For my fifth visit to Hoi An, I felt the need to do something different. So I found a new place to stay, thanks to a recommendation from my friend, Persis. Very nicely done up homestay, and priced well too, Betel Garden is just a km off from the central market. With their free bicycles, that distance is gobbled up in a few minutes, and makes it fun too.
This time, I stayed away from the main road in the market, preferring to cycle in the village lanes leading nowhere.
Also signed up for a sunrise phototour workshop with Etienne. It was a chilly Sunday morning, with no hope for a view of the sun, but there were 4 of us on the tour, taking the first ferry of the morning to the fishing village, smiling at the locals, and closing in for pictures. Punctuated by stops for coffee and divine freshly baked muffins, we got good tips, particularly for portrait photography.
Did I miss any of the shopping? Not at all. Ordered before Souvik came in from Ho Chi Minh City, and delivered at lunchtime before we left – shirts, jacket and 3 pairs of shoes!
A Busy Life of Leisure 
Better start planning the 6th trip. With me!
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Yshe, tell me when!
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Beautiful portraits! And I love the shoes, esp the blue ones…
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How nice that our shoe sizes are the same!
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hehehe, they’re a little tight right now. I need to wear them a lot to open them out.
And I’m not carrying any of them to India
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Even I share the same shoe size. Am i not right Aarti? Lovely photos.
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Very well written as always and fantastic shots..!!
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Hey Aarti!! Kolhapur article and the pictures are awesome. Wish you could take the picture of our school’s main building. Maybe next time when you visit Kop. Also, loved your pictures above. Can’t stop raving about those shoes….. I am a total shoesholic(if there is such a word) so you need to start taking orders…heheehehe
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Alpana, thanks. Next time, shall definitely photograph Holy Cross. Not very pretty, but plenty of nostalgic value.
And I was never a shoe fanatic, until I discovered Hoi An. So plan a trip to Vietnam, and shop to your heart’s content!
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Do you recommend a specific shoe shop in hoi an? I love the shoes you got!
Could you let me know? Thanks
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Hi Emy, I don’t remember the names of the shoe shops, sadly. I bought shoes from a bunch of different shops all over the market, but my favourite was one on Tran Phu, across a clothes+paintings shop called Nhung, just before the cloth Market. She did a great job with leather shoes. Hope you can find it!
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