Wandering Scotsman

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.

Yesterday was spent getting way too acquainted with the tailors shops and I ended up ordering 2 short sleeve shirts, 1 copy of a Mountain Hardwear shirt, a copy of a pair of trousers, board shorts, and jeans and a pair of cashmere trousers based on some linen trousers I got in Thailand last year. All this for a princely sum around $90. I spent a long time going round shops to find soft denim like my favourite old pair of jeans – of course I found this just after ordering a cheap pair, but they wouldn’t settle for less than $30 which is relatively very expensive here…but they had to be ordered too! $120 on clothes? Flashpacking! Not Backpacking!

I also started to fall in love with some bamboo rice dishes a lot of the shops are selling around town for $4-8 a set (bowl, plate and chopsticks). I spent the last two days considering sending these home but thought I’d sleep on it.

Prior to going around trying on some of the clothes so they could be finished off, we were off on a bike from the hotel for the day. After around 40 minutes we were at Cui Dai beach, which stretches around 30km up to Danang and more. It was a tad wild when there so we didn’t hang around and just went for a coffee then cycled around town. Cycling is the ideal way to see Hoi An as there is a lot tucked up side streets and some of the shopping is a bit of the beaten track, but worth finding. ‘Un’fortunately I ended up spotting a place selling ceramic versions of the bamboo bowls, at $3 for a bowl, plate and spoon it was less than half the price others quoted for bamboo… I never buy things for my flat at home as it’s just so expensive but I’m always tempted on holiday, especially in places like Asia. Dangerous!

Similar to Luang Prabang, Hoi An isn’t exactly the wildest place at night with most bars and restaurants dying around 11pm at this time of year, and well closed up by midnight. There’s not even a lot of places I’d describe as jumpign bars, although I’m sure they are around.

With a storming hangover I went and checked out a dive place, had breakfast, then headed to the airport at Nha Trang for a one hour flight to Danang for Hoi An. After my love for Luang Prabang in Laos, and everyone comparing there to Hoi An I was keen to get there. The journey was short, but with a hangover it proved a bit interesting as I wasn’t the liveliest.

Hoi An was exactly as expected, if not better. There is a whole load of cheap accommodation here so it’s possible to get somewhere with a small pool, nice room, balcony, breakfast, free bicycle hire etc for $15 such as the Phuoc An Hotel – can’t complain.

In fact the vibe of the place was so good when I arrived at the hotel I felt no need to leave quickly and it wasn’t until the evening I wandered through the town for the first time.

Although it’s clear there are numerous tailors you just can’t prepare for how many there are – every second shop is, and even the examples outside them show some amazing clothes, and in all varieties from board shorts to combat trousers to the slinkiest dress.

I can’t decide whether Hoi An is a good destination for backpackers or not. On one side I’d recommend against it as there are just too many temptations for your wallet – tailors, art, crafts and cheap beer (starting at 3000 Dong, 19 cents or 10 pence a glass if you look around!), but for that reason I’d wholeheartedly recommend the place to anyone. A friend of mine had three beautiful suits tailored for $90, you can get jeans for $15 and all sorts of tops, shorts, dresses and trousers tailored. The custom fitting also extends to shoes, flip-flops, trainers ($13?) and leather boots ($25 or less).

It’s a great place to explore on bike, foot or cyclo, with a buzzing market, a riverside, and a 22km+ beach around 40 minutes cycle from town. It’s now monsoon season, so not ideal for the beach as a main reason to visit at this time of year, but a nice addition anyway.

After a few hours chilling out I went out and hooked up with Claire and Scott I met in Luang Prabang as they were in Hoi An tonight before heading their separate ways.

Here is a selection of my Hoi An pictures