(Posted retrospectively) We love visiting Hoi An. This is the fourth time and it’s not lost its shine, although every time we visit there is more development and bigger resorts and hotels. I’m glad it’s bringing money into the town.
Since R was leaving after three days so he could go back to work, we started our tailor stops with his requests, starting at Bebe. Since we were staying on the east side of town this time. we stopped at the flagship Bebe shopfront, which was very busy and businesslike. R ordered his items, but I didn’t really feel the joy so left it until the next visit.
We also tried the flagship Yaly around the corner (the Yaly Couture branch) but managed to not catch anyone’s eye while wandering around, and ended up wandering out again. It was a different story at our “usual” branch – the one labeled Yaly Exclusive. As we walked in, a couple of the assistants we’d worked with before recognised us and welcomed us back, and we felt much more comfortable, and set out for the important job of selecting what clothes to be made. I tried bringing some fabric with me, which they were okay with but there wasn’t a big discount on the usual prices and they had trouble making exactly what I was after with the lengths I’d brought. Next time I probably won’t bother — I’ll just use what they have in stock since they often have nice fabrics. They made me a couple of gorgeous shirtdresses, a long dress and a beautiful coat. Can’t wait until it’s cool enough to wear it!
The same thing happened when we walked into our “usual” Bebe – Bebe II. Our previous acquaintances waved and welcomed us in, which made it much easier to place another order. I chose mainly work outfits, plus a couple of casual and going out dresses.
Instead of returning to Friendly for shoes and bags, I tried out Song Da for leather. The shoes were well made and she was willing to work with my multicoloured requests, but the leather toiletry bags I’d asked for weren’t what we’d agreed initially and had to be redone. I picked up a few other ready made leather items around town but nothing was really calling to me.
In the world of massage, The Lemon Tree is still amazing, but a premium, so pop your head in and see if they have any discounts running. They’re worth the extra! The Golden Girls around the corner is budget friendly and they did a good job at both massage and pedicure. Bliss Spa across the road from Golden Girls is as cheap, and good at manicure and foot massage but not as good at body massage.
A few evenings we stopped into the Market Bar for Happy Hour, sipping a nice cold G&T and watching the sun go down.
We spent time doing some other activities this time, starting out with a coffee workshop, learning how to make the various Vietnamese coffees like egg coffee and coconut coffee. Delicious, but we ended up drinking about 6 coffees and were bouncing off the walls!
Something else different I did was an embroidery workshop. Not very “traditional”, but very interesting, as Daisy took me through the basics of hand embroidery. I ended up taking home a carry bag I’d embroidered different flowers onto. We also checked out an antique pottery shop, which had pottery recovered from a 15th century shipwreck.
Two Weeks Away 