Southeast Asia

Hoi An, Vietnam | 11 Jan 2006

Hoi An

We stayed at a The Commercial Trade Hotel(or something like that) for $8.00 a night. The location was perfect and the room was nice.

In Hoi An there are hundreds of tailors and the most popular activity there is
having a custom wardrobe made on the cheap. Brandon and I had clothes
made and I am kicking myself for not taking a picture of that handsome
man in his suit and wool winter jacket.

We got most of our clothes made at a store called Yale and are happy with the end product but we had a shirt and a jacket made elsewhere. The fall jacket I was having made was really cute. It fit beautifully in the body but I couldn't move my arms at all! No problem, no problem--we fix! After 5 alterations it became very clear the problem was in the cut of the fabric and no amount of alterations could actually fix the jacket. It was simply cut too small. Strange enough, Brandon's shirt was small in the exact same place. The tailors would not accept that their work was at all flawed. They proceded to tell me the real problems with the jacket were that I didn't know fashion, fashion wasn't function it was looking good, if I wanted to be able to drive a car while wearing the jacket i would have needed to tell them before hand, I was insulting their Vietnamese culture, the jacket fit perfectly but I no longer "felt the design in my heart", and that if I wanted to be so picky about being able to move my arms I should have gone to a store where I could try on a bunch of different sizes so I could pick a proper size! *sigh*

Unbelievable. Needless to say I was right pissed off. We had put down a $30 deposit but Brandon's shirt was $18. I wanted my $12 back! I was ready to sit outside all day long to shoo prospective customers away. Brandon convinced to let the $12 go. He of course was right, but man if you are in Hoi An never get anything made at a store called "Chic".

The old quarter of Hoi An is a neat area despite the hoards of tourist restaurants, shops and tailors. The old buildings are vibrant colors with moss covered, slopping terra cotta roofs and no motorbikes allowed on the narrow streets. It is a beautiful area that gives you an idea of what tradition life may have been like in the area.

We had some of the best pho (noodle soup) at a little hole in the wall restaurant across from Yale clothing store in Hoi An. The pho lady (we never caught her name) was especially kind. Our first day there her granddaughter cried and ran away at the site of Brandon. By our last day Grandma had convinced her to pet Brandon's beard but the young girl made it clear she still had no intentions of becoming his friend.

We enjoyed our time in Hoi An.

Locations Visited: Hoi An

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