a girl's best friend

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Yes, shopping. I just loved Hoi An. It's a very beautiful and charming little city, and it also has a million tailor shops that will make you everything and anything for a fraction of what you'd pay back home. I'm not going to divulge how much money I spent because it would make me out to be insane when I'm on a backpacker's budget. But at the time I really justified it because I knew I'd regret it when I got home if I hadn't bought a lot. It is only now that I realize I won't be home any time soon and who knows if the stuff will still fit me. But whatever, really it was the most fun I've ever had shopping and it will be such a nice surprise when I do get home and I have all these new clothes!
Overall I was pleasantly surprised by Hoi An. I had been told by so many people how great it was and how I'd shop til I dropped, but I didn't think I would get into it as much as I did. The best was going into the cloth market and getting bombarded by crazy vietnamese women. The were slapping my ass and pinching my cheeks really hard... kinda scary. But it was fun because you could search through the entire market with a woman and find the perfect fabric then go through dozens of magazines to find the exact top or whatever that you wanted made. My lady was a little crazy. She lightly (somewhat) slapped my face at one point because I couldn't make up my mind. But then she laughed and hugged me. Hmmmm... I couldn't decide if it was a loving gesture or not. The top had to be adjusted about 4 times and I am not convinced I love it, but the experience was worth it... The women were hilarious and seriously nuts. The rest of my tailoring I did in shops because you were able to try on things from manequins and you knew exactly what it would look like. Again, I had another lady in one shop who was pretty crazy. She would rip my clothes off me and drag me around the store forcing me to try on everything. I would then try and describe how I would want something and she'd say... no, that's an ugly idea. Nice. And yes, she too slapped my ass several times... what's with that? Despite her craziness, her clothes turned out the best. Okay enough with the shopping, I'm sure the boys reading this don't appreciate the details.
We spent only 3 days in Hoi An which I somewhat regret because it was such a nice city and I would have liked to just to relax there a little bit. But overall I think it was safest to leave when I did because I would risk spending all my money there!
We did do more than just shop! Not much more though!... it was a half day morning tour of the My Son ruins which was a little less than exciting. Once again, not comparable to Angkor. I was pretty grumpy because it was supposed to be a sunrise tour. Ummm, there was no sunrise. As usual it took so long to get going that the sunrose as we drove out and we really didn't see it. Bloody tours. If you want to do it right, do it yourself. On the positive side we met a couple of Danish boys with whom we became fast friends. Jonatan and Lasse, later known as big bill and plain sweet Lassi. Big bill because Jonatan is so damn tall. The vietnamese get such a kick out of him, and our tour guide wouldn't call him anyting but "BIG BILL!" - much to Jonatan's dismay. Sophie likes it because it takes the focus off her dreadlocks for once. Anyways, we ended up deciding to head up to Hue together and then take it from there...
I apologize for this very dull entry but like I said I basically just shopped the entire time, and I don't think any one really needs to hear anymore of the details! So onto Hue...

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Photos

In the Cloth Market
My tailor is fixing my top for the fourth time!

Jonathan and Me at My Son Ruins
And yes, he is VERY tall