I am fully obsessed with Hoi An! It's such a sharp contrast to Hanoi (which I didn't love). It's friendly, clean (by Asia standards) and adorably decorated with mostly well maintained European building and there's colorful lanterns hanging everywhere.

Hoi An is well known for having hundreds of tailor shops. You can walk in to any shop, pick out a design & fabric, get your measurements taken and then return a few hours later to new clothes! I committed to staying for a few days, getting some work clothes made and shipping them back home.

After I checked into the hotel and had a shower (18 hours on a bus is the not cleanest look), I started hopping around the shops and decided to try a few different ones, based on recommendations from friends and the hotel.

Then I met up with my NZ mate Matt who is doing an Asia trip on the way back from six months in Europe. I went with him & a friend to a few of their final fittings on clothes they'd ordered and then we had dinner & drinks at a restaurant along the waterfront. Drinks were half price and when they restaurant finally cut is off, we went to a bar further down the river who gave us a 350ml bottle of vodka and some drink specials just for coming in. I don't remember the specifics, but for US$5 I went from drunk to outrageously drunk. I got a bahn mi (like a sandwich, but infinitely better) from a street vendor and stumbled home.

The next morning was painful and I suffered through a few tailor visits before hitting the beach with the boys, The beach was about 4km from town, which was an easy cycle but we were all hungover so opted for a cab instead. The beach is very short and most of the sand is taken up by beach chairs & umbrellas rented out by the waterfront restaurants. Normally I would have said "stuff that" and walked down the beach to find a free spot, but Matt & friend had sussed out the situation the day before and knew that if we committed to eating lunch in their restaurant, we could sit in the shade for free. So we nursed our hangovers under the sun & shade for a few hours :)

After that it was back into town for more fittings with the tailors! I used 5 different tailors because I couldn't put all my eggs in one basket, but that meant a lot of jumping around between stores and juggling fittings.

Matt & friend were off to catch a bus to Nha Trang, so I was on my own after that. I've spent the last two days beaching, bike riding, trying on heaps of clothes, and exploring the Hoi An old town. It is amazing to see the town all lit up at night! I also took a lantern making class today at a non-profit organization in town. I was the only person under 55, but it was a cute class and made for a fun souvenir!

I have one more day in Hoi An tomorrow before I head off on an overnight train to Nha Trang. I'm taking a pottery & cooking workshop in the afternoon because I've always wanted to try pottery throwing!