Of course ‘looking around’ for me meant I bought something...well, two things. I stopped in a shop where Juliana purchased 7 dresses and 1 skirt for under $100. I wasn’t attached to anything when wandering the store, but because we were in the city meant for buying tailored clothes, I picked out a long dress with a shape I thought would be best suited for me. I tried it on and it looked quite nice so the shop owner pointed me in the direction of fabrics I could chose from. I picked out a brown, tropical pattern and before I knew it I had picked out another dress and another fabric and paid $35 for each.
From the tailor I walked to the old town again for photo-taking during the sunlight. Along the way you pass the river with many brightly-colored boats. I walked past a man offering a ride in his very small, wooden taxi-boat. He looked very poor, but had a rich smile. You could tell he had an energy about him that was unique and if I had had the time, I wouldn’t have thought twice about taking a ride across the river with him just to have the experience, but unfortunately I had to make it back to the hotel for a motorbike tour. I did however ask him if it would be ok for me to take his picture which he said yes brightly to. While he had no teeth, his smile was nothing but infectious. I’m sure this picture will be one of my favorites of the trip.
After my quick, solo walking tour I got a scooter back to our hotel to meet up for an official motorbike tour with 8 other intrepid travelers. We had a blast going through the countryside, to the beach, and back. We stopped at a rice field first and I met two farmers who you could tell work really hard. Neither were wearing shoes and one had an underdeveloped thumb. Their skin was a lot darker and more wrinkled and rough than those who work in the city, but similar to the boat guy, you could tell they had warm hearts. You can just see it in their eyes and/or smiles. I realized on this motorbike tour a big difference between cultures: there is a natural genuineness that people have here. It’s so refreshing and wonderful and I think I’m getting addicted to it.
From the rice field we went around the countryside looking at miles of bright green fields, fishing ponds with buffalo, and local families. We stopped at the beach to dip our feet and then took a break near a floating village where my driver pointed to the sea of tropical greenery and said, “30 years ago...all this....bomb bomb bomb”. His few words sent shivers down my spine- strange to see a beautiful landscape and realize just a few years back it was a war scene. Along the way to the hotel I gave several waving children some great high-fives. They loved screaming hello to us as we drove by.
After getting back from a long day in the hot sun I treated myself to my first massage. It was delicious! I paid $15 for an hour and a half of herbal rubdowns which also cured my cold from the days before.
In lieu of dinner I stopped by the tailors for some final fittings of my dresses. It only took them a few hours to fashion two custom dresses, but more than me having two new outfits, I rather enjoyed the time I spent talking to the tailor. The cluttered space had a little table and two couches with a book of designs customers could flip through. Because there was no formal fitting room, a makeshift curtain was suffice for trying the pieces on. After a few alterations to one of them, I sat and talked to the shop owner with John and Juliana who had her 6 dresses and two skirts fitted.
I never want to forgot that night because you could tell again, how hard the Vietnamese work but how wonderfully nice they are and enjoy what they do. The shop owner has been in the business with her family for 25 years: 4 generations of tailors. She runs the shop with her three daughters, two who help with sewing and one younger one who is plain cute. We were given cold bottled water to drink and dragonfruit and apples to munch on. I’m not sure how often I’ll wear the clothes, but the price was well worth the memories I walked out with. Today I feel like I met the real Vietnam: it’s people, culture, and personality.
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