28.10. City of a Thousand Lanterns

After a 14-hour bus ride, we arrived in Hoi An at 7am. Unfortunately, we had to walk for half an hour in a heavy rainstorm to get to our hostel - so the city didn't really give us a warm welcome. Luckily, our hostel was very nice with spacious beds in a bright dorm room, a pool, and delicious breakfast.

Once we settled into our hostel, we headed towards the city center to explore. It quickly became clear that Hoi An was definitely our favorite city so far. There are no big three-lane roads like in Saigon or Dalat, only smaller streets lined with many shops and houses, adorned with countless small lanterns. The river is fantastic, with a promenade filled with yellow houses and visible Japanese influences in many buildings. For example, there is a thousand-year-old Japanese bridge with a shrine on it, said to bind one of the most dangerous monsters in Japanese mythology and protect the world from natural disasters.

The Japanese influence comes from refugees who came to Hoi An from Japan to escape their former king and brought their own culture with them. This is still visible today, especially in the various assembly halls in the city, where Japanese deities and the founding fathers of the local community are worshiped.

After a brief city tour, we rode a rented bicycle to An Bang Beach, which was about 30 minutes away from the city center. There, we enjoyed a beautiful white sandy beach and great waves, allowing us to have some fun hours before sunset.

Upon returning to our hostel, we continued to cross things off our Asia travel to-do list, which often includes getting a tailored suit. Originally, I planned to get one for $100, but we ended up getting two suits and two ties for $180...

After getting measured, we walked around Hoi An at night and fell even more in love with this city. Now, the thousands of lanterns were lit up and shone colorful lights, creating a wonderful atmosphere throughout the city. Floating candles were also placed on the river, and boats with small lanterns sailed between them.

The riverside promenade at night

Since we already had ramen at an incredibly beautiful Japanese restaurant, hidden in an alley, we headed back to our hostel after the long walk through the illuminated Hoi An. We were looking forward to a real bed after the night on the bus.