Sucked into Hoi An

Unfortunately the Internet speeds here today are at a snail's pace, so I won't be able to get any pictures up, but in a nutshell, I'll do my best to summarize my last few days....

It seems I got lost in a little place called Hoi An over the past few days. Lucky for me, and my wallet, I have managed to get out of the place and move onto Nha Trang.....let me explain.

I went into Hoi An with expectations that it was the tailor capital of Asia. Even that statement seemed to be an UNDERstatement. I walked out with three tailored suits, four shirts, and a wool coat to take on the days of winter when I return from 90+ degree temperatures. More than 500 tailor shops exist in the city of 70,000 or 80,000. Needless to say, I never intended on leaving the portion of bankroll in that city that I did in fact leave....however, when I return home, I'll be ready to take on the business world once again. This time in some fine, Vietnamese-labored gear.

It's truly amazing how they have this process nailed down. I went to one of the larger tailors in town. The first day, I walked in around 4:00 or 5:00, decided on the color/style, was extensively measured, and walked out no more than an hour or two later. I was told to come back at noon the next day for my first fitting. Sure enough, I came back at noon, and the suit had been made up and merely was waiting to be finalized based on my final suggestions. After a couple final touch-ups and modifications, I had a complete 3-piece suit, litereally 24 hours after ordering it.

It's evident the people in the smaller cities (i.e. Hoi An) manage to hang on to a very welcoming, hospitable charm, very different from the hustle and bustle of a big city like Hanoi. The people are great, and the kids love to practice their "hello" to you as you pass. But, at the end of the day, it IS a tourist-driven economy, so you'll continue to hear the common sales pitch from every angle. In example:

"Excuse me, meesta. You want motobike?" (Offered from a taxiing motorbike driver)
"You very handsome man." (Offered from the sales clerk at the tailor shop to every male customer in attempt to sell. It obviously worked on me)

Someone is always selling, that's for sure.

Hoi An is also 5 km or so from a beautiful beach, and I captured another beautiful sunset there one evening as well. Unfortunately I can't show you the picture, but take my word for it!

One of the other main highlights of Hoi An was the "Kids Festival" that was taking place. Each month, the locals celebrate the full moon, but the full moon in September (9/14) happens to be a special celebration where kids become kings of the town. So for the week leading up to the full moon, the evening streets are filled with kids riding around in backs of trucks, playing bongo drums, singing, etc. They also entertain audiences by dancing in dragon customes (you know the ones...where the costume covers the upper body but you can still see their legs???) and climb poles monkey-style, all to earn a buck from the donors in the audience. Every night I spent in Hoi An, the streets were swamped with these screaming kids and bongo drums....quite the sight (and sound) to take in....

And now I'm in Nha Trang. I arrived via a night bus this morning. We left Hoi An at 7pm and arrived here at 7am. Nha Trang is a bigger city (300,000+) but also is a beach town. There is much snorkeling, diving, and island hopping to occupy your time here, so I think I will manage at least a couple days here before working down to Saigon.

Sorry no photos today, but hopefully will get them sorted for the next post.

And seriously, what happened to ISU!? Signing out from SE Vietnam.