Mark and April's Adventures in Asia: Custom Clothes, Cheap Eats, Life by the River

7/25 Hoi An, Vietnam

Our mid-day one hour flight from Hanoi brought us to Danang which is roughly in the middle of the country on the coast. While Danang is one of the largest cities in Vietnam, we were heading to a smaller town about 30km away called Hoi An. We were met at the airport by a driver from the Hoi An Riverside Resort where we would be spending the next three days. The driver spoke enough English to point out a couple places of note along the way including China Beach – the first place the US military landed in Vietnam and also a frequent get away beach for the soldiers during the Vietnam War.

Hoi An is a quaint colonial French village located on a river just a couple kilometers from the ocean. It's only become a popular tourist destination over the past few years. While the town is relatively simple, they are very accommodating to tourists who are now supporting much of the economy. About half of the shops in the town are tailors or shoemakers that will make for you whatever you might want to wear within 24 hours (often same day). The other half were split between traditional Vietnamese handicrafts, art, and lots of different restaurants. There is no supermarket, only an outdoor market and people selling drinks and snacks in other shops.

We checked in and were delighted to find that resort we had found on Trip Advisor was really terrific. We were given a very nice room with a balcony over the river. The grounds, pool and restaurant at the hotel were all lovely.

We grabbed a taxi from the hotel and headed into the main part of town, about 3-4 kilometers away. We walked through town a bit checking out the little stores all over, and then landed at a little restaurant called Riverside Restaurant, where we tried some of the local fare. We had a set menu with 4 dishes – 2 appetizers, 2 main courses, and a dessert for each of us! The portions were smaller, so it was great to try many things and not walk away too stuffed. The first local dish is called Cau Lao, which is thick, almost fried, noodle with cinnamon spiced pork, and fresh greens. The sauce is a unique, sweet flavor, which is really great! Another signature dish is called the White Rose, which is a steamed wonton with a meat center, all shaped like a flower. Fried Wontons are another specialty, and they come with sautéed vegetables on top – very yummy. We also tried the spring rolls, hot pot, shrimp and vegetables, beef dish, and more. The total bill came to less than $10 for the both of us, incuding a large beer we split! Amazing. One of the interesting things about the local dishes (white flower and fried wonton) is that they were created by one family in town who holds the recipe and sells the ingredients to all of the restaurants who want to serve these dishes. You can't offer these dishes unless you buy from the source. Must be a wealthy family, given that nearly all the restaurants offer both dishes.

After returning to the hotel, we enjoyed the great air conditioned room, with a view of the river and rice paddies on the other side. Very picturesque!

The next morning we had a buffet breakfast at the hotel, which is included in the hotel package we booked. We were thinking about renting a motorbike for the day, and started to walk into town to see about getting a better rate than at the hotel. We passed the first few looking for something better, and after a while we had walked so far, that we just decided we should walk all the way into town. The 3-4km walk is no problem, but the heat is another thing! The temperature is around 90 degrees with 65-70% humidity. We bought a large water along the way, and also stopped into a man's art shop to peruse his watercolor paintings on rice paper. We selected a few we liked (and rested in front of the fan for a while), and continued our way into town.

Once there we stopped into a clothes shop to see about getting some clothes made. April picked out some cute fabric to have 2 skirts made, and Mark found some trouser material to have some work pants made. The 3 custom-made items would be ready in a matter of hours! April also stopped into a shoe shop and had some cute black flats made, as per the traced drawing of her foot. She also ordered a beautiful Asian-style jacket in a turquoise chinese-print, with a silk camisole underneath. We were both excited to see how these items would turn out later today and tomorrow!

We lunched at another great place in town, and headed back to our hotel for the complimentary ½ hour reflexology foot massage included in our stay package. Mark had been talking about this type of reflexology foot massage where they rub your legs and feet and then “poke you with a small stick” on your pressure points on your foot. We were thinking we would have this style the other day at the hotel in Hanoi, but they gave us the traditional style instead. But alas, the sticks came out for this one! After the massage, April wants to name it “relaxology”. This is the life!

We rested at the hotel and then headed back into town to check out our clothes, and eat. April's 2 skirts were done, as well as Mark's trousers. The trousers were made really nicely out of Cashmere wool and cost $20, so Mark decided to order a few more pairs, and a suit! April ordered a custom -style black wool jacket, and everything would be done before tomorrow afternoon!

We tried another restaurant along the river, that advertised 3,000 Dong beers (which equals about $0.15)!! The dinner was yummy, as we tried the Cau Lao at every place, as well as the spring rolls and other traditional dishes. As we were eating (as often is the case) we had young children coming up to our tables to sell us clay whistles, postcards, bracelets and the like. What is particulary striking is that the little girls start doing this when they are only 4 years old! And, they often speak better English than their parents. We walked around a bit, and then taxi'd to the hotel for the night.

On Sunday, we were determined to rent a motorbike, and ended up booking it through the hotel (at which they walked over and rented the bike from the place next door – with a fee of course). We zipped into town (honking frequently, of course), and went to see how the new clothes were coming. April's shoes were done (and very cute!), but the Asian jacket needed more time, so we zipped around town some more. The jacket ended up fitting perfectly, but the silk tank top underneath needed another fix or two during the day. Since we had the motorbike, we drove around town and by the beach, to look around. We lunched at the same restaurant we found the first night, as the flavors in the food's sauces were unique and soooo yummy. We picked up all the new clothes and then went to the Post Office to mail all of our loot home. This was a little pricey, but seemed worth it, as we have only ¼ of the trip passed so far – and the new things weighed 20 lbs!

We stopped along the road and walked to the beach this time to put our feet in the warm water. Down the way at the main part of the beach, it was very crowded with the locals. Maybe it's the typical Sunday afternoon thing to do, or maybe it was the local festival that started today. Either way, it was over-run with people, and the funniest part was the parking lot down the street from the beach housed the thousand motorbikes of the beach-goers. We ate dinner at a more touristy place in town called the Cargo Room, which offered foreign food as well as the local flare. Mark had a great Greek salad and a steak, and April stuck with the traditional dishes. The desserts were amazing.