Vietnam- Hoi An

I just love Hoi An not just because it has been so sunny and beautiful but also because the town is just so darn cute and charming. I love all the lanterns hanging, the fact that you can't drive any cars in the proper town and all the fun shops and tailors.

We flew from Hanoi to Da Nang and then took a city bus to Hoi An. We heard lots of bad stories about cabs so opted for the bus. At first, I was regretting our decision but then talked to a couple once we got here and was glad we took the city bus. Their cab driver agreed to take them to Hoi An, however the city limits starts several miles outside of where all the hotels and where the action is. The cab driver pulled over at the "Entering Hoi An" sign and was demanding more money if they wanted to continue into the downtown area. Can you believe it? Anyways, the bus ride was very entertaining and again almost caused me to have multiple heart attacks! First, we wondered around Da Nang for at least 2 hours trying to locate the bus station. People were giving us mixed directions and we did not realize our guide book had a section called "around Da Nang" so the whole time I was cursing the guide book for the pathetic map they gave us. So about 2 hours later we saw a sunflower yellow city bus about to pass that says Hoi An in the window so we jumped on. Actually, he pulled us on, I am not sure the bus stopped moving. But then the bus went back to the terminal for another 30 mins as the bus was at the end of the route. They will do anything for money and they charged us 3 times the actual price but it was still cheap and we were just happy to get on a bus. I think on our way the bus driver must have honked the horn over 1,500 times, it was a wild ride. I even had people sitting on my feet on pieces of card board. But the good news is we made it without hitting a biker, motor bike or any cattle crossing the road!

Oh but wait there is more drama. Once we arrived in Hoi An we discovered there was a International Choir Festival taking place and there was not a room available in all of Hoi An. We spent another few hours going from hotel to hotel looking for a room. We ran into other backpackers in the same dilemma. The guide book says that there are so many hotels that they will lower the price if you agree to stay so we didn't think to book ahead. It turned out to be our lucky day for some reason or another. We were walking up to a hotel that another couple walking out told us was full but we thought we would go in and see if they could call us a cab to take us to the next city for the night and it turned out they suddenly had a room for us! It was a bit strange and confusing why they told the other couple no just moments before. I was so happy!

The river in Hoi An

The food in Hoi An is outstanding. It has been good elsewhere but is it SO good in Hoi An. This is by far my favorite meal so far. It was a prawn hot pot. It was so fresh and just the right amount sweet and spicy!

It is so colorful with all the flowers for sale!

The town is really neat with all the old buildings. It is one of the few cities that survived the war.

They never let up! There is always someone trying to sell you something.

Grilled chicken with lemongrass and chili sauce = TASTY!

Beef grilled in a banana leaf

Yesterday we rented bikes for only a $1.00 for the whole day. We rode down to the beach for lunch.

Hoi An's beach

I have been looking forward to getting clothes tailor for over a year. Now, that it is all said and done we have mixed reviews. Yesterday was like a roller coaster. Justin went to try on his first suit and he was pleased but not super thrilled. Then we went to Kimmy's a well known tailor to try on our orders. I ordered 2 dresses and a shirt and Justin ordered another suit and we both were really happy. Then we went to get Justin's sandals and they were okay but the real downer was the 2 shirts and shorts Justin ordered at another tailor. Just really poor quality and after looking over the shirts we found a lot of errors and decided he probably could have picked those shirts up at Wal-mart for half the cost. I still have an order to pick up there today so we will see. It has been really fun going in and designing your clothes and picking out the fabrics but the quality is lacking. But I think it was a really fun experience and we will wear everything we got.

Justin thought he looked so dorky in his new shirt because of how short the sleeves are. I agreed and so he ended up taking them back to be altered, they should be ready today!

The tailoring experience is addictive though, you just want to keep trying to get things made and see how they turn out. I will post some more pictures of our creations once I pick them up today!

Tonight, we take a 15-17 hour bus ride (BUH) to Mui Ne for two nights before we head down to Ho Chi Minh city to fly out to Bangkok. I can't believe how fast this trip is passing by.