Wandering through Hoi An at night

We spent almost 2 and a half hours at the tailors getting all our fabrics picked, measured, and choosing our styles and getting things costed, so we perused the streets of Hoi An. A few observations below.

- It really is beautiful here. The aesthetic of the lanterns and the river and the lights are just stunning. Everywhere you look is pretty. My phone cannot capture how pretty it actually is from an architectural and visual colour aesthetic POV

- This is a VERY touristy place. Tourists everywhere. And the Vietnamese get to work. Haggled multiple times walking to the tailors and walking home of people pushing you to go to their shop/their restaurant/ buy their toys/food. Ew ew ew. Didn't experience any of this in HCM but let's just say I'll be keeping a close eye on my belongings.

- Avoid using 500k bills as much as possible here to avoid the money scam (the 500k bills and the 20k bills are both blue and look very similar, so a lot of scammers will claim you only gave them a 20k bill instead of a 500k and fight you over it) Solution- carry only 100k and 50k bills.

- The pricing seems to wildly vary here when it comes to food. Some things are super cheap, and others are very inflated to the Western Market. I'll be looking to see where the whities eat vs the locals and scurrying off to the local joints wherever possible. I'm a tourist snob. Judge me all you like 🤣🤣🤣

- If you came here to have a romantic boat ride by yourself and get a cute Instagram pic... Forget it! HUNDREDS of boats on the river packed in. Still really pretty, and Michael and I will definitely do it, but gotta keep the expectations down on earth because the reality is every man and his dog is getting on a boat.

- I think this is a beautiful place by night, but it's definitely not somewhere that feels authentically Vietnamese as it's clearly been designed as a tourist town. It will be fascinating to explore the old town tomorrow during the day and see the cultural side of the city, not just the touristy elements.

These are my first impressions. Let's see if I fall in love over the next few days. She really is a beauty, but does she have the heart. I'll keep you posted.Read more