Another UNESCO world heritage sight in Vietnam, the Ancient Town of Hoi An is a well preserved little village of diverse culture and architecture. It's also the place to visit the famous Japanese Bridge (which by the way, I find underwhelming compared to the rest of the town).

The Ancient Town is simply beautiful at any time of the day- it's a nice lazy village in the morning, and it slowly transitions into a magical bustling town as night falls and the river lights up with hundreds of floating candles. The streets light up with the famous colorful Vietnamese lanterns. My favourite part is to watch the sun set in between the river banks behind a row of fisherman boats.

This place is really, really quaint. I spent 2 days walking around this magical place and visiting the little museums and temples in the Ancient Town. Be warned though, there are barely any air conditioned places in a bid to preserve the originality of the Ancient Town so do wear light and comfortable clothing. You need to pay an entry fee but you get to visit it unlimited times!

And now, pictures!

The best friend and I taking a brief respite from the heat at a very good coffee house called Hoi An Roastery. Highly recommended for good coffee!

Things to do in Hoi An: 

1. Take up cooking classes- we booked a class at Red Bridge Cooking School for about US$50 and enjoyed a market tour, river cruise to the cooking school,  and a delicious Vietnamese lunch. Highly recommended.

2. Eat the the market- if you want cheap and unpretentious Vietnamese food, visit the market! Note that there are 2 types of makets there- the dry market which sells cooked food and the wet market.

3. Shop at the market- but please make sure you bargain real hard. 

4. Light up a floating candle and make a wish at the river

5. Tailor leather footware and clothes

6. Visit the little museums, ancient houses and temples