Gallery: Resisting the urge to shop in Hoi An and Battle History in Hue!

Posted by Steve on February 6, 2010, at 8:18 am | Category: Photos, Vietnam |

It is only now I chastise myself for knocking at least one more grain of rock from these sculptures.

Our final straight in Vietnam had only places left beginning with H – and of the first two to be knocked off one is famous for bargain tailor made clothes and the other for being the site of a major battle during the Vietnam war. Geographic necessity forced us down Vietnam’s famous shopping centre first… just how did we go from planning on buying absolutely nothing to having a $96 shipping bill? What does the Perfume river actually smell of? How does a glass of beer costing just ten English pennies actually taste?

Note: 1 GBP = ~30,000 Vietnamese Dong or 1.6 US Dollar at time of writing.

Some locals enjoying lunch on the street.

We arrived in Hoi An feeling fairly shattered after our attempt to make a South East Asia bus journey more palatable. The experiment was to opt for the standard reclining seat approach, so we could cuddle up and watch a movie or two before hitting the sack. Unfortunately, the 130,000D trip from Nha Trang to Hoi An was possibly even worse than the midget proportions of the normal sleeper, the aggressive driving techniques and harsh beeping meant we emerged in the hotel area of Hoi An feeling something less than Neanderthal. Lynette grabbed a coffee, while in traditional hunter gatherer role I went hostel hunting. Finding that most were still full (leftovers from NYE) I took up a Vietnamese girl on her offer of help, hopped in a taxi and followed her scooter to the other side of town and into Dong Khanh Hotel, where $12 bought us a double with aircon, private bath and ok Wi-Fi. The Vietnamese girl’s only request was that we took a look around her shop, which we dutifully did before parting ways with our wallets fully intact.

Lynette’s favourite mistranslation. Even funnier when you read the original Vietnamese.

Way back in the 1st century, Hoi An was the proud owner of the largest port in South East Asia, and between 9th-10th century controlled the lucrative spice trade making it a major commercial hub for Vietnam, but silt gradually building up due to floods prevented the entry of larger ships and business moved to the deeper port of Da Nang. In the 19th century it entered recession, but eventually repeated efforts to rebuild and renovate the area proved successful; in 1999 the old town was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the beautiful architecture (a fusion of Japanese, Chinese, European and Vietnamese), the winding streets and relaxed atmosphere has been gently enjoyed by tourists ever since. One of its more (in)famous attributes is the hundreds of tailor shops that dominate the streets, where made to measure clothes can be with you more swiftly than your laundry. In fact, it’s probably cheaper (albeit less environmental) to forego washing clothes altogether here, and just wear new ones every day.

Sellers offering their wares on Thu Bon river, with minimum effort.

We’d only intended to stay in Hoi An for two days, before moving swiftly on. We planned to resist the allure of ridiculously priced cashmere suits, inventive dresses that fit like a glove, jackets in any material you can think of and more designs of tie than you can shake a stick at and simply soak up the atmosphere, visit a couple of museums, and potter on our way. Hoi An thought differently and our planned two days melted into a week of meandering around, browsing the aisles, and unintentionally performing a group test of the different tailors that were available. Without further ado, and because it’s quite difficult to remember, a few brief breakdowns of how we spent our time.

The Five Thingamejigs Ticket

In Hoi An, 90,000D buys you a ticket gaining entry to one of five tourist stops on the streets. Some are barely merit a pause, let alone a complete stop, while others were surprisingly fascinating.

Photo caption : "The graves of some western missionaries coming to Hoi An to preach their religion … now, they are in Hoi An church"… easy to misinterpret?

The History and Culture Museum –deserves not a lot more than a fleeting glance. Plus it has mosquitoes lurking in the shadows. Some interesting bells, and hilarioiusly captioned photos, other than this it was pap. Although allegedly the best of a bad bunch… we also accidentally walked through into Quang Cong temple – equally dull although they seem to get very excited about some General’s poetry.

The green faced assistant of Thien Hau, Goddess of the Sea.

Phuoc Kien Assembly Hall – Each of the ethnic Chinese groups that lived in Hoi An had their own assembly hall, and the Fujian’s had a wonderful building with an overly elaborate triple-arched gateway. Dedicated to Thian Hau, Goddess of the Sea, she is guarded by some freaky looking assistants who between them can see and hear over one thousand miles. Handy, and a great look around some very ornate fixtures.

At first glance just a Chinese letter, but closer inspection reveals four birds carefully crafted from mother of pearl.

Tan Ky Merchant House – Built in the 18th century, this beautiful shop house has been home to seven generations (who still live there!) and, like many buildings in Hoi An, is a fine example of policy in action. Properties were taxed according to their street frontage, so the buildings are very long and have entrances on two parallel streets – one is the museum entrance and the other is now a restaurant while the family lives upstairs (which is where everything has to retreat in the annual wet season that completely submerges the entire ground floor of Hoi An old town). They are definitely using their space well!

The Japanese Covered Bridge – At one end of town is Hoi An’s emblem, a very pretty bridge. Not much more to say on that really…

When in fact the whole show was fascinating, if weird, like this tortured soul, obviously in great pain, who still attempted some famous Vietnamese opera.

The Handicraft Workshop – This was a wonderful opportunity to see the traditional methods at work, sculpture, wood carving, silk lantern making and embroidery are all practised daily and the output handily available to buy. We timed our visit with the daily show, which we presumed was going to be terrible but was surprisingly entertaining, varying from skilled (a bit) to unintentionally hilarious (most of it, particularly the intense Vietnamese Opera recital) it is well worth getting to.

A day of doing not much

Some fish in Thu Bin river are bigger than others…

Our favourite day in Hoi An was not necessarily because we were being lazy, we woke at 6am to see the fish market in action; it was crazy. Each day the fishermen bring in the nightly catch to sell to traders and restaurant owners; they’re often chopped up there and then meaning our flip flopped feet were soon paddling in puddles of fish guts and blood, lovely. It didn’t feel like part of a tour, partly because we were blatantly in the way of daily life and these people were very aware that the any money to be made that morning wasn’t going to come from us.

Hoi An delicacies: In front, White Rose, in the middle Cao Lau, at the back is a hungry Lynette.

We then spent most of the morning drinking very delicious English tea from pint glasses (In Same Same cafe they differentiate ‘English’ tea by adding an extra bag) and grazing on breakfast, before wandering over to the food market for some unidentifiable lunch and returning for more tea. Buzzing on caffeine, we headed to the long table outside restaurants and tried the Hoi An specialities of Cao Lau (noodles and pork rind croutons), Banh Bao Vac (White Rose shrimp dumplings), Hoanh Thanh Chien (Crispy Chinese style wantons) and Mi Quang (another tasty noodle dish with shrimps). Conveniently they also serve Bia Hoi, a national favourite of locally brewed beer that for some reason only lasts a day. But its cheap, 3,000D a glass or about 10p. In Saigon it tasted like it had been brewed with batteries, but here in Hoi An it was a far better brew and went down a treat.

Succumbing to the Tailored Treats

I think she’s just glad I didn’t order a top hat.

As I’ve mentioned, we planned on avoiding the constantly yelled invitations to visit various shops (Hoi An would be infinitely improved if touting, shouting or asking ‘motorbike?’ was banned), but before long (and after a beer or two if I recall) we were feeling the fabric and sucking up for the tape measure on more than one occasion. Our final shopping list and experiences below!

Dai Duong Ocean , 84 Nguyen Thai Hoc – It was the dress that drew us in, and their unstoppable torrent of happy suggestions and compliments that made us buy more. The first shirt fitted so I bought four more, could have been more particular on the material I think but they look great. We pointed out quiet a few quality issues which they fixed there and then, we just hope it all stays together! Every time we turned up for a fitting, they weren’t ready and we had to come back an hour or two later. Became a running joke…
The bill: Five shirts for Steve ($63), Dress for Lynette $21, Top for Lynette $17

Nguyet Thu Cloth Shop, 140 Tran Phu - After a few Bia Hois, and using the unfortunate excuse that I’d need one soon, I ventured in on the basis that since they had a big shop and hadn’t been physically dragging us into the shop for a look they might actually be good at what they do. Which I can happily say they were; at the first fitting I was very worried I’d made a mistake. A really bad fit, and I tried to point out all the places it was going wrong. They completely ignored (and eventually shushed) me, and I left feeling a bit despondent. Thankfully on the next fitting they showed their prowess and it fitted like a second skin; I ended up going for the waistcoat as well. Only comment would be they certainly are a grumpy bunch!
The bill: $100 for cashmere suit (jacket and two trousers), $25 for waistcoat.

Lana Tailor, 130 Tran Phu-Hai – Soon afterwards, the idea of a winter jacket entered Lynette’s head and it wouldn’t go away. We only popped in for a look, but the pushy saleswoman ended up going from $40 to $25 so we thought why not. At first fitting she’d stitched in the selected green lining, but left it with bright red buttons, and a collar that meant Lynette nearly couldn’t see let alone breathe. In typical fashion, she assured us nobody could see the lining and the collar was supposed to be like that otherwise you’d get cold. We assured her we’d like it in the original colours we’d chose, and that we’d like to see Lynette’s face as well as the jacket. She then admitted she’d run out of green buttons but would find more, and the collar would be taken down. Second fitting it was the warmest thing Lynette had ever known, and the collar was perfect. It came with black buttons.
The bill: Winter Jacket for Lynette ($25)

Phu’o’ng, 325 Nguyen Duy Hieu – Looking for a more oriental style short jacket, the owner assured us she had thirty five years experience, we’d need one fitting and it would fit better than Lycra. Five fittings later, we think we finally got there, despite her assurances (as most) that it looked fine at every stage, we ended up with something that looks damn good but won’t be going back…
The bill: Jacket for Lynette ($22)

Kim Quyen, 113 Nguyen Thai Hoc – Finally we were looking for an oriental evening gown in honour of our stay. We woke the owner, and she seemed pretty tired whenever we saw her, and we had one issue that they eventually had to call down the tailor for to get resolved. In all a friendly bunch, we ended up packaging up everything in their shop (much easier than the post office!) pretty good, I’d put the repeated fittings down as a mistake but it got unnecessarily nail biting at the end!
The bill: Dress for Lynette ($21)

Hoi An Intertrans VietNam – < BR>We’d planned to post a large box at the local post office, but the experience of boxing it all up inside the shop was a lot more pleasurable and after looking around it seemed pretty reasonable. Transit by boat would have taken three months and cost half as much, but we’ve since heard everything has arrived OK so it looks good!The bill: 96$ for one month air mail delivery 7.5Kg

With our box in the post we set off for our four hour, $3 bus to Hue. But not before a panic stop back at the parcel delivery office just to double check that my lovely cashmere suit was definitely packed…

Arrival and the History of Hue

A captain never deserts his ship!

We arrived in overcast Hue just as the sun was setting, unfortunately no glorious view just a general feeling everything was getting darker and colder. We were definitely getting further North! Conveniently, and with probably a small tip involved, our bus stopped outside Binh Duong II Hotel. Several hikes to the top floor later, we bargained them to $11 for a double with private bath and amazing balcony. We trundled off in the direction of Mandarin Cafe, recommended in the book, which turned out to be a brilliant decision with great food and an exceptionally friendly owner. He gave us a walking tour map of Hue, and even a couple of postcards (depicting his famous photography) as gifts. Suitably cheered, we headed back to the hotel ready for the next day, where the heavens dutifully opened and we watched screaming locals sprinting for cover from the comfort of our (covered) balcony with a few bottles of local Ving DaLat Red Wine, very drinkable and a very enjoyable evening.

The south entrance through the first set of walls protecting the citadel.

Between 1802 and 1945 Hue was the imperial capital of the Nguyen dynasty, with a magnificent citadel surrounded by several walls and a moat that was unfortunately all but levelled during the Tet offensive in 1968 when the American army attempted to rout the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) who held the city for twenty five days. Initially calls for air bombing raids were refused by the South Vietnamese government, who eventually relented and as a result much of the historical treasures were destroyed, the damage continued with Communist Vietnam’s policy of not renovating historical or religious monuments (they reminded the locals of a time before the regime ruled), only recently to slowly change as the importance of tourism and the increasing awareness of Western influence. As a result the citadel itself is undergoing redevelopment internally, increasing the ten or so buildings that remain towards their height of over two hundred.

Hue! This bridge over the Perfume River is where the Americans were first driven back by the North Vietnamese army (after they took the city during the Tet offensive).

The walk took us over Trang Tien bridge towards the old city, where the American soldiers were first mown down by NVA machine gun fire when they attempted to retake the city. It was interesting to walk these paths, partly due to an excellent BBC documentary we’d watched beforehand, Twentieth Century Battlefields, presented by the father and son Snow combo of Peter and Dan. We stopped off for the obligatory thick, strong, syrupy and after a time quite good Vietnamese coffee before wandering through some of the local streets spotting various local wares such as Spirit Houses, Karaoke machines and alternative therapy shops.

We think the drinking water is too prove he’s not leaking.

The next day we headed on a $5 boat trip along the Perfume rive, which smelled disappointingly like muddy water, definitely not evening wear. First stop was a fishing village, that due to the height of the river wasn’t actually there – so we turned pointlessly back the way we came and headed the other direction to an optional martial arts display, where students had been training for up to fifteen years and put on a very impressive display. The Vietnamese credit their nation’s martial arts skills as the reason they managed to repel the Mongols three times over.

A life size statue of Emporer Kha Dinh himself, our guide mentioned their general consesus is that he must have been gay, as he only had one son.

Afterwards the main attractions of the boat tour awaited, the three mausoleums of Minh Mang, Khai Dinh and Tu Duc. These were immense building projects and very individual to each other – particularly Khai Dinh and its French gothic architecture. See the photos, but our only regret is perhaps not making the trip ourselves as our attempt to break away from the crowds frequently ended up in us squelching through sodden surrounding fields and in general any extra minute more than the allotted forty five would have been well received. It would have been wonderful to spend more time in all of these places.

Two more stupas, this time with minarets, embellishing the mausoleum’s silhouette.

With minutes to spare on our return from the boat, we took a taxi (which Mandarin Cafe paid for, as we’d booked both the trip and bus through them and the trip had arrived back late) to the bus station and headed to our next set of capital Hs – Hanoi and Ha Long Bay! We’d opted for the sleeper style at $10 each, hopefully this time we might actually get a chance to rest our weary lids… so much to do, so little time!

Shopping in Hoi An and Mausoleums in Hue! Our longer than planned trip to Hoi An, and our few days in the hot spot of Hue!
Photo caption : "The graves of some western missionaries coming to Hoi An to preach their religion … now, they are in Hoi An church"… easy to misinterpret?	A turtle marvelling over his relatively gigantic size in Quan Cong temple’s indoor pond.	Lynette outside Quan Cong temple, built in 1653 and dedicated to the Highly regarded Chinese General.	Lynette outside one of the ever popular miniature gardens in Hoi An.	One of the Thien Hau’s assistants in the Phuoc Kien Assembly Hall.
The green faced assistant of Thien Hau, Goddess of the Sea.	Many ornate and detailed statues decorate the inside of temples and houses throughout Hoi An.	Lynette outside Phuoc Kien Asembly Hall in Hoi An, where Chinese Fujian maintained their community centre. No prams allowed.	Some of the locals traversing the bridge complete with the surprisingly common coned hat.	Lynette outside the Japenese Covered Bridge, adopted as Hoi An’s emblem and built in the sixteenth century.
Some locals enjoying lunch on the street.	Sellers offering their wares on Thu Bon river, with minimum effort.	The local market, a constant hornet’s nest of bustle and hustle.	Each noodle is carefully hand rollen and takes four hands three hours to complete.	One of the founders of Tan Ky house, below the typically Japanese roof supports.
At first glance just a Chinese letter, but closer inspection reveals four birds carefully crafted from mother of pearl.	We loved this, especially when the groom’s dutybound to ask the girl’s name only AFTER he’s told everybody the good news.	Inside the Handicraft workshop, all manner of creations await your purchase!	The evident skill is astounding, it is great to see how each item starts out.	If you’re thinking about pottery, all you need is clay, a plate and a mate. Next lesson, fire.
The famous conical hats are incredibly cheap everwhere, but require time and intricate effort to weave between each rice stalk.	A large scale piece of weaving, she was faster than a crab on amphetamine.	Finer embroidery on a painting scale.	We timed our visit to the Handicraft workshop to coincide with a collection of traditional arts. When Santa appeared we feared the worst…	Lynette loves these Chinese lanterns, and when advancing in numbers they are even more beautiful…
When in fact the whole show was fascinating, if weird, like this tortured soul, obviously in great pain, who still attempted some famous Vietnamese opera.	Hey, nice… vases? That’s not right…	Of all the places to start a technological empire, we doubt this is it!	Each table is a different restaurant with a different chef, cooking out of a tiny kitchen at the head of the table. Great good, bustling atmosphere and beer at only 10p. Fantastic.	Hoi An delicacies: In front, White Rose, in the middle Cao Lau, at the back is a hungry Lynette.
On my right, some crispy spring rolls. On my left, Mi Quang. In the middle, a big smile.	Locals boarding their transport on the bus across Thu Diem.	"Yes, we’re listening to you, just hurry up and wrap the stinking fish!"	The ravages of Betelnut. She’s only twenty six.	Various shell fish are kept in these aerated bowls, keeps ‘em fresh!
An early start takes us to Hoi An fish market!	Another street of the labyrinth market getting ready to offer its wares…	Would you believe she spent a good thirty minutes selecting this particular bunch of twigs. Would you believe we watched her for that long.	Lynette with a lovely shop owner (who’s name escapes us) where we bought a couple of souvenirs for home!	I think she’s just glad I didn’t order a top hat.
Hue! This bridge over the Perfume River is where the Americans were first driven back by the North Vietnamese army (after they took the city during the Tet offensive).	A captain never deserts his ship!	The south entrance through the first set of walls protecting the citadel.	Lynette in front of an M48 tank, supplied to and captured from the South Vietnamese on March 25th 1975.	The Vietnamese flag flying high over the Hue citadel.
Thai Hoa Pala was constructed in 1805, where the Emporer presided over ceremonies alongside his Mandarins - which are not a type of fruit.	Inside the Thai Hoa walls, a large and peaceful room where photography is forbidden. We’re rebels.	The auspiciously named Ten Judicious Kings of Hell, responsible for examining the deeds of the recently deceased. According to Buddhist beliefs, either punishment or reincarnation awaits…	Emporer Khai Dinh and his four highest ranking officials. The guy on his far right scares us.	Inside the long ignored citadel walls, restoration has begun in earnest to capture the wallets of visiting tourists.
Fine restoration work, or brand spanking new. Either way, the ornate stone architecture’s looking good!	Back off! Think we’ve been gandering too long…	Locals fishing in the Citadel’s moat.	Lynette in front of the East side, middle walls of the citadel. Particularly colourful!	Inside an alternative therapy shop, a prescription is being made ready for a waiting patient.
He’s probably quite grateful that his ailment doesn’t require these as a cure…	Those Spirit Houses have to be bought somewhere… here’s a whole street!	At the start of our day trip to the Mausolems, a Van An Phai Kung Fu display.	The speed and skill these students demonstrated of their ancient martial art was impressive.	An impressive leap to smash roof tiles, or an attemptto better David Copperfield?
A gentleman called Sieu, warming up for his main display…	We think the drinking water is too prove he’s not leaking.	Looking at Sieu’s neck, who has been training for 15 years, the scars show it wasn’t easy…	That’s real hair he has there. Or real fake hair. You know what I mean.	I can’t talk! I’m in a glass box! Covered in gold! IN A BOX!
One of two obelisks, to symbolise dynastic stability and majesty erupting from the surrounding forest.	A sneak speek through Buu Tanh reveals that he has some lazy gardeners…	It is only now I chastise myself for knocking at least one more grain of rock from these sculptures.	A life size statue of Emporer Kha Dinh himself, our guide mentioned their general consesus is that he must have been gay, as he only had one son.	One of these was washed at too high a temperature…
A colourful display of incense sticks, inviting a smelly demise.	Standing outside two absolutely typical street houses in Hoi An, all beautiful.	A bit like a scary version of Lynette’s own King Charles Spaniel, Lady!	Lynette was suitably fascinated by the lively fish pond.	A collection of Vietnamese light switches. One of these destroys the world.
Polish architect Kazimierz Kwiatkowsky, Kazik, came to Hoi An in the 1980s as part of Vietnam’s conservation project and helped make the town the beautifully restored scene it is today. He also has a better beard.	Perhaps this is the same shop Jeremy Clarkson bought Hamster’s boat in?	Scramble!	A local workman carefully rewiring the entire district in a single afternoon.	Each year the Thu Bon river floods, this line represents how high it reached last September. At this point, all furniture is moved upstairs and the locals make their way around town by boat!
Tan Ky House is one of the most visited in Hoi An, representing a fusion of Chinese and Japanese architecture.	The Spirit House is on the 1st floor just to avoid the inevitable effects of flooding. Your average deity doesn’t take too kindly to getting wet.	Lynett outside an old merchant house of Hoi An, Tan Ky, home to seven generations of the same family.	Afterwards a quick spot of lunch in the market, overpriced on account of our being illiterate but still darn tasty.	Me carefully examining repurposed Silk Worm cocoons, a strange musty smell around the place.
Some traditional dress at festival time.	Lynette’s favourite mistranslation. Even funnier when you read the original Vietnamese.	One poor soul wondering who stole her cabbage.	"I’m sure I left five loaves around here somewhere…"	Some fish in Thu Bin river are bigger than others…
This is it! Where Top Gear got their suits done! The very place!	As soon as it rolled up to the sign, it knew its travelling days were over.	Hoi An, like much of Vietnam, is being ‘upgraded’. This does not include health and safety procedures.	Some of the rules and tools of the (originally Chinese) Dau Ho game, where sticks are thrown into a vase. Fascinating.	A Nguyen tea set, just for John!
Looking back at the now empty courtyards of Hue citadel, once teeming with over two hundred buildings.	Oh… look at the pretty geese and their nest…	All the cermaic motifs and designs are carefully constructed from broken teapots, plates and bottles.	Rather cute sticks of heaven to drive kids wild with…	The East gate of the citadel, pockmarked with bullets during the Vietnam war.
Somebody forgot to inform the marketing department that Vietnamese aren’t supposed to be too fond of America…	Next activity, a boat trip in Hue. Here is our fine dragon boat for the day, sweeping along the Perfume river striking dragon fear into all at shore…	Our first stop Thien Mu Pagoda, the oldest in Hue. The seven tiers of the Stupa represent the reincarnations of Buddha.	Allegedly where the inspiration for Total Recall appeared.	In 1963, Thich Quang Duc burnt himself to death in Saigon in protest at President Diem’s repressive regime. This is the powder blue Austin from the photo that hit the headlines.
Next Minh Mang mausoleum. This is the Minh pavilion, upon Tham Tai mountain apparently.	The Buu Thanh, a round wall that protects the Emporer Minh Mang’s tomb, is only opened once a year on his death’s anniversary.	Looking back from Buu Tanh towards a very wet Lynette!	Entrance to the Khai Dinh mausoleum, built between 1920-1934, a marked difference from typical oriental architecture.	Thien Dinh palace is a marvel of French gothic architecture, an unexpected pleasure.
Inside the palace is liberally sprinkled with motifs, ceramic decoration, gold edging, pictures.	Two more stupas, this time with minarets, embellishing the mausoleum’s silhouette.	A local demonstration of how to make incense sticks, and then sell them to you.	A local demonstration of the ubiquitous conical hats, which are amazingly enough available to buy there and then.	Finally the Mausoleum of Tu Doc, a romantic poet and a weak king apparently.
A selection of indiginous footprints that ingnore ‘wet cement’ signs.