Jaunted

Hoi An is known for its handmade tailors, and hundreds of shops line the street, with the same style pea coat and sun dress on display. Many people who visit end up leaving with several dresses, a few pairs of paints, a jacket, and some new leather shoes all made-to-fit, with handpicked fabrics, all for under a few hundred bucks. If you like well-made clothes on the cheap, leave extra room in your suitcase.

If the rotation between eating fresh seafood on a terrace overlooking the riverside before stopping by your tailor to have him tell you how beautiful you look in your new silk gown becomes too indulgent, get out of town for the afternoon and visit the My Son ruins. Left by the Cham empire, a Malay people that converted from Hinduism to Islam in the 12th Century, they once controlled most of Vietnam.

The ruins, built around the same time, are reminiscent of Angkor Wat, though far less impressive. Like the Citadel in Hue, Nixon’s bombs destroyed the site’s main temple. The area is in a state of disrepair, but still worth visiting if only for the fact that they buildings are made of bricks without mortar. To this day, archeologists from around the world try to figure out how the Chams got the bricks to stick together, to no avail.

Phallic lingas and their female counterparts are found throughout, so get ready for the sophomoric wisecracks from your fellow tourists.

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· Vietnam Travel Guide [Jaunted]