Hoi An - Custom Clothes and Floods!

Okay, lets get to the good stuff

We were supposed to go to Đà Nẵng, but Danielle had other plans — namely, getting a custom wardrobe straight off of her Pinterest board. Hội An is famous for its tailors, and she’s been talking about it since, I don’t know, Vietnam was still a dot on the map.

She came prepared too: screenshots, inspo videos, and a digital folder that could rival Vogue’s archives. So yeah, this was her big day. Within ten minutes of walking into the shop, she had the designer sketching out dresses like they were co-writing a fashion episode of Project Runway: Vietnam Edition. Measurements were taken. Fabrics were debated. A slit was discussed. History was made.

Meanwhile, Michael got two shirts. Which is to say, he participated.

After that, we shifted into full self-care mode. Danielle went for a facial, blackhead extraction, and a mani-pedi with nail extensions that could double as self-defense weapons. Michael killed time with YouTube videos until it was his turn for a massage — a fair trade if you ask him.

Our Airbnb is near the beach, but the area feels like a post-apocalyptic resort town. Half-built hotels, empty restaurants, whole blocks that look like everyone just decided to call it quits mid-construction. It’s eerie, but kind of fascinating.

Travel really is wild. One minute you’re getting dresses sketched from scratch, the next you’re walking through an empty beach town wondering if you accidentally booked the set of a travel vlog called Americans Tourists: The End of Days.

Hoi A feels like it was designed by someone who wanted to win “Most Adorable Town on Earth.” Every street looks like a movie set that refused to admit it’s not being filmed anymore. The walls are painted in soft, faded yellows, and the river runs right through the middle like it knows it’s the main character. By day, tailor shops beckon with handmade linen and “just come take a look!,” and by night, the whole town glows under a sky of hanging lanterns in every color imaginable. Walking those cobblestone alleys felt like stepping into a fairytale land. Even though we already designed and bought exactly the outfits we wanted, it was hard not to be enticed to step into every other tailor thinking of the possibility of what else we could design.

And then came the rain. Not polite rain. Not “grab a coffee and wait it out” rain. This was biblical, four-day, “Noah, grab the blueprints” rain. Our umbrellas became daily uniforms, our shoes permanent squish toys. Streets turned into rivers, boats replaced motorbikes, literally, and the tailors who had just measured Danielle for her dresses ended up sleeping in their shops because their homes were underwater. The manager of our Airbnb couldn’t even get to us, his house was flooded up to the doorknobs so he sent a friend who lived in a different part of town to take us to the airport. Miraculously, our area near the beach stayed dry enough to provide reprieve from the storm. Still, it’s wild how fast a lantern-lit dream town can transform into a water park.

Even though we didn’t get to spend as much time outside as we hoped from the weather, Hoi An now holds a special place in our hearts. We were able to enjoy lantern lit evenings, cuddled up under our umbrella, marvel in the talents of the tailors and enjoy some much needed rest from being on the open road for the past couple of weeks.

Off to Ho Chi Mihn! Hope the rain mellows out!

Click here to see more pictures from the trip!

Click here to watch some short video blogs from the trip! (scroll to the bottom)

Tata for now,
D+M