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Sunday, April 13, 2014

Hoi An {day 1}

Our Vietnam vacation continued with another short morning flight, to the pretty little town of Hoi An. After checking into our hotel, we went across the street to drop off some laundry and rent bicycles for the next two days. It seemed like an odd combination but there were several places that offered both laundry and bike rentals.






We spent most of the day just riding through the town along the riverside. I couldn't remember the last time I had ridden a bike but it was a great way to get around.  Usually when we travel we either walk or rent a car, and I think we may have to do more bike rentals in the future because we enjoyed it so much.







We stopped at a few of the street vendors for lunch - don't worry, nothing crazy this time. Just pork and chicken on a stick.





We visited the Old House of Tan Ky, where several generations of the same family have lived for over 200 years. It has survived many floods, and they have markings on the wall to show how high each flood was - some of them nearly washing out the entire ground floor.




One thing we had not planned on doing was going to one of the many 24-hour tailors. We typically don't do any shopping on vacations with the exception of a few small souvenirs. At the recommendation of our tour manager, we stopped in Yaly just for fun and ended up having a few things made. Ideally you show them pictures of what you want or have them replicate clothes you already own. They take all of your measurements, and your order is ready for final fittings, adjustments, and pickup the following day. Incredible! I wasn't prepared to have a dress or anything complicated made, so I had them make the outfit I was wearing, just in different colors. Bo had a sport coat made that should be perfect for Easter Sunday. Everything we got was about a quarter of the price back at home, and it was tailored to fit us perfectly. It was a fun experience. They keep our measurements on file for six years, so if we wanted to we could order more to have shipped to us - probably still cheaper than shopping here! We'll see :)



We went back to the hotel for a few hours to hang out by the pool and have a few beverages. This was one of the nicer hotels we stayed at so we wanted to take advantage of it.



That evening we rode back into town for another group dinner. Our servers brought a ton of food to the table and made fresh spring rolls for us at the table based on whatever you wanted in them. My favorite was when they put a friend spring roll inside the fresh spring roll. Ridiculous. Seriously, so. many. spring rolls.






We rode around on our bikes for a while that evening, it was just so pretty all lit up at night!









4 comments:

  1. It really is so pretty at night! And I love your polka dot shirt!

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  2. What a fun day!! We love renting bikes when we travel - you can get around faster than walking, and can just pull over any time to stop and take in a site vs. being in a car where you are more limited with parking, etc. Such a pretty town!!!

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  3. I agree with peachtreeroadies, bikes are just an awesome way tot out and see cities! Glad you did so much bike touring!

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