Upon being picked up in Da Nang by our local host and guide Vo Van Laut, we embarked on a 20-minute journey to Hoi An. In the 15th century, Hoi An rivaled Macau, drawing in trading vessels from Dutch, English, Chinese, Thai, Portuguese, and Japanese origins. Formerly known as Faifo, it served as a vital port on the maritime Silk Road and was Vietnam's primary port in the 16th century. Over the course of 500 years, these traders settled in the thriving town, resulting in a unique fusion of culture, cuisine, religions, and architecture. Even today, it showcases an impressive array of nearly 850 ancient structures. The old quarter of Hoi An, which heavily relied on its natural river harbor, had become inaccessible to large sailing ships by the time the French arrived due to silting. Consequently, the French took control of a sizable protected bay north of Hoi An, which is present-day Danang, now Vietnam's second-largest city. While Hoi An was overshadowed, it has remained unscathed by conflicts and has been preserved in time since the 1860s.
Hoi An was definitely one of our favorite cities throughout all of Southeast Asia. It is so quaint and beautiful with old Asian buildings. The people are friendly and helpful and you feel like you're stepping back into time to see what it was like several hundred years ago. Every night the city lights up everything with lanterns. It is a beautiful site. We did have one day of rain while we were there, but it did not stop us from walking the streets and shopping through out the old city.
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