December 20, 2010
Five days to Christmas and it looks like I’ll be in
I’m wrapping up two lovely days in Hoi An, an old trading town that has been able to retain its old world charm. Not that you can see the charm because I’m having new issues it seems with a different memory card! It is a touristy town, but the charm, food and window shopping make it a worthwhile stay.
I took two buses from Dalat to get to Hoi An and my “layover” was in Nha Trang for 7 hours. I met a couple of other people doing the same thing as I so we walked the beach city and visited a Hindu temple and an impressive black and white photography gallery. The artist focuses on portraiture throughout
The next bus was a sleeper bus – ever heard of that? I had my own little slot that had a “seat” that laid back at maybe a 35 degree angle and a little cubby for my legs. Even I, at 5’4” (nearly!), just fit into the space. I was able to sleep, but it’s still no bed so it was a fitfull sleep. Upon arrival in Hoi An finding a place to stay was the first priority. The two guys I had met before and I decided to check out a dorm place that turned out the be closed. There weren’t too many options in the city center, but we found a hotel that was affordable since we’d be splitting it. So once again I had roomies at a hotel.
We went out separate ways for the morning and afternoon as we wanted to do different things, but the center area is small enough that we kept running into each other. I visited several old houses (around 200 years old) that showed much Chinese and Japanese influence in the architecture. One house was more strictly a Vietnamese style, which the owner (6th generation in that house) proudly stated. I also visited several Buddhist temples and community meeting places that again show a lot of Chinese influence. I toured a museum of the ceramic trade here and saw the making of lanterns. The colorful lanterns given such a wonderful cheer and charm to the dark night. I also visited an embrodiery shop that had stunning framed pieces. There were even portraits that from a distance looked like photographs. A young woman was stitching, well she tucked her magazine under the cloth when I walked in. An outline of the design is drawn on the cotton and then sewn. The hours upon hours of stitching to complete the works is staggering. For the larger pieces more than one stitcher works on the piece. Throughout all of these sights there are items to sell. Frequently, half of the tour is a tour of what you can buy. I’m sure they were very disappointed in me!
In the evening one of my friends and I went to a traditonal performance of music, singing and dance. I only yawned once and that says a lot about how good the performance was. The instruments included drums, wooden flute and strings, but in many varieties. The sound has clear similarities to Chinese music, but I found this more pleasing. The Vietnamese music doesn’t have the high pitched, squeeling sound of the Chinese music. The dances were varied with colorful costumes and the singing was pleasant. The best part of the performance was that it seemed like most of the performers were having fun. At one point a dancer looked like she was going to burst out laughing. The performers also smiled and encouraged one another on when they were about to have a solo. Seeing them have fun made it much more enjoyable for me.
Today the three of us rented two motor bikes and headed to some ruins, My Son, of the Cham empire. The earliest of the brick Hindu temples we saw were built in the 8th century. They were lovely structures, but badly damaged during the Vietnam War. You’ll just have to wait to see a picture of me as Shiva the Destroyer. We also hit the beach and had a nice dip (though a colder one than Mui Ne).
I want to quickly tell you about my last day in Dalat. I rented a motor bike myself and headed to large meditation center/Buddhist temple outside the city. It was built into the mountainside above a lake. There weren’t too many visitors and I found it so serence that I stayed a couple of hours. I enjoyed the smell of incense and the sound of the windchimes (though not typical). Many tables and benches were about so I sat and read for awhile after walking to the lake) and enjoying some ice cream). I spoke with one monk who was intersted in telling me about the temple we were in. I complimented the monastery for its beauty and he said he didn’t agree. He invited me to come for practice the next day, but I already had my bus ticket and felt the time crunch and need to push on. Probably a mistake. I took the bike around the lake, as much as the road would go, and saw a young woman with a helmet asking for a ride. I thought hers might have broken down and she just needed to go a little ways. I don’t pick up hitchikers, but for some reason it seemed like the neighborly thing to do because so few cars/bikes were in the area. She was very nice and it turns out she’s a university student studying nursing. Unfortuantley, she needed to go all the way back to Dalat. I was ready to head back anyway, but it was a long drive and I had to go a bit out of my way. I didn’t mind because that I was freezing. Getting lost trying to find my way back to the center of town didn’t help. I dashed to a restaurant to find something warm. I ended up warming my hands up by holding a teapot.
My friend, Dave, from Mui Ne arrived in Dalat that evening so we hung out a bit. Then the next morning I took off for Hoi An. I wish I had more time in Dalat. The city is a treat in nearly every way. I still miss the bakeries. :)
Off to
Off to bed - I'm starting to doze at the computer!
Hopefully, I can figure out the pictures soon.
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