You can have clothing custom made for you in Saigon or Hanoi, but in Hoi An the tailoring shops are literally side by side, block after block. As a result, the prices are very competitive with a turnaround of only a few hours. Hoi An is known for many other crafts including colorful silk lanterns, popular with the locals for full moon celebrations. We found it quite easy to spend a few days here, ordering up more custom made clothing than we could fit in our suitcase.

We flew into Da Nang airport on January 12, and then took a cab for the half-hour drive to Hoi An. Once again, we stayed at a hotel recommended to us by our friend Lin at Hotel 127 in Saigon; she had also given us a business card for her sister Kiki’s tailoring shop, Dao Nguyen. We checked into our hotel, Thanh Binh II and immediately set out to explore the town.

"Hoi An is a rich architectural fusion of Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and European influences dating back to the sixteenth century. In its heyday the port town attracted vessels from the world's great trading nations, and many Chinese merchants stayed on. Somehow the town escaped damage during both the French and American wars and its charming 200-year-old wooden-fronted shop-houses are among its chief tourist sights." (Rough Guide) The streets are lined with tailor shops, art galleries, quaint hotels, and souvenir shops.

Our first stop was Kiki's tailoring shop, Dao Nguyen, where we started by ordering a couple of suits by which to gauge their workmanship. We were given fruit, hot tea and cake; Kiki also invited us to have dinner with them one night during our stay. They even offered the use of their internet connection, free of charge. Later, we wandered through the town's streets and found two more tailoring shops that we liked. We figured this would be a good way to compare prices. One of the tailoring shops, A Dong Silk, was featured in Travel + Leisure Magazine, and tried to charge Mike $150 for a suit, plus $60 for a cotton sport coat - about 3 times more than any other tailor shop in town. He cancelled his order after they told him the price, then had Dao Nguyen do it for a much less money. I had a formal Vietnamese outfit made in an irridescent blue-green color. Later we returned to Kiki’s where Mike ordered more suits and I ordered some silk dresses. I also had some matching shoes made to order at a nearby shop.

The next day we were relieved we hadn't signed up for any tours, as we just wanted to relax and go at our own pace. We walked down to the large post office and called our family and friends to tell them we were safe. Next, we picked up some of the completed clothes we had ordered and continued wandering through town. We chartered a large wooden motorboat to cruise on the Thu Bon River for an hour. Our captain was a one-armed man who had probably fought in the war. Along the way we saw large fishing nets set up with homemade bamboo winches to pull them out of the water. We also saw some farmers with loads of white ducks (or were they geese?) paddling around the shore. Our captain pointed to a nice, mid-size house on the riverbank and pantomimed that it was his home (he didn't speak much English).

After our boat ride we walked to the Japanese Covered Bridge, guarded by two dog statues at one end and two monkey statues at the opposite end. The bridge leads to a cute little street filled with souvenir shops, lantern makers, art galleries, woodcarving shops, and embroidery workshops. We met a friendly husband and wife team and ordered over sixty lanterns from them in various sizes, shapes and colors.

Later we returned to Kiki's shop to try on some of our newly completed outfits. We also met a Duchman, Peter, who is the boyfriend of Lin from Hotel 127. Small world! He is a very nice, funny guy, and he is bicycling all over Asia. He teased us about the massive amount of clothes we were ordering, and then ordered a couple suits for himself (he can't carry very much on the back of his bicycle). Kiki wanted him to stay for a few days, but he joked that he would have to get permission from Lin, who missed him dearly. That night we had a nice, quiet dinner with one of the gals from Dao Nguyen and her fiance'้ in honor of his birthday.

The following day (our third day in Hoi An) was filled with trying on clothes, ordering more suits, choosing fabrics, ordering more suits, picking up clothes, etc. You get the picture -- we went overboard and ended up with a huge new wardrobe! Getting all of this back to the States would be an interesting task. Luckily Kiki offered to pack everything up and ship it back for us if we paid the shipping fee. We had already checked shipping prices at the post office so we knew what to expect. We shipped via sea-mail which takes nearly a month but is a fraction of the cost of air-mail.

Kiki invited us to a party that night and we happily accepted. (Traveling is so much fun when you meet wonderful people along the way!) She explained that each craft or trade in Hoi An celebrates its anniversary with a banquet. That night they would honor the ancestors who founded the tailoring trade in Hoi An. The hostess was a nice pregnant woman who had measured me for my traditional Vietnamese outfit at A Dong Silk. She and her husband seemed to be doing quite well by Vietnamese standards; we noticed a beautiful Harley Davidson motorcycle in mint-condition on display in their living room.

The food was served family-style at three round tables outside on the patio. It was fantastic - there were appetizers, noodles, chicken, stew with buns shaped like lotus blossoms, and fruit. The beer was really flowing, too. Everyone was constantly toasting, "mot, hai, ba, YOH!" (one, two, three, yoh!), and our beer glasses were never empty for more than two seconds. Peter (Lin's boyfriend) was also there; the three of us were the only non-Vietnamese people at the party. Nevertheless, we partook in the festivities and had a blast.

After dinner, one of the guys asked me to dance the "be-bop" with him. (He was the birthday guy from the night before.) It took me almost an entire song to realize we were doing the West Coast Swing, so finally I was able to stop stepping on his toes and really starting dancing with some pinache. Soon all the guys wanted to dance with me, and I became the entertainment for the evening. We did the be-bop/swing, slow dances, fast dances and even the cha-cha. Finally we had to leave; we were leaving for Ha Noi the next morning, and all of our new clothes and lanterns had to be dropped off at Kiki's place for packing and shipping. Hoi An was very good to us…and we were very good to Hoi An!