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Published: September 16th 2005
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Sandra and Gemma
Ready to tackle our first day in Hoi An After a 13 hour life-harrowing bus ride from Nha Trang we stumbled into our hotel rooms and fell like timber onto the beds. Oh, sweet sleep! Not one of us had slept more than two hours of the journey and we were bone tired and weary. Not only were the bus seats uncomfortable, but we had witnessed our lives flash before our eyes enough times to keep us awake all night. Our driver had us on the edge of our seats by driving on the wrong side of the road about for 80% of the trip. Awake only by cans of Red-bull energy drinks, he swerved erratically around motorbikes and other buses and used his ear-piercing horn at a rate of once or twice per minute. As we unfolded ourselves from the seats upon arrival, we all said silent prayers and vowed to avoid long bus rides for a while for our personal safely as well as sanity.
I suppose you could say it was all worth it though...exploring the city later in the afternoon we were completely mesmerized. We had all read the Hanoi section of the guide book and heard stories from those who had been here before. But
Step 1
Show up at the tailors with a smile...eager at the prospects of a new warobe! it's hard to imagine until you see it with your own eyes. Just imagine...row after row...street after street of nothing but tailors and cloth shops. Like candy for the eyes, colorful copies of their finest pieces are displayed on racks outside their shops. I can't seem to walk 10 meters down the street before my eyes peruse the beautiful silks peaking through open the doors - picking out something I like.
Shopping is a weakness for many girls and I cannot seem to give into the temptation. To make matters worse, one of our group, Asling, is taking night classes in fashion design in Ireland. With the whip of a pen and some paper, she can easily sketch out anything you tell her. She knows copious amounts about fabric patterns, color schemes seams, stitching and pleats. Her wisdom has been invaluable to us in picking out and designing things to have made.
For 2 days solid we sat in tailor shops pouring through catalogs and magazines and ordering things to have made. All of the girls had beautiful ball gowns made for fun. I had a few suits stitched up and lots of trousers and skirts. At a smaller price
Step 2
Look though massive amounts of fashion magazines looking for ideas than it would be to buy the clothing new, you can pick out any design you fancy and have the piece made to fit YOU... exactly! No more jeans that fit the legs but not the waist, tops the bunch or bag in funny places, suits with extra long arms!!! Forget Bangkok, get the to Hoi An. A place where all of your wardrobe dilemmas can be solved in as little as 48 hours.
Out of pure shame I cannot record the amount of money I spent here. But I now feel like the amount of clothes I threw out in Japan during the move has been doubly justified.
With 5 girls crammed into one small tailor shop - things have also been a little hectic and frustrating. The fittings, measurements, alterations can all be hard work. Luckily we found a lovely tailor who accommodated us very very kindly and seemed to have as much fun helping us as we did.
*A word of advice to those going to HoiAn for the clothes: Be weary about the bigger, fancier tailor shops who lure you in with smiling girls in matching uniforms and thousands of bolts of fabric. Unless it's a
Step 3
Have Asling put pen to paper and sketch out a few promising designs certain material or pattern you are looking for, the smaller shops can usually do an equally good job with the clothes and they will most certainly be cheaper. The small shops are more gracious to have you and your business, as well. And they are mostly family owned - making them strive a bit harder to satisfy you. Trust me...we found this out the hard way!
Aside from the tailors, another thing that makes HoiAn special is the lovely Old Quarter the government has made strides in preserving. In fact, it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Walking around the streets feel like a time warp. The houses and buildings are all yellow plaster with red-tiles roofs. There are old Chinese temples and houses throughout. I took a quick ride around the area on a rented bike today. And there is definitely something magical surrounding the area. If all the tourists and motor bikes disappeared it probably be difficult to estimate the current time-period.
So, today was my last day as a human Barbie. Tomorrow morning I leave for Hanoi on the night train. Yes, I said TRAIN ...no buses for me for a while. The girls are all flying the
Step 4
Get measured! morning after. In being true to the promise I made to myself to make my trip around the world completely overland I have a 16 hour train ride in place of a 45 minute flight ahead of me. The joys of adventure travel!!
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Uncle Garvin
non-member comment
best is yet to come
Keep up the good times and good health. Sayanara