Day 18: Hoi An you can believe it

Today was the first full day in Hoi An, and we certainly did consumerism proud. If you take away the whole UNESCO world heritage listing of the old town the business of Hoi An is business, specifically making stuff: clothes, jewellery, glasses, more clothes, and other shiny things.

L at the Japanese bridge

The hotel breakfast is okay, nothing too flash but enough to take the edge off. From here it’s about 500m to where all the main stuff is, but there are a few shops on the way to get essentials (water, rice cookers, beer, massage) if needed. We took a slightly different way into town today, and found a neighbourhood of cafes, all filled with locals, so coffee was required. I’m beginning to develop a tolerance to what this part of the world does in the name of coffee, probably two parts any fix will do, two parts Stockholm Syndrome, and one part it’s just the way they do it. I can’t see me drinking this crazy bitter-sweet confection when I get home, but on a morning humid enough to make a cold glass generate visible water vapour, the occasional dose doesn’t go astray. I’m not sure what the locals made of us, there weren’t any other westerners around (too early in the morning for most backpackers), but we had a ball watching the locals scooter past carrying all manner of things (winner was the passenger holding up two sheets of glass). The coffee was cheap too, less that AUD$1 each.

Then it was time to get some clothes made. L had a tip on a place that might be able to do extra-special orders, and she wanted a skirt for a dance. Said skirt basically requires all the fabric in Vietnam — the serviceperson almost flipped when L explained it needed a 45m bottom hem, and there was much back and forth, showing pictures, before they got the idea. The good news is they can make the dress, for a vaguely okay price. I just sat there, chatting with the store dog when it came out for some attention.

My turn next, and we found Be Be, which is one of the few places in Hoi An who actually make the clothes themselves (most outsource, so results can be mixed without a good recommendation). I had an idea, and found the right fabric, and you’re just going to have to wait and see. I’m also getting a few work shirts and pants made.

Then it was lunch, and with the rain coming down (not heavy but persistant) we found a place that made banh xeo, rice pancakes with fried shrimp. We were hoping they were gluten free (later research indicates they almost certainly were) and they looked great. These are eaten with rice paper, so you wrap the pancake with some fresh greens and herbs and then dip in a peanut sauce. You can also add chilli sauce (the wonderful Hoi An variety that looks like lava but isn’t really that hot) and fish sauce. It was a great Vietnam food experience, just sitting down somewhere, no menu just eating whatever they were serving, and getting great food.

A Hoi An rice pancake and condiments

Then came the quest for L’s print dresses. She wanted some interesting printed fabric, but it seems that often the right print is in the wrong material. We sat in one store, where L went over designs, picked the fabric, and then waited. And waited. And waited. Our staff member decided that another customer was more interesting, so we walked out. L eventually found the right place, the right fabrics, and the right price.

After all this walking and shopping we needed a massage, and funnily enough found a place that did a fairly decent job. It was more the relaxing variety, but we didn’t mind. Then we wandered down the street where we stayed last time we were here, seeing if there was still cheap beer to be found.

Not there at any rate (we’ve since marked a few places at the other end of town serving bia hoi), that end of town has gone a bit swankier in the last 3 years. Where our hotel used to be right at the end of civilisation, now there’s much more, lots of shining and flashing lights further down the road. A few of the places we remembered, but not all the new and shiny cafes, Indian restaurants, and gadget stores.

There was once place we remembered, they had the best cheap pho: they were still there (though smaller, half the old premises is now an Apple/tech store). I remember having a wonderful bowl of the good stuff there, and little children came up and said hello. Those little children are a lot bigger now, probably school-aged, and full of energy. The pho is still good, and I don’t think they’ve seen a price rise in 3 years, making it still the best 30k/bowl around (under AUD$2).

Tomorrow is first-fittings day, where we go to all the tailors again to see if our thoughts have turned into clothes that may fit. Stay tuned.

NOTE: A moment’s silence please for the place where I got my groovy same same but different shoes last time. Their location is now taken by a mobile phone shop, and we can’t remember what they were called to see if they’ve got a new shop. So no new groovy shoes, but other cool things will appear.