Hoi An feels like a time capsule. The buildings appear lovingly decrepit. There is a somewhat sleepy feel by the normal frenetic Vietnamese standards. It is unsurprising to find tourists dominating the town. Unfortunately this domination has brought all the negative aspects you would expect. There are a large number of tailors, accompanied by a fair share of craft shops and general tourist tat shops. The old shops that once existed in the streets of Hoi An have all but disappeared. The touting from these tourist shops isn't that aggressive but you wander around constantly hearing, 'come in my shop' and 'you buy something'. 
While I was in Hoi An I went to get my hair cut. It was a bargain at 30,000VND. The only trouble was that I got my hair shaved off rather than trimmed. A shaven head did not cause me any problems but I was chatting to an Asian American and he was telling me that when he first arrived in Thailand he had a shaven head. The trouble was the locals assumed he was a monk and were quite confused by him not acting like a monk. South East Asians are remarkably well preened. It is not only women but men. It is not uncommon sight to see a man preening himself in his scooter mirrors. No matter what size the town or village there is always a hairdressers, if not a handful. The only real exception are in the hill tribe areas and there you see people picking lice out of one another's hair. The scruffy look is not in fashion. Men are well groomed and do not have designer stubble, the most the Vietnamese will stretch to is a whispy Ho chi Minh style goatee. Men look and act quite femininely. Men and boys are very touchy feely with one another, in a way that would appear strange in the West. It is not uncommon to see men sleeping on top of one another in the midday sun. Throughout South East Asia and on the streets of Vietnamese towns the sight of a barber is very common. They setup against a wall or a tree with a mirror and a chair. In Vietnam barbers also come equipped with headlamps and a variety of long brushes, almost a mini chimney sweep kit, used to clean people's ears out by the side of the road. 
Hoi An can make you wonder whether the stereotype of Vietnamese out for every dollar in your wallet are in actual fact true. I did not find this to be true. However, like everywhere else in the world where tourists congregate they attract people who are there purely to make money from them. It is even more obvious and contrasting in South East Asia where the locals are poor and the tourists are rich. Hoi An has a problem with this because it is a small place dominated by the tourist trade. I often found the Vietnamese to be helpful beyond the call of duty. When I was in Saigon I posted a parcel home. The Vietnamese post office worker who packed the parcel was very efficient and told me that by going over a certain weight the cost of the parcel would jump. He told me to take something out. I arrived in Danong only to discover that there was an international fireworks competition taking place that evening and there was no available accommodation. After walking around all the hotels I could not find any accommodation. I stumbled into Phu an Hotel where a helpful guest translated for me with the staff who booked a taxi to take me to Hoi An (30kms down the road), a hotel in Hoi An, and allowed me to leave my bag there until the fireworks finished. That is not to suggest that the Vietnamese are not adverse to making a profit. Bargaining is required and the key is playing a game. Keeping a smile on your face and acting playfully is important because everyone saves face. It is no good losing your temper. In South East Asia to lose ones temper means you and the other person have lost face. 
I caught the local bus from Hoi An to Danong which takes just over an hour. I knew that this bus should only cost 10,000VND. We set off the conductor came over to me. She started at 40,000VND which I laughed at and politely declined. She sat next to me for a while seeing if I would give. Eventually she went back to the other passengers and collected the money from them before coming back to me and settling upon a much more reasonable 20,000VND. I had already purchased my train ticket to Hue through my guesthouse in Hoi An for 95,000VND. The train was packed. The journey to Hue from Danong is particularly beautiful as the train winds its way along the coast. I enjoyed Hue because it is bigger than Hoi An and better able to absorb the tourists that visit. I felt that there was a great deal more to see ad that what was there was more genuine and less commercialised. The westerner backpacker area of guesthouses has not overrun the historical part of town. The citadel is great to look at and the Imperial Enclosure is fascinating to walk around. I spent a good few hours there without being hassled. There are certain key attractions that everyone goes to see in the Imperial Enclosure and then they leave. The Imperial Enclosure is enormous and there is a lot more to wander around and explore than most people realise. While I was there I also cycled out to the Tu Doc tomb and the Ho Quyen an Elephant and Tiger fighting arena. It looks like a Roman fighting arena and is in amazingly good condition. 
I did have a problem in Hue with my accommodation. I stayed south of Le Loi at Binh III for $8. I had agreed I would move rooms the next day. Unfortunately their definition of moving rooms involved banging on my door from 7am. I got increasingly annoyed with them so that I checked out, when I did they turned nasty and tried to up the price already agreed. Unfortunately when face is lost then the rules of the game change. I moved to the guesthouse opposite Binh Dong III for $8 and was not disturbed. In Hoi An I stayed at Dai Long Hotel for $15 a night, which was a nice place but a touch overpriced.
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