Bay Mau Coconut Boat Tour in Hoi An
Sadly, I lost all the videos I took this day, so there's no footage... The trot music was so much fun, too. T_T
I got heat exhaustion during the scorching afternoon, so I had no choice but to head back to the hotel, shower, and rest for an hour. Waking up early (by my standards), eating, walking around the Old Town, eating again, drinking coffee, and walking some more along the trails and inner streets completely drained my physical battery. The reason I specifically made time to catch up on sleep was for our next schedule: riding the famous coconut boats of Hoi An, a staple in every TV travel variety show featuring Da Nang and Hoi An. I'm not sure if there are coconut boats in other regions, but it's such a local specialty that typing "coconut boat" into Google automatically brings up "hoi an" next to it. Just from what I saw on TV, it's a chaotic tour where you quietly enjoy the river and then suddenly find yourself watching a concert unfold on the water to loud music.
After pulling myself together, we set off just as the sun was starting to set. It was one of the courses I was looking forward to the most today, so I specifically chose the sunset hour to get good photos. One thing to note is that even in Vietnam, the sun sets very quickly around this time of year, perhaps due to the winter season. It gets dark outside by 5:30 PM as the sun drops rapidly, so you shouldn't just assume it's summer because it's hot.
We called a Grab and headed to a place marked "Hoa DUa Xanh 코코넛배 싼 곳" (Hoa Dua Xanh Cheap Coconut Boats). The Korean part at the end saying "Cheap Coconut Boats" actually shows up. It even appears exactly like that on Google Maps. I was guessing to myself that the owner probably added "Cheap Coconut Boats" in Korean to the shop's name to attract more Korean tourists, and before I knew it, we had arrived. It's quite a distance, taking about 15 minutes and costing 100,000 VND, which is about 5,000 KRW. The tour lasts for an hour, and renting one boat costs 400,000 VND. That's about 10,000 KRW per person, though it seems prices are steadily going up. If you Google a bit more and shop around, the price might get cheaper, but I think it would only be a difference of 1,000 to 2,000 KRW.
I ambitiously pulled out the GoPro I had prepared, set it up, and hopped right into the coconut boat, only to realize that the boatman rowing us for the next hour was an elderly grandma!!
"Hey, is it really okay for us to ride this?"
"Why does this tour make me feel so uncomfortable?"
Unlike us, who didn't know what to do, she just started pushing straight out into the middle of the river without even saying we were leaving.
Just as I thought we were slowly following the river, she suddenly tossed a spare oar to my friend. My friend is an elite manual laborer with seriously developed muscles, but she really found the perfect person who would gladly accept it. I personally don't like continuous physical exertion, nor am I good at it, so I just 'don't' do it. However, this guy, who has a completely different mindset and muscle build than me, got a creeping smile on his face and started his own solo race. Looking at the other boats, it seemed like they were offering it as a quick experience—in younger couples, the women were rowing, and in older couples, the men were rowing. But we had nothing to do with that sweet stuff. Thanks to a muscle fanatic shouting "Maximum speed!!!!!!" and our grandma boatman laughing and keeping the beat because she found it amusing, we moved faster than any other boat.
After passing the main river and going through an alleyway (?) made of palm-like trees, a karaoke room appears. That's not a typo. It's a karaoke room. They mount huge speakers on the coconut boats and blast Korean and Vietnamese music. People gather in groups on their coconut boats, and the host of this party plays Korean trot songs like "Bbunigo" or "Bbang Bbang" (I didn't even know these songs existed until I came here), singing in Korean and dancing. They must have sung these so often because their Korean pronunciation sounds better than mine. The quiet, slightly boring boat ride suddenly transforms into a full-blown nightclub, leaving everyone bewildered. Depending on the person, some get excited and start grooving (like me), while others look disappointed, wondering what this is, and urge to just leave quickly. In my opinion, this boat karaoke is the core of the tour, so if you don't like this kind of vibe, it might be better not to ride it. Otherwise, you might want to practice "Bbunigo" and "Bbang Bbang" in advance...
On the way back, they cut palm leaves and make you a crown as a souvenir. Depending on the person, they seem to make crowns or rings. If you wear this and walk around the streets of Hoi An, everyone stares at you. It's a must-have item for social butterflies. Since it's made from fresh leaves, it withers quickly, so it's best to wear it around as much as possible while you can. Ah, of course, this is just us talking, trying to get our money's worth out of what we received.
The hour really flew by, and listening to the upbeat music got me grooving and my excitement peaked. We needed to take this energy straight to the night market, but our Grab wasn't arriving. Since it's a bit far from downtown Hoi An, there are hardly any cars. If you hire a car to go back from here, you have to pay about twice the Grab fare. It's not a huge difference, but we figured we'd drink some beverages and rest a bit, so we waited while getting bitten by mosquitoes and finally caught a ride back after 20 minutes.
If there are any things to watch out for or prepare for the coconut boat tour, it would be to plan your return transportation and to apply mosquito repellent, as there are no mosquitoes on the river but plenty in the waiting area. And if you're feeling ambitious, maybe memorize Park Sang-chul's "Bbunigo" and "Bbang Bbang"?