It’s easy to fall in love with Hoi An’s myriad charms. Bright, warm smiles are plentiful here and the UNESCO World Heritage Site’s post-pandemic recovery is nothing short of remarkable. Already, its famous night market is heaving once again with visitors, both local and international, who explore the many colourful stores that line its meandering, lantern-festooned streets. Potentially cacophonic scenes are tempered with Bach playing through hidden speakers. By day, laughter and Vietnamese techno music have returned to the boat rides helmed by affable fishermen looking to supplement their income, their spinning skills on the boats on full display and recorded on the many mobile phones whipped out for the occasion.
At Hoiana Hotel and Suites – the first in a series of luxury resorts under the Hoiana Resorts & Golf banner – a traditional lantern-making session is under way. Its attendants, locked in a friendly but intense competition, are set on winning hand-painted masks from the master lantern maker. A surprise win comes in the form
