Clothes
Trip Start
Jan 02, 2008
1
39
75
Trip End
Jun 17, 2008
Hoi An,
Vietnam
Saturday, March 8, 2008
I had dresses, skirts, shorts, jeans and shoes made. The amount I bought is maybe a little excessive, especially considering I'm backpacking and don't have a job to fund it. But shopping is so addictive and it was so much fun! Anyway, for everything I got including postage, it cost me less than I'd buy the boots for at home...I'm just trying to convince myself I didn't go completely over-the-top!
Gunta and I did have a couple of very emotionally draining days. You wouldn't believe how stressful and tiring shopping can be! We experienced a mixture of excitement, anxiety, disappointment and happiness. Things never go right when it comes to making clothes...I already know that very well and at times I was reminded of work a bit too much! Not all the tailors are great and we did have to deal with a few of these, but we also found some really good ones, who were friendly, listened to what we wanted, did a good job and were very patient. And they had to be patient! I had on average three or four fittings per piece, when I think most people are happy after just one. Usually they were just minor alterations, but at times things were made so badly that I had to demand them to be remade. The worst has to be my boots. They were so bad! The first fitting was a disaster, I honestly don't know how they cocked them up so much. For starters they used the wrong heal and buckle, all the details were wrong, they were badly made and the fit was so awful that it made my foot looked deformed. They tried to make out that they looked great and that they'd magically stretch to fit my foot. It was just like being at work again...very frustrating! I was mad and made them very aware that I really wasn't happy! I refused to accept them as they were, or any of their suggestions. In the end they agreed to remake them following what I asked for. It was hard work getting what I wanted, but after the fourth attempt I was very happy with them. For some strange reason I then asked them to make me another pair of shoes. I thought maybe the cock-up with the boots had been a one off, but I was wrong! The sandals weren't exactly difficult to make, but they succeeded in messing them up with the stupidest mistakes. I'm not sure if they expected me not to notice that one foot was different to the other, or whether they were just blind. It took another four fittings to get what I wanted. So I spent the majority of my time running around to different tailors for fittings, but in the end I was very happy with everything I got.
I stayed in Hoi An five nights, which is the longest I have stayed anywhere on this trip. I really enjoyed my time here...all I did was shop and hang out in cafes. Gunta and I did consider hiring a bike for a day and cycling to the beach, but it started to rain, so we had no choice but to continue shopping! It's a pity it rained for the last few days, but the town was still very quaint. Hoi An is a very chilled, sleepy town. There's definitely no party seen, everything closes early and starts early...5am to be precise. They have an alarm clock for the whole town that doesn't shut up for 1 1/2 hours, and the loud-speaker that blasts the radio show with awful music, was right outside my window.
Gunta left after 3 nights, because she is running out of time and has to move faster than I do. We've been travelling together for 3 weeks and have been together almost 24/7. It has been so much fun and now it's really strange to be alone again. But I wasn't alone for long, because Steve and Craig (the British guys we keep bumping into) arrived in Hoi An the day Gunta left. So although I lost my shopping partner, I had new drinking friends...we made the most of the 15p beer.
