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Published: July 29th 2010
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Hoi An
Pretty lanterns at night in Hoi An When we arrived in Vietnam and got through customs (which took ages thanks to rachel using someone elses passport-see the previous entry), we headed straight for Hoi An, the tailoring capitol of the world. I didnt know what to expect but figured id get a jacket or shirt or something small made.
Hoi An isnt very big but about 2/3rds of the shops are all independant tailors. They're all stacked to the rafters with hundreds of different materials, and they have a few dozen, almost up-to-date, catalogues in the middle of the shop. The first place we decided to look at seriously gave us laptops with their full range of cloths for us to look through. I took ages to look through it all as i wasnt quite sure of what i wanted. I settled on a jacket, but after id got measured up for that i found myself looking at the suits and again decided to fork out for one too. The suit has set me back $130, which works out at about 85GBP, this is cheap but not by loads. I had to remind myself that its tailor exactly for me. They could have done it a lot
cheaper too but i wanted quality, if i get it right now this could last me 10 years right....right??
So that was all done, i knew we had a quality place as they said they wanted me to come back a few times to make sure it was shaping up okay. In comparison i got a shirt made for $10 at a place a few doors down and they measured me up, and had it done in 5 hours. The quality of material isnt as good and its a bit tight, which wouldnt have happened at the other shop i expect.
The suit has turned out perfect! Jacket too. We went back once, and then again at the end of the second day and it fits like a giant, suit-shaped glove. No more Matalan suit for me, that will only be used for halloween costumes now.
Id like now to list exactly what Rachel has bought, ready?
2 Jackets,
4 shoes (2 pairs, duhhh),
a dress,
a top,
and some shorts
...and a lantern
By this point we have amassed a lot of other stuff too. 2 pictures from a very old man in a stall, he painted them himself and kept sayng something inaudible and chuckling to himself-thanks to the guys from work as i bought them with the cash they gave me. Also 2 canvas prints from cambodia, a map of old Thailand, some chopsticks from Thailand, a blanket type thing from Cambodia, some more chopsticks from Cambodia and a few other things i cant remember. We had to send them home because none of this will fit in our bags. So we arranged to post a big box through our hotel, its going by sea and will take 3 months apparently, so i should get my cloths in time for xmas...as long as the ship doesnt sail past somalia aye.
Thanks for reading along, we will try to write more often.
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Don
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The Terrorist
Yes... I'm quite surprised that the "Baader Meinhof" passport has worked anywhere. You do realise that I'd consider 10 years reasonable for a "disposable" suit. Some of mine are older than you!!! Have fun both Walt