Travel, Wine & Shoes

Sweet Baby Jesus this is MY kind of place! Hoi An is the place to go for custom clothing, shoes and leather products.

I immediately headed out to the tailor to pick out and get measured for my Ao Dai. I chose BeBe. I had researched online and read reviews plus it was the tailor my hostel recommended.

Back in the day I needed my wedding dress altered and Debbie had our bridesmaids dresses custom made. That’s been the extent of my experience. I got my abysmal sewing skills from my mother and I remember very clearly my Dad fixing the zipper on a purple mini skirt when I was about 18 because I just had to wear it out that night to Digger’s.

There were so many styles to choose from and then choices to make. How long do I want the sleeves, what kind of neckline, how long for the pants, the tunic …. it took me a while. Then I had to pick out the fabric, the pattern and the colours. And match the tunic to the pants. The lady helping me was named Anna and she was amazing. After we did all that she drew it out on a piece of paper and measured me everywhere! My order will be ready at 2 pm tomorrow. I can’t wait to see it! Now I need an event to wear it to!!

Men can have suits custom made here and some of the colours and patterns are awesome! My cousin Jenna and her other half Chad travel a lot. I kept thinking of Chad every time I saw a colourful suit on display! For some reason, I fully anticipate him getting a suit some day when they travel to Vietnam.

There are stores with shoemakers who will custom make shoes for you. People are trying to get you to come into their store because there are hundreds of them. I said to one man please don’t encourage me!! I could get into trouble here.

Other than drool over all the shoe stores I didn’t do much. I’m still stuffed up and blowing my nose all the time. I’m so hot that it takes too much energy to stay out in the sun for long. I have to force myself to eat.

Within 10 minutes of being out of the AC, I am soaked through. My hair drips and you can wring out my clothes. I can feel the salt on my skin. I drink water all day long and as fast as I can put it in, I sweat it out. I go all day without peeing. I don’t think I could physically drink this much water at home. I see women with jeans on and I’m convinced I’d faint away if I had a pair on here.

I’m all temple’d out I think. When I get to Saigon I want to see the Cu Chi tunnels and wrap up my shopping. I always bring my Dad home a local beer and haven’t bought him any yet because I’ve been flying with carry on only. I need to get a few different kinds for him and I’ll check my backpack on the way home. I keep referring to Ho Chi Minh City as Saigon because I like how Saigon sounds plus it’s the name I’m familiar with.

I sent two parcels home ~ one from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and one from Siem Reap, Cambodia. Bryan has received both of them now.

I’ve turned into a vegetarian here. I’ll still have seafood, but other than my Ha Long Bay Cruise I haven’t had any. I’m existing on rice and noodles and vegetables. With a bag of Doritos here and there.

Way back in Australia I was all gung ho to try kangaroo and experiment and the kangaroo was very good. I’ve lost my “When in Rome” attitude though.

On the cruise, our guide explained the Vietnamese customs of eating dog and cat meat. Cat meat is eaten at the beginning of every month to ward off bad luck. Dog meat is a staple, but it is tapering off in Vietnam. According to Wikipedia about 5 million dogs are slaughtered every year in Vietnam. I see them running about on the streets and my stomach rolls over.

The world is a matter of perspective. As a Newfie and a Canadian, I can’t fathom this custom. I have no issues eating the meat I was raised on and maybe folks from other cultures can’t fathom what I do eat at home.

I don’t have a pet, but so many of my friends do. Duke, for example, is so excited to see me and I can’t wait to see him when I get home. I know I’m going to get all his attention and affection when he first sees me. I love him and he knows it. Mavia refers to my Mom as Nanny. My parents arrive soon and Duke will size my Mother up in seconds and know that yes my Nanny is here.

I’m trying to keep an open mind. The joy of travelling is meeting new people and experiencing and learning about different cultures and customs. Perspective. We all look at the world through our own individual lens. I believe we should all strive to listen more and seek first to understand.

Don’t get me wrong, Vietnam is amazing! I do love it here and I’m sure I’ll be back.

I’ve seen a lot of diving signs around and I’m disappointed again that I can’t dive. Hoping my cold clears up and I can find a dive near Saigon. It must really suck when you specifically go on a diving trip and end up sick.

I’ve had a few emails from booking.com asking about the hostel I left. The hostel listed me as a no-show. I wasted no time letting booking.com know that I was actually checked in, my stuff was in the room for hours BUT they refused to change the dirty bed sheets for me so I left. Nice to see that booking.com followed up.

I’ve booked my flight to Saigon and my hostel. I’m going there in a couple days and will be there until I depart for home on the 28th! I can’t wait to see Bryan ❤️. He did say he was going to miss driving the Mustang when I get home. 🤣

Happy Travels

Vietnam