Hoi An - You buy?

Our arrival in Hoi An was a breath of fresh air. The town was so incredibly charming that it was hard to believe it was in the same country we had been traveling around for the past 10 days. What was also a total shock was the sheer number of westerners (aka gringos) around.

The Old Town of Hoi An is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Being that it was one of the only places in Viet Nam that the US didn't bomb "back to the stone age" it has retained its charm. Because it is protected it also has certain regulations that it needs to comply with - for example, all store fronts must have a similar style of signage. It makes for a cute sight, but it felt almost too sterile. Give the tourists what they want I guess - a place in Viet Nam that doesn't even feel like Viet Nam anymore. This, however, did not stop us from doing what was expected of us (as gringos) in Hoi An - buy.

In our exasperation at (desperately) wanting to leave Quy Nhon the night before we called several hotels asking for their availability. All were booked, except for one that had a single room left. And this room was being touted at twice the price of the others, because it was very "special". The hotel guy didn't tell us what was so special about it, but we figured out from the Lonely Planet that it was one of 2 rooms that served as Michael Caine's dressing room during the filming of "The Quiet American". We didn't have very high expectations of this special room, but as it turned out, it was a really cool room! Very kitschy.

Once we arrived, we set down our bags and went out for lunch. We settled on some Tiger beers and bahn xeo and started to relax. I conveniently sat with a direct view to a few very cute stalls selling brightly colored Chinese lanterns, and was effectively smitten. Let the buying begin. The rest of the day we walked around the town, perusing the wares, finally ending our day at one of the French colonial-style restaurants for dinner.

Matt was still feeling terrible, so the next morning we decided to pay a visit to the local doctor, who spoke English. We were there with a few (other) mommies and their cry-babies. He gave Matt some meds, and then took a look at my horrendous bugbites. He was really worried about Dengue fever, but once I told him I didn't have any symptoms, just incredibly itchy welts, he told me to cover up (I was wearing very short shorts but it was ONLY so that he could diagnose me properly, honest!) and gave me some hydrocortisone cream. We would live.

The touting is as much alive here as it is everywhere else in Viet Nam. Just walking by a store will elicit a "you buy something here?" People even have their little children trying to sell things, which is especially sad. Every other shop in Hoi An is a tailor. Most girls born in Hoi An are tailors. The biggest business is not selling the clothes they have in stock, but making something completely for you. You can come in with a dress you want copied, or a picture of something you want made, or just look through their myriad binders full of magazine cutouts of clothes they can make you. Once you have chosen what you want, you select your fabric. Some places have been known to promise you the fabric you chose, then pull the old switcheroo and replace your silk with a synthetic (word of note: silk burns, synthetic melts). But the reputable places are pretty easy to spot. Over the next 2 days in Hoi An, we first hesitantly, then happily, obliged and had several things made. The post office also wants you to buy. They will even come to your hotel with a scale and weigh, box and bill to have your things sent home so you don't want to worry about not having room in your suitcase. Or you can always buy another suitcase in Hoi An. It is just too easy.

On Tuesday, the Nam Hai, the amazing resort we booked as the highlight of our trip, sent over a car to pick us up around lunchtime. Immediately it was a different ball game - leather seats, cold bottles of Aquafina, cool towells to wipe your face, and a chatty driver that was all smiles and good English. Fifteen minutes later, we arrived in paradise. This resort is incredible - no detail is spared. We had an iced tea at the bar overlooking the pools and beach and then were shown to our villa. Yes, a villa. It was cavernous and beautifully decorated. Every villa is situated so as to have a beach view.

Our only qualm was the fact that we couldn't go in the water - again. This time not b/c of the ickiness but because of the ripping undercurrent. We persuaded the pseudo-lifeguard (he was basically there just to discourage you from going in) into letting us go in just up to our waists, assuring him that we were strong swimmers. The water was really rough, but the temp was perfect. Too bad.

We eased our pain by lying at any one of 3 infinity pools, all serviced by friendly staff that brought you whatever you wanted. It was almost too much service. Matt and I are not really the kind of people that enjoy people being servant-like to us. The resort was rather empty - supposedly it was 35% occupancy, but even that seems a bit high. With this economy though it makes sense that it was quiet.

That night, we enjoyed our free happy hour and a meet and greet with the Nam Hai's General Manager, an Austrian guy. We had dinner at the hotel, which was naturally exorbitantly over-priced but really delicious, and it was our way to repay for the bottomless sparkling wines we had during the happy hour.

The next day Matt went to play golf at their sister hotel down the road. He was the only one on the links, and had a little Vietnamese girl named Nu as his caddy and she had a crush on him and rooted for him every time he had a good shot - all in all, not a bad day for him! or me - I spent it by the pool and getting a pedicure.

That night we went back to Hoi An to have dinner with a former colleague of Matt's. Strangely enough, this guy (who is Dutch) had left Holland to move to Australia about a year and a half ago, and in that time, he got married to his girlfriend and was in Viet Nam for their honeymoon - at the same time as WE were in Viet Nam for our honeymoon. Funny how these things happen.

Eventually our time at the Nam Hai had to come to an sad end. We spent our last evening drinking the champagne and eating the delicious cake they provided us for our honeymoon, then ordered room service and watched movies on the giant flat screen, lounging in plush robes on the enormous bed. It was really nice to have a chill night like that during the trip - it helped to recharge us for what was coming - trekking in Sapa.