~ Hoi An - Part 1 ~

A little behind but desperately trying to catch up with myself.

 

On Sunday we had a morning walking tour of Hoi An. This is a gorgeous old town with architecture from french, chinese, japanese and vietnamese influences. The main centre and aroundthe dock is pedestrian, cyclo and motorbike only so the bus dropped us on the outskirts and we walked in.

 

 

Firstly we stopped at Phuoc Kien Assembly Hall which is a Chinese Temple used by the local community. Above is the gateway in to its beautiful courtyard. Inside the temple were tens of spiral incense sticks which hang fromt he ceiling, each one has been donated by a family and has a message hung in the centre.

Unfortunately due to a tropical depression which has been affecting Vietnam's weather it began to drizzle with rain during our tour. Second on the sightseeing list was the Japanese Covered Bridge, only 1 of 2 in Vietnam.

 

 

We then visited Phung Hung which is a house of architectural importance as it contains French, Chinese and Vietnamese designs. I was abit disappointed as it was more like a selling opportunity. The lady of the house was more interested in showing us table cloths than actually showing us the house's features.

 

We then walked aside the river where the dock was. All along the riverside were brightly coloured lanterns hanging in trees.

 

We stopped at a local restaurant for a drink and then some lunch. Mum and I shared White Rose Dumplings and a chilli and gorgonzola pizza (not very vietnamese but very tasty!).

 

In the afternoon we took a boat trip across the river to one of the islands. The inhabitants have set up a co-operative to give cycle tours of the are to the tourists. I hadn't really been on a bike properly for about 12 years.

 

The bikes were rickety and rusty but worked well. I really enjoyed the tour even though it was raining and we got very wet! On the tour we stopped off at a Conical makers house (local fishing boat), a bed mat maker, a mandarin's house and a woodcarvers. In total we covered about 12km. It was a nice ride as most of the journey was flat.

 

In the evening we visited 'Morning Glory' for our evening meal. It was a lovely meal although some bits were abit greasy for me. I loved the BBQ chicken with lime leaves. Above I am eating the local speciality of crispy pancake wrapped in rice flour pancake.