Hoi An

Hoi An was a sleepy little town full of fast working tailors. You can have an outfit made in less than a day. Order it in the morning and pick it up at night. I picked up a skirt for $7 US.



The streets are lined with tailor shops. They all have basically the same examples of their work on the mannequins out front. Plus the fabrics on offer vary very little. You selection really comes down to how you feel about the shop keeper. Some are very pushy while others work the 'lucky' angle. In the end, I suspect that most of the work is done by a few offsite locations. It all seems to be done at the same time in the day and the quality is very similar. Regardless, it makes for an interesting break to temples and monuments.



That is not to say those don't exist in Hoi An. In fact, it is a heritage town with an Old Town section that is blocked to car traffic where many significant temples and historical houses are on offer. As a visitor you can pick up a three day pass which gives you access to a variety of places.



Hoi An is also close to the beach. We had stop at China Beach on our way down to Hoi An from Hue. It was fabulous to paddle around in the sea even if it was only for about 30 mins. There is something so regenerative about splashing around in the salt water. The waves were even big enough to do a bit of body surfing. If only I had a boogie board!

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