17. The tailors of Hoi An, Vietnam

By Filipe Morato Gomes	Where is Hoi An?
Going south after visiting Hanoi, Sapa and Halong Bay, I stopped at the picturesque village of Hoi An, a favourite stop for backpackers travelling along the coast of Vietnam where I met Marie again. After three months on my own having a travel mate was a very welcome change and therefore, being Hoi An famous for the cheap handmade clothes and shoes, I ended up spending a couple of afternoons clothing-shopping.

Hanoi is an enchanting city. Full of character. I found it with its life bustling at every corner in the old centre, with small business of every kind, thousands of motorbikes going along the streets non-stop, the pavements overcrowded with peddlers and motor-bikes parked. In spite of all the hustle and bustle, I felt comfortable in Hanoi. Unfortunately, I'd been in the North of Vietnam for longer than planned so I had to move on, southwards. After a short stay in Hué - a former imperial city - I headed without delay to the picturesque village of Hoi An.

Daily life in the streets of Hoi An

I was about to leave Hanoi when I got an electronic message from someone I knew. It was one of those group e-mail messages, usually sort of impersonal but very kind, addressed to a group of friends who got to know each other while travelling, telling about the current travellers' activities, where he or she has been travelling recently, in short, sharing the latest experiences with friends own travelling experiences.

The sender was Marie, a lovely Danish girl I had unexpectedly met in the steppes of Mongolia, more than two and a half months before. It was indeed a pleasant surprise. We hadn't contacted each other ever since but I got to know that she'd be in Hoi An in two days' time. Hoi An was precisely my next destination so I replied back and we arranged to meet there.

I left to Hoi An with great expectations, mainly because many backpackers have the feeling that Hoi An is one of the most delightful spots on the whole Vietnam coastland. As soon as I got there, after a short but nice trip on a graceless bus, I could immediately find out the grounds for such affection. I discovered an extremely nice village, clean and aired, in a strict connection with the river that washes it, with ground-floor colourful and well cared houses, and flowers all over the streets. Hoi An is a place where pedestrians still rule and the amount of vehicles is far inferior to what I was used to in Southeast Asia. But Hoi An is also a paradise for hose in need of renewing its wardrobe without spending fortunes.

Clothing shops are all over the streets of Hoi An

In fact, there are lots of tailors and shoemakers in Hoi An. Every traveller coming from Hoi An I had met so far, without any exception, had already had complete outfits, trousers or shirts, skirts or tops, sandals or boots handmade there. Models copied from thick catalogues from the worthiest and most expensive brands of worldwide fashion designers. More determined consumers brought from home pieces of magazines with the models they'd like to copy. And others, with more talent, designed in loco, by their own hand, the desired cuts.

As for me, I did not need any clothes. Nor was I patient enough for shopping. Therefore I confined myself to escort Marie for two measuring and proving sessions. She leafed dozens of catalogues and magazines, and chose the models for the desired skirts, defined the colours, and then submitted herself to meticulous measurements. The following day, she went back to the shop, to try the skirt for the first time. Once some small imperfections were detected, they said they just need “about an hour” to “make it fit”. Twenty-four hours, that's how fast it is to have clothes - and also shoes - handmade in the Vietnamese cute village of Hoi An at very low prices.

Except for new visits to other tailors, during my stay in Hoi An I has been most of the time in the company of Marie. We both had already travelled solo for a somehow long period of time. And it feels good to have a travel companion after months on the road. To share simple moments like going to the beach. To talk about everything and nothing during the days when tropical rains don't want to let you go out. Or just to share a bottle of good red wine at dinner by the river. Simple pleasures for which a travel mate is something precious indeed.

(originally written in Portuguese)

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