“There’s an old saying in America — I know it’s in Southeast Asia, probably in America— that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.”
The thing that really got us in trouble in Bangkok was that we were actually thinking about buying suits. Before leaving the States several people had told us about a town in Vietnam called Hoi An. Just south of Denang in central Vietnam, Hoi An is renown for being a beautiful old town (left un-scarred by the wars) and a mecca for cheap, high quality tailor shops. So, as I said, having heard about Hoi An we came to Asia planning to get a couple of suits made in Hoi An. As it turns out, our various “friends” in Bangkok convinced us that it was a much better place to get suits made and (as those of you following along at home know) we fell for it. By the time we arrived in Hoi An my suits had arrived at my parents house in the States. Initial verdict – the two suits are wearable, the tux a complete write-off. Surveying the scene in Hoi An we were sceptical, but open to the possibility that there could be a chance to, at a reasonable price, replace the tux and maybe even pick up another item or two at a bargain price. Then we started looking around and were rapidly reminded of the above paraphrased words of our fearless leader. To be fair to the tailors of Hoi An, they seemed to be on par with, if not slightly above, what we had seen in Bangkok… but it just wasn’t quite what we were used to. Maybe this makes us picky, maybe it makes us snobs… but whatever the case, we came to the conclusion that if you really want a good quality suit made, it is going to have to involve an old Italian man running his hand up your inseam.
Throughout our trip to Southeast Asia we have been repeatedly confronted by the phrase “same, same.” This is the calling card of the masses of vendors on the street selling knock-off merchandise. Our first real experience with this was in Bangkok where we joined in buying a couple of pairs of “puma” shoes. The second we put on the shoes, we realized the meaning of the second part of the phrase “but different.” While the shoes looked the same, it took one step to convince you that the soles/padding weren’t quite the same, nor the rest of the construction. And so this idea of “same, same, but different” characterizes so much of the junk that is peddled to tourists across SE Asia (to the point that it is emblazoned on a t-shirt that at least 1/3 of the tourists seem to buy), including it would seem the custom made suits. (One other application of the “same same, but different” concept we saw was in reference to me and Mike. Almost half of the local people we spoke with were convinced that Mike and I were brothers. On several occasions when we assured them we weren’t, they looked back and forth between us, laughed, and called out “same same, but different.”)
Same, same, but better?…the travel agent? me? who knows:
Beyond the omnipresent (and largely indistinguishable) tailor shops, Hoi An is a delightful town.
Indistinguishable tailor shops:
Situated along the Thu Bon river, the town has a great waterfront with restaurants, cafes, and craft shops. Behind the waterfront there are a couple of streets with more cafes, shops (including tailors of course) and assorted historical buildings, meeting halls, and temples. While we were somewhat underwhelmed by the “historical sites” we had a great two days wandering around the town and the nearby beach.
Hoi An sunset:
Hoi An street (as seen from the highly-recommended but less-than-exciting ceramics museum):
Heading to the beach:
Sunset beach walking:
One of the highlights of our stay was dinner at “Cafe des Amis.” The restaurant on the riverside doesn’t have a menu, but rather Mr. Kim (the proprietor) prepares whatever strikes his fancy on any given day. In addition to the high quality of his cooking, his enthusiasm for his establishment was great. He proudly told us that Michael Cain had eaten there 10 days in a row while filming “The Quite American.”
Lonely Planet effect (left recommended in Lonely Planet, right two restaurants not recommended and have only their owners sitting out front):
As we moved from Hoi An to Hue (the ancient capital of Vietnam) we went from the color of Mr. Kim’s establishment to an equally energetic locale in the form of “Cafe on Thu Wheels.” Madame Thu (the proprietor) bounced around the cafe, teasing customers (for example Mike’s lack of girlfriend being due to his “broken banana”), and generally trying to keep herself and the assembled masses amused. Outside of Thu’s cafe we spent some time wandered over to the Citadel which housed the remnants of the ancient palaces (as with so many other things in Vietnam, the complex had been devastated by the various wars in the last century … mostly the French in this instance). Despite the destruction which resulted in a few too many descriptions reading “this is where X, Y, Z building used to stand,” the Citadel complex was quite impressive and made for a good afternoon of wandering around. For those of you who remember all the way back to the KL post, we added to our collection of “tallest flagpoles” seeing Vietnam’s tallest which stands next to the Citadel.
Vietnam’s tallest flagpole:
Parfume river in Hue:
At the citadel in Hue:
While neither fun filled nor action packed, our couple of days in Hoi An and Hue were rather enjoyable and quite relaxing. It was a good change from the bustle of HCMC and a great chance to see a little bit of the quieter life in Vietnam. A quieter life that I’m sure will disappear once we arrive in Hanoi.
-sjp
