The Chinese who settled in Hoi An identified themselves according to their province of origin. Each community built its own assembly hall, known as 'hoi quan' in Vietnamese, for social gatherings, meetings and celebrations. The Fujian Assembly Hall is, perhaps, the best-known one; the Cantonese Assembly Hall stands out for its beauty and contains a tranquil inner courtyard, while the 19th-century Hainan Assembly Hall functions, in part, as a memorial to the 108 merchants from Hainan who met a tragic fate being mistaken for pirates – the entire story is narrated via wall posters.

Mansion Xanadu is a refined hotel that sits next to a vast, 18-hole golf course. The building itself was once commissioned by a moneyed American entrepreneur, who ordered it be built with the use of top-notch quality materials, such as marble. The mansion was later expropriated by the government, only to become known as the single lavish, Spanish colonial-style hotel in the area.

In the Southwest of Mauritius lies the island's biggest natural reserves, the Black River Gorges National Park. Covering an area of 6,754 hectares, it dates back to 1994, when it was established to safeguard what remained of the native Mauritian forests, and to protect the island's endangered species, like the Mauritian flying fox and the Mauritian parakeet.

Providenciales is filled with good snorkelling spots, but the best ones are arguably Bight Reef and Smith's Reef, both located in the central region of the island. You have good chances of spotting green turtles, southern brown stingrays and even nurse sharks. If you want to see nocturnal sea creatures like squid and octopus, you're free to do some night snorkelling (provided that you have the equipment for it).