Hoi An day 1

Hoi An doesn't have a bus or train station so our night bus dropped us off at the nearest city, Da Nang, at 4.30am. We grabbed a taxi down to Hoi An, and arrived just as sun the sun was rising. We were greeted at the homestay by the most excitable 10 month old black cockapoo puppy. Our host disappeared upstairs for 10 minutes while we played with the dog, and when she came back down, she said our room was ready and we could check in early for free. We were both so happy, I could've picked her up and given her a big hug. Instead we happily hauled ourselves upstairs and got a few extra hours sleep in.
After grabbing some lunch, we found the most lovely coffee shop tucked down an alley with a huge garden full of brightly coloured cushioned chairs under shady trees and plants. We refuelled, and found an afternoon walking tour to book onto.
Our guide was great, she took us down walking street, and to an old Japanese house and bridge, as well as a Chinese house and temple. Hoi An was a large trading port city between the 15th-19th century, it had a big influx of Japanese and Chinese merchants, so a lot of their cultures found their way into parts of Hoi An. It also facilitated trade from European countries such as Portugal, Holland and France, so had a lot of European architecture too.
Hoi An is just so pretty, colourful lanterns adorn pretty much every street along with blooming flowers in shades of pink, purple and yellow. By some luck we arrived on the eve before full moon which is when they have a monthly lunar lantern festival! All the street lights are switched off and the old town is only lit up only by lanterns. We were proper tourists and had boat ride along with hundreds of other lanterns lit up boats, and even released our own candle lit paper ones. From the bridge it looked crowded, and I was worried it'd be chaotic, but was very relaxing.
Kath befriended a feral kitten at dinner, then we headed back for an early night, but we already absolutely love Hoi An!Læs mere