Busy Little Hoi An

The Morning Hustle and Bustle of Hoi An
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February 11, 2006

Finally in Hoi An after a long, sleepless night on a bus.  The day of our arrival in this small town coincided with the first Full Moon of the New Lunar Year as well as the official opening of the tourist season, which just so happens to be the biggest celebration of the year.  It also happened to be the 10th anniversary of the reopening of Hoi An to tourists, so this year it is a particularly special event.  Needless to say, the town was a little busy, and it took us a while of wandering around before we found a hotel for a reasonable price.

A Tailored Experience

Festival Security Begins
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Hoi An is a small (10 square km) town well known for its tailoring industry.   This tiny town has over 200 tailor shops within its limits!  The streets also abound with souvenir shops of all kinds adorned with bright lanterns and chock full of t-shirts, chopsticks, and other Vietnamese handicrafts.

After a couple of thwarted attempts (due to lying, cheating, and otherwise unsatisfactory service), we found a great little tailor shop staffed by a family of genuinely helpful women.  We had some more wonderful things made for us at almost disturbingly low prices ($50 for an Italian cashmere suit and $28 for a black satin gown).  Even more disturbing was the speed at which these fine garments were crafted, in some cases, just a mere matter of hours.

Standing Guard
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Tailoring completed, we headed down to the river for an afternoon/evening meal of some sort.  It is worth mentioning here that Hoi An has three specialty dishes, two of which are delicious and one is a noodle soup.  The two more scrumptous are wonton varieties, one steamed and one fried.  Sitting at our randomly selected restaurant, we happened to have front row seats to watch the floating lantern ceremony that marked the beginning of the festival.  The hundred or so colorful paper boats were blessed by chanting and music, before each had their candle passenger lit and launched.  We finished our meal just in time to follow the lantern flotilla as it drifted downstream through the town.

Sunset Over the River
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At the end of the riverside street, we stumbled upon an enormous setup, apparently for the night's coming celebration.  Sneaking through the police-manned barricade into the Old Town of Hoi An, we took a seat in a roped off area across from a large, well-lit stage and tried to look like we belonged.  It must have worked because others (just a few thousand or so) filled in the seats and aisles around us, as event coordinators brought us and the other VIP's and foreign dignitaries free drinks.  An hour or so of waiting and watching last-minute preparations, and finally the show began!

Floating Lanterns at Night
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What a show it was!  Hundreds of people in brilliant, beautifully tailored (of course) costumes sang and danced, while bright lights and fireworks ignited the sky.  Ships aglow and many more colorful candle lanterns floated by on the river that separated us from the stage.  The audience's enthusiasm only added to the excitement of the show.  At the conclusion, we waded through the masses to our hotel where we collapsed. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Show Begins!
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February 13, 2006

Our second day in Hoi An was almost entirely consumed by shopping and eating.  Back to our tailor shop we tried on our beautiful clothes, with only a few minor adjustments needed.  After some souvenir shopping, we headed to the post office to ship our things home.  The post office proved to be a more difficult experience than we could have imagined.  It is not the official and regulated place one might hope for.  Instead, it is run much the way most other Vietnamese businesses operate: they size up the approaching customer and if he or she is Western, try to get as much out of the poor soul as possible.  About an hour of arguing and repacking later, our box was hopefully on its way.

Loren's Hot Suit
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A late dinner and a nice walk through the deserted streets led us back to our hotel.  With all of the windows darkened and the lanterns no longer aglow, it was like walking through a spirit town and was peaceful, if only a tad bit eerie.