Central Vietnam: Hoi An

"Midieval-looking Hoi An was once Vietnam's most cosmopolitan port. Today the good times have returned and this beautiful, ancient town is bursting with gourmet Vietnamese restaurants, hip bars and cafes, quirky boutiques and expert tailors."

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The first thing we did in Hoi An was a street food tour. It was led by a gregarious Australian transplant named Neville (fitting I think). We stopped at more than forty authentic Vietnamese street food stands. It was feast for the senses as we walked through the markets and tasted food from stalls we would never think of going to on our own. He dispelled all the myths about street food in foreign countries, including everyone's biggest concern: cleanliness. Neville explained that the dirtier the floor, i.e. how much food/trash is on the ground, the better. This is a sign that the Vietnamese really like the "restaurant." He tried to emphasize that these people are no different that we are; they are just as concerned about what they put in their mouths as the Westerners.

That afternoon we walked through the downtown streets of Hoi An. One of the things the town is known for is the tailors, and there are hundreds of them. It was a good thing we got some recommendations from Neville, or we wouldn't know where to start. I ended up having a dress made. In one store, there were a few women set up in the front making paper lanterns. One was taking strips of paper and pressing them with an iron while another was placing them over the thin wooden frame of a lantern. I'm not sure what attached the paper to the frame, but my guess would be some kind of hot glue. It was fun to watch the process.