Another dress story....a red dress, of course!!

We ended up staying the last two nights of the biking trip in Hoi An again. What a treat!!! The hotel was great and three of us (the self-labeled trouble makers) went to an Italian restaurant for lunch on the first day. They said it was the best pizza "ever", it was really good, but I think it was the fact that we had been eating the same "country-side" food for one week....breakfast, lunch and dinner.

In Hoi An, there are about 10 tailors in each block, they make whatever item of clothing you want. They copy designs, make casual or elegant things, traditional Vietnamese items...anything you can think of. Needless to say, I went kind of crazy. I love Asian-inspired clothing, it's just so elegant and unique, especially living in Miami. So I found two places to have the traditional Vietnamese dress made (called ao dai). In one of the places, I actually went to pick the fabric with one of the girls from the shop. We rode in her moped all over town, with a flimsy helmet with a pink bow, quite an experience. Those two dresses turned out well, but then, the night before leaving (had to go to the airport at 3pm the following day), I got a card for another tailor that looked good....and you can't have too many nice dresses, particularly if they are custom-made. So at 9 am on Sunday I was there, selecting the fabric and designs. I asked them many times if they would have the things ready in just a few hours, as I had to take my flight to Saigon, and they assured me they would. I had 2 Chinese tops and one dress made, they told me to come back at 1:30 for a fitting, and of course, they weren't ready. I went back at 2 and they were still working on them. Finally got fitted and they had to make some adjustments. It was 2:45 and I had to head back to the hotel to take a van to the airport (about 30 minutes away), so I had given up on the clothes. I paid a deposit and wanted to get my money back. Then the "manager" suggested that one of the other girls gives me a ride to my hotel in a moped and she would bring the money with her. Then, as soon as the adjustments were made, someone else would take the clothes to the hotel, and we she didn't make it one time, I would get my money back before getting on the van. So a second experience in a moped in Hoi An, made it to the hotel, loaded the van, and still...no clothes. Someone else in the group had to stop by a tailor to pick up some shorts she had made, so I told my girl who was waiting with the money, to tell the other girl to meet us at the other tailor where my friend was picking up her shorts. And that's how it was, it seemed like an illegal transaction; one moped following us (with the money), the other one parked in front of the van, they gave me the "merchandise" and I gave them some additional money....what an exchange. Unfortunately, the dress wasn't ready, so the girl tells me that she would take it to the airport, 30 minutes away. I wasn't expecting the dress to be delivered, I didn't owe them money, so just gave up on that idea. Just the scene with the mopeds and the van, in the middle of the street, was funny enough. We get to the airport and still had about 1 hour to kill, so I asked Dave to stay with me in the waiting area before security. It's a very small airport, and i think, in the back of my mind, I was hoping for the girl to show up with the dress. Then, about15 minutes later, I turn around and there she is, holding a package with my dress. Dave and I looked at each other and couldn't stop laughing, she drove 30 minutes in her moped to deliver the dress. Now...that's customer service!!!!!

We flew to Ho Chi Minh City that afternoon, and when we landed, I joked that the girl would probably be waiting for me at the airport, in her moped, to make sure the dress fits well. Such a cute and funny story, a glimpse into the Vietnamese culture. A few dresses later, I can't wait to wear them in Miami!!!