Days 127-30: Hoi An

A Dong Tailors
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Catching the train for the 3 hour trip to Da Nang provided a chance to ride, at least part, of the Reunification Express (running the whole 2 days from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh). Thankfully we had inadvertently made friends with an English speaking local who could tell us which of the unmarked trains was ours (it’s only a single track railway so both north and south trains come in at the same time to pass). Some interesting scenery from the train as we passed farmers working in the paddy fields and glorious stretches of coast (muddy windows denied any decent picture taking opportunities); but really quite glad we’d not opted to do any long stints such as Hanoi to Hue at 14-17hrs since the soft seats aren’t really that soft and for some reason Vietnamese Rail had spent all the refurbishment budget on plasma TVs and speakers to pump out bad soap operas and terrible pop music (all in Vietnamese of course) – very relaxing! Travel the rest of the way from Da Nang by car to Hoi An where we’re staying for 4 nights.

Before & Now's Art
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Hoi An is a quaint town, much of it a world heritage site, with a mixture of Chinese, Japanese, French Colonial and Vietnamese buildings (the later two have been particularly notable as a cross breed in Hanoi and Hue as tall narrow fronted buildings, a little like the Royal Mile in some ways, as a result of a street frontage tax in years gone by). Other than this it is notable for having over 500 tailors shops and almost as many cobblers – for perspective the population is around 75,000 and the centre is only a few sq kms.

Same same but different

Before & Now's Art
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The tailors and cobblers alike will happily attempt to copy anything and have a selection of magazines and western catalogues (e.g. Next) to select from, “same same”. By all accounts and our experiences some attempts are better than others - “same same but different” is practically a phrase here, indeed you can buy T-shirts with it emblazoned across here more easily than a Chairman Mao alarm clock in China.

We spent most of 3 full days picking designs and cloths, getting various fittings and then ordering some more of the same in different cloths or colours. At least we narrowed the vast majority of our shopping down to 2 tailors shops and 2 shoe shops. In the former we were there so often we were practically greeted like long lost friends by the end, in one being given beer to cool down in the heat when they’d run out of complimentary water.

Food & drink street
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Prices for the clothing was slightly more than the guide book had suggested, but we quickly established that you get what you pay for in terms of material and that by bulk buying in a shop you can get a reasonable discount. Regardless, it’s still an awful lot cheaper than back home and, for me especially, much easier to get something that fits.

Getting shoes made was a particular novelty although we’re not convinced about the quality of the shop we bought most in (made the mistake of saving $3 a pair over more central ‘expensive’ shops). I got particularly carried away and rather than just ask for a copy of something in a magazine or on display I sketched out my own trainer design and had them create it for about £14.

Hoi An streets
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At the final count we’d bought 3 suits, 8 shirts, 6 blouses, 6 linen trousers, 5 T-shirts, 2 shorts, 2 winter jackets and 8 pairs of shoes.

Other than tailors and cobblers Hoi An has an abundance of jewellers, lantern stalls, lacquerware emporiums, art galleries and silk good shops which filled in gaps between fittings along with meandering down cobbled streets to admire the old buildings, the river or the bridges.

Additionally it’s been a very pleasant place to watch the world go by and enjoy the fantastic French food (baguettes, cheese and croissants). Less enjoyable was Jane’s red Dalat wine, I think I had the finer of Vietnam’s beverages with 333 export beer. Our hotel being a 15 minute walk from the centre was never really an issue with a cab fare of only 50p when to lazy or weighed down with bags to walk.

Hoi An streets
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Oddly, one street (or alley really) seemed to be the home of all the best restaurants, the best cafes, one of our tailors and all but one of the few decent bars. That other bar notable for good music and slightly odd art (see pics). On our last night there was a power cut as we sat out on a terrace overlooking the river – really nice to have everything (including the far away bank) only lit by candles and then gradually everything begin to light up as places began to realise it wasn’t going to be a quick outage and cranked up the generators (we got the impression that this was not unusual by how quickly candles and torches appeared everywhere).

Hoi An streets
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Strangely attached to a place in which we’ve done so little except shop given that neither of us particularly like shopping back in the UK.