We arrived in Hoi An and immediately relaxed. A city of just over 70,000 instead of 7 million, low rise replaced high rise and even though the driving didn’t improve, crossing the road with some level of decorum was possible as the number of scooters hurtling towards us was massively reduced.
We had come to Hoi An for two main reasons – food and clothes. My two main reasons to do anything really. But it wasn’t me that ended up the centre of attention, instead that role fell to the Bolt. We decided that he needed a new suit because the only black suit he has he bought for $100 so you can imagine what that looks like, even after another $100 worth of tailoring.
There are over 400 tailors in Hoi An so the choice is overwhelming and the prices differ enormously – you could pay as little as $80 for a full suit and up to $400 – with commissions being hidden in the costs if you’re referred from hotels etc and some tailors jacking up the prices because they’ve earned a good reputation over the years. We did our research on sites like Trip Advisor and ended up going to Wall St Tailors and were thrilled with the results. After an initial meeting where fabrics and styles were chosen and measurements taken we went back just the next day for our first fittings (I did get a suit jacket and tailored white shirt as well – can’t let Clive have all the fun!). I think we had 3 fittings in total, paid less than $400 and walked away with one full suit and six work shirts for Clive and a jacket and shirt for me – bargain!
The other thing that drew us to Hoi An was the food as I’d mentioned and it didn’t disappoint. We had everything from authentic Vietnamese to chocolate brownie cheesecake and it was all to die for. We also finally got around to doing a cooking course and I’m thrilled that we kept it for Vietnam because I definitely think it has the most interesting cuisine of the countries that we’ve been to on this trip. Although, most “out there” dish has to go to Cambodia where I saw a recipe for fried tarantantulas, the first step being, “kill the tarantula by pressing down hard on the body with the heel of your hand and remove the fangs” – riiiiiiiight.
Our cooking course started with a tour of the market in Hoi An which is a site to behold, with the meat and fish areas being the most remarkable to a Westerner as everything is just displayed on slabs with no refrigeration and no covers and everyone seems to have their hands on it – slightly different to back home! We then headed back to the “Morning Glory” restaurant where we were doing our course. Side note; for those with their minds in the gutter, morning glory is a vegetable.
Our teacher for the day was a 31 year old woman who had already been working in the restaurant for 17 years. She was awesome and delighted in telling us stories about her mother-in-law, who she had been living with for the last year as tradition dictates in Vietnam that you do this after you get married. Cooking for the mother-in-law is a big deal in Vietnam and helps to decide whether she’s going to approve the marriage – lucky it’s not like that in the West!
Our menu for the morning was:
– Clear soup with prawn dumplings
– Fresh spring roll
– Crispy prawn and pork pancake
– Marinaded, grilled chicken
– Mango salad
Everything was delicious and some of it even looked like it was supposed to look!
The rest of our time in Hoi An, when not at the tailors, dining in the various restaurants or eating the delicious street food, was spent chilling out and wandering around the lovely town or cycling around the streets. It reminded us a lot of Luang Prabang in Laos with the same laid back vibe and colonial architecture. Clearly something we’re both drawn to.
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