Travel Diary Days 52 – 58: Hội An & Hanoi, Vietnam

Hey friends! Wow, it’s been a LONG time since I wrote the last travel blog. I have good reasons for my silence, though! For one, Pete and I moved to Costa Rica and started managing Nautilus Boutique Hotel, the vegan/vegetarian restaurant on-site (Olam Pure Food), and the yoga program at the hotel. If moving to a foreign country isn’t enough, try taking over a business! It’s been CRAZY, to say the least. To top it off, Pete and I were robbed back in May – the thieves stole both our laptops, my camera, our GoPro, and all of our hard drives and memory cards – which means we lost ALL of our travel photos from Asia. It was an extremely dark period in our lives and I just didn’t have the emotional energy to come to the blog to write about our travels, as it’s a reminder of all of the photos we lost.

In the end, it’s all just “stuff”. I’m still healing, but the major downside for you as readers is that the remaining three travel posts will have photos that were taken on our iPhones, versus the beautiful travel photos I snapped. Glad we still have our phones, at least! It’s a major bummer because Hoi An was our favorite part of the whole trip and I spent a whole day taking photos! Ah – lessons in non-attachment. Hope you all still love me!

Hội An, Vietnam

After we left Vung Tau Beach, we made our way back to Saigon so we could catch our flight to Hội An, which is in the middle of the country (Vung Tau/Saigon is in the south). The flights throughout Vietnam are really affordable! Flying was a nice and fast way to travel from the southern part of Vietnam to Hoi An. Once we made it to the Danang airport, which is right near Hoi An and the fastest way to access it, a driver was waiting for us.

Homestays

We heard from many people that a homestay is the way to go in Hoi An, so Pete booked us a homestay called Pham Gia Hoi An. A homestay is basically what it sounds like – a family opens up their home to guests. Generally, the family provides food and options for cultural events, depending on the place that you choose to stay. Homestays come in all budgets and amenities! Ours was top of the line (at around $30 a night)!

Pham Gia Hoi An is BEAUTIFUL and we quickly fell in love with the host family and the property. It’s a big white house that’s modernly and ornately decorated. The rooms are super gorgeous and the amenities are fabulous. Pete and I both felt that the room and bathroom were the nicest that we stayed in throughout Southeast Asia. We ended up extending our stay there by a few days once we arrived. The beds are big and extremely comfortable, the bathrooms have beautifully-designed, tiled rain showers, we had a balcony, and more. They serve a beautiful breakfast spread every morning.

Because we are vegan, they went to the local vegetarian restaurant and brought us both vegan Pho for breakfast every morning. Some of the other guests were jealous! It was so kind of them to go out of their way to get us hot food for breakfast versus simply handing us fruit or something, as other people do when they hear we are vegan. It feels like a hotel in many ways but you get the comfort and friendliness of a local family taking care of you. I got sick while in Hoi An and they brought me ginger tea and checked on me regularly.

Ancient Town

Hội An is a charming town on the central coast of Vietnam. Inside is the well-known “Ancient Town”, a beautifully preserved trading port from the 15th to 19th century. The architecture and culture represent the various influences that have created the site, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town area is blocked off to motorists and can only be accessed via foot or bicycle. We rented bikes and rode around in the evening. There are beautiful canals that cut through the streets, and you can see distinct differences in certain areas between Japanese, French, Vietnamse & Chinese influences. There are bridges, soap houses, temples, colonial buildings, and color all around.

We went to a couple of the bars in Ancient Town and enjoyed the evening. It’s a very charming place but one downfall is that everyone is trying to sell you something on the streets. The homes lining the streets have been converted in clothing stores (Hoi An is famous for beautiful custom clothing tailoring), restaurants, bars, cafes, souvenir shops, and more. You still get an idea of what everything looked like back then and I found myself imagining what it must have been like in the 16th century as a port town, full of people from many various cultures. 

Lanterns of all colors line the streets and light up at night. We immediately fell in love with the charm of Hội An and could’ve stayed much longer!

The Vegan Food Situation in Hội An

We had a unforgettable time in Hội An but the food in the South was better in our experience. However, we did visit many delicious restaurants in Hội An. Here are a few of them!

1. Karma Waters 

We rode our bikes to Karma Waters one night to try their cuisine. Karma Waters is more than just a vegan restaurant. They use sustainable practices & promote eco-tourism of many kinds. The founders & most employees are vegan. Their philosophy is, “We are creating sustainable communities by providing & promoting a healthy organic vegan lifestyle”. They use no sugar or MSG. They serve vegan meals to the homeless and provide vegan education to children in the community.

We had the vegetable thali, which has an assortment of the daily curries and dahls, & we tried the stir-fried vegetables with noodles. We really enjoyed the food. I wish we stayed in Hoi An longer because you can order whole cakes from Karma Waters to take home!

Next time. We will definitely return to Hội An. 

2. Am Vegetarian Restaurant

We stumbled upon this place accidentally while looking for another vegan restaurant. Am is new (opened shortly before we went) and we are glad we found it! It has an elegant & comforting vibe. The staff is lovely and attentive. The owner came out to talk with us. She and her husband lived in Northern California for awhile and she opened the restaurant in Hoi An recently because of her love for vegan food and vegan living. We wish we could’ve tried more dishes!

3. Miss Thuy Vegetables

During the day, the streets are lined with markets of all kinds selling fresh produce and foods. There’s an indoor food market that hosts 100s of various food vendors selling local, fresh cuisine and we read on Happy Cow that one of the vendors is vegan-friendly, so we tried it out.

This is true local dining. As soon as you walk in, your business is being sought after by vendors that compete for business all day long. We sifted through the crowd to find the Miss Thuy sign and sat at the counter for service.

I wasn’t feeling well so I ordered a green papaya salad (Món gỏi đu đủ) and Pete ordered a large vegetable soup with tofu. Both were prepared fresh in front of us. The salad was unreal – various textures (crunchy, my favorite!) and the flavors were fresh and varied. I ordered a second!

If you don’t mind the possible cross-contamination with animal products, this was a nice way to experience a true local experience & to get fresh-made local cuisine.

4. Minh Hien Quan Chay Vegetarian

Minh Hien is a hip spot for vegetarian food. It was packed! We had to wait for a table and there was a wait the whole time we dined. The restaurant is lined with shelves of books and the tables have glass tabletops. Customers can slide photos, notes, business cards and more under each table. 

One of our favorite parts is that they serve pints of cold local beer which is served for 3000 Vietnamese dong (about $0.10). And it’s delicious! The food is amazing too! We tried the Pho and Pete had some tofu dish that I didn’t pay attention to because I don’t like tofu. The dish looked like it could’ve used some veggies though. Overall, the place had a great vibe and we enjoyed our visit

We went to a couple of other local com chay (vegetarian food) restaurants that were okay… nothing too spectacular. Having just left Saigon and Vung Tau, where the food is to die for, Hoi An was mediocre in comparison. It was great to have so many options, though. There are a lot of small, traditional restaurants that we tried that aren’t mentioned here.

I enjoyed getting corn on the cob from vendors on the streets selling it freshly roasted… it’s delicious and a perfect late-night snack!

When we return to Vietnam, we’ll definitely have to start in Saigon to get our fill of vegan pho before spending time in Hội An, enjoying the beaches, ambience, people & Ancient Town.