Hoi An - heritage town

Hoi An has to be Vietnam's Pushka, Luang Prabang or Ubud , a preserved charm that creates a beautiful facade, saved from the danger of destruction but now in danger of becoming a theme park of "Ye Olde Towne"



It is full of boutiques and cafes along a riverside promenade, resplendent with ancient Chinese temples, wooden houses with ornate doors and lovely flooring and alive with the call of sales girls, who by anyone's standards are joyous and welcoming but unrelenting.


The tactic of pushing and pulling has reached a high level of refinement here with the girls stroking your arm gently as they lead you and squeezing you around the waist in happiness at your potential custom. It is a seductive way to sell, but apart from my intended appointment with Trang the seamstress I was able to resist all but the most persuasive.

This meant only two things. One I was lead into the depths of the wet market to eat 'real' food which apart from a suspicion of added msg was gorgeous and I was hauled into a 'salon' and subjected to a great sales pitch that basically meant when they got a hold of me for a foot massage more women descended upon me and began to try out their various skills ..so much for relaxing foot massage! I did end up with 'baby-born' smooth legs, as the lady described the result of her threading technique, a very neat pair of eyebrows and, thankfully, more hair on my body that she was happy with me keeping.
There was one absolute upside to this circus, it attracted a small crowd of other women , one of whom began to sing the most exquisite Vietnamese songs. She had the most beautiful voice and although the others joined in the chorus they also knew she was in possession of a formidable talent. Her singing alone made the whole venture worth it.

I wandered with little purpose for five hours through the streets, and although they were thronged with pedestrian tourists there was nothing sleazy or tasteless - a la Kuta - about the historic township.







Even leaving the 'preserved' area the extended town of Hoi An has charm, and like other UNESCO projects although there is a new town surrounding the area, the Chinese style cement modern shop houses that you see all over South East Asia, the streets are wide and leafy, and the post office is a destination in itself.