Welcome to Hội An, Vietnam, where every street looks like it was made for a postcard. Once one of Southeast Asia's busiest trading ports, Hội An today is a UNESCO World Heritage town filled with old yellow houses, Chinese temples, Japanese influence, tiny shops, and lanterns everywhere you look, BNNO Travel reports from Hội An.
At a glance
- Where: Hội An, Vietnam
- Known for: old yellow houses, Chinese temples, Japanese influence, lanterns
- By day: old streets, handmade souvenirs, the Japanese Covered Bridge, boats on the river
- At night: lanterns, little boats on the water, floating lanterns
- Try: cao lầu, mì Quảng, white rose dumplings, bánh mì, Vietnamese coffee
By Day: Old Streets and the Japanese Covered Bridge
By day, walk the old streets, shop for handmade souvenirs, check out the famous Japanese Covered Bridge, or simply watch the boats drift along the river.
At Sunset, the Lanterns Switch On
When sunset arrives, Hội An completely changes. The lanterns switch on, little boats fill the water, and the whole riverside starts glowing. Visitors can even release a floating lantern and make a wish.
Come Hungry
BNNO Travel's advice is to come hungry: try cao lầu, mì Quảng, white rose dumplings, bánh mì, Vietnamese coffee, and whatever smells good from the street stalls.
Colorful, Romantic, a Little Chaotic
Hội An is colorful, historic, romantic, a little chaotic, and seriously photogenic. From daytime wandering to lanterns on the river at night, it is one place in Vietnam that BNNO Travel says you really have to experience.
What BNNO Travel Filmed in Hội An
The BNNO Travel footage shows the town's two faces. In daylight, the camera follows cyclists past yellow-walled shophouses hung with red lanterns, shoppers browsing walls of silk lanterns in every color, stalls of handmade crafts and wooden carvings, and a boat driver in a conical hat looking out over the palm-lined river.
As the light fades, the footage turns to the riverbank: small wooden boats carry passengers in life vests across the water, lanterns glow along the riverside cafés, and crowds fill the lantern-lit streets. Inside one of the town's temples, carved dragons and red lanterns frame the altar.
At night, the river becomes the main stage. BNNO Travel filmed floating lanterns drifting on the dark water, their small flames reflected beside the lights of the riverside, while boats with glowing lanterns move slowly past.
Street Food on Camera
The food stalls are just as colorful. The footage shows grills lined with skewers of meat and seafood, a fruit-shake stand stacked with mangoes, pineapples and grapes, and street vendors ready for the evening crowd, the kind of stalls BNNO Travel means when it says to try whatever smells good.
Video/Photos: BNNO Travel