Chợ Hội An at the Center of Hoi An Ancient Town in Vietnam

In the few days I was in Hoi An, I jogged past Chợ Hội An twice and having been to Vietnam three times now; I am aware that Cho means market and on day three of my trip; we decided to pay it a visit! 

To be honest, my expectation wasn't high. I have been to Chợ Bến Thành and Chợ Bình Tây in Ho Chi Minh City, and Chợ Đồng Xuân in Hanoi, and they were in no way the same level as those markets in Bangkok, be it the floating markets or Chatuchak Weekend Market. 

In Vietnam, the stalls tend to be huddled very close to each other and there were two issues; one, visitors find it hard to browse relaxingly as I always find that I am blocking others, and two, there were too many items on display and it's hard to focus! 

I do believe in beauty in the midst of mess, like the spectacular display of traditional Vietnamese lanterns that never fails to have that irresistible draw tugging my eyes. p.s. I am more a window shopper though.

Serving of stamps! Gosh, who collects them nowadays when postal services are no longer as crucial? I still remember the old days when everything is collected; like phone cards, which eventually faded out when everyone started carrying a mobile phone! 

Souvenirs and local snacks! I would have gladly purchased some of the local snacks but without sampling, it's hard for me to pull out my wallet. One thing I would strongly recommend you to buy though, would be the coconut biscuits in green packs! I knew they were good as our hotel, La Charm Hoi An Hotel & Spa, provided them as complimentary snacks in every room.

Some of my friends would go overseas and buy pottery dinnerware like bowls! I think it's crazy to carry something so breakable on a plane! On my second thought, maybe not as crazy since I love to buy breakable piggy banks whenever I am abroad.

Interesting how things, so different, can be mixed together. This stall had local sauces, dried foodstuffs but also sold medicinal oil, temple offerings like incense sticks, and even paper clothes and shoes for the deceased. 

Market was almost 120 meters long and we were finally at the last section which would test your ability on smell; the raw meat area! A play on the urbanized nostrils, especially in Singapore where raw meat is usually store in fridges at wet markets.

For a Southeast Asian, I am quite accustomed to see the various parts of a pig, cow, chicken for sale as food for humans. Even then, I don't get to see pig snouts often. I can imagine how shocking the above scenes would be for a visitor who isn't acquainted with such sights.

Smell of raw meat and spare parts can be quite overpowering for our noses but one thing that surprised me was that the environment was really clean! In some places, you could see swarms of houseflies! 

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Address

19 Trần Phú, Cẩm Châu, 

Hội An, Quảng Nam, Vietnam

Map

As above. 

Click here for my 8 Days' Itinerary to Danang (The City of Bridges) & Hoi An (The City of Lanterns) in Vietnam