Hoi An: Land of Lanterns

After a fairly miserable few days in Hue, we drove down to Hoi An, a quaint ancient town on the banks of the Thu Bon River. Immediately, Hoi An lifted my spirits. It was a beautifully picturesque town, with narrow winding streets of yellow buildings lit by delicate lanterns. We spent the afternoon walking around the ancient town, seeing temples and visiting a traditional house that was absolutely beautiful, and totally serene. The house was long and thin with a partly open-plan layout – different ‘rooms’ were created with small dividers and furniture placement and the whole place felt very light and airy. Hoi An was a fair bit warmer than Hanoi and Hue had been, but inside the house air flowed easily and it was cool and relaxing. A very well-designed house!

Another major attraction of Hoi An is shopping – the town is famous for high-quality tailors at very reasonable prices, as well as some wonderful shops selling handmade lanterns, silk embroidery, and some of the most beautiful paintings I’d seen so far. Me and my new friend from the tour, Monique, had a nice afternoon browsing the shops and I set about finding my favourite lanterns to take home.

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