Savile Row

Mr Hung Internet, Hoi An

It was still raining the following morning when we woke early to catch the 2-hr train to Hoi An. Our four-person carriage was populated by ourselves and two Vietnamese girls of no more than sixteen, dressed-up-to-the-nines, who spent the entire journey draped all over each other in platonic slumber while a procession of fawning men came in to try their luck. This was entertaining in a variety of ways, and made up a little for the fact that the spectacular coastal scenery out of the window was barely visible through the drizzly gloom.

We arrived in Hoi An (the rain had, mercifully, not followed us south) - the tailoring capital of Vietnam - and walked around the streets which are lined with literally hundreds of near-identical tailors' shops. We picked the one that looked busiest, and was recommended by our hotel, and I ordered a suit and Tweedie a dress. Over the course of the next couple of days, happy with the initial results, this snowballed and we ordered more and more stuff, so that in the end we had 8kg of clothes to mail back to the UK (Mum, Dad, expect a parcel).

Two days ago was the 'international renowned' fireworks festival in neighbouring Da Nang (described by one local, not knowing the English word "fireworks" as "hot flowers in the sky"), accompanied by 'Earth Hour' in which all electricals had to be turned off for an hour between 19:30 and 20:30, and the river was lit up entirely by candles and hand-held lanters, which are placed in an open cardboard box and float down the stream in a sort of candlelit duck race. Considering we had no idea this was going on until it suddenly went dark, this slightly magical experience counts as a huge stroke of luck.

Yesterday we learnt how to make spring rolls, hot & sour soup, yellow curry and steamed fish in banana leaf (you don't eat the banana leaf - I checked) at Goi An cooking school on the river - a really fun lesson given by a charmingly insane Vietnamese who insisted on singing everything she was doing ("chop, chop, chop", "slice, slice, slice" etc). Even if I do say so, it was one of the best lunches we're had.

Due to our hotel buying us the wrong train tickets and a protracted argument which finally and unexpectedly resulted in a full refund, tonight we embark upon a 23-hour bus trip to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). We are told that this is a sleeper bus but this remains to be seen. Will update later.

Over.