Crab Fishing on a Bamboo Boat – Immersing in Hoi An’s Simple Life
Hoi An is one of the most beautiful cities in Vietnam and everyone who has visited it has been mesmerized by its charm. This city has something for everyone boasting of interesting paintings, tailor shops, paddy fields, ancient buildings, lanterns and a whole lot of culture and history.
While in Hoi An, I was staying at the amazing Vietnam backpackers hostel. They organize various tours for their guests ranging from sunset cruises, paddle boarding classes, bike tours and ofcourse the famous bamboo boat tour. As soon as I checked in, I decided to book myself in for a day of crab fishing.
Fun-Filled Bamboo Boat Tour
Bamboo boats are traditional fishing boats in Vietnam. They are round in shape and simply adorable. We biked across paddy fields to reach the fishing area where fishermen (And women) awaited to take us crab fishing.
Fishermen on their cute bamboo boats
Our guide and local villagers were very helpful and fun and made the entire tour super interesting. We combined it with fun games like tug-of-war and cracking the pot.
Tug of War – Our team lacked muscle 🙁
You can also support locals by buying drinks or ice-cream on the spot. Another fun activity was trying to climb a coconut tree – needless to say, we all failed at it – miserably!
My Coconut Tree Climbing Fail
Finally we got our very own traditional Vietnamese conical hats to wear as we got into our bamboo boats. Our fisherman was super helpful and kind – he even made us jewelry with leaves (how sweet!).
Totally digging our conical hats
Getting a customized bracelet – the right fit ;p
Now we come to the best part – crab fishing. Our local guide informed us that whichever team caught most crabs won a gold medal – of course it wasn’t made of gold but hey, everyone loves to win -right? So, we were all excited and got into our group of two onto the boats and started looking for the elusive purple jungle crabs under tree shoots.
This was so much fun and I caught one crab – we released it later. I also spotted two crabs but they were so smart and simply let go of the bait as soon as I pulled. Seems like they knew that the bait wasn’t worth risking their lives for.
Looking for elusive crabs
Look what I caught!!!!
The winning team caught 7 crabs – can you believe that?
I would highly recommend this tour to get a feel of the everyday simple life the villagers of Hoi An enjoy – its a good reminder to get out of our busy metropolitan lifestyle and go local.
Cost of this tour is just $8 and it lasts 2-4 hours. You can book it directly with VBH frontdesk.
My Crab Fishing Video
Cycling in Hoi An
Cycling around Hoi An is an absolute delight. In fact, this is one aspect of the tour which I really enjoyed. You get to ride bicycles over to the fisherman village – its a lovely 15 min ride from the hostel. You pass villages, lakes and paddy fields which simply brights up your day instantly. I rode a bike after over 5 years so I enjoyed this experience even more.
Cycling among villages in Hoi An
Tip – If you book this tour with the hostel, you get to keep the bicycle for the entire day at no extra cost. Not many people know that so ensure you make the most of it by cycling over to the Old town or heading to the beach (Around 30 min ride on either side).
Disclaimer – I was a guest of Vietnam backpackers hostel in Hoi An and I can honestly recommend the hostel as well as their amazing tours to anyone who is planning a trip to this incredible town.
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