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Ha Noi
The first thing you notice about Hanoi is the noise. Beeping beeping beeping beeping beeping. Whether to announce their presence on the road, alert another driver of their passing, alert people that they are running a red light - whatever the reason - Vietnamese
love to toot their own horn... Unfortunately quite literally. It is loud, incessant, and very quickly becomes more annoying than that one mosquito that sneaks into your room just as you're falling asleep and buzzes around your head. If not for all the noise, Hanoi would pass as a pleasant city to explore, with leafy boulevards and a quaint mix of architecture.
The second thing you notice about Hanoi is that people here are equal to the entrepeneurial benchmark set by Bangkok. Catching an official Vietnamese Airlines minibus from the airport for a variable rate (depending who they were charging), we arrived in the Old Quarter a little way from where we intended to stay. Seeing the swarm of touters outside, we graciously accepted the drivers offer to take us to our hotel, while a seemingly nice guy chatted to us in the back. He asked us where we were going, where we
were from, etc., and just as we were beginning to think "Wow, this guy is the first person genuinely interested in hearing our story and not trying to rip us off", we were dropped at our destination: his friends' hotel no less than 3km
outside of the Old Quarter. After a confused minute fending off an aggressive hotel manager and various other touters all trying to take our bags and put them inside the hotel, we worked out we were miles from where we wanted to be, and refusing to give anyone any money, not even a taxi driver, stormed off with bags and all toward the Old Quarter, being followed for the first 10 minutes by a persistant touter pushing some hotel or another.
Needless to say this put us in an agitated state and slightly frustrated with Hanoi. For a month we had been constantly rushing from place to place and desperately needed some R&R somewhere quiet. So the next day, after wandering the noisy streets for a short while, we decided that if I was going to have time to get suits made for my brothers wedding, we would have to forgoe the scenic Halong Bay
(there's always next time) and leave immediately for Hoi An.
Unfortunately 'leaving immediately' meant we could only get two seats on a train, as the overnight sleepers were all booked out due to a national holiday. Seventeeen uncomfortable hours later we were in...
Hoi An
Wow - Hoi an is a rustic town with historic architectural buildings and set around a river, with tailors
everywhere! Three out of every four shopfronts is filled with samples of what clothes can be custom made for you in
under 24 hours!. In the end trudi got 2 jackets, 3 dresses, 1 suit and 1 shirt; and I had 2 jackets, 3 shirts, and 1 suit made for about $600 total. Plus four long-tail tuxedos for my brothers wedding 😊 We could have had it all made for a lot cheaper, but we thought it a good idea to spend a little extra for the assurance of quality - there are quite a few dodgy tailors amongst the decent ones.
The first day we ran into some friends from the slow boat, and they invited us to their tailors' 21st birthday that evening, which was a blast with some
great food and laughs. After we headed to a nightclub with some really cheesy music, where the waiters hovered over us waiting for our drinks to run dry. It made us feel almost like rock stars, but then we were probably paying twice the amount as the locals!
The rest of our time in Hoi An was either spent at the nearby beach, relaxing in the pool at our hotel, or running around from tailor to tailor picking designs and having clothes fitted. Shopping sure can be stressful for something that is so superflous, and for the large part unnecessary! But then we do live in a consumer society :P
Farewell South East Asia :'(
I can't recommend a trip through South East Asia highly enough to anyone. We had the most amazing journey, saw some of the most breathtaking scenery, and met some truly unique and beautiful people. In our case it was definately a whirlwind tour, and I would advise spending at least an entire month in each of the countries we visited to see them properly. Plus it is cheap cheap - the flipside being the constant touting and harrasment for your tourist
dollar. If not for this it would be paradise, as the people are for the most part beautiful, friendly, and genuine. The trick is to simply be wary of anyone approaching you (not vice versa), because they inevitably will be playing some angle.
Anyway, onto Europe... and aeroplanes - you love them for the first couple hours, while the ride is still exciting, your belly is full and the booze is flowing, but there inevitably comes a time, after your second nap, when you just want it all to end!
FOR PLENTY MORE PHOTOS, CHECK OUT MY FACEBOOK ALBUM
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=26021&l=cc8a5&id=514572825
OR TRUDI'S PICASAWEB
http://www.picasaweb.com/trudesta
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