Travelfish correspondent Caroline Mills

After years of camping in her back garden in the New Forest, Caroline Mills’ parents went wild and jetted her off to Morocco where her dream of becoming a traveling belly dancer was born. Somewhat wizened to the limitations involved in such a job at age 6, she sat on the idea until her 30’s when she took her dog-eared passport around Euorpe, S.E Asia and India. Finally settling in Hoi An where she traded in her belly dancing ambition (it never worked out) for the role of writer and associate editor of Live Hoi An magazine, where she passes on her passion for food, fashion and culture to the discerning traveler. A high/low end traveler, Caroline has developed an insatiable taste for exploring and become adept at hunting out new and memorable places to go. She is a treasure trove of tips and information, delivering honest, personal reviews and tales of misadventure along the way.
Website:

Posts by Caroline Mills:

• Review: The Sunflower Hotel, Hoi An

  First published: 11 Sep 2012
  

  The welcoming Sunflower Hotel’s sparkling white exterior perfectly matches both its accommodation and staff. Set slightly back from busy Cua Dai Street midway between the sandy shores of Cua Dai beach and Hoi An‘s old town, it’s a great place to lay your hat during your stay. Walk through the reception and you are greeted … read the full post

• Cooking classes in Hoi An

  First published: 02 Sep 2012
  

  Once you see past the tailors you might just notice that Hoi An is a food lover’s paradise and once you’ve pigged out at a few of the restaurants and stalls the next thing on your list should be a cooking class. Not only will you be able to bore your friends back home with … read the full post

• Review: An Bang Seaside Village, Hoi An

  First published: 31 Aug 2012
  

  This time a month ago there was only one place to stay on An Bang Beach in Hoi An; now there are six, and three of those make up An Bang Seaside Village, which has been very quirkily styled around the pretty Vietnamese fisher-family houses located along the beach. The three houses share a tranquil … read the full post

• Review: Ba Le Well Restaurant, Hoi An

  First published: 29 Aug 2012
  

  Tucked away down the Ba Le Well Lane on the edge of Hoi An‘s Old Town is Ba Le Well Restaurant. Hugely popular with Hoi An locals, you are more likely to hear it before you see it, and when you see it you will most probably wonder what all the fuss is about, as … read the full post

• Da Nang to Hue by train

  First published: 25 Aug 2012
  

  If you’re looking for the most memorable way to travel in Central Vietnam you couldn’t choose a more spectacular and local journey than the coast-clinging train route between Da Nang and Hue. Hugging the Hai Van Pass on one side and winding across the rugged cliffs overlooking the East Sea, this four-hour journey not only … read the full post

• Hoi An by foot or bike

  First published: 23 Aug 2012
  

  If you want to see the best locations in and around Hoi An you don’t need a tour guide. These three do-it-yourself tours can be done on foot or by bike — I’d definitely recommend a bicycle or motorbike for the last two, as 14 kilometres is a long hike in the searing heat or … read the full post

• Hoi An night market

  First published: 19 Aug 2012
  

  A few years ago market traders and food stalls were pushed out of Hoi An‘s old town in a bid to clean up the streets, leaving traders relocating outside the guarded boundaries of the pedestrian-ised zone. Then the Quang Nam authorities cleared the old central market and provided a new “cleansed zone”, in which a … read the full post

• Review: Long Life Riverside Hotel, Hoi An

  First published: 16 Aug 2012
  

  The traditional yellow-fronted, wooden-shuttered frontage of the Long Life Riverside Hotel blends in so well with Hoi An‘s ancient town ethics that it’s very easy to discount this as yet another tailor/restaurant/spa. But this is a place to stay, and the hotel’s quiet riverside location on the An Hoi islet offers some of the best … read the full post

• Hoi An scams

  First published: 12 Aug 2012
  

  Having read what we’ve written here on scams in Hanoi and scams in Saigon and listened to a few sorry traveller tales of “Vietscam”, I thought maybe it was time to lift the lid on all the terrible things that go on in the sleepy little pocket of Central Vietnam where I live. So I … read the full post

• Cua Dai Hotel, Hoi An

  First published: 08 Aug 2012
  

  The striking French colonial façade of the Cua Dai Hotel sits well back from Hoi An’s busy Cua Dai Road, sheltered by a beautifully manicured, walled tropical garden which gives a tantalising hint of the hotel’s stylishly designed interior. Set a good 10-minute walk from the old town on the road to Cua Dai beach, … read the full post