Riverbank retreat

The view f-rom the balcony of Hoi An Riverside Resort & Spa

If you are looking for a getaway f-rom busy, modern life, and want to be surrounded by peaceful countryside, rivers and green fields, then Hoi An Riverside Resort & Spa is the place to go.

With architecture that combines French and Vietnamese styles, the resort boasts white villas with high ceilings and doors, and each has a balcony surrounded by creepers and bamboo.

The scenery is very typical Vietnamese countryside. Here life is green, relaxing and peaceful. The balcony looks out over a garden set off by Cham statues and a small pond full of water lilies. Now and then, on wandering in the garden, I came across small plots of cultivated rice.

We booked into a deluxe suite whe-re the balcony overlooked a bend of the Hoi An River and green rice paddies. The interior decor was in the dark, relaxing Hoi An style.

F-rom my bed I could watch the local women cycling to and f-rom the fields, their bikes laden with newly harvested rice. Sometimes, f-rom my balcony I also could watch the fishermen rowing a bamboo boat or patiently waiting for the fish.

The restaurant of the resort is right next to the river. Besides Hoi An specialties, the menu includes chả giò cung đình (royal fried spring rolls),cơm gà (chicken and fried rice), and nộm hoa chuối, a fresh banana flower salad with a flavor that balances salty, sweet and spicy.

While we were enjoying the scrumptious yet light dinner, several hundred of the illuminated floating flowers, called hoa đăng, suddenly appeared on the river. Slowly, the breeze and current carried the floating flowers down river to the sea.

During the day, I would spend hours just sitting on the balcony looking at the lively activity in the fields below me. The lights and colors of the landscape were like an interesting film that would never get to the end of the reel.

In the early morning, hard working farmers visited the fields to check their crops and fishermen rowed boats on the river. Later in the day, boys clinging to the backs of big, black buffalo rode past against the backd-rop of bright yellow rice fields. At sunset, countless white birds returned to their nests following a day foraging for food.

Hoi An Riverside Resort & Spa also offers bus service to the beach and town center at no extra c-harge.