Hoi An and Da Nang

Took a few days holiday and went south to the ancient city of Hoi An. It has been designated a Unesco World Heritage site. There are several buildings of historical and cultural significance open to the public, and several streets that do not allow cars. Bicycles and motorcycles are still allowed. You can attend a traditional music show, a handicraft workshop, and old houses. The old houses reminded me of the Chinese movies Eric takes me too--I felt that Jet Li was looking down on me from the balcony on the second floor. One thing Hoi An is famous for is there lanterns. They make them in their shops. You can watch them make one just for you.

We arrived in Hoi An during a flood. The rain has come so strongly and for many days, and the river flooded covering the street beside the river, the bridge, and up to the second street. It was truly something to see. By the next day the water had receded leaving only mud. The clean up is fairly basic, a water hose and a man/woman with a push broom shovel.

We talked to an American who ran a used book store who said the water came up 6 inches an hour for 15 hours. One of the joys of living on a flood plain. The black on the yellow building shows how high the water was this time. We ended up calling over a water taxi to get us across to the other side. We didn't want to go through all the mud again.



Hoi An has many tailors and shoe makers. Marilyn had a pair of sandles made for her, and Amanda, Marilyn and I had clothes made. That was an interesting experience. It is cheaper to have a tailor make your clothes than to buy off the rack.







The rain changed our plans for this trip. We were unable to visit many sites outside the city because of the rain, so we went into Da Nang and stayed at a hotel on the beach. We were the only visitors. In the morning around 5, people from town come to the beach to play badminton, soccer, and exercise for a couple of hours before work. They come again around 4 until dark. We spent some of the non-rainy time on the beach and in the waves. It was great.