Oh the shopping

We're in Hoi An now, shopping heaven apparently. This is the place to go to have clothes tailored. I am having a nice suit made and a traditional Vietnamese suit called an Ao Dai. It is mostly worn by women now, but the men's version is about the equivalent of a tux. When I told the tailor that I was there for an Ao Dai for myself she thought it was very funny, and chatted with the other tailors in the shop. I know she was talking about me because she kept saying Ao Dai and giggling. I guess it isn't common for men to buy one, especially not foriegnors. When I picked out the color, she suggested blue, but I'm no rube! I know that blue Ao Dai's are reserved for weddings. So I got a black one. It will be great for standing in front of the mirror and pretending to be Jet Li.

I think in my last post I was in Hue. I went to the Vinh Moc tunnels, which were non-combat tunnels dug by the village of Vinh Moc near the DMZ. It was really incredible how big and complete the tunnels are. They even had a maternity ward. Then I went to the DMZ, which is nothing spectacular. We went to Khe Sahn air base, site of a major siege of US marines. I saw the first Chinook and photos of Chinooks in Vietnam, which is significant because those were the choppers my Dad flew here (big, dual rotor helicopter). It's also the helicopter that my uncle flew here and was shot down in (MIA). I never met him, but it still struck close to home.

Yesterday we rode around on minibikes around the Hue country side, and that was really nice.

Tomorrow I take a cooking class and probably more shopping. I get a final fitting for my suit and Ao Dai so they will be perfectly tailored. Next day it looks like we'll see some Cham ruins and then fly to Dalat for some french food.

The internet here has big problems with blogger, so that is why my posts are so sporadic. I'm not even able to view my blog, so I can't read any comments. Feel free to be asses.