Clothes Horses?

Well Hoi An sucked us in! All the guidebooks said the thing to do in Hoi An is get clothes made. Being the non-clothes horse that I am, I really had no interest. First of all how would I know what to have made? Second, if the clothes actually fit me, they'd probably be too tight and I would not like them. Third, I was not interested in lugging new clothes around for the remaining 2 months of the trip. Fourth, it was so hot and hard to imagine slipping into newly made long sleeve shirts or coats or whatever else was anything but shorts and short sleeve shirts. In the end, this did not stop us. We went to town!

V started it with getting a coat made and then shirts and then pants and then a blazer. I jumped in when it started to look fun and got measured up for a funky asiany thing. Soon I prgressed into shirts - cotton and linen - as well. We both went for silk pajamas. We had to! It was all so cheap. But best of all seeing yourself in clothes that are tailored exactly to your body and to your design is very addicting. The best part of all is that I could get them to make it fit just right - not too tight and not too loose. You just can't get that in off the shelf clothes.

We were like madwomen in Hoi An. We were working with 2 different tailor shops - same company but different locations and thus different fabrics. There we were on bikes, pedaling our way through the chewed up roads of the Old Quarter to our various fittings. Back and forth we went with stops along the way for lunch, the beach, and a refreshing drink when we could afford the time. I think we had about 8 fitting sessions while we were there. Our assistants, Ha, Tuyet, Mai, and oh I forget the fourth one's name, were getting a good laugh out of us adding more and more to the shopping list. They were all very sweet and patient, especially with me and my pickiness.

I should say though that we also really did have a great time in Hoi An aside from the tailor shop. The atmosphere in the town is so charming. The restaurants were great - that first meal we had there in the seaside "Swedish" owned place was I think the best meal we'd had on the whole trip. The beach is not too shabby there either - and a great flat bike ride to get out there, which we really enjoyed.

A word must also be said about the hotel we stayed at -The Ha An Hotel. Loved the place! It was a total haven. Be it the room, the breakfasts, or the guy who took care of our bikes every day for us, we felt like queens (especially with all our new custom fitted clothes)!

In general, Hoi An was our favorite place in Vietnam (along with Hanoi). Each night we both kept talking about how it wouldn't be such a crazy idea to go there once a year and have an ENTIRE wardrobe for nothing, while you could also eat well, kick back on the beach, and maybe even take a cooking class or two (which we did as well). Just wish it wasn't so damn far from Boston!