I don’t know whether Kam and I are now getting used to Vietnam, or whether in fact each place we stop is getting better and better. Whatever the reason, Hoi An has been an amazing stop for so many reasons; for beauty, for relaxation, for food and for friends.

Safe with our newly purchased “open bus” ticket, we hit the road for a short 2.5hr drive from Hue to Hoi An. Driving through the much bigger Danang, we quickly realised we would like Hoi An, it’s smaller and more beautiful little brother. Our first stop was to walk the streets of the ancient quarter, which conveniently was only at the end of our street. After only 20 minutes into arriving, we bumped into some familiar travellers, a Danish couple who were also on our Sapa tour. We had planned to catch up with them later that night, but it seems that chance would play a big part here in Hoi An.

We left them to finish their lunch and Kam and I spent the afternoon discovering Hoi An and it’s beautiful old quarter, thick with beautiful wooden clad shops, and sand coloured stone walls, it felt like a step back in time. Unlike everywhere else we have been, the old quarter’s narrow streets and alleys were completely devoid of tacky trinkets and paraphernalia. Only tailors, cobblers and restaurants reside here, a refreshing change and a somewhat dignified vibe. The old quarter sits north of a lovely river, so lunch was taken on the southern banks to really take advantage of the view. We started tucking into the specialties from the region, White Rose, Cau Lau, and fried wontons (more like a bruschetta than wontons), and sampling some not so traditional cocktails. Both the food and the beverages would be common practice whilst here in Hoi An.

The big thing to do here in Hoi An is to visit the tailors to get some custom made clothing. We’d been told they were absolute geniuses with a needle and thread, and can make an exact copy from just a photograph. What we weren’t told is that there were over 300 tailors here, all saying they had the best fabric, the cheapest prices, and the finest workmanship. This leads to day 2: The walking… So we hit the streets, to touch the fabric, to get the prices, and to view the quality. As the sun was setting, Kam and I found our tailors, had been measured up for 1 x dress (Kam), 2 x winter coats (Kam), 1 x Suit (Dunk) and 2 x business shirts (Dunk). But 6pm in 30+ degrees, the only thing that concerned me was an icy cold 50c beer!!

Fresh with the relief of having our clothing measured, we caught up again for the second night in a row with our Danish mates Natascha and Carl. This set a bit of a trend for the remainder of our time in Hoi An – Dinner, Fresh Beer (15c a glass), and cards at a pub overlooking the river. Even the times we hadn’t planned to catch up, we bumped into them in the street, at tailors, and at restaurants. Kam and I felt totally at home in Hoi An, and it was great to have some mates to share the experience with us.

The next morning the 4 of us did a cooking class run by a really fancy Vietnamese restaurant in the heart of the Old Quarter, Morning Glory. It began with a tour of the market, which was great, as we could all ask questions about what each ingredient is, and how it was used etc, very worthwhile. We then purchased a few ingredients and got to work. We made some fantastic local dishes, which were outstanding, and the class was great. My only concern was most of the food was prepared for us. I would have loved to be given the opportunity to prepare everything from scratch, but hey, the food was great, and we can practice it to our heart’s content when we get home!

Liking Hoi An so much, we booked another nights’ accommodation and spent the rest of our time here, eating and drinking. It seemed like no matter what time of day it was here in Hoi An, it was declared as happy hour, and drinks were always priced accordingly! Kam did get to have the pedicure she had been wanting, (she even negotiated the chick down to 10,000VND about 50c), which leads to the first time we got scammed in Vietnam. As Kam got whisked away into the shanty dwellings in the heart of the produce market without any chance to grab money or her phone, I was told she would be an hour, and to come back then. Even I, not knowing too much about podiatry beauty regimes, thought that an hour was a long time for a pedicure, but hey, if she’s gonna take 1 hour, and it’s only gonna cost us 50c, then SWEET, drinking time!

When I returned, Kam’s face was covered in chalk, she was crying and this small Vietnamese woman was fluffing around with 2 pieces of sewing thread running it along Kam’s upper lip. Apparently this Vietnamese hair removal technique is called “threading”, and by twisting cotton and running it along the skin, it can pluck all the hairs from one’s face, legs, and if Kam hadn’t stopped her, bikini line. But I had no time to understand what the hell was going on, as next she had me flipped onto her table with my feet in the air and a cut throat razor blade in her hand. She set to scrape all the dead skin off my feet, absolutely disgusting, but cool all the same. Anyway, back to the scamming, of course, Kam and I realised that this lady was not going to just charge 10,000VND for everything that she did, but we certainly didn’t expect the bill of 750,000VND (about $38 – $8 more than an hour long full body massage at the very fancy day spa down the road)!! After some tears from our beautician, refusal of money from a hard nosed Aussie husband, and a few looks of concern from a wife who was just happy that she got her nails done, we gave her 100,000VND and called it a day.

An added benefit about staying an extra was allowing more time for our glad rag fittings. If any of you do go to Hoi An, allow time for fittings, there seems to be a bit lost in translation between the shopfront and the sweatshops. Also, be prepared for it to be hot, hot, hot! Poor Kam had to try on her coats in 30+ degree weather each time standing there sweating away while the Vietnamese tailor pinned here and tucked there. Buying a tailor made jacket in this weather seems ludicrous!!

The last 2 days in Hoi An involved a trip to the beautiful beach on our pushbikes with the Danes, 1 farewell dinner with the 4 of us, and one romantic dinner with just Kam and I on our last night in Hoi An.

So with our new glad rags boxed up, and being sent sea mail back to Australia, we bid a sad farewell to lovely Hoi An as it is now time for us to again board the bus for our next leg of the journey, the night sleeper bus to Doc Let beach.