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Published: January 11th 2007
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Hoi An is known for its many shops geared towards tailor made clothing. In the center of the market is a huge factory-like building with heaps of material and vietnamese people eagar to transform your travel weary wardrobe into something out of a catalog......so they claim. Dan and I were bombarded by a vietnamese lady as soon as we stepped off the bus!!! She was very helpful in locating a proper guesthouse for us........in return for a "quick" visit to her shop. The "quick " stop inadvertantly turned into mayhem. A few hours later I somehow ended up with a new wardrobe (that I didn't need), including tops, skirts, a dress and 2 pairs of sandals!!!! All tailor made. And after I was sucked into a massage (which after the stress of pressure shopping wasn't a bad idea) and Dan made his way for a quick haircut. Even during my massage a young Vietnamese girl was relentlessly trying to sell me her beaded bracelets and tiger balm!!! (which i shamefully purchased, so if anybody is low on tiger balm i'm your girl!!) After getting up from my massage, I desperately needed to burn a CD and the girls little brother escorted
me to a near by photo shop. Her brother looked about 9 years old, but in actuality was 14 and had knowledge beyond his years.
The next day I picked up my wardrobe, a bit disappointed, but chalked it up to part of the travel experience I ran into the girl that was selling me the tiger balm. I agreed to come to her shop the next day. The next day Dan and I were running late and quickly rushed in to get my final items of clothing when we ran into the little vietnamese boy. He was very angry that we didn't visit his sister's shop and said the following in very annoyed manner. "you are a liar!! Why do you lie? Maybe you will be unlucky on your trip!!! Maybe you get on a motorbike and die!!" I couldn't believe such hostile words were coming out of this darling boy's mouth!! Dan and I had a chuckle and headed for our bus to Nha Trang.
On the bus, I ran into Paul (AUS) who I met briefly in Hanoi!!! We ended up staying in the same guesthouse. While in Nha Trang I was approached by a
Vietnamese man claiming to be "Easy Vietnamese Driver". A number of outfits run motorcycle tours throughout Vietnam. I was reluctant at first but as I was flipping through his comments book a certain passport photo caught my eye. Ali (UK) and I traveled briefly in Thailand during one of Will and I's seperations. She had rave reviews and had done the same exact route I was planning on taking!!! so I said, what the hell, what do I have to lose? The little vietnamese boy's ill wishes did pop into my head briefly, but i figured if I died, I would die doing something I Love!!! Danh turned out to be a wonderful guide. That day he took me a short whirlwind tour of Nha Trang and we agreed to start our tour to Dalat, Mui Ne, and Saigon the next morning!!!!
That night, Paul and I had a couple drinks, that turned into a couple more, that turned into drinking out of fish bowls and stumbling back to our guesthouse!! We had a great night out, especially at Crazy Kim's bar. Crazy Kim sells tank tops sporting the logo, "hands off the kids" proceeds go towards prevention of
My Son near Hoi An
My Son collection of Cham ruins built during the 7th century pedophilia and sex tourism!!! Paul and I both took pleasure out of helping out the kids and also purchased a stuffed animal for kids for Christmas. We somehow managed to make it back to our guest house though either of us have little recollection of how!!! Great times!!! Thanks Paul, I had a blast.
Well, this blog is a bit misleading......as of now I am in Thailand with 3 girlfriends from the US (Ellen, Emily, and Kendra). Prior to that I was in the Philippines for the holidays. Like I said I'm behind on the blog but I'm trying to catch up. the next entry will include the what I feel has been the best part of my trip so far....my motorcycle tour with Danh in Vietnam. I hope you all are well and that your new year has started a good note!!! By the way, i have to make mention of one important thing......CHICAGO BEARS ARE SUPERBOWL BOUND!!! Bears fans show your support!!! Unfortunately I have not been able to see any of the games save the last game of the season, which they lost!! Please keep me updated. GO BEARS!! Till the next entry........
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