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destination feature
Vendors on the old streets of Hoi An
Charming Riverside Town
The trading port and ancient town of Hoi An in central Vietnam has become a highlight on any tour of Vietnam. Rebecca Chua finds out why.
Blissfully idyllic, Hoi An boasts buildings and a pace of life that hark back to cen- turies past, when this small Viet- namese town was a major port of call and a springboard to the rest of the country. Intricate carvings and Japanese tiled-roofs adorn its warm buildings that date back to the ear- lier half of the 19th century and even before. Its narrow streets bring to mind the days of rickshaw carts while ocean-going vessels have given way to skiffs that glide lan- guidly on its waters. In fact, so well preserved is Hoi An, that in 1999, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
More than 2,000 years ago, Hoi An was a central port town for the Sa Huynh people. In its heyday — from 16th to late 19th century — Hoi An
The traditional tiled-roofs of Hoi An are said to follow the rule of harmony
was a major port of call, equal to past maritime stalwarts like Malacca and Macau. Today, its waterfront ware- houses are a reminder of an era past when Japanese and Chinese traders spent up to four months in Hoi An waiting for the southerly winds to take them home.
At the end of Hoi An’s harbour stands an ornate oddity next to the port city’s most pragmatic houses. Hoi An’s Japanese community built the bridge in 1953, believing that it would stab at the heart of a leg- endary monster living beneath the earth. The feisty beast was thought to cause earthquakes by lashing its tail when it was upset. On each side of the bridge is an altar of a mon- key and a dog to commemorate the bridge’s year of initiation and completion.
EnDLEss VACATIon 11
Photos: Exotissimo Travel