A step up

I'm now in Hoi An, about halfway up the coast of Vietnam, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and therefore a very put together town. This place is by far the most charming little place I've seen yet in Vietnam, so I think I'll be riding out Tet here. Unfortunately I think all of the tailor shops close down tomorrow for at least four days, which means I likely won't be able to get any clothes made, which isn't necessarily a bad thing as it means I won't be spending the money. And frankly the deals aren't that fantastic. It's incredible how many tailors there are here, though. Much like the malls in Bangkok, I have no idea how all of these places stay in business.

I'm now rooming with another American, Lizz, whom I met in Dalat. She's from "the other Portland," Oregon, and is a university student who's been studying international development and Vietnamese. We're staying at what is probably the cheapest place in Hoi An, technically part of the hosteling network, paying $12 a night for a room with a fan and cable TV. Not bad. The weather here is pretty darn hot and humid, which is a change from the much cooler Dalat. As they say, "It isn't the heat, it's the humidity," and Hoi An has plenty of that, meaning that you're pretty much sweating as soon as you step out of the shower. I think when I get home I'm gonna do some sort of detox and spa treatment to try and wash away all the ill effects of this trip.

Speaking of which, I had plenty of time during the 20-hour bus journey from Dalat to Hoi An to think about the things I'm most looking forward to when I return. The countdown has begun. In no particular order, here they are:

1- Whole grains. White rice and white bread reign supreme over here. Utterly lacking in nutritional value and just not good for your system.

2 - Grocery stores. I get the whole argument of specialized shops over the big box stores, but there's no matching the convenience, abundance, and quality of products available at American grocery stores.

3 - Toilet paper. No longer will I have to carry around a roll of TP or a package of tissues with me everywhere I go. That's always the great mystery when traveling through Asia - what kind of toilet will it be (usually a squat toilet) and will there be toilet paper (usually no).

4 - Going to the movies. I'm kind of a movie junkie and I've totally missed watching movies. I haven't been to one since I saw New Moon in Bangkok. On the bus to Dalat the other day they showed the movie 2012. For a moment I was completely transported and almost forgot where I was. Unforunately the movie was dubbed in Vietnamese. Dubbing itself is bad enough, but this one was dubbed entirely by one woman. Oddly enough they also didn't completely record over the original soundtrack, so I was able to strain to hear the English. Just not the same, though.

There's more, of course, but those are the big ones. :)


On the bus ride from Dalat to Nha Trang.


One of the shops in Hoi An.


I love all the mannequins and mannequin parts everywhere here.