Hoi An, Vietnam: The Highlight Reel

Hoi An, Vietnam: The Highlight Reel

We loved Hoi An. Here were our top favorite activities:

Food

Food Tour

By far our favorite part of Hoi An was the food.  We did a food tour on our first day which was excellent.  We were led by Pearl, a local who has a passion for food and was genuinely excited to show us all of the foods of Hoi An and the proper ways to eat them.  We tried a total of 10 different items over the course of 4 hours and parted ways with Pearl completely full.

BBQ pork, a group favorite.
It wouldn’t be Vietnam if we didn’t eat at tiny plastic stools.
White Rose, a local dumpling only made by one family who carefully guards their recipe.
More Bahn Mi, always a fan favorite.
Weird warm drinks served over ice. We tried peanut, soy bean, and black sesame.

Cooking Class

We also took a cooking class at restaurant called Cafe 43, just a few steps from our hotel. For $7 per person plus the cost of the items we selected, we could learn to cook anything from their menu. We made a papaya salad with shrimp, a vietnamese pancake (also with shrimp), a pork-stuffed squid, and lemongrass chili chicken dish. All of it was delicious and it was some of the best food we had in nearly two weeks in Vietnam.

“Cafe 43 Daily Cooking Class – It’s Very Cheap – Why Not?”
Cooking away right in the middle of the restaurant.
Stir frying something tasty.
Papaya salad…. yum! Note the weird table with tons of passport photos and other assorted papers under the glass top.
Vietnamese pancake. It’s so handy that they cut most things with scissors instead of a knife, a trick we will bring home with us!
Pork-stuffed squid. VERY tasty.
Lemongrass chili chicken… yum!!

Strolling Downtown

Another Hoi An highlight was wandering the quaint downtown area. Hoi An is known for it’s cute streets, colorful lanterns, and beautiful riverfront and we really enjoyed going for walks and taking in the beauty of the city.

Really cute streets.
Colorful lanterns hanging in front of a shop.
Boats on the river.

Beach Time

We also had a great time biking to the beach where we relaxed with a good book and watched the surf. We posted up at a beachfront restaurant to make use of their lounge chairs. We didn’t swim, but we had a nice time nonetheless.

View of the beach.
Chilling on the swing.
Beach selfie!

Overall, Hoi An was a really laid-back place to spend a few days and cap off our trip to Vietnam. We really enjoyed it and would love to come back in the warmer months to see more of this beach town in action.

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