Da Nang and Hoi An - (Mostly about eating and escaping the heat) - 02/04/2026
- Brett Sedgwick
- Apr 27
- 4 min read
Xin Chao from Hoi An,
We got the minivan bus to Da Nang and checked into our cool hotel - Golden Lotus - one street back from the beach and SURROUNDED by street food, restaurants, pubs and massage places!! Oh yeah, Bretty-Boy picked a good one.
After check-in we hit the rooftop pool/bar for 2pm afternoon tea. How very French! We had a quiet arvo in the A/C and feasted on cheap, yet delicious Banh Mi from across the street.
The next few days saw us swimming in the ocean, lolling on sunbeds under brollies, eating great food - including a lunch banquet with all of the Hue food tour highlights: pork mince lemongrass skewers, pancakes, herbs, satay sticks, salad, meatballs and dipping sauce! We also checked out the nearby streets, a few pubs, and even a beauty salon for some pampering.
We also celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary and went out for a great Italian feast - complete with DCOG red wine - authentic Tuscan pure vino!
On Saturday night, we got on the back of two grab motorbikes - as we’re pro now - and went down to the riverside near the Dragon Bridge to check out the night markets. We ate well - including a BBQ lobster and pork belly - and then hit a rooftop bar at 9 pm for the show. The head of the dragon bridge is elevated, and each weekend night they put on a show for the touros where the dragon spits fire and water. It was cool, and the lights in the smoke looked even cooler - as seen below.
A few days later, we checked out of the Lotus, grabbed a grab - complete with psycho horn- riding driver, who sooked up when no tip was forthcoming - and checked into the beautiful, old world elegance of the Hoi An Central Hotel.
Our room was mostly marble, buffet breaky was downstairs, the pool was in the courtyard, complimentary pushbikes were out the front, and the Hoai River was two streets away, which led up to the Old Town.
Oh yeah, and the fridge stocked with water, soft drink and BEER, was on the honour system and you put money in the piggy bank next to it…fools!
This was my third and Jen’s fourth time to Hoi An, and man, this once quiet secret is now open to the public with full-blown action along the river. There would have been over 100 boats bedecked with lanterns ferrying touros along the river and under the Friendship Bridge. The Japanese Bridge was also heaving, and the night markets - that now operate every night - and riverside pubs and restaurants were absolutely thronged. There were thousands of tourists, and EVERY shop now hung the locally made lanterns in the windows and doorways. The effect was absolutely beautiful, but the sheer number of people here was mindblowing.
The heat from about 9 am until sundown was so oppressive that we usually did things in the morning or at night. We tried to save money here as we knew that we would be spending pounds soon, and we managed to find 50K banh mi and 20k Huda cans. That means $2.50 for a pork roll and $1 for a can of beer! Winning!
We did discover two noodle dishes that were exclusive to Hoi An: My Quang and Coa Lau. Both dishes contained noodles, pork slices, broth, bean sprouts, lettuce and herbs, but the my quang had a thinner noodle and the coa lau was thicker. The broth-to-noodle ratio was a lot smaller than pho, and the noodles sucked up all of the broth, so that there was no soup left in the bowl at the end. We found a locals-only place right near our hotel where there were only 4 things on the menu, and it was packed out all day. It was delicious and cheap - 45K (about $2 aud) for a bowl of noodles, broth and pork!
One evening, we grabbed bikes from reception and rode along the river away from the heart of the old town. We passed many restaurants, bridges, resorts and abandoned hovels. We found a cute cafe with a killer garden that we had to take pics of - see below. They even had a mini stream running through the garden with smoke coming off it, and rows of cabbages growing in pots, plus gourds hanging from trellises. Tres’ cool.
We went up to the river most nights and went window shopping. We both said that you could go to Hoi An with empty suitcases and leave with bespoke outfits and lanterns of every colour and design.
That’s about it for Vietnam. We didn’t need to do any cultural stuff as we’ve seen it all before. We instead concentrated on slowing down, eating lots of fresh salads and staying cool and hydrated.
Asia was amazing this time round. We loved Bali and Vietnam so much and would come back to both in a flash. The Philippines was good, but we got sick so many times that it was hard to love it. The quick jaunt to Taiwan was cool, and maybe next time we’ll check out Taipei.
Next stop - London via Hanoi and China. 24 hours of travel, here we come.
Comments