Mr Tan's Hoi An bonsai garden

I've been travelling to Hoi An on Vietnam's central coast for more than 20 years. And while there's been plenty of change here, it's safe to say that when it comes to matters of heritage and atmosphere, Hoi An has survived those years better than many other parts of the country. It's still a very pleasant place to be.

Hoi An has been pretty thoroughly taken over by tourism - with all the good and bad that goes with that. There's still a remarkable amount of local life around the town though.




Earlier this week, I had one of those wonderful, simple, unexpected encounters that really make travel so rewarding. And it's amazing how often you can have these little chance meetings here in Vietnam.

After a great lunch on Phan Chu Trinh St, we headed down a small alley back towards the old town. Half way along, we stumbled across a 300 year old Chinese - Vietnamese style courtyard house that's stayed in a single family the whole time. Many of Hoi An's old houses have been in the same family line for centuries.

The 74 year old owner Mr Tan invited us in. He was very excited to show off his bonsai work and a model of Hoi An's old town that he spent several years building.

He was equally keen to have a little video made. Unfortunately I only had my little Lumix G3 on hand and a fixed lens. It's not the easiest camera to shoot video on but I do like the texture of the image it produces - even if focus can be a struggle.

I'm sure you'll be equally charmed by Mr Tan. Check out the video.