Besides lanterns, Hoi An is known for getting custom tailored clothes, shoes, and leather goods, along with riding in the Vietnamese round basket-boat.

Since the we had a break in the weather, we decided to head to the Coconut Forest for a basket-boat ride. We knew this was going to be a crowded tourist trap, but it wasn’t as bad as we thought and we had a blast. History of the basket-boats here: https://youindanang.com/hoi-an-coconut-forest-enjoying-the-basket-boat-rides-on-the-river/

Paddling through the coconut mangroves

There’s a point in the river that turns into a water-rave, where the solo captains show off their crazy boat dancing skills, while other boats paddle around with massive speakers blasting dance music.

If you want, you too can hop in with the boat dance folks and they’ll give you a tamed version of the ride. Hell yes, I was in, but Shawn passed as he tends to get green in the gills. It was a lot of fun, but also pretty crazy. This is just a short video of my ride, and I was thrilled the song was the old hit ‘Gangnam Style’.

After the boats it was time to go find our tailors and cobblers to get our custom clothes and shoes. We’d researched before, and had an idea of which ones we wanted to use. Then it’s a really quick process of selecting your style, materials, and getting measured. We go back in 24hr for the fitting, then pick up our finished products in another 24hrs. I got two custom blazers for $180 total, and Shawn got leather dress shoes with matching belt for $120.