We started the day with a nice breakfast at the hotel, pineapple pancake with strawberries. Health is important to constantly keep at bay with various available vices. The primary and first goal of the day was however A Dong Dilk. After checking with Claes it seemed that they were pricey since they used more expensive fabrics, in addition the ratings on Tripadvisor was outstanding. As my friend Henrik often puts it “If you buy the most expensive thing, it’s seldom you get the worst possible quality”.

Two three piece suits and a shirt was the first order for me. Skirt, trousers, blouse and some alteration for Mona who somehow managed to spend a sixth of what I did. We walked the suggested walking tour in Lonely Planet and took our time savoring the atmosphere. The cloth market was interesting, it was the first place the sales people come close to harassing in their attempt to get buyers and it was more entertaining than irritating but it was still a tangible difference compared to other tailors or shops. I think they sensed weakness in Mona who ended up ordering one dress, cheap and hopefully of OK quality. A Dong Silk for all their Italian cotton lacked some interesting designs, it was more traditional patterns and fabrics.

We ate lunch at green moss, cheap but nothing extraordinary in taste. We headed back, and I wanted to take some more photos of a market so Mona went ahead and we met up at the hotel after half an hour or so. We did some Spa research, the plan was to get that feet pedicure done for a bargain. As we were about to leave I asked Mona where she had put the bag with my clothes from earlier. She first froze, then got a bit stressed and finally ran off to pick it up where she’d left it. Unfortunately no luck, but there is a slim chance that some of my business cards where in the bag. The bag contained my Tiger of Sweden suit and the “legs” to my pants/shorts, but nothing belonging to Mona. Well, you buy some you loose some as the old saying goes.

The Spa, Hoi An Day Spa was nice and I gave my feet the best treatment available while Mona enjoyed a relaxing facial. Total price 19 USD. After the luxurious treatment we decided to pay Cafe 43 another visit. Their set menu VI was really really nice, rice dumplings, a curry, a wanton soup and a plate of fresh fruit. Add four beers and tip and you have a dinner for two for the price of just under 6 USD. One could live a very good life for a small amount of money here.

I woke up with Mona looking at my face, apparently she didn’t sleep through the sounds as well as I did, despite she using earplugs while I didn’t. I vaguely recall our neighbors where paranoid about missing their stop and basically had alarms two hours in advance, Mona confirmed this memory. Anywho, I get up and remove the curtains from the window and lo and behold a light switch. A little bit of reading and playing peekaboo with a local kid later we get off at Da Nang. I remembered to save my ticket and was happy for that since it got checked as we got into the station (but after we jumped off the train).

There was a sign for Vikto, which I consider close enough so we got in a cab and realized it was a lot warmer here, perhaps in the low-mid twenties. At the hotel, Hoang Trinh, we got a lovely room which we a few minutes realized had an window towards a kindergarden. We switched room quickly before leaving the hotel to scout the local area.

We found a bunch of locals eating some vegetarian dishes at a rather basic restaurant, it tasted great and was very filling, especially for the price of 1 USD. We strolled into the old parts of the town which looked a bit like I envisioned New Orleans looked back in the days. Some streets even banned cars which was making things even better. As we walked and looked into stores we met a tourist(?) kid, five year old or so, parents not in the immediate vicinity – coming towards us from the other end of the street while singing “I’m a lumberjack, and I’m OK”. Not what we expected.

We found the tailor that Claes had recommended, A Dong Dilk, it seemed a bit pricey and didn’t have many items in the showroom though but we would come back later for a proper visit. A bit tired we headed back to the hotel for a quick nap, which took slightly more than two hours. We decided we would try out this place some other people from the Ha Long Bay trip recommended – Cafe 43. Following others recommendations seemed to be working well so why risk a winning streak? The place was almost full, the food was ridiculously cheap, and the beer even cheaper – one freshly brewed beer was slightly less than 1 SEK. So how would this food taste then? The answer is awesome, potentially the best so far on the trip, the stuffed squid is highly recommend. We will definitely be back. Before turning out the lights at home we did some research around tailoring, and also saw that Claes and his wife were depicted on A Dong Silks homepage. Which really wasn’t that surprising.

After a good sleep we enjoyed a very tasty breakfast with fresh fruits, eggs and other necessities. As we started to head back we managed to enjoy a little bit of sun, or at least it was getting warm enough to consider a swim. The guide, Ken, kept pointing out animals and objects that one could see in the rock formations. We dozed off in the lounge chairs and idly watched the landscape, and a few photos were of course taken. After a quick stop at a floating village to look at the fish and seafood they stored it was unfortunately time to have the last meal at the boat and settle our bills before heading back to Hanoi. It was a bit weird, or perhaps more ironic that a kid at the floating village had a jacket decorated by a bird from Angry Birds. A game that become popular on a device that her family most likely never could afford led to merchandise that was copied to clothing for affluent tourists. I wonder if someone will explain the origin of the bird, probably it matters little to the kid anyway.

When we got back to Hanoi Guesthouse they asked about the trip and if we were happy and so on, we explained that the trip was very nice but it was a bit irritating to hear that other passengers had paid as much as 20 USD less per ticket – a few dollars more for service is to be expected but this left a sour taste. The staff quickly explained that yes, they get commission – about 3 USD, and asked us for more information. A few calls later between the hotel and Oriental Sails we are informed that Oriental Sails had given someone a special price etc, but we were given 30USD and the staff explained that they would now get a new price 15USD lower for all customers as well. And there was much rejoicing. While we were waiting for the taxi to the train I bought Civilization Revolution for the iPad and charged it up for the upcoming trail ride.

The train reminded me of my 72 hour trip from Beijing to Lhasa, slightly softer beds and not as good food though. The old classic hole in the floor bathroom but for some reason I found it cozy, almost like building your treehouse as a kid with luggage, blankets and a bed in a cramped space. We, nor the other couple present, found a way to turn off the lights, and agreed it was centrally controlled. As I finished the round of Civ around midnight with full lights I unscrewed the actual bulbs which were accessible. After traveling by boat, bus, taxi and now sleeper train it was time to pay Mr Sandman my respects.