Hoi An, Vietnam

On June 16 we flew from Nha Trang, Vietnam, to Hoi An, Vietnam.

Hoi An is a smaller city, with a population of about 120,000, located on the coast of the South China Sea. In the 16th and 17th centuries it was an important Vietnamese trading center, and Chinese and Japanese merchants traded there extensively. Boats came through the Hoi An harbour from as far as Egypt. In the end of the 18th century the importance of Hoi An as a trading port declined, and the nearby town of Da Nang became the new trading center.

Because of the extensive trade, and the goods coming though Hoi An, the ancient city has a lot of Chinese and Japanese influences in the architecture. In 1999 Hoi An became a recognized World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The roads are narrow, and large coach busses can’t drive through on them, so from the airport we were dropped off on the side of town. Our luggages were taken in a trolley to our hotel, and we walked with our carry-on bags through town. Luckily, since the town is so small, everything in town is only about 10 minutes away from everything else.

The town is very quaint and beautiful:

We first went to go see the famous Japanese Covered Bridge, built in 1593 by the Japanese trading community. It was built to link them with the Chinese quarter on the other side of the river.

There’s a small temple inside the bridge. I’ve been noticing that at temples there is a high ledge that you must step over in order to enter, and usually the doorframes are low. So, while entering, you have to bend down and step up over the ledge. I learned that this is done on purpose so that you bow your head as you enter the temple.

Hoi An is famous for it’s custom made products, including clothing, shoes and jewellery. After walking around and exploring the town, I made my way over to Yaly Couture, the most well known custom tailors in Hoi An. This shop is incredible, and the tailors can make everything and anything in about 1 day. They take photos of you and record all of your measurements so that everything they make is designed to perfectly fit your body.  They’ll keep the measurements on file for years, so you can email them orders and they’ll make them and ship them to you.

They have tons of fashion magazines that you can browse through, and then point to the different dresses/suits/pants/shirts/etc that you like and they’ll make it for you. You pick out every detail of what you want including the fabric, the buttons, the lining, the cut and the length.

When you arrive, everyone gets their own personal helper. She is the one person that you will be dealing with. She will help you with colour and fabric selection, measurements, styles, etc. Whenever you go back into the store for fittings she will be the one to help you.

I tried not to go overboard and order too much…. so I only ordered a suit (blazer and pants), two shirts, and a winter coat. I described everything I wanted, and showed them photos. I then picked out all my fabric and materials, and was thoroughly measured and photographed. I placed my order around 5 or 6pm, and they told me to return at 3pm the following day to try on all my clothing!

When I returned at 3pm the following day everything was completed!! I was amazing how fast they can work! They must be working overnight! The finishing touches still needed to be made, for example: the buttons were not sewn on the blazer or on the winter coat, because they waited for me to try them on so I could tell them how tight I wanted the jackets so they could place the buttons accordingly.

I tried everything on, asked them for a few adjustments, and they quickly took my clothing upstairs, changed it and then brought it back down for me to try on. It was amazing! I had all my completed clothing later that day!

I also had some custom jewellery made: a three piece ring with small crystals that fits together like a puzzle piece.

In addition to custom made products, Hoi An is also known for it’s beaches. On June 17th, we took a motor boat out to an island off the shore, and spent the day relaxing on the beach! It was so beautiful!

We also had the chance to go snorkelling again!

I had a lot of fun in Hoi An! It was a great mix of culture, shopping and relaxation. I’m also continuing to recover. I’m getting better every day. I still can’t eat everything, but I was able to finally eat some chicken (I had the chef specially make me plain steamed chicken with no oil or sauce). I also have been eating some soups and noodles. I’m staying away from anything deep fried or greasy still though.

The trip has been amazing so far! After Hoi An it’s off to Hue, Vietnam!