Hoi An, Vietnam

Hoi An is essentially a tourist trap... and that's about it!

Its main claim to fame is the tailor shops... hundreds of them! Here in Vietnam, vendors often don't differentiate their products from competitors so it's extremely hard to figure out which shops offer quality service. Peace was recommended by our hotel and online so I decided to go check out the experience of getting a made-to-measure piece of clothing. They weren't too pushy nor they did call people in from the street like some other places. I said that I wanted pants and a shirt but my saleswoman soon talked me into making it a suit with a jacket to match the pants.

I looked at 2 huge European catalogues with up to date styles from 2010 and 2012. We talked about style, color, shape, and what would look best on my body. She could have convinced me of anything since I know nothing about fashion! Then I was shown fabric choices. First up was a very nice cashmere blend from England, followed by a lower quality cotton blend to show me the difference and get me to pay more. As harsh as it sounds, everyone here is a sales specialist and if they're friendly to you, it's because they know you have money. I chose the higher quality gray pinstripe cashmere blend (which was probably fake after researching it online) for the suit and a lower quality light blue cotton for the shirt. 

The woman took my measurements while rattling off numbers in Vietnamese to another employee who wrote them down near the drawings of my new wardrobe. I felt like an elite customer as she meticulously measured every part of my body: bust, shoulders, arms, legs, inseam, hips, etc. Then we sat down to discuss the price which she was hesitant to share prior to measuring me as it depends on how much fabric is necessary. I received an initial quote of $130 for everything. I told her I wanted to just spend $100, suggesting that I would just get 2 pieces instead of 3. She responded by lowering the price by $10. However, then she showed me the silk lining options available for another $5. Clever!

Penthouse suite for $15/night. Very "homey"

They asked for a 50% deposit so I said I had to go back to my hotel to get the money. The whole experience was quite the whirlwind; I was taken up with it all and fully intended to buy the entire suit for $125. The short walk back to my hotel cleared my head a bit as I realized I can probably get clothes back in the US from JCPenney for less and just have them tailored if need be. The clincher was when I calculated that I could spend another week traveling if I didn't buy the suit. 

View from our window on the 4th floor

People in other industries are great salesmen as well, smooth talking you into buying something without realizing how much you're actually paying due to the difference in currency. I paid $0.75 instead of the typical $0.45 for water since I didn't realize she had placed an Aquafina bottle in my hand. I blame it on the fact that I was also buying a razor from the same stand and was too slow to do the math to figure out how much the water was on its own. The next day I paid $2.50 for 2 bunches of rambutan after a woman let Carlos take pictures of me with her baskets and hat. We were later approached by a similar woman at our hotel and managed to snag 1 mangosteen, 2 mangos, and a dragon fruit for the same price, doh! Sure, it isn't much money for us but long-term travel is a very different mindset than a vacationer.

Rambutan kind of tastes like grapes

Another splurge was at Karma Waters. I've been wanting to get a set meal since learning about them. Basically, a restaurant gives you a great deal for lunch on 3 dishes because they can be prepared beforehand. The price here wasn't really good at all but we got a glass of lemonade, orange juice, tea, a huge salad, red rice, vegetable curry, mixed vegetables and fried noodles, fried tofu, and ice cream for $15 (split between us). I rationalized my purchase by figuring that I'm helping support veganism, even though it's rather popular here due to the influence of Chinese Buddhists.

Our frugal side won out most of the time, however. We found a vegan buffet tucked into an alley. The dishes didn't change much from meal to meal or day to day but it only cost us $0.75-1.25. The atmosphere is what made it perfect as the restaurant was essentially on a patio just outside the family's house, with no doors separating their dining and bedroom from the seating area. The first time we went there, they were bathing a baby in a small plastic tub using the sink next to the tables which was also used to wash vegetables.