Frustrations In Hoi An

Hoi An today is far different to the Hoi An I knew in the past. Compared to even a few years ago, it is full of shops and hotels. In a hundred metre stretch of road, there are more than 10 shops selling the same stuff and making the same clothes. It's a bit annoying as the old ancient town is slowly disappearing, replaced by these modern activities.

Most of the hotels in Hoi An call themselves "Resorts" but the quality is far away from the meaning of the word. Basically it means they can create their own prices, mostly really over the top expensive. I don't know how they can get their permits to do business. I remember 2 years ago, the hotels usually started at between $15 to $25 per night with a swimming pool and breakfast included but these"Resorts" are charging up to $56 to $85 per night which is too much. I refused to pay that much not because I cannot afford it, but rather that they are not worth that money at all.

Unfortunately, these days small Hoi An old town has far too many tourists. The big tour groups, buses and noise makes it feel like I am in Hanoi or Saigon. Of course, in the short term its good for the local people as tourism has created jobs and improved their standard of living. But sooner or later, Hoi An might suffer as most of the interesting parts are slowly disappearing and people may lose their interest in visiting there.

The number of tourists is increasing so fast which means Hoi An people are getting more commercial minded and not always in a good way. Even though they remain friendly and nice on the surface, I still there is something different in their talk and their reactions when people shop. The charm of the Hoianese is disappearing step by step and is being replaced by modern, western thinking. I hope Hoi An local council considers limiting the numbers of shops, bars, restaurants and "Resorts" and tries to maintain the great old houses around.

Hoi An

I am in Hoi An for a few nights with my ex colleagues. I made a really long list of MUST eat food in the old ancient town to try. I also would like to have some summer clothes made there as they're quite cheap compared prices in Hanoi. I'm staying at the Trade Union hotel for the first time and, so far so good. This is not a very expensive hotel compared to others in town but it's in a good location.

Hoi An today is crowded all the time, full of western tourists and Vietnamese tourists on weekends. It's actually not as relaxing as I remember it but still nice to escape from the busy traffic and crazy noise of Hanoi. I will try to post some articles about Hoi An in the next few days. Hope everyone has a great week at work!!!

Hoi An

Sorry that I haven't updated my blog for a long time. It's been a combination of being busy and laziness. I was actually considering quitting blogging. After 10 days holiday in Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang, I decided to start blogging again as I have enough energy now to walk around, take some photos and learn more stories to tell you guys.

I went back to Hoi An with my friends for a break to escape Hanoi's awful spring drizzle and dull grey skies. We were greeted in Hoi An by stunning blue skies, a more than warm sun and a really nice hotel.

I spent a few hours relaxing by the hotel pool before hitting the shops. My friends hadn't been to Hoi An, so they were excited to see the tailors and lanterns. It was actually a nice time to be in Hoi An as there were not many tourists around. During our wanders, we passed a small pagoda in Tran Phu street where food was being served in the courtyard. What a fantastic atmosphere to enjoy one of Hoi An's specialties, chicken rice...and one of the local beers, LaRue.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find my old tailor after an hour walking around. I decided to stop at Mac Khai, one of dozens of tailor shops around Hoi An. I had some shirts and shorts copied to be ready for the hot summer in Hanoi. Within 24 hours, my clothes were ready for pick-up, all perfectly sewn and made to order.

The next day we went to the beach for a short time to try some squid, prawns and scallops. They were good but dear compared to Nha Trang. I was looking forward to eating more seafood on my arrival home in Nha Trang. Seafood is always good and cheap down there and that's one of the things I miss most. My friends and I wanted to eat in the night food market which is always full of tourists. It is a good place to try some other local specialties, like the noodle dish cao lau. During our visit, we also ate at one of my favourites, the Bale Well restaurant, which I've written about before.

Really enjoyed the first leg of our trip.

Bale Well Restaurant

I dropped into BALE Well restaurant following a recommendation from a friend and I ended up really satisfied with a full stomach and a head full of information after a great chat with the very friendly owner, Mai. BALE Well gets its name from an ancient well famous in the Hoi An area. Many of Hoi An’s people use the water from this well because apparently there is no aluminium in it.

While Mai’s restaurant is not as old as this well left over from the Cham period, it has been operating for over 14 years, first in a tiny shed, and now in a modern two storey house. She started the business herself with four popular dishes that belong to the Hoi An region served with a very special dipping sauce made from soya beans and lots of different herbs and vegetables. She decided to maintain the simple setting she had at the beginning, of low plastic tables and chairs. During our chat, Mai told me that the reason she hasn’t changed the décor and style of her restaurant is because her customers (mostly locals) prefer it like it is. Also, it allows her to keep the price below many of the other restaurants in town, something her customers also appreciate, I’m sure.

On both my visits, Bale Well was full with a mixture of a few knowledgeable westerners and local customers. I realized that part of the attraction is the simple menu of four dishes: Banh Xeo(Rice pan cake), Thit nuong(grilled pork), Ram cuon(spring rolls), Nem nuong(grilled pork with sate). The other attraction is that prices are under 10,000Vnd per dish. It’s also possible to choose a set menu for only 50,000Vnd which is more than enough for one person and includes a bit of everything. My mate and I couldn’t finish it and we tried hard!

At the end of our meal, Mai showed me many messages from regular and former customers. That’s a good sign for her and shows that she runs the restaurant really well. Her staff is very friendly and helpful; the food is cheap and easy to order as well. In fact, you can let Mai do the ordering for you!

Set menu includes all 4 dishes: 50,000Vnd Thit Nuong - One stick grilled meat : 3000vnd Banh Xeo - Rice Pan Cake : 3000Vnd Ram Nuong - Spring rolls : 2000Vnd Nem nuong - Grilled pork with sate : 10,000Vnd for three sticks.

Open from 9.30am to 9.30pm
BALE Well Restaurant
45/51 Tran Hung Dao Street
Hoi An Town
(84)(510)864443

Van Anh Carving Shop

I was wandering around the old town of Hoi An and I noticed a young guy doing carving. I walked in and spoke to both him and the owner and bought a beautiful carved face which cost only 30,000Vnd. He told me that it took him half a day to make a small face. Most products at this place are crafted from bamboo or wood and are good for house decor.

They used to do wholesale sales only for fifteen years but just started their own business four years ago. This shop attracts both Vietnamese and western tourists. But most of their profits come from large orders for shops in big cities such as Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Van Anh Shop
40 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai
Hoi An

Hoi An’s Architecture

Hoi An is such an ancient beautiful city with so many old houses. There are lots of houses with hundred of year of history and I was so glad to see them still in good condition. In the past five years, Hoi An has changed so much. Besides the old houses, so many hotels and new houses have been built which is ruining the charming old city to some extent.

There are about 20 resorts and a range of hundreds of hotels in this small city, not to mention thousands of cloth shops and restaurants. I wonder why these modern resorts get approval by the government? They don't seem to fit the character of the place.

I hope the government stop allowing people to build modern houses, and tries to maintain the old houses for our next generation to enjoy.

Hoi An Beach

Away from the ancient city of Hoi An - about 10 minutes by motorbike - is Cua Dai Beach. On the last day of our holiday I was woken by a flash of sunlight through the curtains. A relaxing day at the beach is always a good way to spend the last day, so we rode along the 4km road which has some great scenery.

Hoi An beach is so quiet in the morning and I realized that there are much fewer sellers on the beach compared to last time I was here a few years ago. There are a few old ladies trying to earn some money from tourists. They keep coming back all the time until you buy something from them. They also charge a very high price which can be annoying. Also, the people who own the chairs on the beach are really aggressive, the food is over-priced and not good quality. Once I got over that, I relaxed.

Hoi An beach has its good points: it's pretty clean and wide with white sand and the beer's cold.

Service In Hoi An

In general, the people in Hoi An are sweet and nice, but service is a big problem here judging by what I’ve seen after one week. I don’t expect everything to be perfect like in high class or five-star places, but in the average tourist restaurant the service is not great.

I was so surprised to see staff in a very nice café serving with bare feet and staff arguing each other or talking loudly around the customers. The tone the waiters use to talk to customers is a bit strange, too. Even in my hotel, I went down stairs to reception to ask a question, but the receptionist kept talking to her friend on the speaker phone instead of holding the phone. I don’t think this kind of service is acceptable at all. I don’t think that I am difficult but when you work in hospitality for a long time, it’s difficult not to judge the service wherever you go.
However, eating on the street is different; the local street vendors are just so easy going and sometimes they even speak slowly to tourists because they know we might be confused. I imagined the service in Hoi An would be better than in Hanoi because of the number of tourists but it seems just about the same or even not as good in some cases.

I’ve noted some places that I’ve been to where my experience was not so good. Maybe they were having a bad day but these places were not up to standard in terms of food and service.

1. Café Dan
2. Dang Thang restaurant
3. Hai Scout café

On a different note, laptop computers are not worth taking to Hoi An if you wish to use a wireless connection, because there’s only two places but the connection signal is really weak. Unfortunately, the staff at these places didn’t tell me about the bad connection until after I’d already ordered. They tried to tell me that the connection depended on the value of the laptop? I didn’t know why the waiter told me that, but it ended up being a waste of time.

Beside these bad places, there are some good names which provide good services, good food, clean and friendly atmosphere that I would highly recommend such as:

1. Nam Long Restaurant
2. Vinh Hung 2 Hotel
3. Tam Tam café
4. BaLe Well Restaurant
5. Ngan Ha Cloth shop at 80 Nguyen Duy Hieu Street.
6. Sakura Restaurant
7. Xua va Nay - Before and Now Bar and Restaurant.

Hope this post can help you avoid bad places and enjoy yourself at nice and good places.

Old Lady's Cake

Grilled green bean cake sounds a bit weird just because of the name. I don’t think I've ever heard of it before but an old lady in Hoi An is selling it right now and her cakes are pretty delicious. I asked her what the real name was because I didn’t believe what she told me. She told me that the grilled green bean cake included other ingredients like coconut, sugar, ginger and sweet potato. That sounds better, doesn't it? She opens from 3 to 5 in the afternoon.

I went back to her stall again to buy a few more but she smiled and told me whispering, sorry love, please come back tomorrow. She was so sweet.

Hoi An

We arrived at the Vinh Hung 2 Hotel in Hoi An in the early evening at about 7 pm after a 45 minute flight from Hanoi. Because it's a long weekend in Vietnam, the flight wasn't very pleasant due to the number of babies and young kids screaming, shouting and running around. The flight attendant said this kind of situation is typical at holiday times, as more Vietnamese can afford to takes their kids travelling with them.

Hoi An is such a peaceful city and so quiet in the evening. The people are so sweet but I do have some trouble understanding their accent.

I had an early night after wandering around the streets a bit. The next morning, the staff at the hotel changed the room for me, because it faced one of the popular one way streets and was quite noisy during the night. Now the room overlooks the pool. My day started with a buffet for breakfast which is included in the $20 room. I spent most of the day walking around the city taking lots of photos. I also started to realize that this is not the right time to come to Hoi An because there are thousands of people in Hoi An for their holiday, the streets are packed, the restaurants are full and it's not the peaceful time I had imagined at home. But Hoi An is beautiful for sure!!!! Maybe it will quieten down after the weekend.