Shop 'til Suzi drops!
Trip Start
Sep 29, 2008
1
14
41
Trip End
Aug 2009
Hoi An,
Vietnam
Sunday, November 16, 2008
This sleepy town set on the Thu Bon river is a well kept secret. It has thrived from tourism, but retains a quiet charm that we instantly like.
It is also THE place to get clothes made to order. Almost every shop is a tailors; wanting to make dresses, suits, shirts, jeans,anything from silk or any other fabric. Suzi decides to immerse herself with the locals, going straight towards the dresses! Days pass as we sit looking through old Next catalogues. Feeling battered and bruised Dave emerges into the light and we eventually hire some bikes and cycle to the beach at Cua Dai.
Guess what, it rained! We braved it out though, huddled beneath an umbrella and even went swimming.
We spend three days in Hoi An and eat well. We sample the local specialities of cao lau, a kind of noodle soup and 'white rose', a shrimp in a dumpling. Both very nice.
During a particularly heavy rain storm we visit the Cham ruins at My Son. A kind of crumbly, ruined, bombed, less impressive Vietnamese version of Angkor What. The weather doesn't help but we walk around, hood up under umbrellas. Soaking wet we leave, a few photos as memories.
While we're in Hoi An the rain keeps falling, the river rises and the streets flood.
It must be time to move on.
