Hoi An, Vietnam

Day 1

Arriving in Hoi An from Hue on a 4-hour Queen Cafe sleeper bus, we were welcomed into Flame Flowers Homestay, which is by far my favourite homestay in Vietnam so far. Homestays in Hoi An seem to be more like hotels, meaning you get much more for your money - for example, we were given treats every day (including fresh-from-the-bakery custas!) a balcony, turndown and just lovely company and conversation.

After a quick freshen-up, we headed out to explore the city we had heard so many great things about. Although we were sure food and coffee would cost much more in this more touristy area, our little island legs led us straight to a beautiful little local eatery right by the main bridge over to the night market. We ordered mi quang, rice noodles, meat, fresh greens, peanuts, chilli and a little broth, and cau lau, which was much fresher with more salad and less soup-y-ness.

I also ordered a xi ma phu, which is a black sesame sweet soup which originates right in the town of Hoi An, served hot in a small gloopy cup. I l o v e black sesame, and I’m sad to say that I was a little disappointed by the flavour of this speciality! Maybe I was expecting something a little sweeter… So in search of something to curb my sweet tooth, we walked right over that bridge and ordered a small bowl of che bap - sweetcorn pudding - to share. A word of advice: always order the che!

Day 2

Waking up bright and early, we took our free bicycles for a spin and headed to Style motorbikes to check out their advice about a loop we’d read about online. When we returned, our lovely hosts sat us down with some free amazing beef, onion and rice concoction! After this, we headed into the town, locked up our bikes and headed for a coffee.

Our host had told us that we could get a whole suit tailored for 300, to which we were pretty much like… WHAT?! So with this idea in our heads, and his info that the best tailor is Truo’ng, we headed there to see if we could get some dungarees and shorts made. However, we didn’t quite understand that he had meant 300 dollars, so were surprised when the tailors told us a pair of shorts would cost $45 (haha!) So we continued our wandering, right through the Central Market where we picked up some fresh shrimp spring rolls, and headed back to our house to eat yet more delicious fresh fruit.

We decided that for date night, we would have a few drinks and hit the night market to see what delicacies we could find. This did not disappoint! We found the most amazing bbq corn, which a sweet old lady brushed chilli garlic fish butter onto before grilling, followed by a banh xeo (pork pancake,) more beer, mi quang and a che thap cam (sweet coconut mix.)

Day 3

We cycled to the beach, advised by an Aussie guy at Style motorbikes to head to his favourite hang-out. Facepalm - cue a beach full of tourists, water sports, umbrellas and general distaste. So we settled down with a coffee further back from the beach, enjoying some fresh custas our hosts had kindly gifted to us.

We cycled back home, took some time alone for laptop time and general grounding - and most importantly papaya eating - before heading for a massage at Blue Gift Spa which Fab treated me to, for a little TLC. We chose the Vietnamese 1-hour massage, they picked us up for free, showered us in tea and pineapple (not literally) and took card payment. I was so, so happy and relaxed when they dropped us home and was feeling so grateful to be travelling with such an amazing partner.

We headed out for more brushed corn and then to find some com ga, chicken and rice, which again originates in Hoi An. We ordered a large portion of com ga with salad to share, made it super spicy and sat back in contentment. We walked along the ricer, stopping for a cacao ice blend from Cong coffee, which is oddly a chain I can get behind! This was perfectly chocolate-y and coconut-y without too much sugar. Delish!

Day 4

Waking up early, we got some work done and ate some overnight oats - made with local rice milk and amazing fresh fruit from the market next door - before checking out of Flame Flowers. We ended up arranging a bike through their recommendation Hoi An Bike Rental, who give you a free spare phone with local sim in it, rain ponchos and a stable phone holder.

And once more, before we knew it, we were off on the road again! Our hosts kept our big rucksacks safe for us, and we just packed Fab’s daypack with a couple of spare items of clothing for our travels up across the Hai Van Pass.

Stay tuned to read more about our adventure…