It can hardly be said that Hoi An is an expensive place to shop, but you can certainly spend a shitload, but get a lot of bang for your buck….which is pretty much what I did today. I collected all the clothing, and decided to go back and buy the ceramics….all ceramic but finished off in lacquer that had a cracked look. Of course I had to think that these were my ‘fancy’ set of dishes so I ordered 7 large bowls, plates and spoons, 7 of the same but in a smaller size for rice, a large bowl, two dishes, 4 sauce dishes, chopsticks, 2 ladels, and probably another few things I can’t remember…it was really a set of 6 I wanted but to allow for breakages….
I reckon in a department store like John Lewis’s a large bowl would be around £15…but I got all the above for $68!! £36!!
I knew I’d end up spending more than that shipping them back, but I knew the postal rates and the weight so could work it out beforehand. The helpful woman boxed it all up then sped along to the post office with the box on the back of her moto. Already armed with a few kilos of some other stuff I Had to send home (some clothes, essential souvenir guidebooks etc), I just got the post office to throw this in a box with the ceramics.
The final weight?
29 kilograms!!
Cost me $98 to send it surface to the UK. It’s a bit mad as although I’m meant to be back in Scotland in June 2007 I’ve already got many thoughts of delaying this, but I’m sure I’ll be reacquainted with my bowls one day…….
If in Hoi A, dig out this shop (although you’ll find the same in plenty places) :
King X.O. Shop, 728 (new) – 10 (old) Hai Ba Trung Street, Hoi An
After this I had to go out and celebrate so it was finding a bar, a couple of bottles of wine, then went in search of a late night bar my friend had recommended to seek out a few weeks ago. It was midnight, the town was dead, but we hijacked a moto drive and went in search of the ‘Dream Bar’ around 5km out of town. Unfortunately (especially given the rain that started) it was closed when we got there. Of course, no moto driver is worth their job if they don’t supply alternatives, so it was back into town to try the Full Moon bar on the other side of the river. Although it was the middle of the night, they still insisted on tooting their horns through town, obviously getting a kick out of keeping the population awake. This also extended to the bar owner who was rudely awaken from his slumber on the pool table by my moto’s horn. Within seconds the door was open, the PC was on, and I was selecting the best of a bad bunch of an 80’s stylee soundtrack for the remainder of the evening, as the pool balls were
stacked up. Only two other people came into the bar before we left.