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Published: December 10th 2010
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November is supposedly the end of rainy season; however some call it the wet season. I am confused. Supposedly it is supposed to rain for an hour or two in the afternoon and that’s it. Ummmm. It has been raining for the past 4 days… all day long. We were supposed to be on the beach or taking boats to remote islands. Instead we are spending quality time in Hoi An. This is the place to shop, have clothes made and admire simple beauty and charm. While walking around and staring at the muddy river, I realize everything I look at is colorful and simple. I think I may be in love with this little city. There are many bars and restaurants; however you can walk the entire perimeter of the city in 1 day. The markets are very smelly as there are live chickens, dead unidentifiable meat and lots of fruits and vegetables. Dean (the guide) said many rats come out at night. About 95% of the people running the shops are women. I rarely see any men at the shops, only at restaurants. This town is run by woman! Amazing! The only problem is that many don’t speak English
at all. The ones that do are sometimes poorly taught; therefore there are no proper sales skills – they say things like ‘you buy from me’ or they grab your arm and say ‘look my stuff’. You take it all with a grain of salt as many of these women are not graceful by any means. The guys on my trip all wonder if it is so easy for them to make beautiful clothes, then why do they dress the way they do (with the round straw hats, flood pants, simple shirts). It’s their culture! The older women are not stylish, while the younger woman all where the tight pants (like leggings) and the long dresses (with the slits that start around their waist line on both sides of their bodies. It is certainly interesting.
I literally got into town at 10am. I didn’t leave until 10pm. I decided to have a few dresses made. This was an idiotic idea as I have gained so much weight, but then again the cost to have things made is so reasonable, I figured why not? OYE. About half of my tour group also got clothes made. You go over what you
want (I drew pictures) and then you pick the fabric. I am easy as all I ever want is black or a dark solid color. The whole process is done in 2 days time. You have 2-3 fittings; the first fitting is a few hours after you place your initial order and then the next fittings are the next day. The place our guide recommended was by far the most expensive, but also supposedly the best quality. Who knows! Some girls got stuff at other shops for half the price, but the fabric looks kinda cheap (then again, who am I to judge!). One of the boys even had a Hugh Heffner smoking jacket made. Other guys had suits, dress shirts and even a tuxedo made. The cost for that sort of stuff is about $200 for a suit… for a custom cashmere/wool suit this is about 1/4 of the cost in NY or 1/20 in some high end places.
I had a lovely lunch with some of the people on my tour. We wondered around for hours. We ran into my crush on the street and he lost his buddies, so he tagged along with me and 2
other girls. Before I knew it he was helping pick out some beach cover-ups as mine ripped. How cute! I assumed he was in his early 30’s as he is completely bald and his skin looks 30ish. After sitting and talking a bit, I come to realize he is 25. WTF! Anyhow, he is bald, has tattoos all over the place but has this incredible smile and baby blue eyes that make me blush every time I see him. I see 2 other girls on my trip gunning for him, so I am staying out of the way as usual. I don’t need drama as 2 people already hooked up and everyone knows and is talking about them! She is an Indian princess who moved to London. She spends time in Monaco and clearly has a high class circle of friends. She happens to be beautiful. Her guy is a 20 something (I think) guy from bumblefuck Australia. He happens to look like a model. All I see is the 2 of them following each other around day and night. It is cute, but a tad annoying.
As I had my 1st fitting in the late afternoon I waited to meet my group for dinner. It was at a restaurant where the owner came out and said he studied in Milan for a year, so try his Italian food. I think everyone tried the Italian food and for the most part were satisfied. The following day started with a historical tour. It was raining as usual, but we did check into a new hotel (as the 2 previous nights weren’t planned due to Mother Nature). After the tour came lunch again and more dress fittings. I wondered off by myself for a facial as I was so tired of shopping (and not buying anything). The days are flying by in Vietnam very quickly. I would like the rain to stop for a bit as it is getting mildly depressing.
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