Hoi An - Paper Lanterns and Stuffed Squid, Hoi An, Vietnam

Ok, so if I’m honest Hoi An was the highlight of Vietnam for me* (the disclaimer here being that my trip to Sapa was completely rained out, so I reserve the right to update this later).

The most stunning town/city, everything in walking distance (pretty much), and so much to see and do. The architecture is blend of French, Chinese, Japanese and of course Vietnamese, terracotta tiles and bright stuccoed buildings. It’s the sort of town/city you could just chill out in for four days or four weeks. Plenty of bars and restaurants, not far from a beach (if a few days on the coast tickles your fancy), great coffee, a market (actually two), what more could you want?

Ok, I didn’t mention shopping. I’m a guy. If you said “people watching over a couple of beers, or a couple of hours wandering through a market?” I would actually be sitting down sipping a cold beer before you could even finish the question. But that being said, there were more tailors and cobblers in Hoi An than you could wave your credit card at (I’m actually not sure that that makes sense, but why would you poke a stick at them?).

Ok, so I mentioned restaurants. The food here is absolutely spectacular, and so many different dishes to choose from. To thoroughly sample them, you would actually need four weeks. Two of my favourites (ok three because I’m going to throw a cheeky one in) were : Morning Glory Restaurant (Mrs Vy actually has an amazing restaurant just up the road from us in Prahran, Australia - House of Hoi An) - try the pork stuffed squid; and Cargo Club - stunning meals as well and beautiful outlook over the river. So the third favourite was a cheeky little cafe serving amazing Banh mi - Banh Mi Phuong. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).