Imagine Hoi An as a living postcard: picturesque to an almost unreal extent. Everything, from the walk-in Chinese wooden houses to the lantern-decorated floating restaurants, bears the well-preserved mark of different cultural influences (Chinese, Japanese, Dutch, Vietnamese) which have mingled in this ancient port village turned World Culture Heritage site.

A beautiful place dedicated to serving all of its visitors' Hoi An is a perfect holiday destination - but also the most un-Vietnamese of Vietnamese villages.