Hoi An Photo Tour — A Journey Through Vietnam’s Most Picturesque Town

Photo Tour of Hoi An. Old Town, the countryside and people of Hoi An. An image gallery by 360nomad and Hoi An 360.

Hoi An Photo Tour — FAQs

Everything you need to know about doing a Hoi An Photo Tour. From Old Town Hoi An to the photo tours and workshops exploring the countryside and meeting the people, you can find it here!

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360nomad

Emmy Award Winner
Documenting the People and Culture of Vietnam
Teaching Photography in Hoi An

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"This boat, people use a machine to run it. They go to the fish market to buy fish, crab and shrimp and then resell them. It is very difficult to find this boat.”
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After finding Có and speaking to him about his life as a fisherman in Hoi An (previous post), we asked him about this picture. It’s another boat we have been looking for, and will continue to look for in order to hear their stories as seafood traders. Meanwhile here is a little more of Có’s story.
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"I have 4 daughters and 2 sons. Only my eldest daughter is a fisherman. Now tourism is being developed so fast. Doing the basket boat tour provides a more stable income (a popular tourist activity in Hoi An is to go on a ride in a round “basket” boat). You work and you still have time off. In contrast, it is not always convenient and easy to work on the river or ocean (as a fisherman). Sometimes I have to go hungry from morning to the afternoon when I don’t have any chance to eat. Or sometimes I don’t get enough sleep. There are many things. That is why more people don't want to do the job any longer."
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"The income for this job is not stable. We have less income in the cold season. However, I have more freedom when being a fisherman (in contrast to working in tourism as a basket boat operator). Whenever I feel tired or my wife feels tired, we can take time off. We don’t affect anyone.”
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It’s an interesting story that is reflected in Hoi An in general. Hoi An is a booming tourist attraction and it has become quite common for the children of farmers, craftspeople and fishermen to work in the tourism industry. Trinh and I have seen this all over the countryside of Hoi An. I am happy that we are here at a time when we can still talk to these people who are so in touch with the land and sea.
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#hoian #vietnam🇻🇳

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"My ancestors, my great-grandpa, grandpa, and father earned a living from fishing. It is a passed down job. I have 5 siblings and all of us are fishermen. I learned how to fish when I was just 10 years old."
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"I used to fish on the sea, go to Cham islands or Hue. For the past 10 recent years, I have been working on Thu Bon river (in Hoi An). My wife and I fish together. I paddle, she puts the nets into the water. We start at around 8 AM and finish just around 2 PM. Then she brings the fish to the market around 3 to sell and I will stay at home to the house doing chores, cleaning, cooking and everything."
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"If you go to the market and ask for Huong who sells fish. The one is a little black not a little white, and then you can find her. (He jokes about his wife's dark skin from working in the sun her whole life.) After fishing and doing the house chores, I drink some beer and wait for my wife to go home.” .
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Có, 62 years old
Hoi An, Vietnam
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It was such a happy moment when Trinh and I finally found Có yesterday! I took this picture about a year and a half ago but we were never able to find him. About two weeks ago we began to look for him in earnest and asked around at every fishing village in the greater Hoi An area. The problem is, you cannot see his face in the photo. Trinh described it as “finding a needle in the ocean”. It was a very happy moment and we sat down in his house while he told us about his life over a cup of tea.
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Swipe to see Có with his photo.
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We have already sold a few copies of this photo, including one that now hangs at the new @thewatermarkbeachsidehotel at Ang Bang Beach. So, we invited him for dinner and to see the hotel with his photo!
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#hoian #hoianoldtown #hoianvietnam #danang #danagtrip #hoiantrip #faifo #hoianthepeople

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We met Mun in her small house near the border of Laos. She is from the Brau ethnic group, the second smallest of the 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam. Mun looked a bit frail but had a soft smile and demeanor as she slowly walked toward me, supported by her stick in one hand, her daughter on the other.
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"I don’t want anything else now. I am worn out, I just want health.” She tells us.
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Asking about life before the modern world she explains a little about her old village: "The old village was near the border but there was a fire. The soldiers found us having difficulty. They saw that we had no homes (after the fire). Then they supported us to move and live here."
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"The population is growing too. There are more than 400 people in the village now.”
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After taking some pictures of Mun I was standing in front of her house when 3 little girls curiously approached me, (two granddaughters and their friend) trying to talk to me. After a basic conversation in my limited Vietnamese and some gesturing, the girl on the right said: “Chụp hình” (take a picture). That’s a phrase I know! So a few moments later we're taking selfies.
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It’s interesting to see Mun, a woman who was born at a time when they didn’t have electricity, only very basic metal items and otherwise lived off the land, using plants for clothing. A stark contrast to taking selfies with her granddaughters.
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Incidentally, we returned on our last trip and gave Mun her photo! Swipe for more pictures including one of the selfies.
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Y Mun, 89 years old
Brau Ethnic Group
Central Highlands, Vietnam

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Happy Thanksgiving from Vietnam! Here is a story from Thanksgiving last year.
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“Full,” I said patting my stomach, to which Hoàng replied emphatically “Full!” In his best imitation of my English, patting his stomach then breaking out laughing. Hoàng is part of the Ta Oi ethnic group, originally native to Laos he walked into Vietnam in 1971, during the Vietnam-American War.
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We spent a good part of the day sitting in his wooden stilt house talking about his culture and the history of his people.
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"I was born at 12:00 pm in 1920 in Laos. In 1971, I moved to Vietnam. I fought in two wars, against the French (9 years) and the Japanese. ...played with the Americans for 12 years."
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He wears his war medals proudly on the front of his shirt.
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After spending most of the day talking with Hoàng, we returned at night bring a small feast of local meat, rice and homemade alcohol from the Ta Oi people. As we sat around drinking and eating, talking and laughing I couldn’t help but think about the spirit of Thanksgiving, celebrating it here with this man and his family. A man from Laos and Vietnam and me, an American, the histories of our countries forever entwined through a darker period. But now we enjoy a meal together, talk about the past and slowly get tipsy off the traditional alcohol of his people. In the end, we are more similar than we are different.
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Konh Hoàng, 99 years old
Ta Oi Ethnic Group
Central Vietnam

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“The scars are from the bombs during the French War” Khi says nonchalantly when he takes off his shirt. His whole upper chest and the exposed part of his legs are full of scars.
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Driving back from the Central Highlands of Vietnam delivering photos from our trip in September we stopped at a few villages of the Gie Trieng ethnic group. Khi was sitting in front of his house weaving traditional backpack baskets, but with plastic wire tape. This was the first topic of conversation:
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"This basket is made from plastic wires. Long time ago, there were many people that knew how to make the basket, but now there are only old people. I used to make the bamboo basket, but now I am old so I cannot go to find bamboo. The bamboo is in a far forest."
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Khi has many fond memories of hunting in parties from his village when he was younger "I used to go to the forest a lot. I went to hunt wild rats, birds, wild pigs by using the bamboo bow and arrow. It was fun because we always went to the forest in a group of 10 or 20 people. Mostly we wore a loincloth.”
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When talking about the time he was younger, Khi refers to it as “The Iron Age”, which I found particularly interesting.
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Since traditionally they only wore loincloths and no shirt, this is how I wanted to photograph him. That's when I saw his upper body covered in scars.
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Can you see some of them?
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Khi, 87 years old
Gie Trieng Ethnic Group
Central Highlands, Vietnam .
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#kings_third_age #vietnam🇻🇳 #igvietnam #vietnamwar #humansofnewyork #thepeoplewemet #centralvietnam #portraitsfromtheworld

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I couldn’t believe it when Trinh translated what she said. “She’s never owned a toy?!” I said, incredulous. Trinh was just as shocked and had had to ask her 4 or 5 times to ensure she understood correctly.
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Trang’s mom explains “She’s never owned a toy”. She continues "Her Dad passed away when she was 6 years old because he drank a lot. She has never had a toy. Sometimes she sees it and asks me to buy it for her but I don’t have money.”
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I’m not usually one to believe in fate but it just so happened that a friend from the Netherlands had given us a handmade doll her mother made. She told us to give it to a kid that really needed it. I think this fit the bill. So, at 9 years old, we gave Trang her very first toy.
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"Everyday she asks me for money to buy milk and bread. About 10k (45 cents) every morning. She stays at school at noon, so I have to prepare food for her. Sometimes I just have rice for her. Her teacher tells me that I should put other food too. The other kids have their dads, so they have rat meat and other meat. But hers passed away.” Trang’s mom explains. They have so little money that some days Trang just eats rice for lunch, and with no father, they don’t have anyone to trap rats in the forest (rats it seems are a common source of meat in their small village in the mountains).
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The silver lining is that Trang received her first toy, and was simply elated. She followed us around the village skipping happily, holding her new doll.
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We have also decided to print her photo and make postcards to sell and raise money for her and her village, with 100% of all money made going directly back to them. We’ve already sold some postcards, so it’s a good start. We look forward to the day we can go back to her village and help them more!
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Y Trang, 9 years old
Gie Trieng Ethnic Group
Central Highlands, Vietnam
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#natgeoyourshot #atlasofhumanity #face_of_our_world #global_capture #face_of_streets #photocommune #people_infinity_ #fivestars_people #the_raw_society #people_and_world #world_photography_page #eyesofchildrenaroundtheworld #portraitsfromtheworld #majestic_people #passionpassport #humanity_shots_ #remotexpeditions #hoian

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Hey I’m Alden. I’ve been travelling the world continuously since May, 2016. I started in Europe and in the past year have been exploring Asia. Follow me on my next adventure -

Riding a motorcycle across Vietnam.

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