Hoi An

WE LOVE HOI AN! This charming little town has restored our faith in Vietnam. The streets are lined with clothes clothes clothes! Tailor shops, ready to wear or custom design, are inexpensive, good quality and fast. The daily market, set on the banks of the river, is a colourful feast for the eyes and the senses, complete with karaoke competitions booming out from loud speakers. The restaurants here are really good and many of them also offer cooking courses in the evenings. And it's a great place to just sit on the balcony of a riverside cafe and watch the world go by – which usually involves watching Vietnamese women harassing the tourists to take their boat rides and eat in their restaurants!
The buildings along the river front flood by a few feet each year, it’s obviously not all that great for the restaurant owners but it does give each little place an amazing, artistic, derelict atmosphere.

The old Japanese-style bridge, leading from the old town to the artists quarter

Road works ‘Nam style

CDs as reflectors on bikes – genius!

I decided that I wanted a dress and jacket made and Al wanted some new shirts made, so off we went in search of a good place. It was a little daunting with a million places to choose from, but in the end we found a great little place with lots of material and enthusiastic staff. We had a couple of fittings and were both really pleased with the finished products. (Thinh Thanh, 53 Le Loi street).
Me and my dressmaker with brand new, made to measure dress:


In the evening we attended a cooking course (at Cafe 96) and learned how to make spring rolls, green papaya salad and steamed fish in banana leaves. It was really good fun and a great way to learn the basics of Vietnamese cooking.

Here’s one we made earlier:


We also had a private boat ride on the river, a great way to see the town (and not have to pay for taking pictures of people :-)


The local ferry:

Preparing for Tet (Vietnamese New Year):
our guide was pretty friendly but she did try and sell us extra tours, postcards and pictures... we politely declined each time – unable to run away down the street as we usually do.

Staying here was fun and relaxing. We really enjoyed ourselves. We took a cheap ($30each) flight to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh) where we spent a day before catching the bus to Phnom Penh - Cambodia. Saigon is a biiiig city!
Al was still on the hunt for his Cannon D450, he's tried nearly every shop since we arrived in Asia but found them to all be more expensive than prices on the internet so he's resigning to wait until we get back to the UK. My little camera should hopefully do for now, though it's battery life is slowly diminishing as we use it all the time.

Saigon may be big but it has charm and we found the people to be much friendlier down here than in the north - something which took us by suprise and ended our trip to Nam on a good note.

'Nam in a nutshell:
We've had a real love-hate relationship with Vietnam. We heard quite a few reports beforehand from people who left after a few days, or people who were relieved to leave. It is definitely not the place to come for a relaxing holiday! The locals see you as a walking ATM (everyone wants a withdrawl) and you are constantly trying to avoid being scammed or fending off people trying to sell you stuff (whether someone shouts at you from across the street, or walks by your side for half a mile asking you a multitude of quesitons about where you are from, what tours you've already bought etc) it happens every time you step outside your hotel room, even in the hotel lobby (how long you here for? You want I book tour or taxi?) or in restaurants when you're trying to relax with a drink (we've been handed a few of the old 'little black books' full of travellers' written thoughts about a tour they're trying to sell). We learned to accept it, but it's just that the Vietnamese people aren't always friendly about it either, unlike the neighbouring countries where a smile is always for free.
All the kids here are very cute, but for some reason they ALL collect foreign money... funny that is't it?! Al cottoned on to that one early on and we haven’t added to any 'collections'.
We've slowly been getting used to the amazing sounds that come from Asian gullets, a sort of snorting/gagging/coughing sound, especially shocking when it comes from a female. It's hard to understand why people feel the need to clear their throats so vociferously, however it's just one of those things you just have to accept.
Plus, what is it with the long fingernails on men here... just creepy!

All in all we wouldn't recommend Vietnam as a holiday destination if you want to relax. If you like being hassled and holding onto your bag and money for dear life then come - there is quite a bit to see. However (and I'm writing this from Cambodia) I'd say there are better places to visit in Asia where they show a bit of respect for the tourists.