Route: Singapore-Ho Chi Minh City-Da Nang-Hoi An
--1st Stop: Changi Airport T1--
Our dear Ms KH was late...again. (Everybody remembered how late she was during our last trip to Cambodia. Lolz~) Had my breakfast at Dome Cafe with parents & HM while waiting for Ms Kee.
7.12 a.m. our plane Jetstar Asia 3K555 prepared for departure & took off at 7.30a.m. I was glad that there's no delay!!!
--2nd Stop: Tan Son Nhat International Airport, HCMC--
Landed at HCMC at 7.48 a.m (Vietnam time, which is 1 hr slower than SG). We were 15 mins early!! Tan Son Nhat Airport was pretty new & modern, but that's only for international section. Domestic airport was slightly older.
We found the money changer and changed some USD for VND. Rates were pretty good and they did not charge extra svc charge.
Anyway, we got lost while trying to find our way to the domestic airport. We realised their domestic airport was located a few hundred metres away, and we gotta drag our luggage and walked over there for check-in.
I was pretty impressed that the domestic airport staff was very fluent in English, and their announcements were very clear.
That's not my plane to Danang. My plane was much smaller...haha!
Our connection flight to Danang was delayed for 10mins. We boarded the plane at 9.50a.m.Journey from HCMC to Danang was an hour. There was no food served by Vietnam Airlines, but they did provide everyone one bottle of mineral water. Fair enough~
Super thick clouds~--3rd Stop: Da Nang International Airport--
11 a.m. Plane landed at Danang airport. No aerobridge here, so we gotta walk down and board the shuttle bus which wld send us to the arrival gate.
Our plane, VN 324.--4th Stop: Thanh Van 2 Hotel, Hoi An--
Our driver picked us up from airport and drove us to Hoi An, which was abt 45 mins away from Danang. Weather was wet and temp ranged about 24 degrees.
We reached Thanh Van 2 & settled down quickly.
Our triple room for USD 40 per night. There's a small sitting area with sofa beside the beds.
Toilet was great!We booked our My Son half day tour for the next day before taking the hotel's shuttle bus to Hoi An Old Town.
--5th Stop: Hoi An Old Town, Quang Nam Province--
The shuttle bus dropped us at Thanh Van Hotel in the old town, and we bought the admission ticket which allowed us to enter 5 historical buildings in the old town. The ticket costed VND 90,000.
While looking for a restaurant to have lunch, we walked passed the Cantonese Assembly Hall.
Thu Bon River.
The former harbour town of the Cham at the estuary of the Thu Bon River was an important Vietnamese trading centre in the 16th and 17th centuries, where Chinese from various provinces as well as Japanese, Dutch and Indians settled. (credits: Wikipedia)
You can find many restaurants in these super old buildings.
My admission ticket and visitor map.
We had lunch at Thanh Hien Restaurant. This is my Grilled Squid with Lemongrass & Chili.
KH's super delicious Grilled Pork with 5 spices.
HM's Grilled Chicken with Sesame seed.
After lunch, it's time for sightseeing, but the weather was not good. This is the Museum of Folklore. Did not enter.
Hoi An's Central Market.
We also walked passed Trieu Chau (Teochew) Assembly Hall.
The Hai Nam Assembly Hall is free of charge, and not under the ticket scheme. So, we decided to take a look. Maybe I am a Hainanese myself, so I thought all the more I shld visit the place.
This assembly hall was constructed in 1875 (or 1883) in homage to 108 merchants killed at sea. They had been mistaken as pirates by Vietnamese naval forces during the reign of Emperor Tu Duc. After the mistake became apparent, Tu Duc sentenced all the responsible officers to punishments and had this hall built. (Credits: orientalarchitecture.com)
The inner hall.
Next stop is Quan Cong Temple.The temple was built in 1653 and dedicated to Quan Cong (关公), a prominent mandarin of the Han Dynasty, who lived in the time of "Three Warring Kingdoms". He was a talented and virtuous general, a symbol of courage, loyalty, piety moderation and righteousness in the feudal time of China. Though restored many times, the temple's original structure has been kept almost the same. (Credits: worldvistguide.com)
Quan Cong Temple's structure resembles the Chinese character "Quoc" (meaning country) and is divided into many rows of houses. The roofs are covered with green-glazed tube-tiles. The top-edges are heaped up and decorated with patterns of dragons and unicorns, and paved with colorful ceramic nieces. (Credits: worldvisitguide.com)
The street of the old town.
The highlight among the assembly halls is the Phuc Kien (Hokkien) Assembly Hall. The hall was so much bigger than the rest. No wonder it's a must-visit...
The hall was originally a Buddhist temple. In 1759, the owners had to sell it to the rich Phuoc Kien traders from China who came to Hoi An, so that it could be restored. (Credits: worldvisitguide.com)
Many tourists bought the incense for well wishes.
The main hall. 
The rear of the main hall is dedicated to the worship of Thien Hau Holy Mother (妈祖). (Credits: worldvisitguide.com)
Walked passed All Chinese Assembly Hall. Did not enter.
We visited the Museum of Trade Ceramics. The artefacts inside were alright, nothing spectacular. (I think my sister wld be more interested...haha!)
Model of Hoi An house roof.
Antique chairs on the 2nd floor.
We visited 2 houses, and both of them are still living quarters of the owners. First one is Duc An Old House.
The owner did a brief introduction to his family and house history. There were many photos of the family.
I think the family sells Chinese Medicine too. Looked classic.
Many shops in the old town looked really traditional. You won't feel like you're in a non-mandarin speaking country. Haha!
We saw a very modern drinking place with loud house music. Cool~
The 2nd house we visited is the Old House of Tan Ky. This is the must-visit old house and thus, there were much more visitors than the rest. Very crowded. The house is nearly 200 yrs old!
There's a lady who briefly introduced the house to us. On two columns, in the middle of the room, are two mother-of-pearl inscriptions named "a hundred birds". Each letter of the sentences represents a bird, the symbol of noble men. The birds have different postures. I took a picture of one of the Chinese characters. Lovely~
See the dates written on the wooden wall? Those were the water level of the previous yrs' floods. They have to pull the furniture up to prevent them from soaking in the water.
Very very traditional~~~
The house was built from traditional materials by skilled local artisans and was influenced by Chinese , Vietnamese and Japanese styles. (Credits: worldvisitguide.com)
See the water level of Thu Bon River? I cld understand why Hoi An always experience flooding.
We walked to the post office and KH sent a postcard to herself.--6th Stop: Treat's Backpackers' Cafe--
Dinner time. We were wet, tired and kinda hungry! Walked passed this small cafe and we decided to have a rest here.
HM's Fried rice with Pineapples. We were quite surprised when they served us the dish. Maybe it's because we thought it wld be rice in a pineapple. Hahaha!
I guessed only the Fried Spring rolls with shrimps did not disappoint us?
My Tagliatelle Bolognese. The noodles were not bad, but the rest failed. No tomato sauce with the minced meat. Tasted kinda plain leh...
KH's spaghetti with shrimps. Err....presentation failed for me. I am not sure of the taste. Ha!--7th Stop: Thanh Van 2 Hotel--
We walked back to Thanh Van Hotel and waited for the shuttle bus. Thanh Van 2 was further away from the old town, but it was newer and the best thing was....the lift. Haha!
My day did not end nicely as I lost in the battle with the rain gods. I diligently dried my shoes, and that continued throughout the trip!!! My goodness~~
