Twelve Feet, Six Continents, One Year

Eons ago (another decade, in fact) on another continent, several people who heard we were going to Vietnam responded with the same exclamation: "Ninh Binh!" So when our Hanoi tour guide asked if there was anything else we wanted to do with the remainder of our time in Vietnam, the answer was obvious.  Our advisors were right, this is a spectacular place. Our guide, having just led us to Halong Bay, told us to expect "Halong Bay of the Land" and he was also vindicated. A two-hour bus ride brought us to our first stop, a temple dedicated to an early (the first?) emperor of Vietnam. A mural at the entrance depicted his ascent, mainly as a very young leader of an army/militia that united the region's factions/kingdoms. Ninh Binh was his home and he made it the capital, which remained for about fifty years (968-1009) until one of his successors moved it to Hanoi. The pinnacles/buttes that dot the landscape, much as they did in Halong Bay, provide...

Saying goodbye to Hoi An and our guide, Luong The last post described the first half of our time in Hoi An. The two themes of the second half of the week are beach and clothes. Hoi An is famous for its custom clothing industry. We learned from our guide that many aspects of Hoi An's development are attributed to its role as a significant port for hundreds of years. Food and other aspects have been heavily influenced by the interactions that have stemmed from this. Today, many tourists come to Hoi An to have handmade clothes produced at a fraction of retail. Our guide told us about one of the stores ("the best one!") and we followed her instructions. Step 1 in the process is to have your measurements taken, to pick out fabric and to provide a picture or model of the garment you want. Roughly 24 hours (or more) later, you return for step 2. Here, you try on the first iteration of your clothes and identify any needed adjustments. Afterall, if you produce a full sui...