From Da Nang I took a day trip on the back of a Honda motor scooter (driven by a young man named Van) to Hoi An, the Marble Mountains and China Beach.

Actually Hoi An was a place I had never even heard of up to then, but in Da Nang I was told that it was a very historical town and a popular tourist attraction, so I took up Van’s offer and went on his tour. 

On a street in Hoi An

Hoi An turned out to be a pleasant place with lots of flowers on the streets, and with numerous restaurants and tailors’ shops catering to the tourists.

I didn’t go into any of the historic buildings, but just had a look around and had a delicious lunch of fried fish with garlic at a restaurant called Faifo that Van recommended.

Actually there were two restaurants called Faifo. The one I ate at was near the Japanese Bridge, and they were very anxious not to be confused with the other one, which was a few blocks away and supposedly not as good. (That’s what they said, and so did Van, but I think he was their cousin or something.) 

The Japanese Bridge in Hoi An

Hoi An is at 15° 53′ 0″ North, 108° 20′ 0″ East.

The photos from 1995 are ones that my son Nick took a few days later
when he visited Hoi An. I revised the text in 2017.

Next: The Ho Chi Minh Express