where you may get stuck for
a few days, whether it is
intentional or not.
Originally known as Faifo,
this antique town is
bordered on its southern
side by the Thu Bon River,
along which there's a number
of small cafes. Despite the
fact that it is now a
tourist haven, the artistic
atmosphere and local
friendly people create an
inviting environment.
Hoi An was an important port
developed in 17th century
and remained so for a long
time. There used to be
canals parallel to the
streets, so merchandise
could be loaded straight
from the back of houses onto
the boats. Hoi An’s
continuance as a port lasted
right up until the early
years of the 20 century,
when the river became silted
up forcing the cargo ships
to call at Da Nang instead.
In the past Hoi An has been
used by the Japanese,
Portuguese, Dutch, French
and the large remaining
Chinese community where all
sorts of produce and wares
were traded. Remnants of
these past traders’
influences can still be seen
lining the streets of Hoi
An. There are nine different
types of historical sites in
Hoi An with an average age
of 200 years. They include
private houses, family
chapels, community halls,
communal houses, temples,
pagodas, bridges, wells and
tombs. Many of these
buildings have been
maintained close to their
original form, allowing you
imagination to recreate a
prosperous trading town. The
houses are small and
colorful with wooden doors
and two round "wooden
house's eyes" above, window
shutters and ornamental
furniture. A pleasant change
from the iron bars and metal
grates of other towns.
Hoi An is full of shops
selling artwork, from
lifelike memorial family
portraits, to stylized
images of Hoi An houses and
streets. Next door to the
art shops are places selling
souvenir statues, ceramic
plates, and ‘antique’ bowls.
At the market place beside
the river, you can pick up
almost anything you want.
Tourists are often being
lured into the markets to
buy silk and to have quality
garments tailor made. You
can have anything from
dresses and trousers to
shirts and hats made for a
cheap price.
Another noticeable quality
of Hoi An is its relative
silence. There are few cars
and people do not feel the
urge to use their horns
every two seconds. The
streets are filled with the
hum of voices, motorbikes
and the shuffling of thongs
along the ground. Hoi An is
small enough to get around
on foot, and you will need a
set of wheels if you are
going to Cue Dai Beach, or
on a day trip to the Marble
Mountains or Da Nang.
A relaxing activity around
sunset is to hire a boat
from the waterside by the
market place. Many of the
locals will wait on the
river and offer you this
service throughout the day
and night
Merchant Houses
Many of the old merchant
houses are lived in by the
locals, but fortunately are
beautifully preserved. They
ca be typically described as
having a narrow and lofty
interior with a barrel vault
ceiling. The street entrance
has a shop front where the
merchant used to display his
goods. This is still used
for his purpose n modern Hoi
An with its numerous
galleries and antique shops.
There is also a back room
where the merchant’s family,
apprentices and servants
lived. The entire inside of
the house is made of deeply
polished hardwood. Walls,
columns and entrances are
decorated with poems, words,
symbols, and patterns. Much
of the heavy ornate
furniture are originals,
however some pieces are
replicas. Private houses in
this style open to travelers
include Tan Ky House that
has staff that speak fluent
English and French.
Japanese Bridge (chua
Cau)
This bridge was built in
1953 by the Japanese,
although this may be hard to
pick by its name! Its base
is made of stone and the
rest of ironwood, jackwood
and other hardwoods. The
bridge’s purity has been
ruined over time with
Chinese and Vietnamese
ornamentation. There is a
pagoda built into one side
of the bridge. The bridge is
still used as a popular
thoroughfare and is on the
western end of Tran Phu
street.
Phuc Kien Community
Hall
This is a Chinese Community
Hall, but has other uses as
a temple, shrine, place of
ancestor worship, and a
venue for conferences. The
Chinese maintain
practicality in their
worship but since most
things in life ca not be
guaranteed, superstition
also plays a large part in
their religious beliefs. The
rear contains an altar
dedicated to the three gods
of health, wealth, and
longevity. Three is even a
goddess who will stop your
baby crying for a sufficient
tip. Other community and
assembly halls include: the
Hainan Chinese Assembly, the
ChaoZhou Assembly Hall etc.
Assembly Hall of the
Cantonese Chinese
Congregation
This is beside the Japanese
Bridge at 176 Tran Phu
street and is a very well
maintained, bright and
colorful assembly hall. It
was founded in 1786 and
shoes must be removed before
entering.
My Son Sanctuary
My Son has what is arguably
the best collection of Cham
art and architecture in a
natural setting in Vietnam.
It is somewhat of an arduous
journey to get out there,
but is well worth the
effort. It is easier to get
there than going to Angkor
and if you do visit My Son,
you will have a taste of
what Angkor must look like.
Though some of the monuments
were destroyed during the
war or taken by thieves,
what remains is still
considerable. Many of the
structures are overgrown
with dense vegetation but
you can still enter some of
them.
Cua Dai beach
This beach is the closest
one to Hoi An. It is very
beautiful and is well worth
a visit to cool off from the
heavy heat. The only eyesore
are the bizarre changing
huts and bungalows. It is an
incredibly long beach with
loads of room to wander off
to do a bit of personal
reconnoitering. If you spend
a day at the beach and
should decide to use one of
the deckchairs available,
you will be asked to buy
either a baguette, a tasty
pineapple or a drink.
Otherwise you will have to
pay for the chair rental.
All the prices sought are
inflated, but the pineapples
in particular are delicious.
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