Hoi An, Vietnam

Old Town, Hoi An, Vietnam

Had a high expectation of Hoi An be’cos guidebook highly recommended it, and also be’cos it’s a World Heritage Site. Now, I have learnt to take all these “World Heritage Site” with a pinch of salt, and became more skeptical. The first impression of Hoi-An was an ordinarily looking Chinese Old town with lotsa ladies wearing conical hats. That’s it! Oh yah, and lotsa tailor shops.

I was wondering why am I so unhappy on the first day? My expectation was too high, because of the “World Heritage Site” status of Hoi-An. May be because I compared it to other Old towns (also on “World Heritage Site”) which I had visited in China. The Old Town in LiJiang, Yunnan was fabulous, it’s more authentic, longer history, bigger in scale, better architecture with more minority ethnic people etc… Another great place is Yangshuo, Guilin area, which has beautiful scenery and great weather… and it’s a backpackers’ heaven. But all these 3 places have one thing in common - excellent place for shopping touristy stuffs!!!

However, comparing to the rest of Vietnam, Hoi An is really a nice place to relax and chill out. Its slow-paced of life attracted me. When I stopped comparing to the great Old towns I had visited in China, Hoi An is still quite a nice place to be in. =)

Bridge, Hoi An, Vietnam

Roof, Hoi An, Vietnam