After one final day shooting the sights of Can Tho, we headed back to Saigon for our flight to Da Nang, and the short ride by road to the UNESCO World Heritage town of Hội An
Hội An is located on the coast of the South China Sea in the Central Coast of Vietnam. It is located about 30 minutes from Da Nang, in Quảng Nam province and is home to approximately 120,000 inhabitants. Hội An, possessed the largest harbor in Southeast Asia in the 1st century and was known as Lâm Ấp Phố (Champa City).
Between the seventh and 10th centuries, the Cham (people of Champa) controlled the strategic spice trade and with this came tremendous wealth. The boats still used today in Hội An probably have the same hull shape as those used by the Champas for ocean voyages.
The former harbor town of the Cham at the estuary of the Thu Bồn 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.
During this period of the China trade, the town was called Hai Pho (Seaside Town) in Vietnamese. Originally, Hai Pho was a divided town with the Japanese settlement across the “Japanese Bridge”(16th-17th century). The bridge (Chùa cầu) is a unique covered structure built by the Japanese, the only known covered bridge with a Buddhist pagoda attached to one side.
Before leaving for Hoi An, we made one final assault on Can Tho with a boat tour through some of the small canal areas where neighborhoods abound, and then went into town to visit a Khmer Pagoda.
Tour participant Kate Buell made the photograph above and below of me enjoying some conversation in broken English and Khmer with the monks, who were excited to see us.
On of our photo subjects of the day was a small boy behind a chain-link fence
After arriving at the airport in Da Nang, we made a quick stop at famous China Beach, which has changed drastically since the late 1970’s when it was a place for American Soldiers on leave from duty.
In 1999, the old town section of Hội An was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO as a well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port of the 15th to 19th centuries, with buildings that display a unique blend of local and foreign influences.
Hội An is an amazing place for photography and it attracts a fair number of tourists, also being a well-established place on the backpacker trail. Many visit for the numerous art and craft shops and tailors, who produce made-to-measure clothes for a fraction of the Western price. Several Internet cafés, bars and restaurants have opened along the riverfront.
Hội An is famed for its centuries old cao lầu noodle.The town is also famed for its unique lanterns. The city has various small museums highlighting the history of the region, especially ceramics, such as the Museum of Trade Ceramics. The Museum of Sa Huynh Culture was built in 1995, and has over 430 ceramic items from 8th to 18th Century. The items originating from Persia, China, Thailand, India and other countries are proofs of the importance of Hoi An as a major trading port in South East Asia.
Night photography in Hoi An, is one of the most enjoyable parts of our Vietnam Photo Tour and with 3 nights here, we are able to shoot and then re-shoot until we get images that we’re happy with.
