re both the only solo travelers at the station and agreed to find a hotel together.I enjoyed two nights in Dalat, a city favored by French colonialists for its temperate climate and mountain setting. They renovated the town into a mini Swiss Alps ski town (sans the skiing) and the Swiss/French chatau style is mimicked in more than 2000 of Dalat's building. Tony and set out on a walking tour setting our sights on the cable cars just outside of town that offer nice views of the region. After about 7km of walking on the road and dirt trails
through the woods, we reached the cars. (right: Dalat cable cars, me enjoying the low dew point in Dalat)We both decided two nights in the quiet town would suffice and left on the Thursday morning bus for Nha Trang. After a beautiful drive down the
winding mountain roads we arrive in the steamy beach town of N.T.. Tony and I walk along the beach which is larger, better manicured, and more attractive the Cambodian beaches though largely empty of tourists. A roundabout 6km walk to the Cham Towers -- a 6th century temple outside of town -- turns out to be not worth the effort. At the same time we decide to see if we get on the night bus out of N.T.. We get the last two seats. (left: mountain pass down from Dalat; Nha Trang)
At 6am, after a surprisingly decent 11 hours on the sleeper bus we arrive in Ha Tien. We check in to our hotel (at $3.50/night each I'm starting to like having Tony around!). I sleep for another for another hour before exploring. Except for meeting for lunch, Tony and I go our separate ways for the day.I quickly grow to like Ha Tien. The city of 70,000 was largely spared the bombings of the Vietnam War (called the "American War" here) and has a beautifuly intact old town (which has been named a World Heritage Site). The streets are lined with comfortable, open air cafes and
clothing/tailoring shops nearly outnumber the moto drivers. Intrigued, I walked into the polished, two-story building of "A Dong Silk," the first respectable-looking tailorI passed. An employee quickly met me and answered my questions about tailoring. She invited to me sit down and start looking. I told it'd be just that, looking. Because these Vietnamese tailors and 
seamstresses can literally make anything, they present their customers with style magazines. I picked out a few styles from J.Crew and GQ that I liked and before I knew it was I choosing fabrics, silk linings, buttons, and having my measurments taken! For a very reasonable price I am having made one full suit made of grey, pinstripe (%65 cashmere/%40 wool); one herringbone-style blazer; one casual blazer; and 
a very nice semi-formal blue striped cotton shirt. I'll go in tomorrow at 2:00 for a fitting. I wasn't expecting to spend this extra money but I figure I'll pay at least this much for one decent suit at home. Plus, A Dong (see their website: www.adongsilk.com) will keep my measurement on file and should I want another suit in the future all I have to do is call them up with the style and fabric I want and they'll whip me up another suit/blazer/shirt.All for now. More from Ha Tien soon.
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