Vietnam is experiencing a tourism boom. In 2005 alone, the country was visited by 3.5 million tourists from abroad, and in the first eight months of 2006, their number exceeded 2.5 million. It is obvious that everyone who comes to Vietnam has their own goal: someone wants to relax under the palm trees on the warm sandy beaches of the South China Sea, someone wants to get acquainted with architectural monuments and natural beauty, and there are those who are attracted to the images of literature and cinema, who want to see places where they lived, loved, the characters of Graham Greene's novel "The Quiet American" or Regie Varnier's film "Indochina"suffered. I have met such people among the French. And among the tourists from America, there are many who want to visit the places of former battles of the Indochina war, in which they themselves or their relatives participated. There is a lot to see in Vietnam. This is also evidenced by this fact. UNESCO has ranked five sites on the territory of Vietnam among the treasures of world civilization. These are Halong Bay, Phongnya Caves, the former imperial capital Hue, Michon Towers and the ancient town of Hoi An. The latter, which is still little known in our country, deserves a separate detailed discussion. Hoi An is located 30 km south of Da Nang, the largest city in Central Vietnam. Once you reach Hoi an by bus or car, you will not immediately appreciate the uniqueness of this city. At first glance, it looks like an ordinary seaside town. After getting off the bus and trusting "your two friends", you will be able to get to the old quarter, which is the highlight of Hoi An. All traffic is prohibited there. Vietnam has many cities older than Hoi An. But the country's tumultuous political history, full of wars and internal conflicts, has so changed their appearance, and many buildings and entire neighborhoods have been rebuilt so often,that sometimes what appears to be an old one turns out to be a new one. For example, the ... Read more