Day 50 - More suit fittings, ATM hunting and Why Not?

Hugh Heffner Jr?

Day 50 - 12th August

So another stunning day in Hoi An. We were up to 35 degrees and everyone was loving it - except me. I knew with sun came a burned head, even if I wore a cap, red skin and dehydration. The perfect combo for suit fittings.

So we headed back to Kimmy's. To my surprise, the suit was almost complete, lining and waistcoat included. Madonna and the team had done a great job and I was impressed already with the navy blue suit with purple leaf lining. Madonna asked if I could leave her a trip advisor review and after telling her no (as a joke of course), she laughed and I couldn't resist that Asian giggle.

Jordy had read about a Vietnamese language class at Lifestart, a life changing organisation that worked to better the lives of local Vietnamese people. Our teacher was so good, and because it was only Jordy, Sèbastien and I, we had an awesome lesson. We learned how to say hello (Sin Chow), thank you very much (Cam On New) and how to ask for beer (beer). Of course all of these are phonetically spelt but you get the drift.

One of the workshops for clothes making! It was hot in there.

After the lesson, we had a free tea tasting and visited the gift shop. I picked up a gift for my mum made by Hanh who worked at the shop. She had lost both her legs in a vehicle accident at 18. Just seeing the real person who created the gift for me to buy was something truly exceptional. It was such a sad moment but she seemed so content and happy in her work, a little happiness came back to me.

Jordy then took us to his other small tailor, Mr Xe's. This guy was great, and so were his assistants. Every single one of them welcomed us warmly, they gave us free water and asked if we were interesting in buying anything. After explaining I'd bought two suits, they offered me a good deal on a shirt. I could see this was more a personal tailor shop so I thought why not. Then I've helped out a large, medium and small company. 

Mr Xe was hilarious, a genuine cross between Mr Chao from The Hangover (because his voice was similar) and Austin Powers (because of all the women he had around him). He would tap our faces to get them straight whilst he did our measurements and would pucker his lips in and out as he concentrated. 'Come back tomorrow at 10am,' he said.

Shortly after, the three of us went back to Cargo for a snack and then Sèbastien and I headed back to BeBe's for our second fitting whilst Jordy went to Forget Me Not for his. We were told they would have our suits ready for trying by the evening so we were both fairly excited (how excited should you be over a suit?)

When we reached the shoe shop a few minutes later, Sèbastien's shoes were too loose but mine were spot on. A steal for 45 bucks. Teamed with the suits, it was going to look sweet.

Before we knew it, it was six pm and we were back at Bebe's. Mai had done a great job. The yellow lining complimented the charcoal grey suit and the matching yellow bow tie, skinny tie and handkerchief were excellent.

After a long day, we headed out for dinner near Kimmys with Francis and Sabrina. We went in search of an ATM, but failed miserably. Trying to find an ATM with a withdrawal of over 2,000,000 VND in Hoi An is like trying to find a motorbike free street in the whole of Vietnam!

Our night led us to a bar with beer buckets and card games with the newby to the group and then we moved onto Why Not? I found a good deal of buying a wristband for 100,000 VND (£3.10) where you could drink all you could. Before I'd even begun this, I'd fallen down the stairs in my Toms - not the best start. To make matters worse, the guys only wanted to stay for half an hour so I had to get my money's worth, drinking eight rum and cokes in that time. Big mistake.

Although not very strong, I was out like a light as soon as we arrived back in the dorm room.

Instead of Good Morning Vietnam, it was Goodnight Vietnam!