Vietnam: Hoi An & Mr. Trung’s Traditional Village Tour

There have been a few gem-cities in our travels: Chiangmai, Thailand, Luangprabang, Laos and now Hoi An, Vietnam. Our time has been a mixture of buying custom made clothes which is what this city is globally known for and having a personal guided tour of a local fishing village.

The clothes.

This was an exciting adventure into the world of textiles and designs. There are about a hundred shops in the small Hoi An and all do custom clothing – made to fit. We scoured from shop to shop until we found one to our liking. We were whisked around the shop looking at designs, feeling fabrics – gorgeous and luscious silks, admidst a whirlwind of flutter and try-this-on and what about this coulor. It was frenetic and fantastic – Frentastic! We decided on a few asian style things, stuff we couldn’t quite get at home, and after a 4 hour tizzy we finally came out with a price we could manage – not really but we had to do it anyway. The clothes only took one day to complete after a few fittings in between and we’re coming home happy, wardrobely speaking.

Our last day in Hoi An was a lovely village tour led by Mr. Trung who we met in a restaurant and who gives tours of his town of Thanh Ha, 3km outside of Hoi An. He is a lovely man with really good english and he used to be a teacher. We, with Ema and Sean and two Aussies – Natalie and Naomi (who were wonderful peeps), took primitive vehicles (that’s what they call bicycles) to his town. We landed in his town, and he then gave his tour with great pride. It was very cool to get the low-down from a local. Mr Trung is gentle and kind (a huge grin at all times) and extremely generous with his offerings of information. He also took us to a pottery commune where we got to make our own items. The pottery wheel is laid close to the ground and while one woman sculpts another woman is kicking the wheel in a circle – that’s right KICKING IT. It’s totally cool to watch as she has to speed up and slow down depending on the phase the bowl is in.

He then took us fishing with bamboo poles. We’re not big fishers but it was a bit fun. EZ caught a fish and David caught four – but there wasn’t a competition and we both went home happy. Mr. Trung then took us home with him where his wife cooked up a fabulous meal. It was a fantastic time overall.

A last bit of souvenir shopping, pick up our clothes and poof off again on a overnight bus. We had to say goodbye to our Traveling Best Mates – Ema and Sean as they’re getting wedding things made in Hoi An and will be there for another couple of days. It was a sad departing. They were lovely traveling partners and it was a pleasure to spend so much time with them. We were a great team and it will be sad that we go home and they’re not there to chill with. The joys and pains of being on the road.

BTW – one early morning we heard a tinkling little asian melody playing down the street and thought perhaps it was an ice-cream truck from yore, selling its icy treats. Waiting in anticipation for it to turn the corner, it turned out not to be a dessert haven on wheels but a garbage truck instead. Who knew that such an airy tune would emanate from something so stinky. And it’s with all garbage trucks because we heard it again later, it’s just their warning sound. Antithesis of what made sense – Antithesensical!

Well, we’re in our final few days and there’s still so much to do.

Love and Cheers!
EZ & da hersh