Dan's Adventure

Hoi An is a refreshing change from other cities in Vietnam, its one where you actually get a sense of the history just by walking the streets. The main draw of Hoi An however is the tailoring industry. Almost every shop is a tailor offering to make you a made to measure jacket, shirt, dress or suit. Racks are lined with silks and fabrics for you to choose from. If anyone has seen the Top Gear Vietnam Special, this was the place that the guys got the crazy suits made. There are also more than enough shoe shops creating knock off brand shoes that would fit perfectly. I wasn’t in the market for a new suit, I didn’t see it being used too often as I travel, and I’ve got a perfectly good one back home. The girls I was with in Hoi An were however all about the shopping. The thing that surprised me was that almost every shop we went into was unwilling to bargain, they appeared to have fixed prices for everything and only really offered discounts when you were buying a few things. One of the girls was trying to get a new bag made, a copy of the one she already had, but only one tailor was willing to give it a shot. My guess is that the everyone has pre-cut shirts, jackets etc which they know will sell, so they are unwilling to got to the hassle of doing anything different. I had to laugh at a couple of the shops when they appeared with a Next catalogue (Next is a high street store in the UK) to show me the suit designs. Between them, the girls bought a couple of jackets and tops. The general consensus was that all but one top fitted nicely and was well made.

One day in Hoi An is plenty if you have no intention of buying anything. It was more than enough time to wander around, enjoy some quality food down by the river, and get introduced to Vietnamese rum which is dirt cheap, but lethal.