Hanging out in Hoi An....Still

We have both grown slightly weary of the packing up and moving that comes with traveling, so we decided to just stay put for a while, and Hoi An was the perfect place to do so. We really haven't done much since Keith's last blog, so I'm not sure what I'm going to write about. The hotel we've settled into is quite nice. A newer one on the outskirts of town. True, we were lied to by our tout about the amenities that were supposed to come with the room, but it was a good price, and a very nice place with spacious rooms and a balcony...perfect for unpacking the packs for a while. And it has a pool. A very frigid pool. Refreshing, but not the lingering type of pool.

By staying here so long (I think it has been a week?), and by going into the tailor's shop repeatedly and talking with the gals at the front desk here, we've gained a humbling understanding for what life is like for the 'regular' working folks here in town. They work VERY long days. For example, I found out last night that this sweet gal who always has a smile and a laugh for us here at the hotel, works from 5:00 AM until 1:00 AM. She doesn't even bother to go home. I asked her this morning how she slept and she pointed to the hard wooden couch here in the lobby, indicating that as her bed. Similar for the gals at the tailor shop. They told me they never get a day off. I asked incredulously, surely you get to spend one day at home? But they say no, everyday, open until close at the shop. Yikes. We complain about Nike sweatshops....but is supporting these small tailor shops (of which there are about 5-10 on each street) any different? I know it's just the way of life here, but as we get to know some of the people, we can't help but feel guilty/lucky for all that we have and all that we are able to do.

So the past couple days here have entailed repeated fittings (and yes, more ordering) at the tailors, bike rides around town and to the beach, and lazing around in restaurants and at the hotel. Not a bad life. Also more travel logistics. Since we got stalled here, and as we were scheduling out the rest of our time in Vietnam, we realized we were going to be very rushed at the last bit. So we got an extension. We probably will still cut out a sight or two, just to keep the pace of our travels a bit slower. We leave tomorrow to the party/beach town of Nha Trang for a day or two, then we'll hit the central higlands centering ourselves in a town called Dalat.

One more picture.....a candid from the market. We have not been doing great in the picture taking department, because we are so hesitant to take pictures of people (and it gets so boring to keep taking pictures of each other...). Especially because it has become the norm to pay someone to take their picture...so if you do the right thing and ask first, you have to pay, which just fosters the touting and soliciting. If you try to sneak in a photo, you just feel kind of crummy and weird. Nevertheless, markets make for great photo ops...