ALLEY Artist House

Local art performance in the old town of Hoi An

This is one of the performances we saw at the full moon celebration in the old town of Hoi An, Vietnam. With a really shaky Vietnamese girl announcing the different acts, we had a lot of fun in the small 'theater' room.

Hoi An Travel Guide - Vietnam Pleasant Atmosphere

Hoi An Travel Guide - Vietnam Pleasant Atmosphere

Hoi An is a beautiful city in Vietnam, just south of Da Nang. The Old Town of Hoi An is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Hoi An, once known as Faifo, with more than 2,000 years history, was the principal port of the Cham Kingdom, which controlled the strategic spice trade with Indonesia from the 7th to the 10th century and was a major international port in the 16th and 17th centuries - and the foreign influences are discernible to this day.

The culture & heritage is mostly from the Cham people whose kingdom originally stretched from Hue South to Phan Thiet (South of Nha Trang) - the Champa's most likely originally from Java. The original Cham political capital was Tra Kieu, the commercial capital was Hoi An and the spiritual capital was My Son (Hindu). The Cham people were Hindu, and by the 10th century the influence of Arab traders to Hoi An resulted in some converting to become Muslims.

The culture & heritage that UNESCO World Heritage Site status for Hoi An Ancient Town was trying to preserve has long since gone. Since 1999, when UNESCO WHS status was awarded, there has been a massive increase in tourism - with the result that most houses have been sold by the community to speculators and shop owners to be used for commercial purposes. The former community, and with it their culture and heritage, has gone and in their place are endless indistinguishable shops, restaurants, art galleries, etc. There are literally hundreds of tailor shops in Hoi An.

UNESCO Biosphere Reserve status also applies for Hoi An Ancient Town, but in reality this status, like many other UNESCO statuses, is not being cherished by site management. The main thoroughfare in the Old Town is Tran Phu. Just south of the Old Town, across the Thu Bon River, are the islands of An Hoi to the west, reachable via Hai Ba Trung, and Cam Nam to the east, reachable via Hoang Dieu. Hoi An is known for clothing and shoes, with more than 600 shops catering to a very limited pool of tourists. Walk some of the streets outside the old town and you will see open-fronted workshops operating all hours where the clothes are made.

The centre of Hoi An is very small and pedestrianised, so you will be walking around most of the time. Motorbikes are only banned from the centre of town during certain times of day, so keep an eye out for them; even in the most narrow alleys. Evenings are especially busy with motorbikes two, or even three abreast competing with pedestrians for even the smallest space on the street.

To enter most of the main attractions in the Old Town (i.e. the handful of buildings that aren't shops) you require a ticket (120,000 dong), which is sold at various kiosks. You certainly do not (usually) require a ticket just to walk the streets. But it can seem that way since the main entrance to the Old Town is the Japanese covered bridge, which being one of the attractions /does/ require the ticket. But there's nothing to stop you using the nearby footway on the waterfront instead.

Hotels in Hoi An are fiercely competitive, which means plenty of choice and generally high standards. Budget options are slightly pricier than many other parts of Vietnam, with $6 being about the cheapest. Around the centre, 300,000 VND is usually the lowest asking price (March 2013). Heading further out of town, more typical prices can be found. Many hotels are clustered around Hai Ba Trung St and Ba Trieu St, just north of the Old Town and within easy walking distance, and also along Cua Dai Street, off to the east and a bit of a hike away.

Most of Hoi An's high-end hotels are located along the unbroken beach stretching from Danang to Hoi An. Closest is Cua Dai Beach 5 km away. It is more likely to find a good bargain in the evening, when budget hotels try to fill their rooms for the night.

A lot to see in Hoi An such as :

Japanese Covered Bridge
An Bang Beach
Hoi An Market
Hoi An Ancient Town
Phung Hung House
Old House of Tan Ky
Hoi An Night Market
Rừng Dừa Bảy Mẫu-Eco Coconut Hội An- 투어 바구니 보트 코코넛 숲 7 샘플
Cua Dai Beach
Thanh Ha Pottery Village, Hoi An
Hoi An Museum
Assembly Hall Of Fujian Chinese
Terracotta Park
Miss Ly
Rehahn Gallery
Precious Heritage Art Gallery Museum
Hoi An Impression Theme Park
Bãi Chồng
Chùa Hải Tạng

( Hoi An - Vietnam ) is well know as a tourist destination because of the variety of places you can enjoy while you are visiting Hoi An . Through a series of videos we will try to show you recommended places to visit in Hoi An - Vietnam

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