Vietnam: An Bang Beach (Hoi An) Days 1 – 2

Day 1

Woohoo back to Vietnam for a couple of weeks! We flew Singapore air coming over and did Perth – Changi Airport – Da Nang. I paid for priority processing in Da Nang as it’s apparently the second busiest airport in Vietnam and lining up for hours isn’t my favourite thing to do. When we arrived there were 5 people in the line haha 😛 so that was not my best investment.

Our accommodation in An Bang (a regional area near Hoi An) has been quite a challenge this time unfortunately.

• I booked my preferred place (Shoreline Stays Aparthotel) 6 months ahead. 4 days before we were due to fly in they cancelled! Do not recommend. I was very grumpy.
• I then found an equivalent place nearby and booked that last minute (at a higher cost). After 24 hours of no contact I started to get a bit suss so did a deep dive and discovered it was a fake address and another venues photos. In Vietnam you pretty much have to use websites like booking . com as few places have their own sites. It’s a known scam to claim “renovations” and rename an old listing. When I finally got the villa to reply they tried to tell me the accomodation I booked was closed but they offered me a much nastier one for the same price….which is a fairly well know scam often seen in places like Bali. Then they refused to refund me when I declined. Luckily I did get refunded after threatening to report them to booking . Com….at which point I promptly reported them anyway.
• At this stage with 3 days until we were due to arrive, I had to widen my search. So, now we are staying at a place on the other side of An Bang called Sol An Bang Beach Resort and Spa. It is a little bigger than I had hoped for but it doesn’t feel big as we are split into small groups of rooms and each group has access to all three pools so we can spread out. Bonus – I can hear and see the ocean! Not so good – noise insulation sucks and we can hear all the people around us, doors closing etc. That’s not exactly uncommon here though, even in very fancy hotels.

We got in around 5:30pm so went for a brief walk to collect mini mart snacks and see what restaurants we might want to explore tomorrow. That’s how we found out as well as having a sea view from our room, there’s actually a cute little beach bar too!

Day 2

Today we had a little sleep in (noise insulation is really not Vietnam’s high point haha) but had caught up on 12hrs of sleep debt so we’re feeling much better. We tried out the free hotel breakfast. About what you would expect – edible but average.

After brekkie, I wanted to walk back over to where we stayed last time so we could see how far it is, check out the new construction and try and find this mystery noodle place that gets raved about online

“Mi Quang Di Suong Address:  Alley of Nguyen Phan Vinh (near Bungalow Beach Bar) Opening Hours: 7 a.m until sold out. Monday – Sunday. Tucked away in a quaint alley within A Bang village, just a stone’s throw from Nguyen Phan Vinh main road, lies this hidden culinary gem. Here, the delectable noodles are meticulously crafted by the skilled hands of Ms. Nghi.  During the initial and middle days of every lunar month, she opts to shutter the restaurant, allowing her time to recharge and fully embrace her personal journey of vegetarianism.”

How could I not visit with a write up like that!? She had sold out by the time we got there at 10:30am though so will have to try another day.

After a good wander around An Bangs main beach area we walked back to our side (about 600m along the beach) and spent the afternoon swimming and reading by the pool.

Dinner was at Blue Sea Hoi An which has one of the highest Google ratings in the area. We both have had to get used to using Google maps and Google reviews again as Vietnam is definitely not “Apple friendly”. I had Cao Lau which is a regional dish for the Hoi An area. It typically consists of char siu style pork and salad (greens) on a bed of rice noodles which have been soaked in lye water. Mine were also garnished with peanuts and chillies. Two mains and two juices was 255000 VND so approximately $15 AUD.