Hoi An

Trip Start Sep 05, 2008

Trip End Ongoing

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Flag of Vietnam Hoi An, Vietnam
Thursday, November 6, 2008

We arrived in Hoi An yesterday, following an unsettlingly straightforward six hour bus trip. A little confusing, Hanoi and Hoi An both being major tourist cities not too far from each other. Hoi An has a long history; its buildings show French, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese influence, and have managed to avoid any serious damage during the conflicts in the country over the past centuries. It's a reasonably small and fairly quiet place which would be very different were it not for the tourist trade, as pretty much every shop seems geared to selling wares to foreign visitors. It's also a big tailoring centre, and Catherine and I decided to get some stuff made by a shop recommended by a friend of a friend (from Dundalk) who is currently living in Hoi An, doing voluntary work.

So, we went to "A Dong Silk" as it's called. Catherine asked them to make an identical copy of some trousers that she loves but are getting worn out, and had a dress made to measure. I got them to copy a pair of linen shorts that I own which I really like. Tailor-made shorts? Suits you, sir. We went to the shop around 10am and got measured up, then returned at 8pm to try them on, and see if anything needs altering. We pick them up tomorrow.

Other than that we spent the day milling around, looking at the sights. It was intermittently roasting and sunny, and absolutely slatting down with rain. During one rainstorm we were sheltering when we were approached by one of the millions of women selling ponchos and umbrellas that appear during these storms. It's clearly a seller's market. Nonetheless, we managed to beat her down to 40,000 dong (about �1.50). Thought that this was a bargain until I realised several minutes later that its metal frame had already started to rust!

We went out to a few bars in the evening. We had spent a bit of time in Hoi An with Johnny and Laura, the couple from Northern Ireland, and it's unlikely we'd see them again after today, so made sure to have a bit of a send off. We leave in the morning.