Ultimate Street Style in Hoi An

When: 10th July 2018

Where: Hoi An, Vietnam 

At the centre of historical Hoi An you will discover ultimate street style. Not from the curious wanderers but rather the actual streets they wander. From beautifully constructed wooden shophouses; aged yellow French colonial buildings; Vietnamese markets selling everything from durian to the latest knockoff Yeezy’s; tourist swamped Japanese pagoda bridges and of course probably one of the highest concentrations of tailor shops found in the world. 

Arguably the most famous feature of the ancient quarter are the sparkling lanterns that jewel the river surface and light up each street like multicoloured glowing stars. 

Hoi An radiates endless colour and light as the cosmopolitan capital of Vietnam. Prepare for human-made beauty unlike anywhere else in the country but also let that serve as a reminder that Hoi An’s ancient town is not the real Vietnam. Drive a few miles out and you’ll be greeted once more by rice fields and local businesses operating on the family doorstep. Welcome to the Santorini of Vietnam. 

After a few good hours on a questionable minibus we arrived from Quy Nhon to our destination. Or just outside our destination at a make shift bus stop. Make sure you always carry a little Dong around for an emergency taxi as the only predictable thing about Vietnamese public transport is that it will be completely unpredictable. Our home for the next few days was The Corner Homestay on the island of An Hội, which is where you will find the Japanese bridge and night markets. 

A Vietnamese Homestay is very similar to a UK B&B as you usually get breakfast included and it will be run by a family. They are usually inexpensive but clean and comfortable with a private room and a small breakfast menu. We stayed in quite a few during our adventures in Vietnam and it gives you a chance to meet lovely local people and help them out too. 

After sun-fall we ventured out in search of food. Our Homestay location was perfect, barely a two minute walk later and we reached the edge of the Thu Bôn River. Every surface glowed from the thousands of lanterns while the streets and bridge were littered with tourists. Eventually we made our way through the endless waves of people and found a dinner spot, the name of which is lost to me, and enjoyed over priced chicken wings and vodka sodas. Afterwards we left behind the busy old town to a seemingly dormant area only to find the sweatiest and loudest collection of drunk backpackers. We had some drinks with a few people we’d met previously in Vietnam and then remembered we’re mid-20’s and weren’t on the prowl for mindless sex and then quickly departed. 

Day two in Hoi An began how many good days should: copious amounts of coffee, fresh juice, banana pancakes and scrambled eggs. Then we hit the streets to explore the ancient town by day and see if Hoi An offers more than just a colourful spectacle of lights. In the centre you find big local markets boasting everything from fresh fruit and veg, novelty clothing, knock-off designer wears, fabrics and gift shop goods. You will also find the glorious delight who is Tina. 

Tina found me whilst James was browsing trainers and she made polite conversation and repeatedly complimented us before showing us to her inside market stall. This lovely, tiny Vietnamese last was warm and chatty and gave us genuine tips on avoiding tourist scams. To show our thanks we purchased a decorative fridge magnet off her and left with big hugs and her advice. Tina warmed us to never give custom to the ‘tailors’ who drive up to you on the street offering great deals at their tailor shop nearby. “I’m leaving tonight!” she told us to relay or else they will keep trying to push you to follow them but they work on commission and will charge you triple compared to your bill if you went direct into stalls. 

For lunch we left the trendy houses behind and enjoyed Cơm Gà and chicken grilled in banana leaf at a small authentic place that stayed fully busy called Trip Nguyên Restaurant Cafe. After more street strolling we found our afternoon pick-me-up at Hoi An Roastery: Espresso and Coffee House. We were particularly drawn to them as we saw they sourced their coffee from Da Lat (see Easy Riding Around Crazy Da Lat for more on the coffee farms). 

Vietnam is actually the second largest producer of coffee in the world and Hoi An Roastery is proud to say that they searched for the best coffee Vietnam has to offer and found the highest quality and quantity was actually from Da Lat. They work directly with the farmers so you can happily sip away knowing you’re contributing to the Central Highland farmers. We sat in the big open windows and watched Hoi An go by. Whilst dining on banana cake I opted for Chocolate and Steamed Milk Steeping Coffee and James enjoyed the Vietnamese speciality of Egg Coffee. Both great. 

It turned out as we were people watching from the cafe front a holidaying Vietnamese couple also had their eye on us. We thought they were asking us to take a photo for them but actually the wife wanted her picture with us - a bizarre experience! Before heading home we walked along the river where it wraps around An Hoi Island. Even just venturing those mere metres from the main streets you have a glimpse to remind you that you’re still in Vietnam - lantern scarce. 

Before arriving in Hoi An we spent a few days in the quiet beach side town of Quy Nhon. Here we lazed on empty beaches and celebrated James’s 25th birthday with fish and chips and hands down the strangest night club experience. Therefore we thought best to celebrate in a little more style at The Secret Garden Restaurant. Don’t let the dark alley stump your curiosity as you’ll find a beautifully constructed garden come restaurant with top quality service. To start we shared the Spring Rolls Selection and a Chicken, Shrimp and Papaya Salad. From my main I ordered Duck with Orange Sauce and James had Beef Shank in Red Curry Sauce. The Secret Garden offers authentic Vietnamese cuisine that is refined with a sophisticated twist. Don’t expect an authentic Vietnamese price though! 

A birthday dinner had to be followed by cocktails at the dimly lit and uber trendy Q Bar. My first French Martini since departing England came with a hefty price tag but my gosh they were everything we needed and more. That night was also the FIFA World Cup Semi Finals. Everywhere had closed before kick-off but by some miracle we came across a public square that was fully prepped for the big event. A huge screen, thousands of cans of beer and about ten Brits huddled at the front in a crowd of Vietnamese who incidentally all cheered Croatia. Well, we all know how that match ended. In heartbreak. 

The next day we mourned and wallowed in our hangovers only venturing out after sun down in search of Bahn Mi’s at the Night Market. Located on An Hoi, the Night Market offered grilled skewered frogs, straw handbags and the Instagram famous rolled ice cream which we indulged on for dessert. 

Day four and we were back to life and propelled by the sun shining bright in the sky. We rented a bike and headed out of town to Hidden Beach. Drive down the bumpy road, park up and head to the little restaurant on the left. There’s a small patch of beach with free sun-loungers ready for you kick back and relax all day. No one will charge you anything but out of courtesy if you fancy any refreshments then visit the little family venue. Great prices and completely freshly made food - quite literally. I ordered the grilled whole fish which took about an hour to arrive: I still wonder now if they caught the fish fresh to order but either way it was the best grilled fish I’ve eaten. 

Once we’d absorbed enough Vitamin D we hopped back in the bike and headed further North up the motorway to see the Marble Mountains. Halfway the sun made a swift exit and the heavens parted to let the whole of monsoon season fall down upon us. We dashed for shelter, hot coffee and colourful plastic ponchos. 

The Thuy Son (Water) Mountain is most frequented by tourists but as we arrived later than expected and after the heavy rainfall we gave the hike a miss and instead went into the cave Am Phu Cave inside. The cave was huge and there were many paths to adventure down from the main rooms. Be warned that large spiders and bats are unavoidable and you may depart screaming. I said you may... we didn’t... ahem. 

I can’t really comment on the rest of the Marble Mountains so you’ll have to go and explore them and let me know. One downside as a visitor is that the locals have truly monopolised the mountains and you can’t even drive down the road without people shouting at you to stop. Everything requires separate admission fees as well. Even the next day when we were driving towards to Hai Van Pass a local lady drive right up next to us and tried to get us to turn off and follow her to the mountains - extremely dangerous customer scouting techniques! 

Before our last dinner we strolled the beautiful streets of the ancient quarter and window shopped all the unique wooded shophouses. I say window shopped, that was until James spotted something that he’d had his eye on since our first night in Hoi An. When backpacking you desire new clothes constantly. Anything new that doesn’t come out of a giant backpack feels glamorous. However, I never imagined that if I was treating myself to a new dress it would be patterned with bright yellow banana and matching with my boyfriends shirt. After Mexican food and margaritas (I still detest them, even when flavoured with passionfruit) at Hola Taco, we paraded our new outfits in all their glory. 

Hoi An made its mark on our memories but oh did we leave our mark on Hoi An: ultimate street style deserves ultimate fashion statements. 

Love, Rachael x