On to Hoi An

After breakfast with Jacob, we flew to Hoi An (an hour flight) and did a walking tour of this ancient town on the coast.  A big change from the busy Saigon, Hoi An is a charming, beautiful town, known for its tailor shops, lanterns and temples.  It is mind boggling to see the life here and wrap my mind around that these people have probably not seen much else than this tiny town.  Many of the shop owners live in their shops, there are kids running around everywhere and this insular existence is their life - and they are happy.

We had dinner with our group at an outside restaurant, decorated with many lanterns, we went to the Tailoring shop that Jacob recommended called Miss Forget Me Not.  We arrived at 8:30 and they were eating dinner (upstairs in this tiny shop) so they asked us to return at 9, and we were treated like celebrities because of Jacob.  They told me "you have very handsome son" and they showed us pictures of Jacob modeling his suits like in Gentleman's Quarterly.   After at least 2 hours, Eric ordered 2 suits, 4 shirts, a sports jacket, slacks and leather shoes and I ordered a dress - all for $500.  There are only women who work in the shop and they are all sisters; the mother is there too and I think she does the cooking.  Some of them live upstairs in the shop.  There is no air conditioning.  I used the restroom, and it is also their shower; there is a small cooking area in the back.  I watched as the fabric was cut for Eric's suits and shirts.  Someone from a factory comes to pick it up to make the suit, then we will go  back this morning for a fitting.

The hotel is beautiful and very tropical.  The pool area is lovely; there are big urns which are fountains in the pool and there are lounge chairs in the water.  The breakfast was a delicious spread of vietnamese omelets, pancakes, breads, homemade jams, etc.  As we were eating, a lovely woman came out and gave us each a neck massage, so we booked an hour massage for this afternoon for a whopping $23.  It is an adjustment to realize that a dollar means a lot to the people here.  Americans, on the whole, are so spoiled.

As Eric is watching the Bolts game, he is texting with Jacob in Cambodia, Mark in Florida and Josh in California.  I just spoke to Omi, and she sounded like she was next door.  All of this technology makes me feel like this world is really small as there is such a feeling of being connected.