Look carefully at this picture. No, you are not looking down on a feast from a great height. The 'soups' that are tipped at an angle may give the hint that these are plastic magnetised replicas to buy as souvenirs and pop on the fridge once you're back home.

It has to do with how good Vietnamese food is, and how much people wish they could take it home with them.

The streets of the old town centre of Hoi An, now UNESCO-listed, are mainly for scooters, bikes and pedestrians. Hội An was the commercial capital of the Champa Empire in 14th-century, it was established on the river in the mid-1500s. It now has a population of around 120,000, and is located about midway on the east coast of Vietnam.

There are many lovely examples of early architecture in the town, including this 16th-17th century bridge, nicknamed  the Japanese Bridge. The bridge (Chùa cầu) is a unique covered structure built by the Japanese, the only known covered bridge with a Buddhist pagoda attached to one side.

Watch this VIDEO to get the feel of this interesting city!

The town is a labyrinth of small streets and lanes, many of them cobbled and it is easy to get lost.

The Thu Bon river is important to the city, historically for trade – it became the most important trading port on the South China Sea for a while – and now remains useful, providing more activities for tourists.

It is also the source of fish and seafood, the fish scooped up in wide nets such as the one above.

A common sight in many cities in Vietnam, is women food vendors laden with long poles, carrying baskets of fruit and vegetables or souvenirs. Even though they carry them gracefully, their loads are often very heavy.

The cafe scene is alive and well in Hoi An. But although many are aimed specifically at attracting the tourist dollar, they are an extension of Vietnamese life which revolves around dining with friends and family. This one is Tam Tam Garden which is very popular with visitors, especially because of this relaxed courtyard. Make sure, wherever you dine, to sample the very strong and aromatic local coffee which is made by dripping the brew slowly from a metal container into your glass.

Not all cafes keep closely to the national cuisine, as you can see here!

There are two Tam Tams in town, and this one near the waterfront, is also popular.

But the street is where a lot of the real dining action takes place. Almost anything is available, and here an accomplished duo work together adding sauce and meat and vegetables to noodles to achieve a quick, inexpensive, and ultimately tasty meal. An important feature of Vietnamese cuisine are the herbs  (dill, coriander, mint, basil and others) that are added in handfuls to most dishes. They impart a freshness that is most welcome in the tropical heat. Note the large basket of herbs, here, below the soup.

A specialty of this area is the 'happy crepe' a crispy pancake stuffed with mung bean shoots, herbs, pork, seafood or whatever else comes to hand. This dish is from a restaurant, but the street turns up versions of this too.

Our visit coincided with Vietnamese New Year, so there were silk lanterns in the street, potted mandarin trees heavy with tiny fruit, and everyone dressed up and in holiday mood. Even the fairy floss maker was there proving that children everywhere (and, OK, adults too) love this sweet treat.

Che is 'dessert' in Vietnamese, and this lady is serving out glasses of juice with lotus seeds or fruit in them. She has several dishes on offer including sticky rice, sweetcorn and noodles.

This unlikely combination (bánh chuối chiên) is a thin slice of sweet potato paired with an equally thin slice of plantain banana which is dipped in a thin batter and deepfried. It may not immediately make sense to Westerners, but is turns out to be excellent. Sometimes, the locals say, small slices of coconut flesh are added too.

Here, the two staples of the travelling visitor's life, ice cream and Wifi, make an irresistible combo at the entrance of an otherwise nondescript cafe.

Satay turns up in almost every south-east Asian country, possibly because of its ease of preparation. Find a charcoal brazier, which can be as simple as a tin dish, a corner of pavement and a fan, and in minutes you can have a tasty, nutritious meal. Better still you can feed a crowd, because as soon as the first ones are handed out, the second round can be grilling.

The mixed heritage of Hoi An asserts itself unexpectedly in many places. Here an old sign has French and Vietnamese words reminding us that for decades the French were in control, leaving a strong influence on everything from fashion and food to street names.

Bright silk or paper lanterns add a festive touch to the tree-lined shopping streets.

It might look like a family picnic, but this paved waterside area is yet another place to buy your lunch then sit nearby with a view of the water while you eat.

On the entrance to town, a silk factory shows how the silkworms create puffy cocoons which are then painstakingly unwound and spun to make a huge range of silken fabrics, clothing and also thread as used by these embroiderers employed in the adjoining wokplace.

Vietnamese embroiderers like the one above, are not only skilful, but they are artists as well, often reproducing pictures from a postcard which they intricately stitch, freehand, on large panels which are later framed and sold. 

But more than the flavours of your meal, the beauty of some piece of artwork or clothing, or the cleverness of a souvenir, the real charm of Vietnam – the thing everyone talks about when they return home – is the people. How kind. How gentle. How happy they are to welcome a visitor.

More about Hoi An....