Hoi An! The ancient port town of central Vietnam for many years before being displaced by Danang, it is a UNESCO heritage site. Our first visit was made under the guidance of a local guide, who was evidently a little disgruntled at our lack of purchases at the shops he took us too, and was reluctant to let us browse/shop around in the town. But he was knowledgeable about the town and its history, revealing to us the cosmopolitan character of this small Vietnamese port.
The area was originally settled by people from the Riau archipelago (apparently some tools and other relics were found in burial jars), who became known as the Cham people. Their ancient town was a short distance away - but we did not make the trip. Many years later, Hoi An was settled, attracting traders from China, and Japan. The Japanese bridge across a small branch of the river apparently linked the Chinese and Japanese settlements in the area.
The Chinese certainly left their mark here. Coming from all over China, they built their clan association buildings (reminding me of Malacca and Singapore) which served both as temple as well as a gathering place for the community. Amongst other things, we visited the Fujian and Cantonese assembly halls, which were still very much in daily use – as could be seen from the large spirals of incense hanging from the ceiling, each bearing the name of the donor and each releasing, slowly, wisps of incense into the air (and dropping every now and then a short tube of ash onto the unwary tourists beneath).
The town itself reminded me very much of the old towns in other parts of Southeast Asia - buildings include wooden frame houses with a little balcony in front, similar to what I saw in Laos, others like the old shophouses in Singapore/Malacca/Penang, with a small shopfront and the family living behind and/or above the shop. We visited one old house which was said to have assimilated Vietnamese, Japanese and Chinese architectural styles. The guide was pretty lackadaisical but she did point out to us the use of a Japanese style roof above the big airwell in the middle of the house....
We went off far too soon, but we decided to come back that evening (this time via the complimentary resort shuttle which we had not known about earlier) to explore the place further. And it was well we did, for Hoi Ann by night comes truly alive, when tourists and townsfolk wander through its streets comfortably, freed from the baking heat of the morning. We wandered around, stepping into whichever shop took our fancy, and were enraptured by the beautiful, jewel-toned lanterns which are such a feature of this old town.
Dinner was at one of the guidebook’s recommendations – The Cargo Club. It is relatively large establishment, with a patisserie and a bar/lounge on the ground floor and a restaurant on top. The restaurant terrace overlooks the river, and gives a good view of the brightly lit establishments across the river. The restaurant patrons are largely tourists, which is not necessarily a recommendation but the meal was nonetheless pretty decent. In general, however, I think that food in Hanoi is of a higher standard than this little port town.
At 9.30pm, the lights of Hoi An start going off, one by one. We caught the shuttle back to the resort.
Reading some guidebooks, people comment that Hoi An is now very commercialised - but in a way, the tourist trade supports the people in the area, and allows the charming old town to be preserved. I have also seen for myself, in visiting Malacca both before and after it gained its UNESCO Heritage site status, how the additional visitorship and funding can really make a difference in revitalising old parts of the city, allowing old homes to be restored either by the existing owners or by new businesses.
More Hoi An pix
here.
