Hoi An, Finally!

Hoi An looks and feels like the Vietnamese town we imagined and had been waiting for. It's become a staple on the Vietnam tourism trail for its French and Chinese architecture, abscense of motorbike traffice, and polite people. It's also well known for its tailors and over the last 20 years has grown from having just 10 tailors to nearly 700. We stayed clear of the tailors this time!

First we walked around the French Quarter and got a tour of a traditional home by its owner who was the fourth generation in his family to live there. The house was interesting, but the man's feelings on his country were especially touching. He was the first to speak openly about communism and was optimistic that his grandchildren would experience true freedom. He also joked that the country was previously under the rule of communism, but now fell under the rule of tourism.



The next day we took a boat on the river for a closer view of the fishing.



Afterwards, we rode bikes to Cua Dai beach, got sunburnt, and ate some grilled shrimp. Walking down the beach women from each of the restaurants sprint towards you to try to convince you to eat at their venue. This has the opposite effect since the women look rather frightening convered in hats, masks, jackets, long-pants, gloves, and socks. Steve suggested to the waitress at our restaurant that they should offer a free beer with each entree instead of running after people, but they didn't seem to understand. No matter what the waitress was doing when people walked by she would drop everything, sprint 30 yards to the water and try her best. It never worked!

Back in town, Lindsey picked up a new dress from a great designer who hand-paints her own silk dresses. The artist didn't seem to market herself outside of Hoi An and Lindsey thinks it would be interesting to introduce some of these newfound designers to US botiques.

Other than that we ate some great French food (at Cargo) and just enjoyed the slow pace of the town.