Packing for this trip, we were faced with challenge of picking essential items that would fit in a backpack and be versatile enough to last through the multitude of climates we will face during our gap year. The end result unfortunately left us feeling a little like Lara Croft from Tomb Raider, except a granny less sexy version. In vain we tried to stand out less in our Columbia Sports Wear and dorky all terrain shoes... Low and behold, as luck would have it, Hoian, Vietnam the next stop on our adventure is renowned for it's food and clothing. Truth be told, we are quite fond of both of these things.
Hoian is a lovely city, bustling with life. Today we biked to Cua Dai street which is lined with little shops flaunting beautiful clothing in a myriad of colors and cuts. At first, we practiced great restraint and only purchased a few items. We got a cute short emerald green dress, and an amazing tie around romper for only $16. Feeling all powerful from our improved bargaining skills that we have been perfecting lately, we were still on a quest for a long dress at a good price. After stopping off at numerous shops and braving the streets of Hoian on our dodgy bikes with the squeakiest wheels in town, we decided to stop off at one last shop. Our search was in vain and the local shop keeper convinced us it would be best just to have the perfect dress made. For only $25 we were able to get a custom made dress made over night. Now, I know we have meager funds for this year long endeavor and this does not fit into our frugal AF mantra, but this was just too good to pass up. So I suppose for the next few days its $1 Banh Mi sandwiches for dinner to make up for our indulgences.
Regrets? Not if you have seen these beautiful clothes and tried these sandwiches. They really are to die for. Our favorite spot for these delectable treats we stumbled upon yesterday. A display of steaming buns caught our eye and we jumped in line only to see the everyone coming out with the most amazing looking sandwiches. In the proverbial wisdom of doing as the locals do, we ordered one to go. After splitting one for lunch we decided we had to go back for dinner. Flaky warm bread, pickled veggies and an exotic mixture of chili and sauces, make this and in mere coincidence Anthony Bourdain's favorite spot for Banh Mi in Hoian. Just goes to show, sometimes leaving the guidebook at home can be half the fun. Ditching some of our Lara Croft granny clothes and filling our bags with the beautiful clothing of Hoian we are ready to hit the road again as we venture off to Ho Chi Mihn City.
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