By: Anne Nelson

Anne Nelson — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:51:52 +0000

I definitely fall into the 80% who are enchanted by the place. It is possible to find corners of “Old Vietnam” elsewhere in the country, but Hoi An is where enough of it is preserved to imagine it as a way of life. The food, as noted, is spectacular and reasonable. (Try banana leaf salad.) It was the best place I found in the country for lovely gifts (silk scarves, freshwater pearls). Do consider the “house tours” — the system is a little complicated but it’s worth it. You buy a single ticket that allows you to enter various house museums in the old town. The most fascinating one I saw had belonged to a Chinese merchant family, whose son joined the independence movement while studying in Paris, and who became its representative to the Chinese Communists in the 1940s. The elegant house and its displays — with his grandson as docent — vividly tell the story. Also don’t miss the beautiful Buddhist temple and the statue to Kazimierz Kwiatkowski, the Polish architect who, in the 1980s, supported the Vietnamese preservation efforts.

Comments on: Monday Escape: Hoi An, Vietnam

By: Anne Nelson