Hoi An

After an extremely long and uncomfortable bus ride (imagine laying in the cargo container for 12 hours), we finally arrived in Hoi An. We were very pleased to get off the bus and see that our luggage hadn't been stolen throughout our frequent stops during the night. We were also pleased that we had already arranged a place to stay and that it was within walking distance. 

Our hotel staff was great. They greeted us with breakfast and information about the town. We took our morning poops and then headed out to explore.

The entire old centre of Hoi An is a UNESCO world heritage site. Because of it's unique location between a river and the ocean, it was in important stop on early Asian trading routes. This meant that over the years it was occupied by the Chinese, Japanese, and French. The result is a fantastic collection of old buildings, narrow pedestrian-only streets, and the influence of many cultures. Most of the buildings are painted yellow except for the tea warehouses which are slightly taller and made of dark wood. Lanterns are the main source of light in the evening, painting the town in a rainbow of colour. 

Tourism is the main industry in Hoi An; shops and restaurants are endless but nothing compared to the amount of tailors you can find here. In fact, the tailors out number the other businesses in town two to one.

After finding our bearings, we couldn't help but be drawn into the tailor shops to check out the situation. You can have anything you want made in about a day. You name it: suits, dresses, winter costs (even though winter doesn't exist here), luggage, accessories, shoes - it doesn't matter. If you can dream it, it will be created for you overnight.

Surprisingly, I was the one who began to cave first. I shopped around but simply couldn't resist the offer to have custom leather shoes made. Red leather shoes, specially made for my feet? Yes please! Cost: $45. Time: 3 hours from measurements to shoes.

Josie also caved. A custom fall jacket was created for her. She chose the style, fabric, and trim, and then had her measurements taken. The next morning it was ready. $40.

Because of Facebook, we realized that we would be in Hoi An at the same time as a colleague of ours from university so we met up with her for lunch. We enjoyed seeing a familiar face (first one in a month), sharing stories, and having a delicious east Indian meal.

Central and northern Vietnam are known for bia hoi, or fresh beer. We enjoyed drinking these for about 30¢ per glass. This beer only lasts for the day, and often restaurants run out and then you have to drink beer from the more traditional bottles.

Lonely Planet, fellow travellers, and hotel staff all on separate occasions recommended we eat at a particular restaurant so we headed there for dinner. Josie had a noodle soup dish typical for this area of Vietnam and I had squid stuffed with pork. It was delicious.

We tried to take in some of the evening buzz but were exhausted from our travels from the previous night so we got the sack early (but not before cool-off-naked-in-front-of-AC time with beers).