Hội An

We arrived at the airport of Da Nang, where a taxi was waiting to bring us to our homestay in Hội An — a 30km, or 45min drive. Our homestay was run by our host and his familiy. Our host was a governmental engineer by day, while before and after office hours he invites guests into his house — with great enthusiasm. He built his house all by himself and he’s legitimately proud of it! The rooms are plain awesome and comparable to much more pricey hotels, but then with the advantages that come with a homestay.

Hội An is a coastal city that has a beautifully preserved historic city center. On top of that, it’s streets are car- and motorcycle free in the evening, enabling you to stroll around in peace. Unfortunately there are also many (Asian) tourists, although this depends on which time of the day it is.

Hội An is also well-known for its tailors. You can find dozens of them all around the city, and they can make you a custom-made suit only for a fraction of the price you could get it for in Belgium. It always seemed like a fun idea to me and I was persuaded to try it out. The result was amazing! You can choose the model, fabric, linings, buttons and all that yourself! After just one day I got to try it on for the first time, and after some minor adjustments, it was completely finished in just 2 days. Guess who’s all ready for those weddings coming up once we’re back in Belgium?

We spent the rest of our afternoons in Hội An just hangin’ at the beach. Not the most beautiful Asian beach we’ve seen, but quite peaceful nonetheless.

Our initial idea was to move on to Hanoi after our stay in Hội An, but our host ensured that if we’d do that, we’d miss out on some pretty nice spots. He recommended we go to Phong Nha-Ke Bang and visit its caves, then stop over at Ninh Binh for a boat trip through nature. That seemed like a good idea to us, so now we’re moving on to Phong Nha-Ke Bang!

Info:
Our homestay was Flame Flowers Homestay, a good nearby restaurant was Yum Yum, the tailor mentioned was Bi Hanh. We took the bus near Hanh café to Hue, and from there on we hopped on a minivan from Dmz-bar to Phong Nha.