Perhaps the favorite city for all of us was Hoi An.
Our hotel – Ha An – arranged pick-up for us around mid-day for a rather large fee ($18) considering it was only about 15-minutes away. The hotel seemed fairly nice, though our rooms were right next to the lobby and our room opened up to the main entrance steps as a balcony. But, overall, it was a nice place to stay for our short visit in the city.
Hoi An is known of its tailors and so the boys were keen to get some workshirts made. So, our first mission was to take care of that to allow as much time as possible for fittings, sewing and adjustments. Craig had found some reviews for a few places and we ended up at B’lan, which proved to be a very good choice. The ladies were kind, personable and helpful with the process of measuring, deciding on fabrics and negotiating prices. Depending on the type of fabric and amount required, the prices ranged between $12 – $15 per shirt. Craig got 5 long-sleeve, double-cuff shirts and Roman ended up with 6 short-sleeve button-up shirts. The quality seemed pretty good considering they made up the shirts in a few hours, then adjustments in a couple hours after an initial fitting. Who knows how long they will last, but it’s a process worth undertaking if you have the time.
Once the tailoring was sorted, we walked around the town. It was the best for walking around as the old-city area was blocked off to motorbikes and it was easy to walk in the middle of the streets without fear of getting hit or honked at. The old town is a World Cultural Heritage site and has been well-preserved. There was French, Chinese and Japanese influences seen in the buildings and designs. The Japanese covered bridge was a highlight as well. We bought entrance tickets for 75,000VND that allowed us to visit one of the museums, old houses, assembly halls, workshops and the bridge or a temple. So, it was nice to have some options on what to see, but to also get some historical sightseeing in.
The other highlight of the town was the market. Craig and Roman were both looking at North Face backpacks, so they had some fun negotiating with the ladies on prices. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the shopping around even though I was sure I wasn’t going to shop again after Spain! π In fact, my only souvenir from the whole country is a pair of Billabong board shorts. ha ha.
In the evening, we had drinks at Brother’s Cafe, which was in a very cool French-style building. The outdoor seating along the waterfront was quite lovely. However, it seemed reservations were needed to get those seats, so we had a quick expensive drink and then looked for somewhere else for dinner after picking up the boys’ workshirts. We headed further down the river and found Mango Rooms for dinner. It was a bit expensive, but the food was delicious!
Thus was our short visit. I think two days in Hoi An would have been just right for meeting tailoring and sightseeing needs, plus it’s just a lovely little town to spend some time in.
More to come…
-T
