Dressing for the occasion

Edit: somehow this got published before yesterday's (Are you ready?). I can't seem to fix this, so read the next post first!

We got a bit of a lie in for once this morning; we didn't have to leave until 9am! Today wasn't shaping up to be super exciting otherwise though, a lot of riding on the bus was in store. I actually managed to make breakfast today. We drove for a couple of hours, before stopping at a pretty nice hotel, in the middle of nowhere more or less, to use the restaurant, beach, and pool.

I went and dipped my toes in the sea, but didn't fancy getting salty when there was the option of a nice pool a few steps away. I must note that the sand was brilliant, amazingly fine, and pure white. We waited a while for a guy (fully dressed, despite the fact he was working IN the pool) to clean the pool bottom, before swimming for a bit.

Not the worst swimming pool in the world

Then it was lunch time, and I had seafood noodles, which were ok without being spectacular. I did see quite a big lizard though, exciting to someone like me without native lizards. Plus it was silly, and kept trying to climb plants that were too small for it to climb. Then once again it was bus time.

My new friend

Our next stop was a mountain pass, which was in the clouds (though not very high, only around 1000m). I think the idea was half to take scenic photos, but that was obviously out. Luckily the other half, some ruins, half from old Vietnam, and half from the Vietnam war, were ripe for poking around for 15 minutes or so. Also just being up in the clouds was lovely on cool, what with it being another hot day.

Ruins of the Vietnamese persuasion

And ruins of the American persuasion

And the weirdest wedding photos ever

More busing ensued, before a stop in Danang, Vietnam's third largest city, for a look at China beach, once voted as one of the top 5 in the world, and the subject of a TV show on ABC in America. Mercifully this trip was short, as it seemed to me that this beach was just a beach with fairly nice sand again, and I am not exactly the biggest beach fan out there.

Not in my top 5, no rock pools

By this time, we were only 20 minutes away from Hoi An, our final destination, so the next bus ride was brief. The hotel here is lovely, despite Ngyuen stating beforehand that the rooms were a bit small (they are not). We had 15 minutes to freshen up before a walking tour of Hoi An.

Another small seeming city, Hoi An is overrun with clothiers, shoemakers, jewellers and such. We basically wandered the streets, visiting a Chinese temple (as there has always been a strong Chinese presence here) and a Japanese bridge (there were Japanese people too, but they all left when Japan closed it's borders in the 1700s). Ngyuen offered to take anyone who wanted to a tailor, and I had decided to get a new suit, with Dave and Belle also interested in new clothes.

Good dog. Sit

I really hope you can see the man with the blue face's expressions. It is a work of art

We ended up going to the same place that top gear went when in Vietnam, and it was a different experience to say the least. We were each assigned a personal helper, then had to look through catalogues of designs and choose one, before looking at a fabric, which determines the price. There were numerous features to be decided on (how many pockets, did I want piping like in the picture, slim fit or regular fit, how should the trousers fasten, did I want button up sleeves or cuff links, what sort of collar on the shirt, how many buttons on the jacket, how should the trousers fasten etc etc.) and there were both photographs and measurements to be done. I am glad Denise (my attendant) had suggestions as to what would be best for me, as I wasn't sure what would be best in many cases. 

There was a fitting planned for the next day, and then final adjustments would be made, and the suit ready for the day after. For a suit, 2 shirts, and a tie, it cost just over $200, or £130ish, which is probably about what I could get that for at home, but this is totally bespoke, and the suit is from the upper mid range of their materials (they started at $89), so I am quite happy with it.

When we exited it was dark, and Hoi An was all lit up with Chinese style lanterns, and looking beautiful. We are at a place recommended by Ngyuen (I had prawn curry with glass noodles, served in a coconut shell, which was lovely), and then walked home, getting soaked by a thunderstorm on the way. Thankfully it was still hot, so the rain wasn't really a problem.

It was honestly nicer than this picture made it look.

Not content with haunting my nightmares, she has turned to stalking me physically