Hoi An, Vietnam

During our stay in Da Nang, we visited a nearby city, Hoi An. It is a small town located just thirty minutes away from the resort. The resort conveniently provided low-cost shuttles to and from the city. We left early that Saturday morning.  

The shuttle dropped us off in Viettown Silk Village. It seems like nearly every city in Vietnam has a Silk Village where you can buy any type of silk fabric you desire. In this shop there was a woman reeling silk. In front of her was a large hot pot filled with cocoons. The hot water loosens the cocoons so that you can find the one thread that started the actual cocoon. Each individual thread from the cocoon is attached to the reel and then the reeling of the silk begins. As the reeling continues the cocoons will become very thin and soon you will only see the bug that was inside. Once all the silk has been reeled on the wheel, it is then re-reeled. Eventually it becomes very thick and can then be used for weaving or stitching. It is pretty amazing to see. I never knew the process required to make silk threads. The next time I visit the Silk Village in Hanoi I will do a post on it so you can see the machinery used.

silk worms

cocoons

cocoons are in large crock pot

There are a few historic sites in the ancient town of Hoi An. Two we visited were the Japanese Covered Bridge and Hoi An Market. When we reached the bridge I expected something much bigger, but it was a short, small bridge that I would have completely missed had I not read about it. The market was large and busy. Every type of produce, meat, and noodle was sold there. Though I have seen kilos of cooked noodles at street corners in Hanoi, this was my first time seeing noodles laid out to dry on the street. 

Japanese Covered Bridge

Entrance to market

Hoi An Market

various types of noodles

noodles ready to eat

School

The village has about four main streets and many other small streets connecting to the main ones. We walked up and down each main street. There is so much one can buy there, a limit must be set before arrival. Bartering prices helps reduce the cost of items. As foreigners, we have to barter prices because local vendors immediately increase the cost to at least double the amount of what it is worth or what they would sell it for to other locals. In one store Douglas found a short-sleeve t-shirt he liked. He asked the woman how much? She said 340,000 VND (Vietnamese dong), which converts to $16.10. There was no way we were paying that much for a t-shirt. I just purchased two silk blouses one street down for only 120,000 VND each ($5.68). Of course we knew she was trying to get us for all the dong she could. We typically negotiate prices by starting at half of whatever is said and then the exchange goes back and forth until we’re at about 2/3 of the original price. This time Douglas didn’t even bother with bartering. He sternly told the woman 120,000 VND and did not budge. She continued to throw out higher numbers, slowly working her way down and finally settling on what Douglas initially offered, 120,000 VND. Does it get tiring doing this at nearly every vendor? Sure it does. But I never get tired of saving money!

In the morning it was a little cool and raining outside. A typhoon had hit Hoi An one week before our arrival. The streets are not equipped to handle any type of flooding. I decided to put my rain boots on to avoid my feet getting wet with open toe shoes. The worst feeling is walking around all day with wet feet sliding in my shoe. As the day went by it became very hot. The weather did a complete turnaround on us. Before I knew it I was sweating. Thank goodness I threw some flip flops in my bag before we left. I quickly changed into them. Unfortunately I did not bring anything to pull my hair back. I decided to wear it out that day which I later regretted. 

The following is a true story...As I explained in my previous entry, people here are fascinated with African Americans. While shopping in one store, two Vietnamese women approached me smiling and pointing at my hair. Then the ladies began stroking our arms saying beautiful skin, so dark. They then started rubbing our skin to see if it would wipe off like a washable marker. I had to tell her, this is permanent! Then the women took their hands and put them into my hair to feel its “strange” texture. I said to them it’s oily, trying to explain that they might not want to go in there. But that did not stop them. They rubbed their fingers together intrigued by the slippery residue that remained. That is oil and moisturizing cream, lady - and a lot of it! 

During this encounter, I’m thinking that these women can’t be serious. Now had this happened in the US and an American put their hands in my head, they would have been quickly dismissed (and that is me putting it nicely). If I had straight hair I don’t think they would be as intrigued. But I have been told by local women in Hanoi that Vietnamese women love my type of hair. A women in my building said she has tried to get her hair like mine and could not do it. I wish more black women in America knew just how many women overseas would love to have our naturally curly, thick hair. Heck, I wish I knew that when I was growing up. There are people out here who would do anything to have it and so many black women in America do everything to get rid of it. We always want what we don’t have and rarely appreciate what is naturally ours. 

  

Most people, especially black women, are very sensitive about others touching their hair. Having natural hair, I know that rubbing your hands in it a lot can possibly lead to breakage. I do not even play in my own hair, let alone let someone else do it. I accept that I am the black female celebrity of Vietnam, but that does not make me a display figure. I should wear a sign that says “Do not touch.” But I guess I am giving them an experience. I have given up trying to fight their gestures. I recommend someone offering a class to the locals on What Not To Do To Foreigners. There should be a special class about black people so they are not in such awe when they see us! They could call it Black Facts!

As we perused the stores we stumbled upon a very nice one that made clothing. I knew we could have clothes made, but I did not know how fast they could be made. Douglas decided to have two pairs of slacks made, one brown and one black. It can be a little difficult to find a leg hugging pair of skinny-type jeans for myself without having several alterations made to take in the waist and the bottom half of the jeans by my ankles. So I decided to have a pair of jeans done, along with a silk dress. We told the woman we did not have much time and needed the clothes to be ready by 2:00 pm. It was almost 12:30 pm. She said, “No problem!” Both Douglas and I looked at each other as if to say, “No way!” Within fifteen minutes we picked out materials, she took our measurements, and we negotiated price. The cost was more than reasonable, although I am certain we could have went cheaper if we pushed a little more, but we were already getting a steal. Douglas and I went off to do our shopping and she said she would call us when the clothes were ready.

Choosing fabric for my dress

fabric I selected

Brown fabric for Douglas' pants, blue fabric for my jeans

standing almost at attention while getting measured....always a Marine!

Before we left for Hoi An, I used TripAdvisor to look up a few recommended restaurants in the area. I found one that received great reviews on both the food and service. It is a Vietnamese restaurant called Morning Glory. Part of the restaurant kitchen is centered on the first floor for everyone to see. It reminded me of Hibachi style cooking. We were seated on the second floor next to the window. As we walked through the restaurant we saw many foreigners, always a good sign while overseas. One of the greatest things I have enjoyed about beverages in Vietnam (and most places overseas) is that everything is fresh. No additives for color or additional sugar or syrup for sweetness. I ordered spring rolls and a ginger chicken stir fry with rice. Our meal was great and lived up to its good reviews. I even used the chopsticks provided opposed to a fork or spoon. Handling chopsticks is not easy, but my skills are improving with each meal.

Douglas' lunch...noodles and pork

spring rolls

ginger chicken with rice

Almost 90 minutes later the phone rang and it was the woman at the clothing store to say that our items were done. We looked at our watch and it was just 1:30 pm. She had those clothes done in just over an hour! As we walked back to the store neither of us were expecting much. We figured if the items did not look good we would simply chalk it all up to an experience for the books. Douglas tried on his pants first. I was shocked to see how good they looked. The brown pants needed no alternations but the black ones needed to be let down a bit. Next was me. My jeans fit very well! It was the first time I’d ever had jeans tailor made. I loved it. Only one alteration needed to be done around the waist. Then I put on the dress and loved it as well. She made one small alteration there too. The neckline fell a little too low for my liking, but that was fixed within minutes. We walked away with four pieces of clothing made in a little over an hour for approximately $100. I could get used to this kind of living!

The next time we go to Da Nang, we will definitely visit Hoi An and get clothes made at the lovely Mai Xuan store on Hai Ba Trung Street. Definitely worth the trip! And I'll be sure to wear a scarf on my head too! : )