Read on to find out!
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To Vietnam With Love by Spunky the Seal
SPUNKY THE SEAL NARRATES:
Not intending to stay long, of course. C'mon, it's Vietnam!
What can possibly interest a seal in Vietnam? It isn't the shopping heaven that is Bangkok. It doesn't have world famous monuments like those in Cambodia.
Boy, was I surprised.
My first stop was in Hoi An, a city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam.
The city was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site for being a well- preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port of the 15th to 19th centuries, with buildings that display a unique blend of local and foreign influences.
When I first stepped in Hoi An, I thought I was in Chinatown!
Quaint, well-preserved yellow shophouses with a distince Chinese style lined the streets.
A tourist hotspot for the awesome night cafe-shopping experience! Hoi An is simply beautiful at night!
I settled in a cafe to write a postcard for Mama Seal, and met a young German lady who was on her graduation trip - alone! She loved Hoi An, said it was one of the best parts of her South East Asian trip yet!
She promptly scoffed at me when she found out that I was the only staying there for 2 days... "There is so much to see in Hoi An!", she says.
1) Visit the My Son ruins.
2) Tailor clothes on the cheap!
RECOMMENDED!
Thang Loi gives you a free tour of how silk products are made, and also where you can tailor clothes based on existing designs in their design book, or your own designs!
Poor silkworms though :( Do you know that silkworms are boiled alive to obtain the highest quality silk?
Thang Loi
92 Phan Chau Trinh St
3) Cycle safely through the streets where not many motor vehicles roam around.. Take in the sights and sounds of Vietnam!
4) Visit businesses with a difference!
RECOMMENDED!
Reaching Out is run by Mr Binh Le, who employs other-abled artisans to make beautifully-handcrafted lacquer, silk, cotton and silver products, just to name a few! The products are of top quality, more so than those found in other shops around the area!
You get to see the workshop at the back of the store where products are slowly taking shape.
Reaching Out
103 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street
(between Tan Ky Old House and The Cargo Club)
Where does that magic doorway at the back of Reaching Out lead to?
The river!!
Tourists enjoying a scenic trishaw ride before dusk.
RECOMMENDED!
And just beside Reaching Out, facing the river, a delectable array of home-made ice-cream choices! Hazelnut! Banana! Chocolate! Never thought you'd fine a Ben&Jerry duplicate in a UNESCO heritage site, eh? Must try!
5) Go cafe hopping.
RECOMMENDED!
The Cargo Club cafe is top recommendation for its array of cakes, mousse and coffee for the weary traveller looking to people-watch in a cosy ambience!
Vietnamese coffee is a must-try! Infamously called the drip coffee, it is best drunk hot and where hot water is passed through a small metal contraption placed on top of the cup, which holds the coffee granules. Tried the cold one with milk too, awesome!
Here in Vietnam, you can buy weasel coffee too, but only if you dare! Costs more than normal coffee though.
"Weasel coffee", or civet coffee, is coffee made from the beans of coffee berries which have been eaten by the Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) and other related civets, then passed through its digestive tract.[1]
Shouldn't drink too much coffee though! a seal's fur ruffles too often after consuming too much caffeine!
6) Take an art class.
RECOMMENDED!
At Lifestart Foundation, you get the opportunity to take Chinese brush painting classes!
7) Go shopping for jewellery.
At Hoi An, I found gorgeous bracelets which you can see under our Accessories tab!
I dunno why, but of all the beautiful things that I saw, I just had to grab a handful of these colourful and unique wooden beads which I know my readers will love!
The shop is family-run, and located on one of the major streets in Hoi An (which isn't really major at all by Singapore standards).
Lovely experience indeed in Hoi An! Even a seal LOVES it! Go visit!
TRAVELLER'S NOTE!
How to get to Hoi An:
From Ho Chi Minh City's airport, tan Son Nhat International Airport, take a 1 hour domestic flight to Da Nang. It's cheaper to fly by Jetstar, if you don't mind cramming in a bit with the locals. Seats were a bit squeezy for me though, considering the fact that I'm two metres tall and not exactly a size zero. What's a seal to do?
At Da Nang, you can take the taxi or other hired vehicles for a 45-minute drive to Hoi An!
TRAVELLER'S NOTE!
Don't say 'yes' if you want your driver to bring you on a short trip to 'beautiful mountains' that you see whilst on the way to Hoi An, because he'll really bring you to a marble and jade sculpture shop where you awkwardly walk around and say 'no thanks' to eager salesgirls.
Unless, of course, he really did want to bring you to the mountains, for which I cannot be blamed for your missed experience if you say no!
Okay, I hope you enjoyed reading about my Hoi An trip. More on Ho Chi Minh in due time. Cya!
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Love Spunky!
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