Gettin Sexy in Hoi An

The super-high-speed bus ride got us into town around 8am and Leighton and I had somehow managed to get a lot of sleeping done. We strapped on our packs and hit the road, with only a vague idea of where we were staying. We stopped in at a few places, wary because we had read some very bad reviews on a lot of the low-cost hotels in town. We were avoiding one place in-particular. We got lucky and found a great little hotel with friendly staff and a nice room. The shower is pretty spectacular, but the hot water doesn't last very long.

Hoi An is filled to bursting with tailors. Every other storefront of yellow plaster and chocolate-brown shutters contains suits and dresses of every style and color. Every hotel has a place they recommend and every tailor wants you to stop in and "buy my clothes." Not pushy enough to be annoying the town is inviting and beautiful. It reminds me of Luang Prabang in Norther Laos, but the infrastructure isn't as refined. Unfortunately, the terribly weather has continued and we're so cold and cranky at this point that we've spent a couple of days lying around watching TV.

The riverfront at dinnertime... lanterns all lit up for Tet.

Mostly we have just walked around and popped in and out of shops, bakeries, and cafes for delicious local food. The local specialty is cao lau, a noodle dish served on a bed of herbs with chicken and bean sprouts. Yum! We tried to get our favorite dish, bun thit nuong, but we kept missing the hours of operation for the barbecue at the food-market. Bummer!

The big thing to do here, as I said, is visit the tailors. We found a place that was recommended highly and stopped in. The two girls working were silly and fun. One of them, who mostly helped Leighton, had a penchant for slugging me in the arm. We laughed a lot and had a really good time with them. The owner, Bu, is also known as the "Queen of Hoi An" because he is a fabulous wee man. Not one to doubt the styling advice of either Leighton or Her Majesty, I picked out a fabric and guided my assistant in planning out my suit.

Chic Couture, the best place in town.

Leighton was a bit more forceful with his arm-punching friend (who only hit me, for some reason) and got a much better price for his suit made of more expensive fabric than I did for mine. Actually, they were the same price. Fail, Mike. I had a shirt made, too, though.

Leighton being measured by the Queen Herself, Bu! We loved Bu and his staff!

The next day we went back and had our fitting. They were perfect! The shirt was spectacular and the suit fit like it was made for me... that was a joke. Get it?

We both looked stunner in our black suits and Leighton couldn't resist ordering up another one in gray. I held off though because they told us we could email them and order more suits at any time... One is enough for now but if I need another suit I'm calling them up!

Looking like a movie star!

We leave tomorrow morning for Hue, the ancient imperial city of the Cham. Thursday (Feb. 3rd) is Tet, the Chinese New Year in Vietnam. It is the biggest holiday of the year and bus prices are double for 2 weeks before and after. The whole country seems to be taking the 1st-5th off, the entirety of our stay in Hue. Hue is supposed to be a good place to be for the celebration. We're excited.

We've booked our bus with our favorite company again and reserved a very highly rated (97%) hotel just outside the main backpacker's area. It should be a fun week. See you on the other side and HAPPY NEW YEAR!