Hoi An, Homestay, Tet holiday

Hoi An is a UNESCO world heritage site and as much as I loved it the first time around, I'm appreciating it more in the cooler weather. There are blocks and blocks of stucco shops with tile roofs in Chinese style.dating from the 15th to 19th century. The Chine, Japanese, Dutch, and Indians settled here. 

Alleyway connecting parallel streets

View of Hoi An from rivers

Tet

We've been unsure about Tet since the beginning. Tet is the celebration of the lunar New Year, we think  the same as Chinese New Year. Based on the reports by hotel receptionists, Tet begins any time between February 5 and 20th. We are told that sometimes restaurants are closed, travel prices double and triple, as do hotel rates. What to do? As a solution, we booked a Homestay in rural Hoi An for seven days. Although we nearly entirely missed what we were trying to avoid -- Tet, the actual new year, begins on February 8 and we are again traveling on the 9th, with two weeks of Vietnamese vacations in front of us where we have no reservations.

Some of this mystery of the ephemeral Tet was solved with the onset of Tet parties. These begin weeks ahead of time. We believe this is like our Christmas holiday with all the pre-holiday parties. In our little Homestay village, there have been parties every night. Last night was karaoke until 10 pm or so. Right now, to the back of our property, there are folks partying with drums and music in a bamboo grandstand that appears to be sitting in the middle of a pond...actually it is a built on a bit of land in the midst of the river.

The major wide streets of Hoi An are filled with giant pots of flowers, and trucks and motor scooters buzz by with flowers aboard. Flowers are a symbol of good luck and prosperity in the new year. Similar to our Christmas tree, it is important to bring one of these into your home for Tet. Meanwhile, business are open or closed depending on the business. On asking several merchants, we hear that they are open as long as they have business. We are told not to worry at the same time as many vendors tell us they will be closed for two weeks after the new year. Meanwhile our Homestay hosts, Hung and Thien, have sent their son to be with their grandparents. Hung is working as a guide every other day and in fat is taking us to Son La (Cham ruins) and the New Year itself. We told him we did not want to spoil his New Year, but they said, no problem! 

What is not evident from the photos is that the wide sidewalks are blocked with potted flowers so that pedestrians must walk in the street with the motorcycles, cars, vans, and busses. It took Barbara and I 15 minutes to walk two blocks as we dodged buzzing motos trying to slam into us, or who pulled up and parked right in front of us as we walked. One must have strong nerves to walk or drive in this country.

Meanwhile there is much serenity in our village in spite of the ubiquitous neighbor noises. In fact, at 6:00 AM the government blasts a song through the village with what I assume are inspirational messages. These have awakened me two days in a row.

Aggressive vendors

Hoi An is a big tourist destination. We were told by the owner of Miss Ly's (an upscale restaurant in town) that 80% of the tourists are Asian). Certain vendors have become extremely aggressive and it's difficult to walk in certain portions of the city without being accosted. On our first day I was looking for a toilet and a woman approached us and would not leave us alone. I actually offered her a small bill which she waved away...she wanted us to buy from her shop. She wanted us to be indebted to her as a result. She followed us around the market. Sadly, we've been avoiding the market since! Prices inflated anyway. In order to succeed in this environment, you must put on a stone New York face and wave them off consistently.