(calm electronic music)
- What is up everybody?
My name is Kenny Nguyen.
I am your ITA ambassador from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Today, it's Christmas weekend,
and I'm actually taking a trip to Hoi An,
it's the ancient city in East of Da Nang.
A long time ago, this area was known for its trading port,
but now many tourists, like myself,
come here looking for goods, such as
like traditional Ao Dais, suits,
good food, and good scenery.
So, come with me as I show you around Hoi An.
(calm, electronic music)
Hoi An is east of Da Nang city,
about an hour away if you go on motorbike
or even take like a bus here.
As I said before, Hoi An is a traditional ancient city.
It's known for its colorful and vibrant buildings
and these were actually made by the Chinese
way long time ago, I don't remember when.
And this is the wooden style shops,
and in then you can find so much traditional things
like ceramics, from Ao Dais to
like traditional Vietnamese suits and whatnot.
You can find that they're a really good price, too.
If you know how to bargain.
So, in Hoi An there's actually a festival going on.
And last night we took a boat out to the river
and it was remarkable, beautiful
very scenic as well because well you know
we just have a nice view of the country side of Vietnam.
Also, on the boats, they decorate it with
all these lanterns, so at night it just lights up.
(playful electronic music)
Pretty cheap to travel. I went from Saigon
to Da Nang, roundtrip for only 120 US dollars.
And that's a pretty good deal,
given the fact that it is Christmas weekend.
The boats that we went on last night,
to just go around for twenty minutes,
it only cost about one hundred and ten thousand Vietnam Dong
Which is equivalent to five bucks.
So, you can never break the bank when you're in Vietnam.
There is just so much vibrancy.
What I mean by that is like all these shops
they just have really colorful things
such as lanterns, some of the Ao Dais,
from scarves and everything.
Honeymoon spot, definitely come to Hoi An.
It's like a really nice area just to get away
from the hustle and bustle of like the city life.
So, I am so glad I'm here.
So, when you are in Hoi An, traffic is not allowed in here
so how do you get around?
Well, you can walk like me or you can take one of these:
this is called a Cyclo.
Very traditional.
Other ways of transportation around Hoi An
you can either take bicycles, one.
You can take a bicycle, you can take the Cyclos, or walking.
So, the area is closed off just for that.
A few years ago when I came to Hoi An
I actually bought some of these lanterns
they're really at affordable prices as well.
About eighteen thousand Vietnam Dong,
the larger ones, a hundred thousand Vietnam Dong,
and the ones in the box right here
they're like teeny tiny ones are just gonna be
around twenty thousand Vietnam Dong
So, like I said, in Vietnam it's very affordable
to eat, and to travel, and to buy souvenirs.
Alright, what is this and what is this? You guys might ask
This is uh, pork blood
and this right here is chicken heart.
If you can see it clearly. That right there is chicken heart
As you can see, this restaurant
is really popular, really packed.
Rice with salad, soup all for
one hundred thirty thousand Vietnam Dong.
Which is equivalent to about six US dollars
Once again, guys, you cannot break the bank
when you're in Vietnam.
We are at Banh Mi Phuong
This place is popular for its Banh Mi
Here in Da Nang is kinda different from in Saigon
It's really crunchy on the outside
and very soft on the inside
with a whole bunch of like cold cut meats.
This place was made popular by the late Anthony Bourdain.
You know, like on the outskirts a little bit.
- [ITA Member] We were a five minute walk.
- [Kenny] Okay.
Alright guys so we just had Banh xeo in Da Nang City
It's totally different from in Saigon
In Saigon, you get these calzone size
Banh xeo, which are these.
But here they're so tiny.
Anyways, I'm here with a few ITA.
Everywhere we go, you know,
can't get away from any of them.
Dragon bridge and it's gonna spit out fire.
- Yes
- Gotcha. I wish I could come along,
but I got something to do with my family.
Yeah, it's nice meeting everybody here.
Pretty awesome and we'll probably
be back in Da Nang another time.
Alright guys, so I am back in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
My five day vacation to Da Nang is over,
but hey it's only an hour away so it's not too far.
This weekend has been tremendous,
got to spend time with family, got to see my grandma
and I also got to meet all the other ITA alums
living in Da Nang.
And what's great about ITA is that
if it's your first time moving abroad
you shouldn't be too scared because there
are a lot of people here who can help you
And it's nice to have that ITA family
just right across Vietnam and all across the world.
But, anyways, that was my trip to Da Nang and Hoi An.
If you guys like the video, please come back for more.
Once again, my name is Kenny Nguyen.
I am your ITA Ambassador from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
and I hope to see you guys back here next time.
Alright, see yah later.