Travel Post - Hoi An, Vietnam - Part 4

Walking around Hoi An, there were many random pics that I took.  Once again, loading them onto Facebook would be easier but I would like to have them on my blog with it's own link for easy search and access.  If you are looking at my posts on your mobile phone, make it a point to have a look at them on your laptop/desktop computer as the photos are meant to be LARGE, rather than ones that fit onto a 6 inch screen display :o).

Travel Post - Mr Mot's Herbal Drink, Hoi An, Vietnam - Part Three

Now, I must say that we really did like walking around Old Town (or Ancient Town).  So much so, we had a regular pit stop at a particular stall during the four days we were there.

This stall was just so inviting...We call the vendor, Mr Mot (not really knowing his name!) as MOT is written on the board.  With flowers,the lanterns and the beautiful tree nearby his stall, Mr Mot's stall is picture-postcard perfect!

Travel Post - Hoi An, Vietnam - Part Two

One of the most important thing to enjoying one self in Hoi An is to actually throw caution to the wind when it comes to eating.  TT and I ate at sidewalks often, trying the local food and snacks during the 5 day/4 night stay there. Staying at a hotel at a convenient location also makes a lot of difference too.  I booked the accommodation via Expedia.  It's been my go-to site for travel arrangements lately as I find it fast, easy and the prices competitive. Plus with one of my previous experience of a cancelled refundable booking (due to my own change in plans), I was pleasantly surprised when my refund was credited back after two days to my credit card account. That kinda sealed my trust in Expedia.

While being the last hotel located along the river (err.. not exactly a river), I still picked Royal Riverside Hotel in terms of best value, pricing, amenities and location.    It's really a nice hotel with great service and hospitality to boot.  I highly recommend this hotel to anyone who is keen on visiting Hoi An. The staff are courteous and very helpful. Upon checking in, Nguyen, was ever ready to receive us with a welcome drink and promptly sat us down (while we wait to check in as we had arrived two hours ahead).  She then handed us a map and showed us the location of places of interest and how to get around to the different places.  Plus I really enjoyed the daily free breakfast given and there's free wi-fi too.  There's even a free shuttle van to take us to the beach area (An Bang Beach..more on that later).  We were only 10 minutes on foot away from Old Town.  Arriving on the first day, we decided to take it easy and just explore Old Town before we decided whether we should sign up for some local tours.

The "Occupied" Staff who kept her eyes and ears glued to her phone!  The ladies at the back were busy with the mackerels.

Of course, we needed lunch first! By the time we were ready to go out after cleaning up, it was about 2pm (which is 3pm Malaysian time!).  We walked towards Old Town but we got distracted by some people and their activities on the opposite street nearby and decided to head over there to take a look. We soon stumbled across a shop, which horrors of horrors to me, had the FISH written on the side of the signboard. Hahaha...well, I am not a fan of fish but TT is and we were hungry. Fortunately, I saw a dish that mentioned shrimp ball! Yay! I could eat that! Hahaha.....So, we sat down and ordered in a sort of Vietnam-fied English (TT is good at that... Kekeke!) and hand gestures to the pots and pans and I prayed for the best!

TT's sweet dream, my nightmare! A wokful of mackerels which is the main ingredient for her Câ Thu order of noodles.

Travel Post - Hoi An, Vietnam - Part One

It has been awhile since I last blogged.  However, two recent trips I did in March reminded me of the many past trips that have gone unposted and with memories (becoming more vague in time) stored in mind and on saved folders in the computer hard disk.  It seems such a shame that many eats and trips have gone unrecorded, losing out to the ever convenient Facebook posting.  To you readers, who are reading this now, I am back and a heartfelt thank you for still visiting this blog.  I will attempt to highlight (slowly but surely) all the past trips that have come and gone (I think dating back to 2010!) as a means of having a place in cyberspace for it to be published online.  And maybe....maybe I will even blog about my food adventures too like I used to.

For now, I intend to keep my blog post short, with parts if needed so as to not bore myself and you readers.  More so for myself, so that I won't feel that it's a chore to blog as to what had happened to me at some point in time.   I apologise to my blog; neglected and almost forgotten.  You had in the past brought me so much joy and even friendship with strangers who have become good friends in time. I am so sorry...and I do hope to redeem myself.

So, let's start off with my most recent trip ... Hoi An, Vietnam.  I have previously been to Hanoi back in 2007 and it was enjoyable.  9 years later, I find myself in Hoi An and enjoying every single minute of it. Most of the time was spent walking around Old Town (120,000 VND/USD6 for entry ticket valid for the whole duration of my 5 days there) and practically anywhere else, enjoying the sights and sounds of this enchanting place. Being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it was like being immersed in a large piece of living history.

Upon entering Old Town, one of the first things that you will see is the Japanese Bridge.