Terrific Tailors in Hoi An

Tailors are everywhere you turn in Hoi An. You can bring in a picture of anything and they will custom make it for you within 24 hours! Mr. Bu at "Chic", a fussy, Vietnamese guy with a queer eye for detail took great care of us and we would highly recommend him. He made Paul's suits 9 years ago and they are holding up just fine! It was an adventure trying to track him down at the market. Not surprisingly, we were lied to at "Ly Ly Tailors" who told us Mr. Bu was on vacation in Saigon and wouldn't be back for a couple weeks, so we should buy from them today. Lying Ly Ly'ers that Lie, I say... After walking around the clothing market for a while, a few sweet Vietnamese girls whispered, "Hey! Come here! We know where Mr. Bu is. He moved his shop." They gave us his new address. Mr.Bu was fantastic - check out our fashion show (above).

"Vietnam is a country of food, a country of skinny people obsessed with eating," stated Andrew Pham (Vietnamese author). We have loved the food here more than anywhere else on our trip and decided to take a cooking class (pictured below) at Red Bridge! Most of our time in Hoi An was spent in French cafes (Cargo Room was the best and Tam Tam is a close 2nd).

The beach in Hoi An was nice and forms the southern end of the 20 mile stretch of China Beach. We met our Aussie friends, Chris and Belinda, at Swiss Belhotel for a swim!

Paul learned how to make a bamboo circle boat and then to naviagte one! There are floods every year in Hoi An and every home has a circle boat (pictured below) so they can leave their home when necessary. The basket weave of the boat is sealed with a mixture of cow dung and oil.

Hoi An has charm and history in Old Town with several 2-story, Chinese/French-style old buildings that are now cafes, guesthouses, bars, tailors, and souvenir shops. The carpentry village we visited on Kim Bong Island is responsible for most of the building and restoration of the 17th century architecture in Old Town. Tam Tam Cafe (below right) Hoi An is Eileen's favorite town in Vietnam!