Anna After our amazing stay in Ninh Binh, we took a domestic flight to Hoi An. We were feeling a little bit lazy so we contacted the hotel in Hué to arrange a pick-up at the airport. They sent us a taxi and it cost us 50 dollars. It was around an hour by car from Hoi An to Hué and we could’ve traveled by train or got there ourselves but it was so nice to just sit back and relax. I could just look out the window and enjoy the view.
I really liked Hué, the city was full of life! It was almost Halloween and they sure knew how to celebrate. There was a lot of partying going on and lots of places were decorated in Halloween style. It was amazing. Besides the nice atmosphere Hué also had a lot of great restaurants! I think it’s safe to say that the best restaurants we visited in Vietnam were all situated in Hué! A few recommendations: Nook Eatery, Nina’s café and Madam Thu. Especially, Madam Thu. You could order different menus there and the food was simply sublime! Oh, how I wish to taste that food once more.
We did do more than eating in Hué by the way! We visited some sights of course. We went to the Imperial City, which was really impressive. I really liked the Imperial city. After a few days in Hué it was time to do the Hai Van Pass, so back on the motorcycle.. I was very happy that I decided to get back on the motorcycle so that I wouldn’t be scared of motorcycles for the rest of my life. The Hai Van Pass was amazing! We went with Le family riders, I highly recommend them. They were just so wonderful and my guide was so funny. We made a few stops along the way. We stopped at the Elephant Springs, where you can have a little swim. Furthermore, we stopped at some viewpoints where you could see the amazing view. It was breathtakingly beautiful! Also, the food was the best seafood I had ever had. Our group consisted of solely Germans, as the easy riders thought that we could speak German because we were from the Netherlands.. Instead of classifying us with the English, they thought it’d be best to put all the supposedly “German speaking” people together. So thanks to us, they had to speak English all day anyway as we do not speak German. They were great people and we had lots of fun with them. Even encountered some of them in other countries afterwards, it’s a small world after all. However, they did not have a big appetite, which I thought was a bit strange. One didn’t like fish, the other didn’t feel well, etc. So, more fish for me!
After the Hai Van Pass, we stayed in a cute hotel in Hoi An just a little bit outside of the city center. However, that was not a problem at all as they had bikes that you could borrow. The hotel had a pool, which was great as we were kinda exhausted. We didn’t really have a break after Hong Kong so we really needed some pool time. One morning, I woke up and I just wasn’t feeling it. I said to my boyfriend: “let’s lay at the pool today, I really don’t wanna go anywhere.” So we did. Hoi An was an amazing city but there were a bit too many tourists for my taste. We cycled around the city, so we could admire the colonial buildings and colored lanterns. We also bought some sort of ticket with which you could visit all the sights in Hoi An ancient town.
And last but definitely not least, I bought a custom made dress at a tailor. I was very excited to get a custom made dress in Vietnam, had been preparing for it for weeks (searching pictures on Pinterest). So, I googled the best tailors in Hoi An and we gave them a little visit. However, I did not feel comfortable at all. They were very pushy, asked a lot of questions and immediately assumed that I would buy a dress from them. After 3 tailors, I was actually kinda sick of it. So I told my boyfriend that I would look up one last tailor and if I didn’t like it there, we would leave. So I looked on Tripadvisor and found a smaller tailor with a lot less reviews but all of them were positive. So I decided that this tailor would be my last stop. So we went in and I immediately felt at ease. They were kind and considerate. They did not push me, they did not impose, nothing of the sort. They offered us drinks and asked me what I was looking for, whether I already had an idea of what I liked. I showed them my picture and they showed me some fabrics, asking me if it came close to what I was looking for. They were very calm and super friendly. I knew right there and then that I was going to buy my dress here. So I picked a fabric, they took my measurements and we discussed the price. I left a happy girl! See picture below of my dress, it’s the prettiest dress I have ever owned. So if you are searching for an amazing tailor in Hoi An: Surprise Tailor is great!
