My day trip to Hoi An was definitely not a coincidence. I had only been in Da Nang for two weeks, and my entire focus was on exploring my surroundings. I hadn’t even left the city limits yet. There were plenty of places to see and things to do, of course. But since I chose to live life as it comes, naturally and without rushing, and because I respect the grander plans of the universe, signs had already been falling right in front of me for a while. I had truly discovered that deep sense of trust called surrender in my heart.
In this post, I will share how the flow of life brought me to Hoi An while living with the immense ease of letting go, and the full, colorful day I spent there.
It was about three or four days before I went to Hoi An when I visited a dance studio. I should open a quick parenthesis here. I have been pole dancing for many years. In fact, I completed my instructor training four years ago. Pole dance is a very special space where strength and elegance merge seamlessly; it is a discipline where the body glides through the air like a bird with sport and dance, while finding its own center against a spinning pole. I will write a separate, long post about this in the future, so for now, I am gently closing this parenthesis. Following sports and dance events and visiting local pole dance studios during my travels creates a wonderful space of discovery for me. I love speaking this common language with instructors and communities in different corners of the world.
As soon as I arrived in Da Nang, I found a studio and joined a class. A fellow traveler I met there someone from a completely different geography but brought together by the exact same passion told me about a studio in Hoi An. Hearing that this studio, located right in the middle of the rice fields, and its instructor were truly great, I immediately followed this whisper. I looked up the address, checked the class schedule, and got in touch. My spot in the group class four days later was ready. My plan was shaping itself naturally: I would go to Hoi An, look around, dance, and then watch the famous Hoi An Memories Show in the evening. The flow of the day was perfectly clear. When I set out that morning, I stopped by Marble Mountain since it was on the way, but as I mentioned in my Da Nang post, the queue was so long that I decided to continue straight to Hoi An to avoid draining my energy.
By the time I arrived, it was almost noon. Even though it is located about a 30-minute drive from Da Nang and is not too far, the Marble Mountain attempt had slowed me down a bit. With a short walk, I crossed one of those old bridges connecting Hoi An, which is made up of small islets divided by the river. As I walked randomly through the streets, I immediately sat down at a lovely cafe and ordered a delicious coconut coffee to cool off.
Of course, I do some light research about the places I visit before my travels. However, instead of preparing deep plans and binding myself to rigid rules about where to go and when, I prefer to surrender to the flow. Advancing without knowing what will cross my path and discovering the surprises of life has a completely different charm. That is why, prior to Hoi An, I hadn't done any preliminary research other than checking the location info, my dance class hour, and getting my show ticket. After the coffee break, I walked towards the old city center, known as Old Town.
Hoi An was one of the most important trading ports in Southeast Asia between the 15th and 19th centuries. This riverside town, where Chinese, Japanese, and European merchants settled, is like a living museum where cultures blend smoothly and time slows down.
The old town has carried its enchanting and authentic atmosphere to the present day so purely that you can literally breathe in the scent of history as you walk. Being a tourist destination, there were travelers everywhere, yet there was no overwhelming crowd. Because of this, walking through the narrow streets or just sitting at a corner to watch the moment was very soothing. Despite the weather being quite hot, I didn't realize how time flew by while exploring the preserved old buildings, the local market, and the streets decorated with colorful lanterns.
I even shot a vlog in this mesmerizing atmosphere that day, which you can watch on my YouTube channel. The spirit of that old merchant town is still very alive in the architecture of the restaurants and shops, especially on the famous Japanese Bridge.
After walking through these beautiful streets with joy and having a local bite, I set off for the rice fields with excitement for my dance class.
There was still half an hour left before class time and the studio hadn't opened yet. Taking advantage of this tranquility, I started walking randomly to explore the surroundings. Right behind the studio lay rice fields stretching as far as the eye could see. When I found a thin path passing through and walked along it, I found myself right in the heart of those striking, lush green fields. This was one of those moments when I deeply realized how safe every part of Vietnam actually is. I was a foreigner in a small village, looking for a path to enter the rice fields. A few local people passed by me, presumably going to work in the fields. They just looked at me and smiled, while some remained completely indifferent, as if I had always been there or as if this sight was perfectly normal. I never experienced even the slightest feeling of insecurity at any point. In fact, in a strange way, it felt as if I had been living here for years. The weather was glorious, and the colors of nature shone with immense vibrancy. I both walked and felt the deep stillness of this area, and recorded wonderful frames for my vlog video.
When the time came, I returned to the studio; our instructor and the other participating women had arrived as well. Stretching the body, gliding in the air, and dancing for about an hour and a half with a view looking out at that endless green of the rice fields was absolutely wonderful. Connecting with women who are both passionate about pole dance and living their lives as digital nomads just like me, and meeting on common tastes, made me feel once again that I am not alone in this world. Some of the nomads had chosen Hoi An to live because it offers a calmer, slower pace of life compared to the busy and noisy structure of Da Nang. When you stand in the silence of those rice fields, you clearly understand the search for stillness behind this choice.
After the class ended, I returned to the center and went directly to the Hoi An Memories Land area. The main performance started at eight in the evening, but I went a bit early to visit the theme park inside and breathe in that atmosphere. I arrived just in time. Seeing how everything aligns smoothly at the exact right time and place when you don't plan and just trust the flow made me very happy once again. Inside the theme park, there were small street shows and performances before the main stage; I came across a few and watched them with pleasure.
Then, the main show began. Taking place on a massive outdoor stage built over the river, this performance featured hundreds of actors. It was a visual spectacle depicting Hoi An’s transformation from a small fishing village into a port city, the history of the lanterns, and the spirit of this land. The magic of the lights, the elegance of the costumes, and the flow of the music were simply magnificent. Since it was outdoors, I couldn't take many photos or videos, but those fairylike scenes I witnessed are still very fresh in my memory.
When this visual feast, which lasted exactly an hour, ended, I returned to the old city center. I wanted to experience this lantern-adorned city with my own eyes at night when all the lights were lit. When I got there, it was almost 10 PM and there weren't many people left. The night market was nearly empty, and most of the venues had shut their shutters. Perhaps it was a seasonal thing, I don't know for sure, but although that quietness felt a bit strange at first, the fairylike view of the city once the lanterns turned on was worth everything. Everywhere was colorful, bright, and enchanting. I walked a bit more silently through the streets. Then, the sweet fatigue of the day fully made itself felt, and I set off towards my home in Da Nang to rest, listening to the rhythm of my heart.
Hoi An has taken its place in my heart as a very special destination that I will definitely visit again when my path crosses Vietnam in the future, and perhaps where I might even experience living for a while. We cannot fully predict where the road will take us beforehand, but enjoying that journey is entirely in our hands. When we free the mind from the burdens of the past or the future and focus completely on the present moment, we begin to see how simple, pure, and at the same time how magnificent life actually is. Beauty is present everywhere, and every corner of the world is open to us.
Let's continue to explore, and continue to find ourselves in the places where our steps lead us.
With love,
Elif Gökçe