Author
Mai Tran
Mindfulness & Breathwork Instructor
Mai teaches the breathwork and morning meditation sessions at Nghê Prana. She trained in Vietnamese herbal medicine and contemporary mindfulness practice, and writes about breath, stillness, and how Hội An's pace shapes a guest's body across a multi-night stay.
Topic areas
Articles by Mai Tran
14 articles published
The Honest Hoi An Cooking Class Guide: How to Pick One That Actually Teaches You Something
Hoi An has more than a hundred cooking classes on offer. Most are forty-person operations with pre-prepped ingredients and a fluorescent demo hall. The ten or fifteen that genuinely teach you to cook Vietnamese food are worth knowing about. Here is how to tell which is which.
Hue from Hoi An: The Day Trip That Pays Off (and How to Pace It Right)
The old imperial capital of Hue sits 130 kilometres north of Hoi An. A well-paced day trip is doable; a badly paced one will exhaust you and miss the point. Here is the route that works.
Cham Island (Cù Lao Chàm): A Complete Day-Trip Guide from Hoi An
Eighteen kilometres off the coast from Hoi An sits Cù Lao Chàm — eight small islands, a UNESCO Marine Biosphere Reserve, and the cleanest snorkelling reef within a day's reach of the Ancient Town. Here is the honest guide to going.
Ba Na Hills and the Golden Bridge from Hoi An: Honest Take + Practical Plan
The Golden Bridge is the most photographed structure in Vietnam. Bà Nà Hills is the resort theme park it sits inside. Here is what is genuinely worth seeing, what is theatre, and how to do the day trip from Hoi An without losing the morning.
My Son Sanctuary: The Cham Temples Outside Hoi An, and How to Visit Them Right
Fifty kilometres from Hoi An, in a jungle valley ringed by mountains, sit the brick remains of a Hindu temple complex built and rebuilt continuously between the fourth and thirteenth centuries by the Champa kingdom. UNESCO listed it in 1999. The Vietnam War destroyed half of it. Here is how to see what remains.
An Bàng Beach: The Hoi An Beach Locals Actually Use
Four kilometres north of Hoi An's Ancient Town, where Cửa Đại has lost most of its sand to coastal erosion, An Bàng is the beach the town's residents and long-term expats actually go to. Here is the complete practical guide.
What to Do in Hoi An at Night: A Local's Pacing Guide
Hoi An is famous for its lanterns. The town''s actual evening rhythm is more textured than the photos suggest — and the best hours are not the ones the tour buses keep. Here is how to spend a night in Hoi An.
Why Your Best Day in Hoi An Doesn't Happen in the Old Town
Almost every itinerary for Hoi An is built around the same eight Ancient Town landmarks. The travelers who leave in love with the place tend to have done something else entirely. A practical guide to the rice paddies, river islands, and dawn beaches that the brochures forget.
Mid-Autumn Festival in Hoi An (Tết Trung Thu 2026): What to Expect, When to Come
The 2026 Mid-Autumn Festival falls on Thursday, September 17. In Hoi An — where the lantern is already a year-round symbol — the celebration produces the most elaborate single night of the lunar year. Here is the practical guide.
Thanh Hà Pottery Village: Eight Centuries of Terracotta, Ten Minutes from Hoi An
Three kilometres west of Hoi An's Ancient Town sits Thanh Hà — a pottery village that has been producing terracotta from the same red riverbank clay for eight hundred years. The roof tiles of the Old Town came from here. So did most of central Vietnam's water jars. Here is what to see.
Cẩm Thanh Coconut Village: The Nipa Palm Waterways Outside Hoi An
Five kilometres east of the Ancient Town, the Thu Bồn River breaks into a maze of saltwater channels lined with nipa palms — the famous "coconut forest" of Cẩm Thanh. The basket boats are the photo. The dawn light, the fishing co-ops, and the cycling lanes are the actual reason to come.
The Vietnamese Herbal Bath: Lemongrass, Lavender & Deep Recovery
For centuries, Central Vietnamese families have used herbal baths to heal, recover, and prepare the body for rest. Modern science is catching up.
Morning Sunlight, Evening Rituals: Resetting Your Circadian Clock
Your internal clock drifts every day. Morning light and evening routines are the two most powerful tools to reset it.
7 Breathing Techniques That Lower Cortisol in 5 Minutes
Your breath is the fastest lever you have to shift your nervous system from fight-or-flight to rest-and-repair. Here are seven evidence-based methods.