OnTheRoad

Hoi An is one place which seems to be highly recommended by almost all travellers. The old city is still quite authentic and there are serious controls in place (or so I'm told) to keep it that way, with a lot of restoration work going on. It is quite cute, although it's not what I expected.

Getting around can initially be a little confusing. The busses thoughtfully drop you off near a bunch of hotels a long way away from the middle of town and,given that everyone (including Lonely Planet and the city administration) seems to use some idealised map which insists roads that have close to 90 degree turns are really straight, it can be hard to locate yourself. They've renamed a few of the streets as well, which further adds to the confusion. Once you've oriented yourself, it's pretty straightforward.

There are a million and one tailors here. I understand that they're quite good, in the main, so I'm considering getting some stuff made, but I don't have any of my favourite clothing here to copy and I've no idea how they do working from pictures. Just bear in mind as you walk the streets that 90, of everyone who comes up and pulls the "Hello, where you going? Where you from? How long you been Hoi An? What's your name?" patter are going to ask you to come see their clothing store. The other 10, are going to ask if you want to come on a motorbike tour. Those that don't do moto tours, just short hops around town, skip the patter and just use the "Hello, moto?" technique, elegant in its simplicity, if not its effectiveness. I'm amazed they keep trying, I haven't seen a single western tourist on a motorbike in more than 24 hours.