Hoi An

Hoi An, located in the middle of Vietnam (18 hours or so by bus, I flew) is on the coast, a small and charming town dominated by tailors - a tailor shop every few feet. What do you want? They can do it in a day or two - any design, any material, shoes, boots, bags. I walked around my first afternoon looking at the silks and cottons and wools, the styles, the prices, the possibilities. Eventually - it's big work, all that dreaming up and envisioning - I found an iced coffee (Vietnamese - an expresso cup amount with condensed milk and lots of ice) and got a grip.
Checked the $ dong in my wallet, expanded my Hoi An budget and came up with this little number - black silk pants and a purple silk sheath with my own personal design of 3 dragonflies *** they are considered to be lucky in Vietnam, a sign of rebirth and renewal.

Hoi An, down by the river



Woman at work, pulling vegetable greens in thigh deep water




Beautiful temple in town and quiet temple waters

Incense burning in tailor shop and row of tailors


Incense is always burning somewhere in Vietnam - in Hoi An, they have a piped in music system in the tailors' section of the Old Town - sort of a soft Asian fusion muzak thing. I'm sure now that it is a strategy to calm the beating hearts of customers overwhelmed by the piles of material and endless design visions of dancing sugarplums in their heads...