Wandergliding: Wandering Around Hoi An

December 7^th, 2024

After Ba Na Hills, it was a short 40-minute drive to Hội An, where we would be staying for three nights at the Little Riverside Hotel. Hoi An is a city with a population of 120,000 and is registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Old town, where we were staying, is a well-preserved trading port dating back as early as the 15^th century.

Our balcony at the Little Riverside Hotel.

A cool looking bridge a little down the river from our hotel.

This is the entranceway to our hotel...beautiful!

We wandered out in the evening to check out a bit of the town, which was beautiful with interesting old buildings, many of them adorned with colourful lanterns. One thing that stood out was the number of tailors and clothing stores…seems like it’s one of Hoi An’s “things”. Naomi was aware of this and was planning on taking advantage of this.

Naomi was in photography heaven...

Lots of lanterns all over town.

Hello Hoi An!

Naomi trying on a traditional Vietnamese outfit called an Áo dài, which she ended up buying.

Good Morning Vietnam!!! A nice Italian restaurant, owned by an Italian so it was a good pizza.

The next morning, the plan was to walk around the Old Town some more and find the Japanese Bridge. It is a footbridge that was built in the late 16^th century by Japanese merchantmen. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and it was a cool, very solid looking bridge, but I was surprised that this was a highlight of Hoi An.

Our morning breakfast spot at the hotel.

On our walkabout.

The Japanese Bridge.

A few rooms on the bridge.

It was a very solid structure.

A vendor was selling this at the end of the bridge...I've never seen Spiderman with a machine gun before?!?

This shop was different than most...a bunch of model ships, some were impressive.

Got a new job while in Hoi An!

So many interesting buildings.

We went for a drink at the highest building around, a whopping 4 storeys tall, but it did provide some nice views.

I'm mimicking a woman who just did this pose a minute earlier.

We just caught the end of a wedding photoshoot on the street below.

Such a colourful town...

With some really old buildings.

After a late lunch at The Hill Station (one of our favourite places during our stay), we returned to the hotel and Naomi headed back out to visit an art gallery and do a bit of window shopping. She also arranged a boat ride for us in the early evening.

Our lunch spot, the Hill Station.

Just after 5 pm, we walked to the wharf and found our boat with “Captain SEO”. We were joined by a four-generation family from Australia. There was a couple in their early 20s with their baby girl, the woman’s mom who was celebrating her 50^th birthday, her sister and their parents (the great grandparents of the baby). They were friendly and fun.

Our boat with Captain SEO.

Heading out on the river.

Excited for the boat ride.

The boat motored down the river, past our hotel and under the cool looking bridge. The captain moored the boat beside the riverside and we each had a turn to light a candle on a krathong (like the ones we set in water in Chiang Mai’s lantern festival…but not nearly as pretty) and set them in the river as we made a wish. I couldn’t help but feel like we were just littering…but it is a local tradition.

It is a cool looking bridge. Never did find out the name of it.

Getting our krathongs ready.

Releasing the krathongs.

With our Aussie boatmates.

The cruise lasted about half an hour and then Naomi ventured to a brew pub for dinner. I took a risk an order some hot chicken wings and surprisingly wasn’t that disappointed! The beer was quite nice too.

Back on shore.