What Day is it?

The internet here won't let me view my own blog, so I hope everything is showing up okay.

Yesterday we left Hue in the morning and rode a bus to Hoi An, a beautiful and very old little town about five miles from the coast. It's so quaint that there are actually rules forbidding anything new from being built in the "old town" area. It's also filled with Westerners, since this is the town where you can get clothes and shoes made to order. Did I get suckered in? Oh yes I did.

Our guide Tu took us to the shop where he had his wedding suit made. Each of us was assigned one pretty Vietnamese girl who flattered and cajoled until we spent way more money than initially intended. I was just going to have a dress or something easy made. I ended up with a suit (with both pants and a skirt to match) in a grey wool/silk blend, and a wrap dress in deep purple jersey fabric - all custom-made to fit me for less than $200. They have books and magazines filled with pictures, and anything you point to, they can make. You can also just draw what you want on a piece of paper and talk through it with them. I have to go back for two fittings today. Then Carmen and I got suckered into one of the shoe shops where we're both having boots made. We're picking those up this afternoon.

Yesterday afternoon Tu took us to one of the local places for lunch, so we got to experience the whole authentic sit-on-a-plastic-chair-at-a-plastic-table-and-make-a-mess type of meal. The owner kept showing us how to make the wraps and spring rolls and practically force-fed us pork satay. It was great, and Carmen and I spent the rest of the afternoon walking it off. Last night we had a "pool party" at the hotel with the other tour group, which Tu thinks I will join when I get to Cambodia. We'll see.

Today we are off on some motorbikes to the beach for a few hours, and then Carmen and I are running errands - picking up clothes, boots, mailing stuff home - because none of this stuff will fit in our bags. Tonight I think we are having a cooking class with a local chef and learning to make spring rolls and the like, which should be fun.