Back in Hoi An and it is hot again! One week in Sapa and you forget that the earth revolves around the sun. It's quite nice being back in the heat. Things dry quickly. Drinking cold water becomes a spiritual experience. You don't have to wear much and I may even get a tan.
The drawback of being in the heat again: during the cold I wore my entire wardrobe and this afforded me more space in my bag for things and trinkets, which I filled with no trouble. Now I have nowhere to put my long pants, my jacket, my gloves, my jumper. To make matters worse, I am in the tailor capital of the world and fully intend to purchase another full wardrobe even though I have nowhere to put it. Oh the humanity.
Things have changed in Hoi An. They have paved the road. This is amazing news and as soon as Paul and I noticed we started dragging our feet and walking in zig zags and saying things like "so luxurious!"
One drawback of Hoi An is the local's enthusiasm for making a sale. People come into a restaraunt and talk to you all freindly like and then say I have a shop not far from here maybe you take a look. Well and good but when you politely decline, they persevere, and when you politely decline again, they persevere, and it takes a firm and possibly a little rude (in my book) No for them to go away.
Our hotel (that's right, hotel not guesthouse!) has an information book in the room that mentions these touts and recommends we approach a shop without them as the price is likely to be higher if we are escorted. Well and good if they follow you for three blocks down the street, the street is just fair-game and it's our own fault for being out and having money on our person really. But these touts are most annoying when you're at the back of a restaurant trying to eat noodle soup (this is splishy and requires concentration and is embarrasing if you get any on your chin) and this person is standing at your table, insisting that you come to their shop.
The lady who sells drinks ourside our hotel tried to get me to go into a shop across the road that is apparently her friend's. She also gives me a business card for another shop after drawing the letter A in the bottom right hand corner. "Show them this and you will get a discount," she says. But I'm pretty sure I heard "Show them this is you will get over-charged and I will get a cut."
Tomorrow I will dive in (i'll just have to chose a shop at random I guess) and get some shirts copied, maybe a new jacket and maybe some pants and maybe a dress and possibly some skirts. Maybe also a different kind of jacket, and maybe some more shirts and some shoes. We'll see.
Today we are mosying around town on bicycles with no brakes. This is semi-ok if you go really slowly and are willing to sacrifice your foot in order to avoid the motorbike, but for the beach run I think we should get better bikes.
Bye for now,
Bec
Hoi An
The drawback of being in the heat again: during the cold I wore my entire wardrobe and this afforded me more space in my bag for things and trinkets, which I filled with no trouble. Now I have nowhere to put my long pants, my jacket, my gloves, my jumper. To make matters worse, I am in the tailor capital of the world and fully intend to purchase another full wardrobe even though I have nowhere to put it. Oh the humanity.
Things have changed in Hoi An. They have paved the road. This is amazing news and as soon as Paul and I noticed we started dragging our feet and walking in zig zags and saying things like "so luxurious!"
One drawback of Hoi An is the local's enthusiasm for making a sale. People come into a restaraunt and talk to you all freindly like and then say I have a shop not far from here maybe you take a look. Well and good but when you politely decline, they persevere, and when you politely decline again, they persevere, and it takes a firm and possibly a little rude (in my book) No for them to go away.
Our hotel (that's right, hotel not guesthouse!) has an information book in the room that mentions these touts and recommends we approach a shop without them as the price is likely to be higher if we are escorted. Well and good if they follow you for three blocks down the street, the street is just fair-game and it's our own fault for being out and having money on our person really. But these touts are most annoying when you're at the back of a restaurant trying to eat noodle soup (this is splishy and requires concentration and is embarrasing if you get any on your chin) and this person is standing at your table, insisting that you come to their shop.
The lady who sells drinks ourside our hotel tried to get me to go into a shop across the road that is apparently her friend's. She also gives me a business card for another shop after drawing the letter A in the bottom right hand corner. "Show them this and you will get a discount," she says. But I'm pretty sure I heard "Show them this is you will get over-charged and I will get a cut."
Tomorrow I will dive in (i'll just have to chose a shop at random I guess) and get some shirts copied, maybe a new jacket and maybe some pants and maybe a dress and possibly some skirts. Maybe also a different kind of jacket, and maybe some more shirts and some shoes. We'll see.
Today we are mosying around town on bicycles with no brakes. This is semi-ok if you go really slowly and are willing to sacrifice your foot in order to avoid the motorbike, but for the beach run I think we should get better bikes.
Bye for now,
Bec
Hoi An
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