This morning we take the three hour bus journey from Hue to Hoi An. The bus seems a little better this time so we have a lot less of the erratic bouncing about in the seats, which pleased me a lot. Around half way there we stop for a drink and a toilet break at a gorgeous beach-side place where we sip an iced tea and take in the views. It’s very windy there but a lovely clear, sunny day so we can benefit a little from the breeze.

Once back on the road we stop to take in the views at Hoi Van pass, a place high up the mountain with stunning views of the places below, and famed for being the only crossing point between north and south Vietnam during the division of the country. There are military forts there and you can see the bullet marks in the sides of a couple of them very clearly, as well as the different styles of builiding thrown up by the French, Americans and Vietnamese.

Still not arrived at our destination we stop for lunch beside the beautiful China Beach. As it’s not an included meal we choose our own things to eat, those things being crab, calamari and a special rice dish, a right good nosh up. Having polished that off, against all the advice you get at home, we plunge straight into the warm ocean where the waves are pretty big and the power of the water is incredible. You could feel yourself being thrown at the beach by the tide, and then suddenly, after about 20 minutes of arsing about and having a jolly good time, the tide turned and we could feel ourselves being pulled out into the ocean. At that point we tipped out and dried off ready for the final leg of the journey to Hoi An.

We arrive at our rather nice looking hotel (this backpacking lark is a piece of cake) and check in to our room. To our delight, Rafa has asked that we have a nice room and we open the door to a place with a sitting area with a table and four chairs, a huge bed, a bathroom with an enormous bath and a huge balcony overlooking a lake. Good work Raf.

Once we’ve had a good look around it’s straight downstairs to meet with everyone else to have a brief orientation walk around the city. As Rafaele shows us around I got a feeling that this was a little like Luang Prabang in Laos, only a bit busier and dirtier, though still very nice. After pointing out a few landmarks and leaving us with maps so that we could find our way home, Rafa left us to our own devices with a view to meeting up later for dinner.

Everyone had their mind on pretty much the same thing, as there is one thing in particular that Hoi An is famous for. For a place that’s not to dissimilar in size to Canterbury, there are over 300 tailors. We were all going to get some made to measure clothes made, most of us choosing the most famous and reputable shop Yaly. Though all of the tailors can turn things around in 24 hours, I didn’t want anything rushed, and most others seemed to feel the same so we all bowled in.

What strikes you as soon as you walk into Yaly is that the place is mental. There are what feels like dozens of staff running about all over the place, and many many more customers all looking at fabrics, browsing catalogues, trying on stuff etc. After a short time sifting through catalogues I find a suit that catches my eye and set off to find the right material, which given my male status wasn’t easy. The suit I had found was blue, that’s about as good as I can manage description wise. I picked out what I thought what was the right material in their best quality cashmere wool fabric, having sought dozens of opinions from Mrs Tom, then we set about discussing the details. Basically I wanted it exactly like the picture, but with a ticket pocket. I toyed with slanting pockets, but the staff in the shop seemed keen to talk me away from it. The bloke in the picture didn’t have slant pockets so I decided if it was cool enough for him them I could probably manage. The ticket pocket was a cert though. Oh, and once I’d been offered it I had to go for silk lining. The price for all this custom made beauty, $215, at today’s rates around £132. It was diffiult not to get a shed load made.

Having picked a suit I thought I’d move on to a shirt. We are on holiday, what the heck. Initially I was put off by the $35 price until I rembered that this shirt would be made to fit me and me only. I thought I’d go for a nice new work style shirt with double cuffs, and also a casual number, which turned out to be only $20. Mrs Tom was fathoming out whether to have a dress or a skirt, and if a dress which one. I settled the debate by telling her to get the lot, given the prices and the occasion of our holiday we might as well go for it.

All measured up and excited we popped over to the rather nice looking wine bar across the street where we had planned to meet everyone before dinner. We swapped stories of our experences and were soon off to Cargo, where Rafa had booked us a table for dinner. The food was good and it was fun to continue talking about our different shopping experiences.

To round off a fun day we went to the Before and After bar which Rafaele had recommended. For my deaf and cold ridden self it was a touch too loud for me and kept us from having a decent conversation. It was quite a decent looking bar though and the first pub type place we’d seen for a while. We stayed for a couple and then slowly wound or way back to the hotel via what turned out to be the extended route.