Part 14: Hoi An, Vietnam

Street Mural in An Bang, Hoi An, Vietnam.

Our next adventure was a week in Hoi An/An Bang Beach, with our friends Ed and Buffy, for Buffy's birthday. Ed had gone to Saigon a couple days previously on coffeeshop business, and would be meeting us in Hoi An the day after our arrival. Unfortunately for us, about midnight on the night before our departure, Buffy and I both came down with food poisoning. If it weren't for the fact that there were no flights the following day, we wouldn't have made it out of bed. Poor David had to play nursemaid to us both, and somehow shepherd us through our travels. I could hardly stand on my 2 feet - I don't know how Buffy managed on crutches with a broken ankle!

We flew into Da Nang and drove about 45 minutes to our homestay on An Bang Beach, on the outskirts of Hoi An. Da Nang is eerily surrounded by whole neighborhoods of abandoned half-built hotels - we much preferred our sleepy little seaside neighborhood of winding alleys lined with beach villas and bungalows. To get there we drove through electric green rice fields, with farmers temding the fields (or taking an afternoon nap) atop the family waterbuffalo. The beach itself was greatly eroded after a typhoon several years ago, but it's still a popular spot for expats and tourists, local and foreign. There's tons of charming restaurants with great food, cute bars, and a super laid-back atmosphere. Ed & Buffy had been visiting with friends in Da Nang when the border closed due to COVID, and wound up living in Hoi An for a couple years when they first got to Vietnam.

We stayed at the quaint little Dragon Sea Homestay, about a block off the beach. The rooms were small but cute - plus a pool and breakfast - for $25/night! The owner, Vǎn, and her husband are incredibly sweet and attentive, and will help you with absolutely anything, mostly provided at a discount by her family. They have a car service, a spa, and a tailor shop nearby. It's a go-to spot for Ed & Buffy, and they have many local friends from having lived here. One of my favorites was Lulu, who makes custom bathing suits in her shop about a block away from our place. She loves English idioms, and is constantly cracking jokes. "No Shit, Sherlock," and "shit happens" were two of her favorites, and she would let out the best laugh every time she said them - which was often. Buffy taught her "see you soon, baboon" and "chill out," which totally made her day. It was so fun to hear her practicing, trying out every which way she could use her new phrases.

The first day, David spent time exploring the neighborhood while waiting for Ed to arrive, and for Buffy and I to recuperate. The Double Cat, across the street from our homestay, quickly became a base of operations. Another tiny bar popular with locals and foreigners alike, Ed and Buffy regularly ran into acquaintances here. Within a day we were well enough to explore a bit, and made our way to a friend's Japanese restaurant in the city for incredible ramen. I only wish I could have eaten more of it - Buffy and I went back to bed early, while Ed and David turned into a couple of raccoons out on the town.

The next day was Buffy's birthday - and International Women's Day. It was such a surprise to see the day actually celebrated in force; everything was decorated, and we received gifts, snacks, and well-wishes everywhere we went. It was so cool to have one big party for the ladies! To start the b-day celebrations, Buffy and I went into Hoi An to get linen clothes made from a popular local seamstress, at the LiMe store (aka Linen Clothes With Pockets.) Hoi An is the Mecca for custom-made clothing in Vietnam. There are actually more tailors there than coffee shops, which is saying a lot. The little shop was absolutely jumping, and the proprietress was talking to customers, on her phone, to her employees, making drawings and notes, and taking measurements literally all at once. From a couple of internet pictures of what we wanted and some hastily drawn sketches, we had beautiful, affordable, custom linen clothes - with pockets - in about 2-3 days.

After some more girl-time, the evening's festivities began, which started at the Double Cat, of course. All the ladies there were given flowers for the holiday by the owner. We moved from there to Casa Loco, a nearby Mexican restaurant, where we were joined by 4 more of Buffy and Ed's friends for awesome tacos and sangria, etc. It was a great gathering, but I was still a bit queasy, and had to go to bed early. Everyone else turned into raccoons for a few more hours, haha...

The following day we hired Mr. Hai (Vǎn's brother) to take us to the incredible Mŷ Sõn (pronounced Mee Sahn) temple ruins, about an hour out of Hoi An. The ride itself was pretty exciting; Mr. Hai was a great driver, but almost half of the time anywhere from 10 - 100% of our vehicle was in the oncoming lane. Quite the wild ride! Mŷ Sõn is a complex of over 70 Shiva Hindu temples, steles and tombs built by the Champa kingdom. A UNESCO World Heritage site, it covers 350 acres, and dates from the 4th to 13th centuries. The Indian and Vietnamese governments are cooperating in the excavation and restoration efforts due to the cultural significance to both countries. After a long walk beside a lazy river, through thick foliage and the sounds of cicadas, the temple structures (and the bomb craters) slowly started to appear.

Isolated at first, the size and complexity of the temple groups got more expansive and impressive as we went along. This was a pretty great "Indiana Jones" afternoon, poking around ruins surrounded by the jungle hillsides. Swarms of butterflies and dragonflies lazily clustered around each of the temples. At the visitor's center, there were performances by traditional local dancers and musicians. Fortunately the ride home was much more relaxed - we think Mr. Hai had time for his lightning strong Vietnamese coffee to wear off while he waited for us.

The next day we were so lucky to meet Ed and Buffy's adoptive Vietnamese family: Kevin, Anna, their 13 year-old son Ben and new baby girl, Be. I'm sorry that I don't have their Vietnamese names, but it's not uncommon here for people to take on Western ones. They had been neighbors in Hoi An with Ed & Buffy during COVID, and had essentially adopted them as stand-in parents. We went to their small shop, where they tailor clothes and make shoes and leather goods. Then they took us to dinner at a favorite BBQ place, where they ordered heaps of food, keeping us eating until we thought we would burst. And then there was cake! This family was so sweet, and so devoted to our friends - it was a really special experience to be included in their quality time together.

In the morning we decided to finally head into the center of Hoi An, to explore the old town (or ancient town). Another World Heritage site, Old Town is an exceptionally well preserved small trading port, active from the 15th - 19th centuries. Its narrow walking streets parallel the river, lined with unbroken rows of over 1,000 traditional wood and brick houses - all painted the same shade of yellow. It's a unique blend of local and foreign cultural influences, mostly Chinese and Japanese, later Dutch and Spanish, and then French. We spent the day exploring the traditional houses (some still maintained by their original families), beautiful pagodas and temples, and small museums dedicated to local silks, lanterns, and other handicrafts. The iconic Japanese Bridge is also a shrine, as well as the gateway to what used to be the Japanese quarter. There is a huge food scene here as well. The tiny streets are completely jammed with tourists and scooters, and lined with vendors all seemingly selling the same things - with the occasional surprise of something totally unique. There was a bit more than the usual hustle as well, with walking street vendors more persistent than most we had encountered - but still pretty polite overall. It was captivating, beautiful, and totally overwhelming.

Once we had our fill of the intensity and crowds, it was time to meet up with another of Buffy and Ed's friends at an open air beach bar in Da Nang. It felt like we were in Miami, sitting in a thatched roof bar on the beach lined with sky scrapers lighting up as the night grew dark. An older German couple asked if they could share the bench around our table to get out of the sprinkling rain, and we were quickly chatting away with them. It looks like Trier, Germany is now added to our list! Heading back a few hours later, the double Cat was in the middle of an expat karaoke frenzy, so we decided to call it quits. No raccoons that night! Instead we opted for burgers and boozy milkshakes at Bikini Bottom, a great Spongebob-esque restaurant in our neighborhood.

The following day we decided to take further advantage of Vǎn's family's generosity, with massages at her sister's spa. Right next to our hotel, it couldn't have been more convenient. Bahn Mi afterwards made for a fantastic afternoon. Then it was time to go back to Hoi An, for the Bamboo Circus. We had to go back into the crowds to get to the theater, but since Buffy was still hobbled with a broken ankle, we decided to pay for the overpriced cyclo's (bike rickshaws). Somehow our two drivers managed to pedal two of us each, crammed into the tiny seat compartment, through the maddening crowds. It was actually pretty fun.

The Bamboo Circus is in housed in a beautiful bamboo theater that looks like a traditional boat, on an island in the river. The performance was absolutely breathtaking. I thought at first that an hour would be too short, but it was so amazing that it was almost a relief when it was over. These artists/athletes/musicians were flying around the stage and through the air in the most unimaginable ways. The traditional music, also performed by the acrobats, was worth the price of admission on its own. After the show they came out of to the front of the theater for more music and dancing - and of course photo ops. I love that our posed pic is of some other random white people, haha. Here is the trailer, check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2buRQgoHuU

For our last day, David and I ventured out on our own to scramble up Marble Mountain. This is actually a group of 5 limestone outcroppings full of caves, bordering Da Nang beach, known as the "5 elements mountains." They were heavily mined for the ubiquitous marble carvings and statues the area is known for, but are now protected, and all of the marble for sale here (it's a lot) is currently imported. The largest and best known of the 5 mountains is Thuy Son, or "Water Mountain." First established as a Hindu holy site by the aforementioned Cham people of Mŷ Sõn, the mountain and its many caves hold numerous Buddhist, Hindu, and Confucian pagodas, temples, and shrines. From the early 19th - mid 20th century it served as a military outpost and stronghold for Vietnamese soldiers fighting against various foreign invaders. One of the larger caves on Thuy Son was used as a military hospital during the Vietnam war - right next to the American air base at Da Nang.

We had no idea what we were in for, expecting to see a cave or two with a couple of cool temples. Instead we crawled all over the mountain like aunts, finding caves leading to other caves, each filled with beautiful shrines and statues, and opening to lavish temples of all different styles and periods. Carvings on the walls demonstrated both the spiritual and military history of the place. Scrambling up the steep and uneven steps was the perfect metaphor for the arduous path of life, as we climbed higher and higher through ever smaller crevices to finally reach the peak. As at Mŷ Sõn, we found ourselves surrounded by clouds of swallows and dragonflies at the top while we caught our breath looking down on the city below.

We had additional destinations in mind for our last day out, but by the time we were done with the mountain we were too hot and spent for anything but jumping into the pool back at Dragon Sea. It was a perfect end to our stay, with lots more to do when we come back.

Next up, Da Lat...