In Hoi An again

The most important appointment for the evening was the second fitting with the Bebe tailor. As soon as I had showered after my Cham Island adventure, I took one of the free bicycles from my Quynh Nahn Homestay and cycled into the old town. I also sent a text to Willemeijn, a Dutch girl I had met in my last day at the Farmstay.

At the tailor I had a big disappointment, I was just not happy with my clothes. I had told them that I wanted loose, wrinkle-free traveling clothes that were easy to wash and needed no ironing. Almost everything looked as if it was made to go to the office. That was definitely not what I ordered or what I had in mind. Because after a closer look the dress looked like the one they had drawn, I just hadn’t noticed that it would be so fitted. It didn’t match with what I had in mind. We settled on some alterations and in two cases that they would redo it. I was fine with that but couldn’t believe that it would work in the end. The next fitting would be at three in the afternoon the next day which didn’t leave a lot of time for other alterations if necessary.

When I was finally done I bicycled to Willemeijn’s tailor and together we went further into the old town. We had a lot of catching up to do since we had done different things in the meantime.

We went for dinner at a big place near the night market, recommend by Lonely Planet (which was noticeable by the crowds of Westerners) and I tried the Hoi An specialty of White Rose and pork with eggplant.

  

Willemeijn went for some rolls and stuffed squid.

  

Around 10pm we called it a night. I wanted to get an early start tomorrow to see the town in the morning. We agreed to meet at the beach around 1pm since her next fitting was at noon.

The next morning I bought my entrance ticket for the old town which included the visit of five sites. Hoi An town is on the Unesco World Heritage list and everything was within walking distance. I took once again the bicycle to drive the 7 minutes to the center and started with the Japanese Bridge.

  

After that I went to the Quang Trieu Assembly Hall next door and then just walked around the old town. There were almost no people at this early hour.

  

  

Walking further on the Tran Phu street I soon arrived at the Phuc Kien Assembly Hall.

  
     
  
  

I crossed the street and walked into the Quang Cong temple.

  
  

By then it was time for breakfast and especially a coffee. The central market was right across the street so I decided to stop there.

  

Thus refreshed I walked around the market. It was all around the Central Market Hall. Some stalls had their fares on the street, some were better equipped. Please note that each flower was separately wrapped.

  
  

The next stop was the Tran Family’s Chapel, not really a place where you could see a lot but it had a large shop in the back. The little I saw though looked old and interesting.

  
  

By then it had started to rain again (there had been a slight drizzle all morning) and I was ready for another coffee break. I had seen most of the things I had wanted to and it was only 10:30am. Definitely time to enjoy the rest of the morning before going to the beach. Here under the large trees I was save from the rain and away from the noise. I spent the rest of the morning reading and writing.

When my cell phone battery was almost dead I decided to head back to the Homestay. But on the way to the bicycle I passed the Sacred Temple.

  
  

Around noon time I took the bicycle again and drove to An Bang beach which was only 3km from my Homestay. I wore my bikini just in case, but while driving there the drizzle started again. I had a feeling that I wouldn’t go swimming in Hoi An. The rice fields on the way to looked lush and green while the beach was more a variation of grey.

  

So the bikini was maybe a tad too optimistic but I wanted to be prepared. We ended up having lunch there, pizza for Willemeijn and prawns for me.

After lunch we went back into town. I had my third fitting and was expecting the worst.

  

Maybe I should have done that from the beginning because all of a sudden the clothes were how I wanted them to be. A couple smaller alterations and I was done. So while waiting for them I drove around town and for some last impressions and snacks during daylight.

 

Back at the tailor everything was ready. While talking to my sales lady I picked up that they also do shipping. And since I wanted to send some things home, we agreed on my coming back with all the stuff and they would do it for me (and everything has arrived meanwhile).

Willemeijn picked me up from the tailor and together we drove into the old town. We settled on a small place next to the river and shared squid sweet and sour and another Hoi An specialty.

  

A last walk around the old town with a view on the Lantern Bridge and then it was time for us to say goodbye. She was flying out to Dalat the next morning while I was taking the train south to Quy Nhon. Yours, Pollybert