Hoi An

The answer to the ending question in the previous blog post... The journey from Phong Nha to Hoi An, 300km South, took 13 hours!! We were definitely glad to get off that bus!
Thankfully Hoi An offered a few days of relaxing and feeling like we were on holiday, as opposed to travelling.
As soon as we had checked in, we walked into the centre of town, still as beautiful as when I visited seven years ago but far far busier. We had dinner at a lovely looking restaurant, Hai Cafe, where we experienced the rudest and surliest service of our trip so far. There were no greetings or smiles, just a taking of the order and walking off. Drinks were slow coming and the food even slower. Forty five minutes after ordering it turned up with different side dishes to what we ordered. Instead of broccoli and mushroom we were given some salad, the explanation, 'we ran out of broccoli'. Well thankyou for letting us know and asking what we would like instead!
The bill was plonked down next to me and had Tony not seen the waitress put it there, we wouldn't have realised. There was certainly no 'here is your bill, thankyou'.
Needless to say, we didn't go back there again!
The following evenings we ate at the backstreet restaurants near our hotel where food was half the price, served in bigger portions and the service was friendly and relaxed. We settled into a routine of heading out early evening and having fresh beer by the waterfront, the price even cheaper than Hanoi at 4000dong/12p a glass, having a wander and then heading back towards the hotel for dinner and more drinks with beer even cheaper at 3000dong/9p a glass and wine less than £1.
During the day we borrowed bikes for free from the hotel and cycled out past rice paddies and people farming the fields with their water buffalo towards the coast.
We walked around town and drank Vietnamese iced coffee and gorged on beautiful cakes at Cargo Club for a few pounds and then we'd wander some more and eat bits of street food like the Hoi An speciality noodle dish, Cau Lao for 80p. Or have Bahn Xeo, the crispy pancake filled with bean sprouts which you roll in rice paper and eat with fresh veggies. Tasty!
Hoi An is also famous for 'white rose'. A soft rice dumpling stuffed with shrimp and topped with crispy shallots. Everywhere in town sells it but it is made by one family only and the individual restaurants buy it from them. I knew this from my previous visit and when the receptionist at our hotel told us the place it was made was just around the corner, we hunted it out.
A group of women sat around the table, some rolling dumplings, some stuffing it and some then closing it up and making it look pretty. We learnt the family had been making it since the 17th Century and it was now the third generation of the family leading the business. They make 7000 'white roses' per day, and that is in low season!! In high season it's up to 10,000 per day!
The restaurant only serve two dishes; white rose-surprise surprise, and crispy wantons. As we'd come for the white rose, this is exactly what we ordered and received a big plate of it served with a sweet dipping sauce. Yum.
Hoi An is also famous for tailoring and seven years prior, I had had a coat made which still looks good to this day. I decided I'd have another one made up. I got quotes from several shops for a price comparison, chose one and showed them a picture of one I liked in Reiss, chose fabric from samples, had some measurements taken and was told to come back the next morning. There was my coat! A few tweaks to length and moving some buttons and that evening I was taking it away with me for an absolute bargain price.
Tony decided to get in the spirit and knowing he'd be buying a new suit when we got home, decided to do it here and have one made from scratch. Unable to decide between two materials he decided the best way of resolving the issue was to have one of each made in a three piece suit with extra trousers for each.
He chose the materials for the lining, had measurements taken in all sorts of places!!! and came back the next day to find the suits almost finished. A few amendments to sizing, specifying stitching and choosing buttons later we were heading out again after being told to return later that afternoon. We returned to find the head tailor there to double check everything. A few tiny tweaks were made and we could call back in an hour or so to collect! In less than 48 hours he had two gorgeous, high quality three piece suits in his hand at a fraction of the price he would pay at home.
We decided to ship the new purchases back to the UK, along with a load of other stuff we no longer need on our travels. Due to the cost, as we did in China, we decided to send via sea mail. It takes four months so we will be back before the shipment. Fingers crossed it turns up!!