After we had explored Hoi An’s Ancient Town, it was time to venture further afield. The city is surrounded by small villages and islands, each with its own character. During our stay, we visited Tra Que, famous for its vegetable gardens, and Cam Kim Island, known for its traditional crafts and quiet waterways.
While the Ancient Town revolves around visitors, these places are where people still live and work. Far fewer visitors make it here, and most who do arrive on organized tours. We decided to explore them on our own.
Tra Que: Vegetable Village
Our first destination was Tra Que, a vegetable village less than a 30-minute walk from our apartment. We set out early, hoping to beat both the heat and the tour groups.
A narrow path wound through green rice fields, already full of activity.
Some men spent the quiet morning fishing in the irrigation canals, while nearby farmers worked the fields, bent over and knee-deep in water.
We stopped to watch one young farmer thinning and replanting rice. He had clearly perfected the technique. Instead of bending over, he used a long hoe to lift individual plants and move them into another flooded row.
As I stood there watching, he grinned, pointed to his back and said something in Vietnamese.
Surprisingly, I understood exactly what he meant—this way he would not hurt his back.
I gave him a thumbs-up before we continued on our way.
Soon we arrived at Tra Que and bought our entrance tickets. The admission fee helps support the local community, and each ticket also includes a hands-on gardening activity.
The village itself was quiet and pleasant. It did feel a little staged in places, but not enough to spoil the experience. People live and work here, and vegetable plots stretch between the houses, still supplying the Hoi An area with chemical-free produce.
We wandered around for a while, watching a few tour groups trying their hand at planting herbs in small garden plots.
Since we already garden at home, planting herbs wasn’t exactly a new experience for us. I was actually more interested in seeing what was growing. It was fun recognizing vegetables and herbs we had been eating in restaurants around Hoi An, like perilla and morning glory.
We decided to skip the activity and simply give our tickets to one of the farmers so they could still benefit from them.
That plan lasted about thirty seconds.
The farmers quickly took charge and before we knew it I was balancing two large watering cans suspended from a wooden shoulder pole.
It was much harder than it looked.
The wooden pole kept slipping off my shoulders, and the buckets seemed determined to swing in opposite directions.
I only managed to water a few plants before the cans were empty. I think I spilled more water on my feet than I actually poured on the vegetables.
When Valery’s turn came he picked it up much faster and watered both rows to the end.
“I think you can apply for a job here if we ever go broke,” I told him.
The experience had a bonus: the same water trough used for watering the gardens was also home to several koi fish. One of the farmers handed me a few lettuce leaves, and within seconds the fish were sticking their heads out of the water waiting for a snack.
It wasn’t a long visit, but it was a fun way to spend the morning. Besides acquiring a new skill in watering vegetables, I also learned that I can enjoy touristy activities—in the right place and at the right time.
Cam Kim: Crafts and Waterways
One morning we took a Grab to Cam Kim Island to follow a walking route suggested by our guide, Nguyen. This large island is known for villages where traditional crafts are still practiced.
At first we followed the path along the river, but the constant stream of motorbikes made the narrow road uncomfortable for walking. We turned inside the village and soon passed a family workshop we had visited a few days earlier.
We kept walking through quiet village lanes, passing rice fields and small waterways towards Kim Bong Carpentry Village.
Finally we reached a turn toward Kim Bong village and stopped at a small riverside café for coffee.
While we were waiting for our order, I ended up entertaining a small child sitting nearby.
Valery, meanwhile, had fun taking photos.
Kim Bong Village
After our coffee break, we finally entered Kim Bong Carpentry Village.
Kim Bong’s carpenters have been famous in Vietnam for centuries. We had already seen many examples of their work in Hoi An’s Ancient Town without realizing where they came from: beautifully carved doors, wooden posts and furniture. Today the tradition is still alive, with workshops scattered throughout the village.
Before exploring them, we stopped at the visitor centre to buy our admission tickets. Each ticket could then be used at any workshop in the village to try your hand at woodcarving.
I really like this tourism model. Instead of simply watching craftsmen at work, visitors get to experience authentic woodworking while helping support local artisans and keep these traditions alive.
We spent quite a while wandering through the village, looking into different workshops. It was fascinating to watch the woodworkers in action and admire the variety of pieces they were creating. The quality varied from shop to shop, but all of them showed real craftsmanship.
What struck me most was how authentic the village felt. There was no pressure to buy anything. People were absorbed in their craft, sometimes pausing to talk to us. We could feel the pride the villagers have in their work.
After wandering through the workshops, it was time to try our hand at woodcarving.
We chose one place and used our tickets to carve a simple design on small pieces of fragrant sandalwood.
I promptly discovered that I am all thumbs when it comes to woodcarving.
Valery, on the other hand, picked it up very fast.
But there was more to Kim Bong than just woodcarving.
Back at the visitor centre, I tried mat weaving under the guidance of two local women.
It seemed simple when they were doing it, but it was more difficult to get right than I anticipated.
Further along the village, Valery tried basket weaving.
After woodcarving, I think he found this one much easier.
We were also attracted by a colourful and fragrant display of incense sticks outside another small workshop.
The owner showed us how to roll the sticks and invited us to try.
Finally, there was something I was better at than Valery. My self-esteem was saved!
Not all of Cam Kim’s traditional crafts could be found inside workshops.
Along the river we came across another one: boat building.
A couple of large wooden boats had been pulled onto the shore for repairs, with workers busy restoring them.
It was another reminder of how much life on the island revolves around the water.
Beyond Kim Bong
Leaving Kim Bong behind, we continued walking across the island towards an old wooden bridge. A week before Tet, the small hamlets along the way were busy with preparations. People were cleaning their houses, putting up decorations and getting everything ready for the holiday.
We crossed small waterways lined with traditional basket boats tethered to the banks.
One local even offered to take us for a ride, but we politely declined.
Along the way we noticed a series of ponds with large paddle wheels slowly turning in the water. It took us a while to figure out what they were.
They turned out to be shrimp ponds, with the wheels aerating the water.
Suddenly it made perfect sense why shrimp appears on so many menus in Vietnam—we seemed to be passing shrimp farms everywhere in the countryside.
Eventually we reached the old wooden pedestrian bridge leading to another small island.
It looked pleasantly rustic, but what caught my eye was a beautifully carved wooden altar cabinet with intricate mother-of-pearl inlays standing beside the bridge.
I have no idea what it was doing there.
By this time, after exploring Cam Kim all morning, we were more than ready for lunch. Nguyen had recommended a small local eatery tucked into a quiet corner near the river, not far from Kim Bong, so we turned around and started walking back.
The walk was more than 3 km under the midday sun, and by the time we arrived we were hot, tired, and very ready to eat.
It was worth the effort.
Quán Cá Đuối Nướng Cô Huê restaurant was tucked into a quiet corner overlooking the sunlit river. Without a local recommendation, we would never have found it. We enjoyed a delicious lunch of grilled stingray with fresh herbs and vegetables.
After our long island walk, we were ready to call a Grab for the ride home, but couldn’t get one. So more walking for us, but at least we were rested and well fed now!
There was another bridge connecting Cam Kim more directly to Hoi An, much shorter than the route our driver had taken that morning. As we approached it on foot, we quickly understood why he had taken the long way around.
The bridge was too narrow for cars, but there was a constant stream of motorbikes squeezing past in both directions. As in much of Vietnam, walking space felt like an afterthought, and we edged along hoping not to get clipped.
It was a startling contrast to the quiet rice fields, waterways, and villages we had spent the day exploring.
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