Hoi An, Vietnam

With a trip to the beach under our belt, we felt it was time to try something a little more adventurous so we took another long weekend and headed to Hoi An, Vietnam.  Hoi An Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site and so it has been preserved and full of history.  It was quite different than our previous trip to Vietnam when we went to Hanoi which was a vibrant bustling city.  We were glad to be in a lazy seaside town where we could shop, eat, and relax.

Hoi An’s streets are lined with tailors, artists, and lots of lanterns so the first thing we did when we arrived was to find a tailor to make Derek a custom suit.  We weren’t really in need of much clothing but didn’t want to pass up the chance to replace Derek’s navy suit with a tailor made one for less than one-third the price.  I should have taken pictures of the suit making process but I was too busy trying to keep Caroline cool and entertained.

The weather was much hotter than Singapore so we tried to only venture out in the mornings and the evenings but it all depended on when Derek’s daily suit fitting was scheduled.  Keeping Caroline protected from the sun and reasonably cool was a bit of a challenge.  We found she was happiest in the Baby Bjorn under a UV protection umbrella.  After our three trips these last five months we have learned quite a few travel trips which I plan to share soon.

Because Hoi An is a small town, I don’t think many of the locals have seen blonde haired, blue-eyed, fair skinned babies very many times, if ever, so Caroline was quite popular.  I want to think it was that rather than we were the only people crazy enough to bring a baby that young there.  Everywhere we went people would point and smile.  Some would ask how old she was.  Some would just reach out and touch her without notice.  We were chased down the street multiple times by people wanting to get a look at her or to touch her.  We even had random people kiss her hands and feet.  It was a bit unnerving but I know they all meant well.  I just had to make sure I wiped her down several times a day.

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and would definitely recommend Hoi An to anyone traveling to Vietnam!

View from lunch on the first day

The streets of Hoi An.  Loved that they were pedestrian only for most of the day.

The market we walked by everyday.  All the women loved Caroline.

The street leading to our hotel.  Nice and quiet!

Headed to dinner and the night market 

Girls selling floating lanterns

Lanterns at the night market 

One of several wedding photo shoots we spotted while out

The streets were always so empty you would have thought it was a ghost town. 

Lanterns everywhere!

We stopped in the shade for a minute and this lady wanted to see Caroline 

She was really sweet and wanted to make sure she had shade

The Japanese Bridge 

We have seen the Share-a-Coke campaign in the U.S. but not in Singapore.  We were surprised to get Coke's that had Vietnamese names on them.

Road construction and a traffic jam.  It's a different experience.

Loving those lanterns!

Waiting for our ride to the airport

A wonderful family vacation!