Traveling Souls: Hoi An, Vietnam

January 22-25, 2010

Oh Hoi An how much I love your air of sophistication. Your big, old world shutters that line the sides of every window and the small cobblestone streets and alley ways. The fact that bicycles outnumber your motorbikes. The river running through you and the endless lanterns that light up the street so softly creating a cozy darkness in the night.

Hoi An is one of the only examples of what Vietnam would have been, had it not gone to war with itself. It is one of the few places that remains untouched by the war and the colonial French architecture is still standing, just in need of a coat of paint or two. Old mansions are now restaurants and hotels. The food is delicious, perhaps some of the best we have had it Vietnam. Where ever we went, nice restaurants or local street stalls, we were never disappointed.

Then there is the other aspect of Hoi An that is so unique, it is the tailoring capital of Vietnam. The streets are lined with shops displaying suits, winter coats, dresses and traditional Vietnamese clothing but you cannot go into a single one of these stores and buy something off the rack. Everything is made to order. The turnover is 24 hours until your first fitting and normally you can walk out the door with the catalogue picture you liked, in your size, within 48 hours. There was something fun about someone taking so many different measurements of you and then having the design show up shortly thereafter.

Alan had an uncanny interest in seeing our clothes being made, he was so excited and so off we went, hours after the order was placed, to two different ‘sweat shops.’ Alan’s coat was made in a small shop run by men, working elbow to elbow. Everyone was very busy and upon arrival we were instructed to stay in a small area of the room. Once Alan ventured outside this area to take a photo and almost got run over by the people throwing fabric everywhere. The floor was a carpet of fabric scraps, you could no longer see its tiles. Right as we arrived, as if putting on a show, Alan’s coat fabric hit the cutting board, two minutes later (literally), it was chalked, cut with massive sheers and passed off to the guy in charge of the lining. Shortly thereafter it was being sewn together and it continued down the line of people with their designated roles: the iron guy, the button guy and so on. Two hours later, after making its way through all the stations, Ta-Da - a winter jacket! They can turn out about 60-70 pieces a day, depending on how many orders come in. They begin working early in the morning and do not stop until the daily orders are complete. Supposedly, the man who owns the shop, and works side by side everyone else, is very famous - “people come from all over to see him.”

Next we were off on a quick walk down the road to watch my three piece suit and traditional Vietnamese dress in process. This area was comprised of all women. It was a much more relaxed environment and everyone’s eyes were glued to the T.V. It was a Saturday, and only on the weekends there are the ever dramatic soap opera-esque movies. Needless to say it was a savored moment and the ladies ability to multitask was impressive. The sewing machines were still going in full force but their hands did all the seeing - this might have accounted for my suit jacket being a bit large on the first fitting.

On our third day in Hoi An we rented bicycles and boarded a small boat that ferried people from the mainland to a small island off shore. Packed with people, bicycles and motorbikes, I got the regular non-verbal scolding for not having enough clothes on. That said I do travel modestly, perhaps too modestly for Alan’s taste, but the women in Vietnam have a way of avoiding the sun at all costs and taking the idea of ‘covering’ yourself to a whole new level. For instance, I did not have a rice hat on, no face mask coming up to my eyes, my shirt did not come down to my wrists, I had no gloves and my pants were missing the flesh colored socks between my flip flops. Some of these women in the bigger cities are able to make a fashion statement with these untraditional accessories; the ‘Be-dazzler’ is still a big hit over here.

We left the boat and set out on our bike ride. It was the perfect time of day. Maybe the only time of day that was comfortable enough for bike riding. The sun was lowering in the sky and the overwhelming heat was subsiding. As we began to ride we were getting a nice greeting of “Hello” from many of the people. This continued, children and adults alike, “Hello!” Everyone was very friendly. Then the “Hello’s” began coming from places we had not noticed there were people, some bending over in rice fields, tending to their gardens, children playing. This then grew to people that we could not even see, but they could see us, “Hello!” We would look around as we drove past not seeing the person but only responding to where we thought the voice originated from. This continued, in a very comical manner all the way through our 2 hour bike ride exploring the island over endless rice fields on small dirt paths. Needless to say we have never felt more welcome. We dubbed the island “Friendly-ville”!

Another side to this multifaceted town is the beach, located 5 km outside the main town. It was impressive and unexpected. Alan and I spent a lazy day here while we were waiting for our clothes to finish. Then off we were on a quick plane trip to Saigon (Ho Chi Min City).

-Mika