Hoi An - A shopaholic's heaven

2 August

You cannot come to Hoi An and not get clothes tailored.  It's like...going to Paris and not seeing the Eiffel Tower.  This quaint city is famous for its tailors.  What started as a few guys running a shop on the corner of the high street, has now taken off and made it what it is today.  So how do you choose the right tailor?  Our hotel gave us the name of one they recommended and forewarned us that many of the street traders worked off commission.  So how did I choose mine?   

Firstly, I am a sucker for great customer service and I hate pushy sales people.  As my boss at S1865 said; "people buy off people" meaning you are more likely to buy off someone that you like rather than off someone that is trying to force you to buy something.  So as I was walking into the old town to meet Raj for breakfast, a lady stopped me in the street.  She introduced herself as Ann, asked how long I'd been in Vietnam for, what I thought of it and where I was from etc.  She thought I was Australian and she's not the first- result!  She also complimented me on my slender figure and as all ladies know, this means you're surely onto a winner!  Ann explained that she had been a tailor for some 15 years and invited me into her shop. Even when I said I was meeting a friend, she didn't push it and simply gave me her card.  I already felt comfortable with her but likewise I wanted to shop around.

We had breakfast in the same restaurant as the night before ( Bees Knees) and wandered into the main quarter. Raj had researched the name of a road where all the good tailors were based but on our way, he spotted a green military style jacket and that was him sold.  I had a look around and spotted a shift dress which would be perfect for my next job and some fabric for a day dress.  What I liked about these girls was the fact that they were all well dressed and all knew the key trends.  They weren't afraid of giving their opinions either which was perfect.  The tailor spotted a blue pattern which at first I wasn't a fan of I must admit, but she was adamant that it suited me...and she was right!  Once we negotiated the price (a must do here) we continued to wander down the side streets and I stopped by a leather store to see how much a bag would be for Callum (brother).  We took a few prices down and a sneaky picture (technically this isn't allowed) and were on our way, or at least that was the plan.  The shop next door also made leather shoes.  The next thing I know, I'm sitting down with 6 books of shoes choosing designs that I like.  How did that happen?  Raj chose 3 pairs of shoes, matching belts and splashed out on a beautiful leather weekend bag.  The first colour he showed me was, well...horrid, so I'm glad he changed it!  I eventually settled on 2 pairs and shoes and a brown leather handbag with suede interior.  It's so pretty :). I am a sucker for bags!

I headed back to Ann's shop and got kitted out with 2 pairs of trousers, a shift dress and a blazer all for 80$.  The same price as the 2 dresses from this morning.  Not bad for just over £50!

It was slowly beginning to dawn on us, just how much money we'd actually spent.  So, after a minor freak out and a spot of lunch, I headed off to find a bag for Callum.  I was under strict instructions to spend no more than £80 on a black overnight bag.  I spotted one and managed to get it custom made for £54!  He wanted it slightly smaller than the picture, which i requested but I adidn't realise until I picked it up the next day, just how small it was.  Still, fingers crossed he likes it.  We ended up in the sports pub a few doors down from the leather shop and spent the evening watching the ashes and talking to the other travellers about what had been a memorable but expensive day!

3 and 4 August

Both days were much the same, I seemed to go from tailor to tailor re-adjusting items to make sure they fitted.  On the 3rd, we took a wander into the Ancient Quarter followed by a walk along the river.  Again, it was a hot day so numerous stops for drinks and the use of their AC were made.  As we turned the corner by the river, guess who we bumped into? James!  (That's the dude we met on the bus).  He was staying at our hotel, so we agreed to meet up for happy hour.

Time flew by and between reading, popping down to the pool for a swim and checking emails/submitting my final TEFL lessons plans, it was time for drinks.  We resided by the pool for most of it and soaked up the free cocktails (sadly there was only 1 choice but you really couldn't complain).  About 7.30ish, we headed down to watch The Ashes before heading off to bed.

On Sunday, we popped in to get our final bits and pieces and I popped by the post office to send the parcel home to Cal.  Our plan was to take the overnight bus that evening to Nha Trang but again it was full so we stayed an extra night in Hoi An which neither of us moaned at, as I think we both quite liked it.  Still, eventually the time would come where we had to leave, so we booked our places on the Monday night bus.