HOI AN
Hoi An sits along the central coast of Vietnam and is a city with great ancient history and traditional architecture. It's also a popular tourist destination – and I can see why. Hoi An is a small city but ideal for walks along beautiful murals. Coming from Halong Bay, Hoi An felt quite crowded for us. Also, everyone liked Millie so much that the kid seemed an attraction, it was quiet overwhelming for her. So our first impression of Hoi An center was not really what we expected, luckily our accommodation made up for the busyness. We found the peace we needed away from the busy town and had a wonderful 5 day stay at Hoi An Villa. This stylish accommodation is tucked away in an oasis of green and by bike, it is only 15min away from the center. Hoi An has quite a few gems that make this town worth visiting! You can rent a bike and cycle around the town, but by wandering you often get to nice places.
Must doing is visite the Quan Cong Pagoda Temple which is beautifully decorated, have a stroll on the Japanese bridge, and admire the perfectly maintained architecture. Hoi An Market is also worth a visit, you can buy fresh vegetables and fruits, spices, meat, fish, etc. At night, Hoi An has a fun night market where vendors sell clothing, souvenirs, and street food. However, we found that every stand offered similar products and missed the authentic products.
The most fun thing we did was the basket boat tour along the river! The bamboo basket boats take you along the lush green riverside, you can even ask to do a crazy spin with the boat, which the kids liked a lot :)
HUÉ
To get to Hué we wanted to ride the Hai Van Pass by motorcycle. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t on our side so we decided last minute to drive the Hai Van Pass by car. It just wasn’t worth the risk with the kids. However, if you ever get the chance, you should definitely do this ride by motorbike, it is said to be an amazing coastal ride of 21 kilometers that connects Da Nang and Hué.The tone was set and we were up for a 3-day rainy stay in Hué. In between the rain showers, we made the best of our stay. Here some must-sees in Hué:
Explore the Imperial City of Hué. Hué Citadel is located on the bank of the Perfume River, and recognized as a UNESCO world heritage site.
Go shopping and have some delicious street food at the Dong Ba Market! With hundreds of stalls stretching from Gai Hoi bridge to Truong Tien bridge, this market is the largest shopping place in Hué.
Explore the abandoned water park! We took the motorbikes and drove 10km from Hué city to visit this place, the drive through the park was an exciting adventure. The park itself was quite a scary place that looked like it came straight out of a horror movie.
The rest of our time we spent catching up on some homeschooling and sipping lattes across the street from our homestay! :)
