14th-19th day Hoi An

After a night interrupted by loudspeaker announcements at full volume, we wake up and start the day with breakfast on the train.

The train passes through endless rice fields in the coastal plain of Vietnam.

Finally, we arrive at Da Nang train station, the fourth largest city in Vietnam. It's drizzling a bit, which we don't mind after all the heat. We don't stay there long and take a local bus to the town of Hoi An.

Our accommodation is located a little outside on the river island of Cam Nam. We have a beautiful view of the greenery (the picture is the view from our terrace) and it takes us 10 minutes by bike to reach the old town.

Hoi An, with its car and scooter-free streets, is a delight after all the noise and traffic. Here you can take a leisurely stroll, with one shop after another. A shopper's paradise! However, we learn in the following days how to distinguish cheap imitation goods from genuine quality goods. You can have clothes, shoes, bags, suits, shirts tailor-made, buy hand-painted notebooks, art, lanterns, and many other artistic objects.

However, some of the sellers seem to be under a lot of pressure to sell. We give each other the nicknames 'Comeinmyshop' and 'Wannabuysomething' and sometimes you have to break free from the saleswoman who tries to keep you there with a charming arm grip.

In the evening, the city transforms into a sea of lights, with floating lanterns being released on the river, shimmering enchantingly over the water.

Many cafes invite you to linger, offering interesting and delicious creations like the Coconut Coffee (actually more like an ice cream sundae) and a coal coffee flavored with charcoal powder.

We visit the large and well-preserved assembly halls of the Japanese and Chinese minorities, who met on neutral ground in Vietnam due to mutual embargoes and conducted their trade there.

However, in the last 200 years, the river delta has silted up and the trading ships could no longer reach the city. Luckily, this meant that little modernization took place and the houses from that time are still preserved in the same way.

The houses of the oldest families in the city can be visited, even though they are still inhabited. The residents simply live around the tourists, undisturbed, and are happy to earn extra money from the entrance fees.

Based on the water levels, you can see that during the rainy season, the water reaches at least the ceiling. But the houses are built of such sturdy material that they can withstand any flood.

In the evening, we eat grilled meat skewers by the river, wrapped in rice paper together with herbs and salad, and dipped in the obligatory fish sauce.

In one of the bars, we find super delicious craft beers, with jasmine and coffee flavors. Very intense taste, but we're not so sure if they were brewed according to the German purity law ;).

The city is in full bloom, beautiful flowers can be found on every corner (and VfB has scored again ;).

Of course, this invites romantic pictures.

When the weather improves, we go on a bike tour to the beaches of the east coast, which have impressive waves that you can comfortably float in. We enjoy the fine sandy beach and let the sun shine on our bellies.

We visit the holy sites of the Cham in My Son, which are located in the middle of the rainforest. From the 6th to the 13th century, this was the central cult site where Hindu rituals were performed.

The reason the buildings have survived the centuries is that resin was used instead of mortar and cement to bind the stones, making them very resistant.

Until the Vietnam War, the sites were still in very good condition, with many temples over 20 meters high. However, since the North Vietnamese troops had set up a camp between the sites, they were bombed by American B52 bombers. The result is hard to miss. Only the back part of this 7th-century temple, with two bomb craters in front, is still visible.

Nevertheless, some works of art have survived the years almost intact.

And there are also living creatures in the forest.

Butterflies can be found much more often than in Germany.

And playing puppies as well.

We end the trip with a boat ride on the great Cua Dai River, where cows and water buffalo graze on uninhabited river islands.

Our beautiful and relaxing days in Hoi An end (of course) in a cafe and we are now heading to Hue, the ancient imperial city.