On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Uncle Ebeneezer
One great thing about our hotel in Da Nang is that it had a shuttle bus that went to/from the nearby city of Hoi An, twice a day. From Wikipedia Hoi An is:
formerly known as Fai-Fo or Faifoo, is a city with a population of approximately 120,000 in Vietnam‘s Quảng Nam Province and is noted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999.[1] Along with the Cu Lao Cham archipelago, it is part of the Cu Lao Cham-Hoi An Biosphere Reserve, designated in 2009.[2]
Old Town Hội An, the city’s historic district, is recognized as an exceptionally well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century, its buildings and street plan reflecting a blend of indigenous and foreign influences.[3][4] Prominent in the city’s old town, is its covered “Japanese Bridge”, dating to the 16th-17th century.
Due to it’s location along the Thu Bon River, Hoi An has long been one of the central trading ports of the South China Sea, going back to the Champa Empire.
Strolling around Hoi An is lovely due to an incredible mix of traditional and French-Colonial architecture. Everywhere you go there are temples and houses with all kinds of charming details. Here is a temple that was just off one of the main roads.
Check out the cool tile patterns!
During one of our morning walks to go explore, get coffee and some grub, we decided to leave the fairly raucous street of our hotel (we eventually ditched Da Nang and rented a room in Hoi An) and walked down a side street just across the way. No joke, the sound went from busy street cacophony to complete silence within only one short block. After passing several cute houses and temples the side-street turned suddenly and we came upon this lush, green rice patty. There were a couple people working in it and an egret watching over everything. Truly one of the most amazing scenes I have ever witnessed. Anyways it was really wild just how different everything looked after only one small block of walking.
It wasn’t nearly as hot in Hoi An as it had been in Saigon and Siem Reap, but still who can resist an afternoon Gin & Tonic in a charming location? Not us! We ended up getting a table up on that balcony above and it was wonderful people watching.
Hoi An is a city of lanterns. Every month there is a Full Moon Lantern Festival:
“Every full moon the old town of Hoi An celebrates the moon deity with limited use of electrical lighting, using silk lanterns to illuminate the houses and streets instead. The historical centre thus transforms into a spectacular fairytale from sunset to moonlight. The festival attracts both tourists and locals and features traditional food, poetry and different events happening throughout the night.”
So beautiful lanterns are pretty much everywhere. They are especially nice at night but even so during the day. At spots like this one, you will see numerous couples taking wedding/engagement photos.
One of the most popular attractions in Hoi An is the Japanese Bridge:
“Hội An was a divided town with the Japanese settlement across the “Japanese Bridge” (16th-17th century). The bridge (Chùa cầu) is a unique covered structure built by the Japanese merchants, the only known covered bridge with a Buddhist temple attached to one side. In the 18th century, Hội An was considered by Chinese and Japanese merchants to be the best destination for trading in all of Southeast Asia, even Asia.[citation needed] The city also rose to prominence as a powerful and exclusive trade conduit between Europe, China, India, and Japan, especially for the ceramic industry. Shipwreck discoveries have shown that Vietnamese and Asian ceramics were transported from Hội An to as far as Sinai, Egypt.[14]”
It’s really neat but almost ALWAYS crowded.
Lots of pretty decorations for Tet and monthly Lunar Lantern Festival, all over the city.
Hoi An really is a photographers dream. Here is an example of a well-dressed couple, with the woman in a traditional Ao Dai posing for pictures as we watched while having a yummy coffee.
I believe this was along that same side street as the rice paddy picture. We loved the cool ironwork and gold fleurs-de-lis. After only a few hours of walking around Hoi An we decided to abandon our 5-star hotel on China Beach, so the next morning we checked out, took the shuttle back to Hoi An and found a great/inexpensive motel somewhat off the main drag. It was one of the best decisions we ever made. Next post will show Hoi An at night time, when it gets REALLY spectacular.
War for Ukraine Update 22: Putin Ups the Ante On Committing War Crimes
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
I adored Hoi An when we went a few years back (we basically reversed your trip – started Hanoi-Ha Long Bay-Da Nang/Hoi An-Saigon-Phnom Penh-Siem Reap-Luang Prabang (Laos).
We especially enjoyed a bike excursion downriver, about halfway to Song My/My Lai. The people were delightful, the river life peaceful.
UncleEbeneezer
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Those bike trips look really great. Someday maybe, we want to try one.
raven
It’s stunning that such a beautiful place was such a meat grinder.
Betty
@raven: So many of the references bring back horrific images of those days, even for those of us who only watched from afar. Such a tragedy. The people have been so gracious in their acceptance of Americans.
eclare
Beautiful photos!
MelissaM
On the Road seems so *necessary* to me now. I seem to be unable to click on the Ukraine news after seeing the headlines of children, hospitals, etc. being targeted. These pictures were lovely, and dreamy. What a gorgeous place to pretend to visit this morning!
Thank you so much.
UncleEbeneezer
@MelissaM: Ah…thank you. I know what you mean. I’ve definitely been needing to seek out pretty stuff more and more just for my mental health due to all that’s happening now. Glad you enjoyed them. Hoi An really was a delightful and lovely place.
stinger
What wonderful pictures!
UncleEbeneezer
@raven: Hoi An seems to have escaped with very little damage from the war. There were some cave trips available to see some of the fighting locations and tunnels nearby in Da Nang but we didn’t have the time to check them out. Not sure we would have anyways, as we are both a bit claustrophobic. I know that my Uncle was stationed in Da Nang though during his tours so there was definitely fighting pretty nearby.
Chat Noir
I am with you right there. I always thought it would be interesting and fun to visit Vietnam and your pix and descriptions show that I am correct in that assessment.
UncleEbeneezer
@Chat Noir: I always liked G&T’s but it was really the experience of having them in 90+ degree/80% humidity days in Vietnam that made me absolutely fall in love with them.
teakay
Lurker here. Such lovely pictures. As Melissa said, these are a much needed antidote to the tragic images and news flooding our lives. I am almost tempted to return to them at night when I’m unable to fall back to sleep.
UncleEbeneezer
@teakay: OTR can be great for that. As a regular insomniac, stuff like this is a perfect way to spend those sleepless hours without getting into the doom/gloom of world events. I often come to these posts for exactly that.