Fabrics, leather, and lanterns - in love with Hoi An!

We arrived in the UNESCO World Heritage city of Hoi An early in the morning. We had slept fairly well on our night bus and walked with new energy all the way from the bus stop to our hotel. In the morning hours, the city was still relatively quiet, except for the morning market, where there was already a lot of activity. But first, we wanted to drop off our things and freshen up a bit after this long bus ride. Unfortunately, we could only check in at 2 pm. Well, then we collected the first impressions of the city without having a shower - and off we went!

Hoi An, the city of tailors and lantern makers, has become very well known for these things and used to be an important trading port. So, first of all, we went to the next tailor to have some clothes tailor-made. Choosing the pieces, fabrics, and cuts was not easy at all, as we had never done anything like this before... However, the tailors were helpful and advised us on what would be possible and what would be best to work with. In the end, we decided on a suit with a vest, three shirts, a dress, a skirt, and a jumpsuit - but we could have gone on forever! This city is the ultimate shopping trap... Afterwards, we were measured and had the next fitting appointment the next day.

We spent the rest of the time until check-in with an improvised breakfast of our leftovers from the bus ride and a coffee in the old town. Here we tried "Egg Coffee" for the first time, a specialty of the north of Vietnam. It is coffee with egg and condensed milk (we don't exactly know how it works), which results in a very creamy coffee like a kind of cappuccino, but with a much firmer foam. Definitely worth a try!

After a shower at the hotel, we were awake again and spent the rest of the day strolling and sightseeing in the old town of Hoi An. A landmark of the city is the Japanese Bridge, which served as a trade connection between the Japanese and Chinese quarters. However, to cross it, you first have to buy a combination ticket, with which you can visit five attractions of the city. Actually, the view of the bridge is more beautiful than the view from the bridge...

But since we already had the ticket, we wanted to visit more sights. Number 2/5 was an old house of a trading family, which, like many of the old houses in Hoi An, was built in a mix of Vietnamese, Japanese, and Chinese styles. There was a small guided tour through the house. A special feature of the houses in Hoi An is that there is a trapdoor on the first floor through which all the things from the ground floor can be quickly brought upstairs in case of a flood. Indeed, this is necessary almost every year during the rainy season. In another house (3/5), which was recommended in our travel guide, the different architectural styles and features were also present. There was also a small guided tour. However, since the house is still family-owned and inhabited, the upper floor was not open to tourists.

After dinner, Tina got caught up in the shopping frenzy again and ordered leather ballerinas (specially tailored to her uneven and crooked feet) and browsed through other items. We spent the rest of the evening at the relatively small night market of Hoi An, which was not far from our homestay, and admired the many colorful lanterns and candles floating on the river. A bit like a little serenade of lights in Ulm - but every day!

Something in the food of the day must not have been good, because Carsten spent the night over the toilet bowl. But once everything was out, everything was fine again ;) we spare you the details...

Number 4/5 on our sightseeing list was the Chinese Assembly Hall, which was also quite nice to look at. However, we didn't stay too long, because at 10 am that day we had our first fitting appointment for the tailor-made clothes and we were really excited to see the result... And they looked really great!!! There were still some minor changes to be made here and there, but overall they fit quite well. But we could only see the final result in the evening when everything was perfect.

In the meantime, we passed the time at the Museum of Ceramic Trading (5/5) and the Prescious Heritage Collection Art Gallery Museum. The latter is a portrait photography exhibition of Vietnamese people. In addition, various tribes and minorities are presented and their traditional clothing is displayed. A truly great combination with moving photos that have already received multiple awards and have been published in international magazines!

We continued with the bicycles to the beach, which was 4km away. Compared to Mui Ne, this one was also suitable for swimming, but we didn't have enough time for that, as there was still a fitting appointment for Tina's leather shoes. They fit perfectly and we could take them with us right away.

The atmosphere of the city, with its beautiful yellow houses, colorful lanterns, and affordable tailor-made clothes, made Hoi An one of the most beautiful cities on our entire trip for us. We celebrated this in the evening with live music in a nice bar by the water.

We would have happily stayed there for a few more days, as the immediate surroundings also offer other beautiful destinations, but our journey unfortunately has an end... Hoi An, we will definitely come back!