Hoi An: A 24 hours bus ride to the tailor's!

My next stop in Vietnam was Hoi An, pretty much half-way up the country on the map, just south of China Beach where the Americans landed their first troops in the country. Yes, that is actually a geographical description that means my grandfather can figure out where I am, and although it is practical it is also a little scary. However, to get here is another story! It is late and I am famished, so I have to make this short, but let me say--despite being long (24 hours as oppsoed to the 18 hours promised by the agency that sold the ticket), it was truly entertainig! Highlights include a poor little boy who had to puke every hour or so; as his mom struggled with the smell the n'th time I offered here my little jar of tiger balm (Asian people use tiger balm for all sorts of smart things!)--to sniff, I though, but the boy nex to me rubbed it on the little boys tummy, and on his tongue! Oh my..! I made a rather weird crying sound; I had never imagines to put tiger balm on anyones tongue!--and so the entire bus laughed equally at me and the littl eboy trying to clean his tongue from the ghastly taste. Yet again the bus laughs, yes--it happens on most of my bus rides here. After that people seemed more eager to interact, and half of the people asked to borrow some tiger balm for this or that, lending a warm smile as they did. At the first food stop this paid off as help to order food, and one of my best meals in Vietnam! No need to say, it was a curry; my favourite by far. As the bus wheeled on along the coast for hours and hours, I had to chat with a lady who showed me photos of the buddhist monk son with a newly shaved head, befire she photographed me with her cell phone camera in the same manner. Then she tried to steal a small dog for me (this was at a food stop), but was discovered. Fortunately all laughed. Then she did as all Asians do--pinched my nose, smiled like an old grandma and exclaimed "Big! Beautiful!" and laughed warmly. The entiore bus agreed that indeed my nose was particularly big and beautiful. A little while later one of the guys working for the bus company told me he travelled alone too and showed me all the half-kinky photos of magazine girls in typical page 3 style he had on his phone. Needless to say; no explanation given as to why. Arriving in Hoi An at noon today I checked in to an amazingly cozy guest house--an old Chinese family home, complete with a small family shrine in the courtyard! My room overlooks it all, with old wooden patio doors leading to a tiny balcony and a view of the market and even a few tailors. Having strolled the city for a few hours I've found some cozy cafes, the prices for shipping stuff back home, and realised that I have to keep watch on my visa card as I am liable to order a new wardrobe from the amaxing stuff they tailor here.