Schneiderstadt Hoi An

After breakfast, we are picked up by a Sleeping Bus in grand rainy weather and taken to Hoi An. We haven't come across this type of Sleeping Bus before and it's not really to our taste. I can barely stretch my legs, Max has exceeded the maximum height (hehe) and is not so comfortable.

Fortunately, when we arrived in Hoi An, the rain had stopped and we walked to our homestay. It is a bit far from the city center but affordable. Hoi An has a higher price level, but with the free bicycles, we can quickly get to the city. The city can be described as an absolute tourist place, but we were aware of that beforehand. The tour buses come in droves and the audience tends to be "retirement tours" or "family outings". Not really our clientele, but we are here because of the tailors. Besides a beautiful old town with countless colorful lanterns and yellow houses, there are plenty of tailor shops here and Max has already planned to have a suit tailored here in Germany. We visit several tailors and get quotes, but there is not really anything suitable. It keeps raining on and off and we look for a restaurant where we can stay dry. We end up at a very tasty Indian restaurant with very large portions. I can hardly finish my dish and then we roll back to our bicycles and back to the homestay. There we have to dry ourselves and blow dry our shoes.

In the evening, we ride our bikes back to the city and stroll around the Night Market, which is held every evening on a small island. Absolute tourist stuff, but we find two nice coconut bowls.

The next day, after a very delicious breakfast (Hoi An-style noodle soup with more noodles, less soup, prawns, quail eggs, and rice crackers), we make our way to a tailor recommended by Lucas.

He had his suit tailored there too, and the offer the lady makes us sounds fair and Max agrees. Together we choose a nice blue fabric, two fabrics for the shirts, and discuss the design. Max is supposed to come for the first fitting the next afternoon.

By the way, the weather today is much more reliable than the previous days. There are no breaks between the showers anymore. Especially on the bike, it is very pleasant. The dreamy weather also forces me to get a sexy rain cape.

We don't let it get us down and still explore the city, visit the shops, and grab some souvenirs for ourselves and our loved ones...Now you can see what rain does to you. We buy this damn tourist stuff that is identical in every store, every city, and sometimes every country. I'm so ashamed :-D At noon, we have a Middle Eastern meal (somehow we seem to need a break from Vietnamese dishes) and it is very delicious. I would have liked a cozy fireplace, but the restaurant couldn't provide that. At least there was a roof. After the meal, we hold on for a little while, but then it's too much. We ride back and squeeze our clothes and shoes dry. I think I've never walked in the rain for so long. Along the way, we keep telling ourselves that we would NEVER do something like this in Germany. Maybe a short walk from the car to the house. But here...we just walk around in the pouring rain for 6 hours and look at the city until our fingers are as wrinkled as if we had stayed in the shower for too long. But for the rest of the day, we retreat to our beautiful and spacious room. On the way back, we made a short stop and bought instant noodles, Snickers, and nuts. A very balanced dinner!

Luckily, the weather is better the next day. It is still raining in the morning, but it clears up. Max has another hair appointment and after the bad result last time (that was in Laos), we go to a better hairdresser today. They even include a comprehensive head, neck, and facial massage. His reaction afterwards: "It was funny with those tiny hands." Oh man :-D In the afternoon, we go for the first fitting as agreed. The suit already looks pretty good, but a few adjustments are still needed on the jacket and vest. One shirt was made from the wrong fabric. The heroes :-D We are supposed to come back at 9 pm and then we will also get the shirts made from the right fabric.
Although I have been feeling a bit sick all day, we are drawn back to the oriental restaurant from yesterday. It tastes very good. So good that I have to think about it again 20 minutes later in our accommodation. But at least I feel better afterwards.
In the evening, we explore the Night Market again and actually want to eat something delicious. But the vendors in this city are incredibly uncreative. They only offer banana crepes, baguettes, tasteless ice cream, or skewers. And each of these four stalls about 35 times, and I'm not exaggerating. Nothing else! Why don't they come up with anything else? There are so many possibilities. Max and I philosophize about this until it's time for the second fitting. This time the shirts fit and Max has to come back the next morning for adjustments on the jacket and vest.

After three nights, our last day has arrived and...I can hardly believe it...the sun is shining! Yay, I'm so excited about that :) After all, we haven't seen the sun in Vietnam very often.
After breakfast, Max goes for the third and hopefully final fitting, and I stay in the room. When he reappears, he has a big bag in his hand and is smiling from ear to ear. Someone seems to be happy with his new suit :-) After having to wear his confirmation suit for special occasions, it was time for a new one. It is a dark blue suit with a vest and two shirts. A tie is included as well.
Because the weather is so nice, we hop on our bikes with dry bottoms and ride on dry roads in SUNSHINE to the beach, 4km away. What a joy to write that. We quickly arrive at the beach and take a walk along the shore. I'm annoyed that I didn't bring swimwear, but somehow the thought of swimming was too far away after the weather of the past few days. At a small beach bar, we toast with two cold beers to the beautiful weather and enjoy the day before we continue our journey in the evening by train towards the south.

At 6 pm, we take the last bus to Da Nang, where the train station is located. Unfortunately, our train doesn't leave until 11 pm, so we have to kill a lot of time. So we sit at Highlands Coffee (Vietnamese Starbucks with better prices) and I write blog posts, back up pictures, etc. Around 10 pm, we head to the train station.