Hoi An, Vietnam

The next city on the Vietnam tour was Hoi An. This city is along the cost but farther south that Ha Long Bay. It is known for its tailor made clothing shops. We took a quick one hour flight from Hanoi to Hoi An. We reached Hoi An mid morning, and headed straight to our hotel/resort to drop our backpacks and hit the city.

It was a beautiful day. The streets were busy with people ducking in and out of tailor shops. We were so overwhelmed by all of the shops that we decided to head to the river where we heard there were great markets and cafes, to grab a bite to eat and make a game plan. After getting lost trying to reach the river, we finally reached it and went into the first place we saw that had balcony seating where we could chill out and watch the people and the boats on the river.

We were in luck because that cafe ended up doing more for us than just providing excellent Vietnamese cuisine and cheap wonderful beer (10cents a glass). We met a man that worked there and spoke excellent English. He sat with us and talked to us about our trip and where we were headed next. it just so happened that he was a travel agent for Vietnam airlines. Long story short, he booked our flights for the rest of our trip, including the impossible flight to the island of Phu Quoc. We were so ecstatic. After that, we asked him where a certain tailor shop was that we had read online had the best reviews. Not only did he take us there, but his girlfriend worked there! At that point, we made his cafe our meeting point.

Getting tailor made clothing was quite the experience. There are so many decisions that have to be made, and you have to make all of them. After deciding what I wanted made and had all my measurements taken and material picked out, I had to step into a photo booth that had a grid on the inside. They took pictures of me to help the seamstress be able to get a feel for what I actually looked like and my shape. That was it for day one.

The next day we had hoped to take a scooter trip up and down the coastline there in Hoi An. That ended up not being possible, because our day was filled with fittings and adjustments. You had to get over the whole being embarrassed of changing in front of people, because the ladies came in the dressing room with you to pin things and make adjustments. Also the fitting rooms and about 3 other ladies with their workers in there as well. There was a sheet that acted as the door and well every time someone came in you just hoped that you were not exposing yourself to other shoppers that were walking by your "changing room". Wearing a swim suit at all times helped me get past this. I mean if I can wear it on the beach I don't care who sees me in it when I am trying on clothing right?!

It amazed me how fast they made the clothing. I had a wool coat made in about two hours! All in all the prices were very cheap. I spent $30 on my coat and it is 100% wool with Vietnamese silk lining! I also had two dresses, two pairs of shorts, and an authentic Kimono (robe) made.

The architecture of Hoi An reminded me of Miami. All the buildings were bright yellows, pinks, greens, and blues. It was clean and the people were so friendly. Some of the best and cheapest meals I had in Vietnam were in Hoi An. I think that it was one of my favorite and the group's favorite cities.