The City That Refuses to Modernize (In the Best Way)

Hoi An's old town was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, which might be the single best thing that ever happened to a city. While Vietnam's other urban centers raced toward glass towers and motorbike gridlock, this compact riverside trading post from the 15th century essentially froze itself in amber. The result is streets of mustard-yellow shop-houses, Japanese covered bridges, and French colonial facades that feel like an open-air museum — except you can eat, sleep, and drink your way through it.

Dawn Before the Tourists

My alarm went off at 5:15 AM, which my body objected to strenuously. But the light that pours through Hoi An's narrow alleys at first dawn is a photographer's obsession, and I had come prepared to earn it.

The market along the Thu Bon River was already fully operational — women in conical hats arranging pyramids of dragon fruit and rambutan, smoke rising from bánh mì carts where the bread arrives fresh from clay ovens. I ate two breakfasts before 7 AM and regret nothing.

By 8 AM the tour groups began arriving. By 9 AM the old town's main arteries were dense with selfie sticks. The secret is to duck down the alleys that run parallel — Ban Thach, Phan Chu Trinh, the lanes near the Japanese Bridge — where daily life continues undisturbed.

Silk, Tailors, and the 24-Hour Suit

Hoi An has over 400 tailor shops, a fact that initially sounds overwhelming and quickly becomes deeply dangerous for your credit card. The craft here goes back centuries — at its trading port peak, this city outfitted merchants from China, Japan, Portugal, and the Dutch East India Company.

I arrived with a photo on my phone and left three days later with two linen shirts and a pair of trousers that fit like they were grown on me. The key is choosing a shop with at least two fittings (avoid the 12-hour miracles), and being specific about what you want. The tailors here can recreate anything, but they work better with a clear brief.

Cao Lau: The Dish You Cannot Get Anywhere Else

Cao lau is a noodle dish found only in Hoi An, made with water from a specific ancient Cham well and lye from ash of trees grown on a particular nearby island. This is not culinary marketing — the noodles genuinely require these hyper-local ingredients and taste different everywhere else they've been attempted.

A bowl arrives with thick, slightly chewy noodles, sliced pork, crispy rice crackers, fresh herbs, and a small amount of broth — not a soup, more a dressed noodle — and costs about $2 at the covered market. Eat it sitting on a plastic stool at 7 AM. This is the correct approach.

The Lanterns After Dark

Every evening, the old town lights its lanterns. The Thu Bon River turns gold and orange. Boats strung with lights drift past. The whole scene is so beautiful that it tips past beauty into something vertiginous — you keep expecting it to turn out to be painted.

The Lantern Festival, held on the 14th night of each lunar month, amplifies all of this dramatically. The electricity goes off in the old town, lanterns replace it entirely, and thousands of candle-lit paper boats are released onto the river. It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen done with fire and paper.

Getting the Most Out of Hoi An

• Stay inside the old town or a 5-minute walk from it. The atmosphere at dusk is the whole point.
• Rent a bicycle. The country roads leading to the beach and the rice paddies are among the most pleasant cycling in Southeast Asia.
• Booking tailors: Visit on day one, choose fabric and design, get measured. First fitting day two. Second fitting and pickup day three.
• An Bang Beach is 4km away and considerably less crowded than Cua Dai. Bring a book and arrive before noon.