June 9, Saturday

June 9, Saturday

Free day today to just do as we please.  After breakfast, Scott shows us to a shoe store where we can have them made to measure. I’m not impressed by the look or quality of the shoes and I don’t need another pair to tote around.  I decide to go and check on the status of my backpack (back at the tailor shop) and find out that they were able to fix it.  The young lady has no idea how much it will cost however, so I indicate that I will pick it up when I return for my fitting at 3 pm later today.

Violet and I decide to do a tour of the “ancient Hoi An” and go to purchase our tickets from a tourist booth.  It is only 10 am and the sweat is POURING off my body.  The lady at the tourist office makes me sit down and uses her fan to try to help me cool down.  I am soaked, as if I have been standing in the pouring rain.  We walk down a small street and visit some old houses, Assembly Halls, a Japanese covered bridge and some shops. 

 Streets of Hoi An

 Shops with boat replicas for sale

 Elaborate sculptures at one of the Assembly Halls

 The wooden roof struts were ornately carved  in the Assembly Hall

The details were quite elaborate

 The entrance to the Japanese covered bridge

 Inside the bridge

A side view of the Japanese covered bridge

 I'm so grateful for the shade of the trees along the streets of Hoi An

 Old House of Phung Hung -Embroidery:table cloths, etc.I purchase 3 hankies, no idea what I will do with them, but the embroidery is nice and I’m supporting the women who do this work from their homes to earn some extra money for their families

This one was quite beautifully maintained and looked much like it did 200 years ago.

The bridge across the Thu Bon River in Hoi An

About 2 hours later we are ready to end our tour. Violet stays downtown to go back to the tailor shop while I return to the Golf Hoi An Hotel for a shower and a rest.

A Christian Church on the corner near our hotel

At 3 pm it’s back to the tailor shop for a first and final fitting for my dress.  The dress they made for me looks nothing like the pattern I selected !  It’s OK though, I’ll accept and pay for the dress, but it is definitely NOT what I ordered.   Others have to return later for a 2^nd fitting.  I stay with the others as they go through their fittings and pick up my back-pack which has been repaired for a grand sum of $3. My lined cotton dress costs me about $45.

Mel is not feeling well still, so I decide to share a taxi back to the hotel with her rather than walking the 20 minutes back.  What a luxury.  There has been a power outage today and I finally get to use an ATM to get some more cash.  Back at the hotel, I need another shower and decide that I won’t be joining the group for dinner.  I just can’t face going back out in the heat again today.