Visiting Vietnam's city of lanterns

With two major cities at opposite ends of the long narrow country, many tourists are torn between heading north to Hanoi or visiting Ho Chi Minh City about 1500km south of the capital.

On a recent trip to the south-east Asian nation, I decided to skip both. Instead, my family and I visited a place almost smack bang between the two; Vietnam’s city of lanterns, Hoi An.

The ancient town with its yellow ochre painted buildings and their tiled roofs is a great place to wander, made easier because the centre of the town is car-free.

Hoi An is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in recognition of it being a well-reserved example of an ancient South East Asian trading port.

Brightly coloured lanterns hang outside almost every building. Their shapes tell the story of the fusion of cultures that have made Hoi An the place it is today.

I’m told the ones that look like hot air balloons were traditionally hung by Vietnamese families, round lanterns were hung outside the homes of Chinese people, and long cylindrical lanterns were associated with the Japanese community.

The traditional long narrow buildings, many with French influences and ornately carved bay windows, often open up to the streets at both the rear and front.

Today many of them are either tailor shops, where skilled seamstresses whip up made-to-measure clothing for tourists within days, shopfronts for leather artisans, or cafes offering varieties of the Vietnamese coffee that promises to deliver a worthwhile caffeine buzz.

You’ll see women wearing traditional hats walking bicycles with baskets of local sweet treats strapped to each side and push cart stalls selling banh mi on the roadsides.

While the ancient town is a great place to simply meander, some specific sites are worth looking out for.

Proud Chinese families are the custodians of Chinese Assembly Halls, which are historic communal structures built between the 17th and 19th centuries.

Visitors are invited inside for a small donation to marvel at the craftmanship of the interiors and fine furniture.

The Japanese Bridge built across the Thu Bon River to connect the Chinese and Japanese quarters in the 17th century still stands strong, complete with an ornately carved miniature temple inside it.

The grand heritage structure is so celebrated in Vietnam that it has a place on the 20,000 Vietnamese Dong (VND) note.

For about 50,000 VND, or less than $3, you can give the city’s famous dishes a try.

Translucent flower-shaped white rose dumplings or delicious cao lau, a noodle soup, can be savoured at Hoi An’s Central Market or many of the restaurants dotted throughout the streets.

After the sun sets, a leisurely boat ride on the Hoai River provides an opportunity to take in the picturesque town all lit up.

Once you purchase a ticket by the side of the river, a boat captain will welcome you onto a sampan (a flat bottom boat) decorated with lanterns. They will do all the hard work rowing so you can take it all in.

There is an option oto release a paper lantern, which looks very pretty, however we opted against it, preferring not to add to the unnecessary litter.

The evening is also when stalls pop up along Nguyen Hoang Street to create Hoi An's main Night Market, where more local flavours can be tasted.

Like the ancient traders, visitors can give bartering a go, with a variety of kitsch items for sale alongside Vietnamese artisan pieces including the silk lanterns the town is known for.

Out of town

A ride in a bowl shaped ‘basket boat’ made from woven bamboo through the coconut forest is a popular activity.

Larger-than-life boat captains row tourists through a mangrove ecosystem where nipa palms or water coconuts grow.

Also worth a day trip are the ancient ruins of the Champa people, known as My Son (think a much smaller version of Cambodia’s Angkor Wat).

Getting there:

Hoi An is a one-hour taxi or Grab ride from Da Nang airport.