Tailor-made Silk Suit? Check.
Here in Hoi An, the thing to do is have clothing made. The streets are lined with shops, mannequins in the front, shelves and shelves of material just inside. We studiously avoided them all of Sunday, but then yesterday, I started seeing a jacket I really liked. Our hotel is connected (business-wise, not physically) to one of the shops, where we'd get a 10% discount. Last night, we stopped in, and before I knew I it, I was being measured for a reversible jacket, two tops, and two pairs of pants, in black and orange silk, for a total price of $167. This is a lot more than I normally spend on clothes, being generally a cheapskate, but um, they're tailor-made! And even crazier? They'll be ready today. That's 24 hours.
Hoi An "Ancient Town" is quiet and lovely (well, quiet is relative in Vietnam, I've discovered), but it's flooded. The water is up to 2 streets next to the river, and all those businesses and I guess houses are closed. I read something that said that several of the old houses are listing, and there's been some mobilization to shore them up. Frankly, I don't see how the entire town doesn't need to be completely rebuilt every 3 years or so, it's so wet. The only thing wrong with our hotel here is the intense musty smell in our room, and this is a modern building. I don't know how wooden structures have survived more than 100 years.
The happy news of today is that we got a flight to Nha Trang for tomorrow. It's a 12- or so hour bus ride and I really wasn't that excited about it. But since everyone is bypassing the central coast, all the flights to Nha Trang were fully booked. We got our names on a waiting list and this morning, were told we got seats.
I may have to do a whole 'nother post about how many things here seem to happen as if by magic. I mean, yesterday, we told a guy here at the hotel that we wanted a flight to Nha Trang. He made a few phone calls, then asked us to just write our names on a piece of paper. This morning, another guy came over to me while I was on the internet a little while ago, and said, "You in room 403, right? You get flight to Nha Trang. You want me to book?" And 10 minutes later, we've got a taxi to the airport and a flight booked. And even though we have no actual tickets or electronic receipt, when we get to the airport tomorrow, everything will be fine.
Hoi An "Ancient Town" is quiet and lovely (well, quiet is relative in Vietnam, I've discovered), but it's flooded. The water is up to 2 streets next to the river, and all those businesses and I guess houses are closed. I read something that said that several of the old houses are listing, and there's been some mobilization to shore them up. Frankly, I don't see how the entire town doesn't need to be completely rebuilt every 3 years or so, it's so wet. The only thing wrong with our hotel here is the intense musty smell in our room, and this is a modern building. I don't know how wooden structures have survived more than 100 years.
The happy news of today is that we got a flight to Nha Trang for tomorrow. It's a 12- or so hour bus ride and I really wasn't that excited about it. But since everyone is bypassing the central coast, all the flights to Nha Trang were fully booked. We got our names on a waiting list and this morning, were told we got seats.
I may have to do a whole 'nother post about how many things here seem to happen as if by magic. I mean, yesterday, we told a guy here at the hotel that we wanted a flight to Nha Trang. He made a few phone calls, then asked us to just write our names on a piece of paper. This morning, another guy came over to me while I was on the internet a little while ago, and said, "You in room 403, right? You get flight to Nha Trang. You want me to book?" And 10 minutes later, we've got a taxi to the airport and a flight booked. And even though we have no actual tickets or electronic receipt, when we get to the airport tomorrow, everything will be fine.