A Rainy Day in Hoi An, Vietnam

Hoi An is located in central Vietnam about 40 minutes south of the nearest airport in Da Nang. Many people choose to visit Hoi An to explore the quaint ancient city. The city is a UNESCO World Heritage site that lights up at night with hundreds of lanterns. 

Some choose to visit Hoi An to rent bicycles and explore nearby villages or some spend time relaxing on the beach. These were the reasons we chose to visit Hoi An, but we woke up to a rainy morning that turned into a rainy 24 hours. Not just a little bit of rain, but big old rain, sideways rain, rain that came from underneath.

We needed another plan – here are a few ideas for what to do on a rainy day in Hoi An:

1. Stop in a cafe or a bar and hang out…for awhile! We enjoyed breakfast and several cups of tea in a local cafe. 

You may end up sitting there so long that a building is delivered across the street. 

 Street vendors will stop to sell you some fruit. Try the rambutan! Fun to open and tastes similar to a grape. 

2. Get a tailored dress or suit. We weren’t feeling the floral suits, so we decided to skip this option and move on to the next.

3. Eat Banh Mi – A Vietnamese sandwich with pork, pate, vegetables, and a chili spice! All of the ingredients are served on a baguette. We recommend trying Madam Khanh – the Bánh Mì Queen!

4. Make your own lantern! 

This was the highlight of our day and we cannot recommend this enough! We made our own lantern with Diep from http://www.hoianhandicraft.com. 

We booked our class on the same day within minutes by using WhatsApp. Diep greeted us at our scheduled time and walked us to lantern making room. There were several people inside working on various steps in the lantern process. They were making the process look easy, but we quickly learned the skill and patience required to make a lantern. 

Everything was prepared and waiting for us when we arrived. Wire, bamboo sticks, and colorful silk fabrics. As we started walking through the first steps, we figured out this wasn’t going to be as easy as we thought! Thankfully Diep and his team were by our side the whole time! 

Another highlight of the day was meeting Diep’s grandfather, a local celebrity and recognized for his exquisite lanterns. After a quick introduction, we continued working hard on our lanterns. 

We were given water and a local Hoi An snack which was very much appreciated as making our lanterns took over 2 hours! It was worth all of the hard work because in the end we were able to take home an awesome souvenir – our own handmade lantern. Our afternoon spent with Diep in the lantern making shop will be fond memories that we will have forever! (Whether or not our lanterns make it home safely ?) We wish we had more time to spend in Hoi An and to try out a few of the other experiences that Diep offers at http://www.hoianhandicraft.com. We will have to wait till our next visit!