Vietnam: Kicking off 2015 in Hoi An & Marble Mountains

Hoi An

When you’re traveling the world and trying to figure out where to ring in the New Year, it seems like a daunting task. You could go anywhere…hundreds of options come to mind, where the party is grand and never ending fireworks explode into the sky. But for us, we just wanted to be someplace unique and special, that would have some nightlife, but not too chaotic or stressful. We were with Brian and Carla in Vietnam for the week, and we all opted out of spending the New Year’s Eve in a big city, and decided to head north to explore the Ancient Town of Hoi An. It seemed like it would be a great place to ring in the New Year.

Hoi An’s Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site today, and holds a rich and historic past. Dominant in spice trade with Indonesia from the 7-10^th centuries, then acting as a major international port during the 16-17^th centuries, this town is a great example of what a bustling Southeast Asian trade port was once like in its grandeur. It’s a unique and beautiful fusion of Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, and European influences dating back hundreds of years, and it is reflected in the architecture, as well as its cuisine.

Since Vietnam is so tall and skinny, it either meant a 14 hour bus ride or a quick flight, so we opted for the flight to give us more time there. Josh and I arrived to Hoi An first, so in the morning we set out toward Old Town. It’s easy to identify the historic part of town; there are very old looking yellow peeling concrete walls that surround the area. We walked right into one of the main streets, and it was love at first sight! It was incredibly quaint and charming, with old Vietnamese, and Chinese looking houses still in tact, but rather than being occupied by merchants and spice traders, the houses were now converted into cafes, galleries, and souvenir shops filled with adorable knick knacks, antiques, and handmade crafts.

Sitting on the Thu Bon River, the market greeted us immediately spilling over with oranges, dragon fruit, pineapple, papaya, eggs, onions, peppers, zucchini, tofu…and more. It was never ending, and incredibly bright and colorful!

As we walked along the river, we were surrounded by adorable little shops filled to the brim with custom made lanterns, and tailor clothing shops, which are two specialties for the area. There is definitely an abundance of shopping to be done in Hoi An. We aren’t big shoppers since we pack light and live on a budget, but it was so much fun to get lost and just weave through the narrow streets and browse. The buildings were simple but breathtaking. I hadn’t really seen architecture like this before. Everything felt so old world, but yet very modern.

 And the food! We ate well in Hoi An. When Brian and Carla arrived we all met up and had a late lunch at one of the top restaurants in town, and it did not disappoint. Everywhere we ate was delicious, and it wasn’t just your typical Vietnamese food either, there was a great variety of unique local foods to try like the cao lau (pork and yellow noodle soup), white rose (shrimp dumplings), and Ban Xeo (country pancakes).

The four of us at Bale Well, eating way more food than we could handle!

The riverfront was beautiful, especially at sunset and after dark, with lanterns of all shapes and sizes lining the streets and guiding the walkway of the footbridges. Our first day in Hoi An was New Year’s Eve, so it was hopping with people. There was a NYE festival going on all along the riverfront with live music playing, street vendors, and lots of lantern lighting. The riverfront was packed with people, but it still felt relaxing and was a really enjoyable way to spend the evening. The entertainment wasn’t the best we’ve ever seen, but the ambiance was great. It did decide to rain quite a bit, so even though it was pretty warm on NYE, we did get a little wet. It was awesome being able to explore a new place with our good friends, and to just have fun hanging out together. It was definitely a strange feeling counting down to 2015 this year, 12 hours ahead of the East Coast, and 15 hours ahead of where we used to live in Cali. We felt like we were in our own little bubble, since it hadn’t happened in the US yet, but it was awesome overlooking the river with all the little lanterns lit up with people’s wishes from floating down the river. The New Year had arrived.

The next morning we got up and had one of the best, most random days ever! We found out that our homestay has free bikes we could use for the day, so we decided to make our first day of the New Year count by being active and biking to some cool spots in Hoi An.

The four of us hopped on our beach cruisers, and biked over to the Silk Village to learn how silk was traditionally made in the past. Silk is a very big part of Vietnam’s culture and their past. The tour was so much cooler than I thought it would be! We walked through the entire process from start to finish with how the silk is made, including meeting the silkworms themselves. It was fascinating, and silkworms are really cute, actually!

Silkworms eating the Mulberry leaves under the heat lamp. Growing up to form their cocoon!

Silkworms in their cocoons

Spinning the cocoons to make silk threads

An old silk loom, where the women weave together silk threads into scarves and clothing.

Next, we pedaled our way to Hoi An’s local beach An Bang, about 4 km away from the town through the rice fields. It was a cooler, windy day, so no swimming in the ocean, but what a little gem it was! Very few people were hanging out at the beach, and we grabbed some awesome lounge chairs and $1 beers, and just chilled out enjoying the ocean breeze for a bit. It was really refreshing.

After that we continued onward and made our way toward more delicious food at ‘Baby Mustard,’ which is a little place situated right in the rice fields and beautiful gardens. It was a great view, and incredibly good food. As we biked our way back to Old Town the sun was setting, making the ride home incredibly picturesque. It was such a fun day, and so great being able to see our friends again. As the four of us pedaled our way back to our homestay, overlooking the sunset amidst the rice fields and the scores of water buffalo chomping at the grass, I felt so blessed. Praise God for putting us here in this moment. And for giving us the courage to make the scary, life-changing decision we did to make it here. 2015 will be a good year.

Marble Mountains

The next morning Josh and I flew solo; Carla and Brian flew north to Hanoi and we had one more day in Hoi An. We decided that it wouldn’t be right to leave Vietnam without a motorbike excursion, since they are EVERYWHERE, so we rented one for the day from our guesthouse and headed to the beautiful Marble Mountains (Ngu Hanh Son).

The Marble Mountains are a cluster of 5 marble and limestone hills, located just north of Hoi An. What could’ve been a $50 day trip turned into a $4 motorbike adventure holding onto Josh’s back. Thailand revisited…back in the saddle. It was so nice to be back on a motorbike, free from limitations. The 18 km drive was scenic and simple, along a not busy road right near the ocean, and we could feel the salt and sand on our lips as drove. We found the mountains without trouble, and headed right to the rocky stairs of the main mountain. The view was fantastic. You could see the ocean and the surrounding towns, as well as the other smaller mountains nearby. All the mountains have cave entrances and tunnels, and there are several Buddhist sanctuaries within the caves of the mountains. We only stayed on the main mountain, but there was a lot to see! We walked up hundreds of steps, and actually got a nice little workout in. It was a last minute decision to check out the mountains, but once again, our expectations were completely exceeded. The cave temples were so interesting and unique. The place was busy, but not over run by tourists. The price to get inside was super low, and it felt extremely authentic.

On our way back, the rain started. We had our jackets on, but we didn’t want to be on the bike in a storm so we hurried home. Ironically, we made it about a half mile from our guest house when we both started to feel a bumpy, jerky feeling that wouldn’t go away. We pulled over and quickly discovered that we had a flat tire. CRAP! Everyone was so nice to us. Within 5 minutes at least 3 locals stopped to help us and tell us where to go for the flat. The problem was, nothing was marked on these tiny shops, and nothing was in English, so we couldn’t for the life of us find the tire place. Josh ended up slowly driving it back to our homestay, and I just settled for an extra little walk home to complete my workout for the day. We were so glad we made it back before the big storm and not stranded on the beach road waiting for someone to pick us up.

Hoi An was one of those places that surprised me. I didn’t know much about it before getting there. I thought it sounded interesting and worth a visit for sure. But wow, was it a blast. A diamond in the rough! It is one of my favorite places we’ve been to on this trip. I loved the incredible variety it had to offer. I loved the calmness, the quaintness, and the way it breathes its past into you as you walk through the market. I loved the food, the people, and the adventures it brought.