There’s a small town about halfway down the Vietnamese coast that is constantly bustling with a few thousand tourists despite the fact that the beach isn’t that great, there are no museums and the weather is predominantly British.
The reason for Hoi An’s popularity isn’t due to its historical importance or some spectacular scenery, but its complete overkill of tailors. (It might also be because the night life is decent but that is a bit of a ‘chicken and egg’ situation.) It’s become as big a Vietnamese ‘must-do’ attraction to get a suit made in Hoi An as taking a junk boat out into Ha Long Bay,or exploring the harrowing War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Ming city. Backpackers of all nationalities stop here for a few days to spend a fistful of dollars on some custom made shirts and dresses. This is despite the vast majority having no idea what they are looking for or what to expect.
I am one of these ignorant backpackers. Armed with $200 (pretty much the same as I spent in the rest of Vietnam combined) and the advice of our fashion editor, I ventured out into the pouring rain in search of someone to make me my wedding suit or, at least, the suit that gets me a job to pay for the next globetrotting adventure.
That was Earth, then; fun whilst it lasted. Melancholia does not hide from the fact that the velour marble’s days are numbered. Lars von Trier’s “controversial” film follows two sisters, Justine (Kirsten Dunst, who won the Best Actress Award at Cannes for her role in this film) and Claire (von Trier repeat player, Charlotte Gainsbourg) in the build up to Earth’s inevitable destruction.
< cliché >This Map tracks my progress on the globe trotting adventure of a lifetime. < /cliché >
In light of the recent Birmingham disorder, I managed to speak to local resident Milly Ambrose who got caught up in the City Centre.
“On Monday night I was on a coach back from Portsmouth and didn’t hear about anything until I reached Birmingham airport about 18:30.” she said. “I had…


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