Hey guys, hope you are doing great.
Are you too busy this week? Is everything too stressful for you?
Well, I know life is hard sometimes but we can always take a short break before we fight till the end. Come with me, we will take a walk through some peaceful corners in Hoi An Ancient Town to calm you down.
But first of all, let me list out a few things, which I have found on the Internet, for you to have an overall insight about the place we are heading to:
- Hoi An is a city in Viet Nam’s central Quang Nam Province. UNESCO has recognized it as a world cultural heritage since 1999.
- In the 15th to 19th centuries, it was a famous, bustling international trading port for many countries of Southeast and East Asia to have business with all other countries around the world.
- Hence, its architecture has a fusion of Vietnamese and foreign cultures such as Chinese, Japanese and a touch of European influences.
- Hoi An becomes a must-visit tourist attraction for its ancientness, peace, nostalgic beauty which exposed through a traditional townscape with timber frame buildings, built with brick or wooden walls and covered with the specific yellow paint.
A day-date with Hoi An Ancient Town
View from my hotel room (Photo taken by me)
Wake up at noon and look at the clear blue sky on a winter day. Tell me honestly, how can you resist going out and enjoying this beautiful weather. An empty stomach needs to be fulfilled quickly or it will turn me into a grumpy beast, I bet you all feel this at least once in your whole life. A big platter with multiple choices of food is a great idea for this hunger.
Ba Le Well – Be banh xeo Restaurant. Add: 45/51 Tran Hung Dao, Hoi An (Photo taken by me)
This meal includes Fried Shrimp Spring Rolls with green onion; Grilled Pork Skewers with Sesame; Hoi An Sizzling Pancakes (the yellow batter is mixed with egg and deep fried on high heat till it becomes crunchy, I guess it is small as half as the Southern sizzling pancake) topped with shrimp and bean sprout. You can have it together with fresh green veggie, fermented carrot and cabbage, wrapped in rice paper and dip in the homemade sauce, which has minced pork, do not forget to have some special sweet chilli sauce (I personally love it so much). Take a big bite, my friend, then you will keep doing it till you finish them all, I promise.
Since it is the winter season, the sky turns grey and cloudy in a few hours but it does not matter, every shade of grey has its own beauty.
(Photos taken by me)
Would you like to have a coffee?
(Photos taken by me)
This coffee shop is well-decorated with every detail they put on. The photos on the wall, the tables and chairs, the atmosphere make you feel comfortable, peaceful. They do have a rooftop on the third floor, but unfortunately, there was no table when I came. Maybe I will be back later.
(Photo taken by me)
There is one more thing that strongly reminds you about Hoi An - the lantern. Different sizes with all the colors, patterns, materials. It is so distinctive that whenever people want to replicate Hoi An's atmosphere elsewhere, they have to combine these two factors: lanterns with the yellow wall.
Empty streets which will fill you up with peace
Because of the COVID pandemic, Hoi An lost huge numbers of both international and domestic tourists. Although the government has announced that Hoi An can opens to foreign tourists with discretion, the situation has not improved yet. The majority of clothing shops, F&B businesses still shut down for the fear of profit loss. Hopefully, it will recover soon and things get back on track.
Without tourists, Hoi An becomes more quiet but still, beautiful in a different way (Photos taken by me)
Time flies so fast, let’s have dinner before we go home. Ba Buoi’s chicken rice shop is my choice for this evening. This restaurant was always packed full of customers before, but due to this pandemic, I finally have a chance to try.
Ba Buoi chicken rice. Add: 22 Phan Chu Trinh, Minh An, Hoi An. (Photo taken by me)
Rice is well seasoning and eye-catching color since it is cooked with chicken broth (which has some fat, but it is not too greasy), fresh Vietnamese mint gives you a light spicy flavor perfectly matches with boiled chicken meat and onion. Soup and fermented papaya are like the refresh when you think you are full.
It is time to call it a day. Hope that you guys enjoy this walk with me and somehow, you feel relaxed now.
Whatever you have been through, keep going. Be strong and Stay safe, guys!
See you next post.
[Hoi An, 22/12/2021]
All my travel posts are pinned on pinmapple map.
