Hoi An II

Mathias & Nina This is the second entry to Hoi An after Daniel's very detailed report before.
We heard two different opinions about how much time to spend in Hoi An and Hue (Daniel recommended to spend more time in Hue and some Austrians who we met on the bus from Dalat to Nha Trang said we spend more time in Hoi An). We decided to divide our time equally and spend two days in both places. ;-)

Today we did a small tour around town (its not that big, everything is within walking distance) and we saw some picturesque houses, some up to 200 years old. Somehow Hoi An reminds us very much of Luang Phrabang in Laos, but what's missing is the authenticity. Here in Hoi An are even more souveniere shops, more art galleries that sell copies of modern art paintings and tailors that offer their services. The life of local people has totaly adjusted to tourism, and there are very few businesses in the city center that are not tourism related.

For us as travellers this makes life a lot easier (but less authentic and adventurous): there are good hotels for little money, excellent restaurants serving a blend of south-east-asian favourits and all the services that you could expect. But it takes a lot from the experience that makes travelling in this part of Asia so unique.

Tomorrow we will continue to the Cham-ruines of My Son (we have booked a sunrise tour starting at 5am!!) and later to Hue.