Summer outfits throwback: London

Today's post features some of the outfits that I wore during my stay in London and haven't got time to show them on the blog earlier. There will be quite a few of them as weather in the UK at the time of my visit was not that great and didn't give many chances for dressing up. Anyway, here we go...The orange dress from Ted Baker that I wore for afternoon tea...The colour is simply fantastic...a real highlighter...you won't pass by unnoticed...Between us, I call this dress "a scuba dress" because its fabric reminds me of that used for scuba driving costumes, haha...I would baked in such a dress in Nepal but it is ok for London.

Shopping in Hoi An

I guess everybody likes a bit of souvenir shopping while on holidays in a new place. Cute handcrafted things are my weakness and knowing this I always try to restrain myself in order not to go overboard and usually look for figurines of cats for my collection and for some interesting bijouterie or silver jewelry pieces. Have to confess however that seldom my purchases come to nothing more than those only. Same happened to me in Hoi An, too. There is such a big choice of beautiful handmade things for sale and the prices are so attractive that it is really hard not to go nuts with souvenir shopping in this town. Ceramic vases, colourful lanterns, patchwork toys, wooden ships, lacquered boxes, embroidered paintings, coconut jewelry, paper cut cards, pure silk scarfs, marble Buddhas - anyone can find something to one's taste.

Sightseeing around Hoi An

Besides the Ancient Town of Hoi An, there is another UNESCO site just around 40 min drive away from the town, My Son. The place, once used to be the religious centre for the capital of the Champa Kingdom, had been abandoned and partially ruined until French archaeologists stumbled across them in 1898. Between 7th and 13th centuries My Son served as a site for religious ceremonies for kings of the ruling dynasties of Champa, as well as a burial place for Cham royalty and national heroes. Champa culture was influenced by the Hindu religion so no wonder one can find images of Shiva and Parvati on the walls of the ruined temples as well as sculptures of Lingam and Yoni here and there.

Wandering around the Ancient Town of Hoi An

From the hotel we were staying in there was a free everyday shuttle service to Hoi An. So, there was no problem with getting there at any time: in the morning, at the day time or in the evening. The ride takes just around 10 min. And definitely the town is worth visiting. The main attraction of course is the Ancient Town, UNESCO World Heritage site. In past Hoi An served as a major South East Asian trading port and the surviving buildings reflect the influences of different cultures, mostly Chinese and Japanese. No cars or motorbikes are allowed in the area so one can really enjoy wandering around the old streets.

Holidays in Hoi An: Cua Dai beach in October

As I have mentioned in one of my previous posts, our holidays consisted of two parts: the  active one that we spent in Singapore and the lazy one that took place in Vietnamese Hoi An. This small town caught my attention when I was searching for a not-so-far-away getaway from Singapore. It promised a nice beach and some sightseeing too. My only concern was the weather. October is a rainy season month in this part of Vietnam and I didn't want to come there just to face everyday heavy rains, a flood or even worse, a typhoon. And what did I do? I checked weather forecast...for a month ahead. And you won't believe it - just for the period of time that we were planning to stay in Hoi An, it showed "no rain". Cloudy but dry. I am skeptic about forecasts usually but as they say "one believes in what one wants to believe" and so, I decided to try our luck. And, oh miracle!  The whole week that we stayed in Hoi An, there was indeed no rain at all. The weather was even better than they had forecast: cloudy occasionally, but mostly absolutely clear skies. Try not to trust forecasts after that!

Holidays outfits: Singapore

When traveling I prefer to take with me those garments that don't wrinkle easily and that are light and comfy to be in. But shorts-and-t-shirts combinations are out of question for me,  tough this seem to be the most lovable outfit choice for most of the tourists around the globe. I prefer something more interesting and more pretty. For wearing in Singapore I chose dresses. The first one that you see on the photo above is a little black dress with some yellow floral print and lovely chiffon sleeves. The building on the background is The National Museum.