Grand Excursion - Hoi An

For the last three weeks my class has been touring around central and northern Vietnam on our "Grand Excursion".  We flew from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang then immediately drove to Hoi An.  Hoi An is a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for tailor shops, old buildings, and French architecture.  As my friend Libie described Hoi An, it's a very quaint town.  After being in noisy HCM City, it was nice to be in a quiet place. 

Because the weather was nice during our first full day in Hoi An, our professor decided to take us to the beach on Cham Island.  We took a motorboat to reach the island and spent the morning and afternoon hiking around, snorkeling, and relaxing on the beach. The beach was by far the best I have ever been to.  There were a few other tourists, but we mainly had the entire beach to ourselves.  Some people live on the island, but most still do not have electricity.  Like all parts of Vietnam, the island is trying to cater to tourists so it will be interesting to see if the island becomes a popular tourist destination in the coming years.

Lotus Flower outside of a pagoda on Cham Island.  Lotus flower salad is a popular dish in Vietnam.

Fishing boats at Cham Island.

Back on the mainland, my friends and I scouted out places to have dinner.  Molly was in Vietnam four years ago and she wanted to take us to a restaurant where she had the best spring rolls in the world.  Molly is incredibly good at finding awesome places to eat so we knew that finding these spring rolls would be our top priority.  We walked about ten minutes and finally found the restaurant, but to our dismay it was closed.  People working at a spa next door saw us and said they knew the woman who owned it.  They said during the evenings she goes to her other restaurant, which is located in a more touristy section of Hoi An.  They could have just stopped there and told us the name of the restaurant, but instead they called the woman to make sure she was at the other restaurant and then offered to drive us there for free.  If I was alone, I probably wouldn't have jumped into a random stranger's car, but since there was six of us total (four girls and two guys) we figured it was safe.

 At the restaurant, we sat outside at a table on the sidewalk.  The owner came bustling over in a sparkly blue dress and a huge smile. She hugged Molly enthusiastically when she said she was there four years previously.  We flipped through the menu trying to decide what to order, but the woman waved the menus away and said she would order for us.  A few minutes later, our table was covered with green papaya salad, crispy wontons with warm vegetables, and of course the famous spring rolls. Instead of being smooth, the rice paper on the outside of the spring rolls had a lattice texture.  On the inside, they were filled with chopped vegetables and shrimp.  Dipped in fish and soy sauce, the spring rolls just melted in our mouths.

Lanterns for sale.

The best spring rolls in the world!

The owner of To Dung Restaurant

 The next day we had cao lau, a typical dish from Hoi An.  It consists of noodles, thinly sliced beef, fried wonton-like crackers, bean sprouts, lettuce, and fresh herbs.  It is served with a little sweet and salty broth, just enough to coat all of the ingredients.

Cao Lau

 Hoi An is also famous for a pottery village.  We borrowed bicycles from our hotel and biked ten minutes to a section of town that had lots of pottery shops.  I did not buy anything (I don't think anything would stay in one piece while being transported all around), but it was neat to see all of the people working on their pottery wheels.

 Later in the week, we went to My Son Sanctuary, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The temples and buildings were built from the 4th to the 13th centuries A.D. by the Champa people whose roots can be traced back to India.  However, during the American War, the U.S. bombed the site so there are only remnants of buildings left.  There were some restoration projects, but they are progressing slowly because they have limited funds.

Before we left Hoi An, we were able to borrow the hotel's bicycles again and ride to a close beach.  We spent the afternoon jumping in the waves and headed back into town as the sun was setting.  After spending a few days in Hoi An, we drove through Da Nang and onto Hue. Pics to follow soon!

Rice paddies outside of Hoi An