Hoi An Ancient Town

Hoi An Ancient Town – one of the most popular tourist attraction in Vietnam not only for domestic tourists but also for foreigners.
Location

Hoi An is located on the bank of Thu Bon River- in the Central of Viet Nam, only 30 kilometers from Da Nang City. With a good location on the bank of a great river, it used to be one of the major trading port during 16th century. Centre Vietnam tours packages

History

Hoi An has been through a long time of history, but it still remains as in the very first days of its being born. It was divided into 2 main historical landmark: the occupying of the Japanese & Chinese, and the Western (Dutch and Spanish) during the 16th and 17th centuries. Mekong river tours Vietnam

CHung Tooc

During the Chinese period, Hoi An was called as “Hai Pho” (Sea Town). Hai Pho was a divided town - this side of Japanese Bridge for Chinese and another side for Japanese. Until French and Spanish period, Hoi An was well-known as Faifo - an international port city. Thanks to these days, Hoi An is a wonderful place for tourists due to itsforeign comprehensively positive and special pastimes and culture.

Weather

Hoi An has typically tropical climate. Normally, it is classified into 2 seasons: dry season and wet season - it is not too hot on dry season and not too cold on wet season so that you can travel more without nervous. Paradise Cruise Halong bay

What to explore

Coming to Hoi An, tourist are attracted by series of old - architectured lanes and houses with nearly 100% cristinely left from their initial buildings with moss grown walls, deeply plain roofs, old furniture in their cristine past arrangement, etc. Hoi An’s architecture was affected by Chinese, French, Japanese Culture.

1. Ancient Town

Hoi An Ancient Town

Since Hoi An is an old Town, its places of interest are of full historically classical meaning and image. Hoi An symbol, the most popular remnant is the Japanese Covered Bridge (Chua Cau or Lai Vien Kieu), on the west end of Tran Phu Street. The bridge was constructed in the early 1600's by the Japanese community. Tourists should spend time on visiting Quan Cong Temple, Musium of Culture. Many ancient style - oriented architects come here to have a direct look into the ancient houses of the town, among which are Phung Hung House, just west of the Japanese Bridge, Quan Thang House, or Tan Ky House. The design of the houses show how local architecture incorporated Japanese and Chinese influences. Cantonese Assembly Hall (Quang Dong), has a calm courtyard with ornate statuary. You could take a peek at the half-hidden back yard and its kitschy pastel dragon statues. Hokien (Fujian) Meeting Hall (Phuc Kien) and Chinese All-Community Meeting Hall (Trieu Chau), are also spanning the block. If you are Buddhist, there are a lot of pagodas to visit. Ong Pagoda, Quan Am Phat Tu Minh Huong Pagoda, etc. are premium places to get in.

If you want to explore Hoi An Ancient Town with a professional tour guide who can give you all good information about Hoi An history, local life,,..have a look at Hoi An city tour half day

Special note: If you enter the old town, you have to buy entrance ticket which costs 6$/ 1pax as your contribution is to restore and maintain ancient house. You can keep it and use it for anytime you enter the town.

2. Local belief

The main religion here is Buddhism. Therefore, people often go to the pagoda and pray on 30th and 14th of every lunar month. That time, the old town seems to be so nice with all colorful hanging cloth and paper lanterns.  Furthermore, it’s easy for you to see people preparing altars with candles, cakes, incense and wine in front of their shops, restaurants and houses to pray for all the unlucky ghosts who are wandering on the streets at night with the hope that they won’t disturb their business, their happiness and their normal life. That is also the reason why you can see the local people here they burn incense and cinnamon in the morning- the time they start a new day with the hope that the good smell of incense and cinnamon will bring them good luck all day and help them chase bad spirits.

Special note: When you come to some shops in Hoi An in the morning, you can get good price - morning price. Because sellers want to sell fast - buy fast so they can get good luck for the whole day. However, you should not visit a shop early in the morning without buying anything because you may be their first customer of the day which means that it’s not good if you don’t buy anything. First customer of the day is considered to bring the owner of the shop good luck and good business during the day, so you need to buy something even it’s small. You’d better go shopping after 9 a.m

3. Local food

When you come to Hoi An, you should not miss some specialties here: Cao Lau, Quang Noodle , White Rose, coffee with condensed milk and many local food that are not available on your guide book. You will have wonderful feelings when enjoying them. It is greater when you have a local guide who take you on a motorbike and explore Hoi An food. Not just eating, with a guide by your side, you can get many useful information about local food, have chance to talk to local people and have sight - seeing included on the tour. Come and enjoy with us at Hoi An street food tour by motorbike

Special note: This tour is available in the morning at 8.00 A.M or in the afternoon at 3.00 P.M. You can choose motorbike as the way you discover local food here. If you don’t like to go on a motorbike, you can choose the walking or cycling tour.

4. Cam Thanh coconut village

About 5 kilometers from the old town, Cam Thanh Village is where you can make your trip back to nature. This village is well- known as a very peaceful and relaxed place for tourists with the water coconut forests. One of the most popular activities there is the Cooking Class and Eco Tour. Not just cooking, you can do some work as a real fisherman like fishing, riding basket boat, and chatting with local people here. More information about the tour at Hoi An cooking class and eco tour   3
Special note: You should join the tour on sunny day or light rainy day so that you can enjoy more. It is too wet and not comfortable on rainy day.

5. Duy Hai fishing village

Close to Cam Thanh Village, Duy Hai fishing village which can be reached by boat is really famous for making fish sauce in Hoi An. Going to the fish market and a local house to learn the way people make fish sauce here is really interesting. Please read more at Duy Hai fishing village by tour half day   4
Special note: This tour is just available in the early morning 5.00 A.M. That time, the fish market is very busy because fishermen bring many fresh fish from previous night back home and sell for local people. You’d better join this tour on Dry Season when the weather is good so that you can have a safe and great trip on the boat.

6. Kim Bong Carpentry Vilage

Only 15 minutes by ferry from Hoi An Old Town, you can go to visit Kim Bong Carpentry Village. Here, you are seemed to be back to countryside of Vietnamese people with many rice paddies and buffalos. Coming here, you will have deep knowledge about how people make boats, Quang noodle and sleeping mats. In addition, you can listen to more stories about local people and local life here. Have a look at our tour at Kim Bong carpentry village at Kim Bong village bicycle half day tour   5
7. Tra Que Vegetable Village

Hoi An has been famous for vegetables a long time ago and Tra Que Vegetable Village is a wonderful place where people produce vegetables that you shouldn’t miss. 15 minutes by cycling from the old town, you will arrive this veggies village. Farmers here - they prefer seaweed for fertilizing for veggies, not chemical fertilizer, so veggies is really clean (organic). More interesting, you can have experience like a farmer when you grow and water the veggies here. Visit Tra Que vegetables village bike tour  for more information.     6
8. Thanh Ha Poterry Village

Once more village you should not miss in Hoi An is Thanh Ha Poterry Village which is famous for products that make from pottery. Coming here, you can understand more about character of the local people here: they are truly patient, skillful, careful and definitely talent. Come and learn how to make pottery products like a local. Visit Thanh Ha pottery village for more information.

Life of Sapa minorities in Sapa

Life of Sapa minorities in Sapa

What are the most attractive thing when you coming to SaPa? The answer of many visitors is to see how local minorities live in Vietnam, and to go on a trekking on the mountains.
People who live in the region still use their traditional clothes (young and old people alike). They also speak their own languages — each tribe speaks it own. The tribe people belong to a different ethnic group than the rest of the Vietnamese people. Travel to Vietnam
Life of Sapa minorities in Sapa
Although tourism is developing fast in the region, many locals still live a very basic life. Most of them spend all day long working on the fields. They sell what their families do not need in one of the weekend markets. And with the money they make, they buy something else. It is what experts call a subsistence economy. No luxuries here. Paradise Cruise Halong
Life of Sapa minorities in Sapa
When trekking to the mountains to see the “real Life” of the ethnic minorities, you can see people belonging to many tribes in the streets of Sapa.

Life of Sapa minorities in Sapa

Lung Khau Nhin market
Taking place every Thursday, Lung Khau Nhin Market is a small market hiding itself amongst the mountains and forests of the far north Vietnam about 10 km from the border with China.This Lung Khau Nhin is small market but still keeps its originals. The Flower H’mong and Black Dao people will come to this market o every Thursday and bring a lot of things to exchange and sell.

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I Lung Khau Nhin market information
Lung Khau Nhin marketAlthough not being so big or famous among visitors as Coc Ly and Can Cau, Lung Khau Nhin market, be side a normal shopping place, play an important role to spiritual life of local ethnic peoples Flower H’mong, Black Zao, Zay, and especially to those who come from very small ethnic groups such as Pa Zi, Tou Zi, Tou Lao who live in small and isolated villages around this corner of the country, come for meeting, socializing…Lung Khau Nhin brings an interesting view into the life of Vietnam hill tribes. As it is for years, weekly market is something important and meaningful to the life of local people who live in remote area. Once getting close to the lovely Flower Hmong, Tay, Dao peoples, you will for sure, feel our land as a place of the specia
It is very ideal when driving toward the market in the early morning via the beautiful beautiful landscape of North west region.

Top Three Souvenir Shops in Hanoi

Travellers often buy souvenirs as gifts and as mementos, and it can be hard to distinguish quality from fake. Below are our hand-picked souvenir shops in Hanoi that provide quality products.

 1 – MINH LONG FINE PORCELAIN

At first glance, Minh Long Fine Porcelain on Hang Than street doesn’t stand out from other pottery stores. But once you enter the shop, you will be overwhelmed by the elegant displays of such a huge variety of products. North Vietnam travel

The shop has only one floor but it has just about all of the products you would want to find in a porcelain store. They range from simple designs and average prices to complex designs and prices up to tens of millions of VND – statues, tea sets, bowls, dishes for decoration, and vases in different sizes, colours and decorations.
The rich texture of Vietnamese flowers (lotus, ‘mickey mouse’ or bird’s-eye bush, daisy and peach blossom) are hand-drawn in small lines with soft brushes and no colour stains, showing the high level of mastery of the art. Travellers are often keen on lotus decorations. JAHAN CRUISE
You can test the quality of a vase by lightly knocking it to see whether the sound is solid or hollow, feeling whether the texture lines are smooth or not, and observing if the glaze is well done or not.

Address: 32 Hang Than, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
Open: 9am–8pm

Top Three Souvenir Shops in Hanoi

2 – IPA NIMA STORE

Ipa Nima is an iconic fashion site in Hanoi that female travellers should visit. But it should be a top priority for men too if they are seeking an elegantly unique gift for their significant others. Alova Gold Cruise

Ipa Nima has two stores, one at 72 Trang Thi Street and one at 5 Nha Tho Street, both in Hoan Kiem District. The store at 72 Trang Thi has more space and is more beautifully decorated. The main products here are bags, and there’s a plethora of styles and colors to choose from. No design is the same, and new ones come out frequently.
Most details on the bags are meticulously and intricately made by hand. Besides the high-end bags, Ipa Nima also sells other fashion accessories such as bracelets, necklaces or shawls with eye-catching designs, sometimes at very reasonable prices around the 200,000VND mark.

Address: 72 Trang Thi, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
               5 Nha Tho, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
Open: 9am – 7pm

3 – TAN MY EMBROIDERY AND TAN MY DESIGN

Tan My is a repository of beautiful embroidery designs for which Hanoi is famous. Founded in 1969, Tan My has been going for three generations. With intricately designed bed linens, table cloths, clothes and handkerchiefs, the two Tan My stores on Hang Gai street are a good place to shop for beautiful and meaningful gifts or mementos.

Tan My’s unique and colourful designs include envelope-shaped bags, colourful pillows for kids and one-of-a-kind, embroidered pictures that you would not be able to find elsewhere. Embroidered pictures are a unique Vietnamese art form and they make great gifts.

A small bag or pillow may be priced under 100,000VND, while bigger embroidery pictures could be tens of millions of dong.


Address: 61 and 66 Hang Gai, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
Open: 9am–7pm

Vietnam safe country travel statistics must knows

Yes. In General, Vietnam is a friendly and safe country to travel both alone and with your family and friends. By using common sense and awareness you will minimize your chances of encountering any troubles in your travels.

Crime Rate
Like many countries in South East Asia, Vietnam has a high crime rate. But, the majority of crime in Vietnam relates to petty theft such a bag and jewellery snatching, pick pocketing, theft of items such as cell phones, wallets and unattended motorbikes. Caution needs to be taken when visiting heavily populated tourist areas such as Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Noi, Hoi An or any crowded areas where thieves can easily snatch your belongings and run. Many unsuspecting tourists have lost their belongings to the swift actions of a thief and an accomplice on the back of a motorbike. These thefts usually take place whilst the victim is located roadside. PANDAW CRUISE

Comparative Crime Rates By Country:

The table above compares the rate of homicide in 6 different countries around the world. As documented, Vietnam has a relatively low homicide rate of just 1.6 per 100,000 of the population. This is comparable to developed countries such as Australia (1.0)  and France (1.1). According UNODC source the United States Of America Homicide Data recorded (4.7) Homicides per 100,000 in 2012. Alova Gold Cruise

Violent Crime

Vietnam safe country travel statistics must knows

Violent crime against tourists in Vietnam is quite rare and should only be considered as a moderate risk factor whilst traveling through most regions of Vietnam. But like anywhere in the world, we suggest that you should travel with caution. To minimise your probability of encountering troubles, we highly recommend you keep valuables such as jewellery, watches, cell phones, wallets, purse or money out of sight. Splendours of Vietnam and Cambodia (17 days,16 nights)

What To Do If You Are A Victim Of Crime In Vietnam?

Vietnam is now a very popular tourist destination with millions of new visitors every year. Overall you will find traveling in Vietnam safe and non threatening. If you do happen to be a victim of crime or theft, the best thing to do is contact your hotel/hostel manager who can put you in contact with the local Police or hospital if needed. We suggest you remain cautious and vigilant, but don’t let this stop you from enjoying the adventure and beauty Vietnam has to offer.