Day 127 – Hoi An
Full day exploring Hoi An’s Old Town
Today we walked back towards the Old Town with the tickets we bought yesterday from the Information Centre. We ended up asking the host at Merrily Homestay for recommendations on which of the 5 sites to see out of the many options.
The first place we saw was the Ba Mu Temple Gate, which is right at the start of the Old Town District from the Merrily Homestay direction. The Temple was built in the 17th century at a different location, but was moved to this location during the 18th century. The gate is the only part of the temple that survived. You don’t require a ticket to see this.
We then went to our first actual building, Phuoc Kien Hoi Quan. This temple, was surprisingly large with a beautiful ground. The temple itself was nicely decorated with massive coiled incense things hanging from the ceiling, very cool. The dragon mural at the back is also very nice.
Next we went to Quan Cong’s Temple, which was also built in the 17th century. This temple was full of darkly painted wooden cravings, but the highlight for us was the open courtyard with what looks like bonsai trees.
Following this, we went to Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Pagoda. This was a smaller temple, with a shrine in the back.
We then went to Hoi Quan Hai Nam, which is an assembly hall with an even cooler shrine at the end. We believe that Hoi Quan Hai Nam, would normally require a ticket, but there was no one around to check when we were there. Following that, we went to Trieu Chau Assembly Hall, which also has a nice shrine.
Hoi Quan Hai Nam Hoi Quan Hai Nam Trieu Chau Assembly Hall
One of the best buildings we went to was the Assembly Hall of the Cantonese Chinese Congregation. The yard at the back that we discovered by accident while searching for the toilets, is very cool. There is a large mural on the wall and a dragon water piece. Recommend checking this one out.
Our final destination was the famed Covered Bridge aka Japanese Bridge. We had thought of the bridge as a must visit, but in honesty the bridge looks better from a distance than close up. There is just a small shrine inside with some information.
We went to the other side of the bridge and it was pretty cool here too, with lights hanging above the streets and the shops. When walking back, we walked along the river bank and could see boats with fairy lights setting of into the water. It was beautiful to see. We finally did some gift shopping, as Hoi An is the place to get custom clothing made.
Along the Thu Bon River
