Bye bye HCMC, hello Hoi An

---

---

Xin chào, it's Michael!

I'm writing from the hotel in Hoi An as we arrived in this quiet, ancient resort having flown in from Tan Son Nhat (HCMC) earlier (which Elana mentioned previously). The flight itself was relatively uneventful. It lasted just over 1hr, however there was some minor turbulence on the way down. It was funny on the flight because in the aisle beside us were two people who had eaten breakfast at the table next to us back at the Rex that day. Funnier still, they have checked into the same hotel as us here in Hoi An, and live in London too !

Da Nang airport (well, the domestic terminal) was a bit rubbish and decaying really, quite unlike the intl one next door. We had to, nonsensically, take a bus from the plane literally 30 seconds away to the doors of the terminal. Once we collected our luggage, we jumped in a taxi, which would take us the 30km to Hoi An.

The hotel, called Hoi An Pacific, has quite a good location as it is close to Hoi An town itself, and the hotel runs a useful complementary shuttle-bus service to the town, or to the private beach. Our room is much, much smaller than at the Rex, but we were upgraded there to a Junior Suite, so I suppose I shouldn't be too harsh (actually, I'm going to drop the act - I'm writing this two days later as part of my catch-up, so can say that we have once again been upgraded, and that IMHO, the hotel is not as bad as Elana thinks (although some of the service/language skills are lacking)) .

Having unpacked our bags, we had lunch at the hotel. This turned out to be distinctly average for a number of reasons. Firstly, their dining room was not airconditioned, which, on such a humid day as it was, made it really uncomfortable to eat in. Secondly, I had ordered spaghetti al pesto. Despite not being a massive pesto fan, I have had it enough times to know that my meal should have been spaghetti with a light coating of pesto and some olive oil. Well, not Hoi An style it isn't! The dish, to my horror, was smothered in the stuff- there was more pesto than spaghetti! There was so much of it that the waitress thought I had left most of the dish.

After lunch, we ventured into town on the shuttlebus. Hoi An is a really peaceful town, which is actually a UNESCO designated World Heritage Sight with original buildings from the 16th-17th century. It spent most of its history as a trading port (at one time the largest in SE Asia), and many of the original wooden houses are still preserved today. It's a complete change of pace and scenery compared to what we have experienced recently in PP and HCMC.

We visited Yaly, a bespoke tailor (which Hoi An has become famous for), which I recognised from when Top Gear did a special episode to Vietnam and the guys got outrageous suits, and to which I had been recommended by a friend and the internet. The place was literally full of all different types of cloth- cashmere, silk, wool, polyester, blends of them all and more!

I had decided before we went out to Vietnam that I wanted a new suit made for me, so I had been waiting for this moment for a long time. I must have driven the tailor, called Cindy, absolutely mad as I tried on all manner of cloths, in all sorts of colours, before (in typical Holmstock fashion) finding myself unable to decide between navy or grey. Having had several navy suits in the past, I decided to go for change (which I hate), and plump for grey. I had all manner of measurements taken, before being photographed topless (which I am sure was quite a treat for the ladies, as business appeared to be slow that day).

Elana, on the other hand, was less clear about what she wanted, and spent most of this time browsing Yaly's rather extensive catalogue collection (I counted 11 books in front of her at one point!). In the end, she settled on a turqoise top, with a teal skirt . Both of us have fittings tomorrow (7th sept).

Having caught the bespoke bug, I decided to have some shirts made at another tailor, Bibi, who had been recommended by RG. I chose one formal pink and white striped shirt, and a more casual wine-coloured one. Again, I will be heading there tomorrow to have them fitted. I only wish I had ordered more!

That night, we went to a restaurant called Cargo Club, which was highly recommended by RG. Elana had duck noodle soup, whilst I had tomato soup to start, which was really pure and fresh (definitely not Heinz, then). For our main course, I ate red tuna with wasabi mashed potatoes, and Elana had camembert salad. The meal was super-good value, and absolutely delicious to boot. RG recommended us to try the cakes/pastries in the bakery below the restaurant, but we were simply too full. Hopefully, we'll go there for dessert tomorrow.

We ended the night at a bar called Q Bar. At first sight, it appeared out of place in Hoi An, which doesn't really do modern (see above), however, it blended in well and added a bit of life to the place, alongside the elderly ladies literally pedalling fruit, and numerous tailors shops. The cocktails weren't bad either. Elana had a cucumber cocktail, and I had a vodka and red bull.

Hoi An appears to be a relaxing yet historic place to stay. The numerous tailors shops are a little irritating, since in quite a few respects they ruin the area. However, looking past them and at the buildings themselves, at the roofs, the traditional hats and the elderly street-sellers, I am glad that we decided to come here. Indeed, since UNESCO in their most recent report wrote that 'tourism has bought unacceptable changes to Hoi An', I am slightly disappointed that we had not come here earlier but relieved that we have visited before the place changes even more (as I am sure it will) and it is too late.

Michael

---