We left the Central Highlands behind us and struck out once more for the coast. We decided to give the beach resort of Nha Trang a miss and carry on further north until we reached Hoi An, where the ancient town has been declared a World Heritage Site. We arrived via a 'sleeper' night bus and I felt quite refreshed but poor old lanky Dave had resorted to lying in the aisle as he couldn't fit his enormous frame into the seat/bed and consequently was feeling a bit worse for wear. We found the guesthouse which had been recommended to us by some fellow travellers, dumped our bags and then headed out to have a look around. The old town is very unspoilt and best of all traffic is kept to a minimum so it is possible to enjoy the sights without the threat of being mown down by a moto or tuk tuk.
After eating breakfast we continued with our sightseeing and slipped between historical houses, temples and finally the Japanese covered bridge which is the piece de resistance of Hoi An, a unique covered structure built in the 16th century by, you guessed it, the Japanese. It is the only known covered bridge with a Buddhist Pagoda attached to one side of it.
By now we were both flagging due to the combination of the searing heat and lack of sleep. We retreated to our room and only reappeared when the sun had started to dip in the sky and we could walk around without the threat of sizzling.
Hoi An is not only famous for its beautiful ancient streets but also for the hundreds of tailors who have set up shop here and offer hand made clothing for a fraction of the price you might expect to pay back at home. Who are we to buck the trend of tourists pinging large amounts of money on such goods? We checked out a few places and eventually settled on a place which had received good reviews and where the sales girls weren't too pushy. We chose our designs and materials and were then measured from head to foot to ensure that the suits we had ordered fit like a glove (or hopefully like really good suits!) To celebrate us getting wonderful clothing which will no doubt help us to get fantastic jobs when we finally make it back to England we found ourselves a bar overlooking the river and drank a few glasses of Vietnam's Bia Hoi. Bumped into a friend from our Mekong trip eating at one of the pavement restaurants on our way back to the hotel so we grabbed a plastic stool and indulged in the fare which the lady was cooking up, no idea what it was but it was very tasty!
Spent the next day on cycles exploring the outskirts of the town, the banks of the river and then back to the tailors for a second fitting; all hot work in this climate.
By day three our suits were completed and we were both extremely happy with our final products, we packaged them up and sent them home ready for those high-powered interviews when we return.
Dave, his tailor and his 'casual' suit - someone had better get married next year!
It was hard not to notice that the World Cup had kicked off as although Vietnam doesn't have a team in the competition they are huge football fans and every doorway which we passed we could here the honking of the vuvuzelas escaping from the TV screens. The night of the first England match we found the huge screen in one of the town's squares, bought some extremely cheap beer and settled down for some shouting and screaming. We watched the Argentina V Nigeria match surrounded by Vietnamese egging the Argies on and then watched with dismay when at the end of the match the screen was shut down and everyone shuffled off home.
What about the England match?? After trying a few other bars in town we realised that everywhere would be shut by the 1.30am kick off and we would have to watch the match in our room. It then became a battle to stay awake as we had no choice but to lie on the bed to watch. I watched the players coming out onto the field and then the next thing I knew the match clock said 18 minutes and England were one-nil up. Argggghhh, I shook Dave awake and we consoled ourselves that at least we were winning. Maybe we should have just stayed asleep as we all know what followed!
Spent our final day in Hoi An discovering the market and the even cheaper tailors located in its environs.
I couldn't resist the bargain basement prices and had a dress, a top and some shorts knocked up in an amazingly short amount of time. That evening we wandered for the last time over the lantern lit bridges and through the sparkling streets and concluded that Hoi An was our favorite place so far in the land of the dragon.
After eating breakfast we continued with our sightseeing and slipped between historical houses, temples and finally the Japanese covered bridge which is the piece de resistance of Hoi An, a unique covered structure built in the 16th century by, you guessed it, the Japanese. It is the only known covered bridge with a Buddhist Pagoda attached to one side of it.
By now we were both flagging due to the combination of the searing heat and lack of sleep. We retreated to our room and only reappeared when the sun had started to dip in the sky and we could walk around without the threat of sizzling.Hoi An is not only famous for its beautiful ancient streets but also for the hundreds of tailors who have set up shop here and offer hand made clothing for a fraction of the price you might expect to pay back at home. Who are we to buck the trend of tourists pinging large amounts of money on such goods? We checked out a few places and eventually settled on a place which had received good reviews and where the sales girls weren't too pushy. We chose our designs and materials and were then measured from head to foot to ensure that the suits we had ordered fit like a glove (or hopefully like really good suits!) To celebrate us getting wonderful clothing which will no doubt help us to get fantastic jobs when we finally make it back to England we found ourselves a bar overlooking the river and drank a few glasses of Vietnam's Bia Hoi. Bumped into a friend from our Mekong trip eating at one of the pavement restaurants on our way back to the hotel so we grabbed a plastic stool and indulged in the fare which the lady was cooking up, no idea what it was but it was very tasty!
Spent the next day on cycles exploring the outskirts of the town, the banks of the river and then back to the tailors for a second fitting; all hot work in this climate.
By day three our suits were completed and we were both extremely happy with our final products, we packaged them up and sent them home ready for those high-powered interviews when we return.
Dave, his tailor and his 'casual' suit - someone had better get married next year!It was hard not to notice that the World Cup had kicked off as although Vietnam doesn't have a team in the competition they are huge football fans and every doorway which we passed we could here the honking of the vuvuzelas escaping from the TV screens. The night of the first England match we found the huge screen in one of the town's squares, bought some extremely cheap beer and settled down for some shouting and screaming. We watched the Argentina V Nigeria match surrounded by Vietnamese egging the Argies on and then watched with dismay when at the end of the match the screen was shut down and everyone shuffled off home.
What about the England match?? After trying a few other bars in town we realised that everywhere would be shut by the 1.30am kick off and we would have to watch the match in our room. It then became a battle to stay awake as we had no choice but to lie on the bed to watch. I watched the players coming out onto the field and then the next thing I knew the match clock said 18 minutes and England were one-nil up. Argggghhh, I shook Dave awake and we consoled ourselves that at least we were winning. Maybe we should have just stayed asleep as we all know what followed!Spent our final day in Hoi An discovering the market and the even cheaper tailors located in its environs.
I couldn't resist the bargain basement prices and had a dress, a top and some shorts knocked up in an amazingly short amount of time. That evening we wandered for the last time over the lantern lit bridges and through the sparkling streets and concluded that Hoi An was our favorite place so far in the land of the dragon.
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