The Heart of Vietnam!

Hello from Hanoi!

 

 

Well we have some catching up to do as what we have been doing and seeing over the last week or so could fill a book!  Highlights after Tuy Hoa include Hoi An, Hue, and Ninh Binh. between these 3 beautiful cities we spent 8 nights beginning in Hoi An after a long but scenic bus ride from Tuy Hoa.
Hoi An is a beautiful city with a long historical history as a major sea port on the east China sea -  at one point the largest, and influence from Japanese, Chinese, early Cham people, and eventually Europeans can all be seen here.        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%E1%BB%99i_An

Today it is a vibrant, colorful city very much geared towards tourism but a lovely place to spend several days if not a week or more!  A Unesco World Heritage Sight ~ Hoi An sits on both sides of the  Thu Bồn River and has several colorful bridges ~ one connecting to an island where a colorful night market takes place every day. 
  We rented bikes and toured the surrounding area including a 8+ km ride out to the ocean side and through some beautiful agricultural areas.

Scenes from Hoi An ~

The Bridge to the Night Market

 

Quail Eggs in Rice Pancakes ~ Delicious!

Produce at the Market



                                                    Drying Noodles at the Market

                                       Hoi An Sweets ~ banana pancakes a specialty ~ in back

                                          A nice change~ Indian Food at Ganesh Indian  Restaurant

                                                                 Lights at night market

 Thu Bon River and Hoi An

 

 Fruit Sellers

 

"Bia" on the River

 

Wide Boulevards on the River

     Rare covered Japanese Bridge built in 16th century on Canal

 

Rice Paddies and workers Everywhere

Our hotel balcony at the beautiful Pho Hui Riverside Resort

Harvesting from the Resort Garden for the Restaurant

 View from our balcony

Friendly and beautiful women of the market!

Well I probably  have a couple hundred more photos from the area - but we must move on!
From Hoi An we bussed to Hue passing through the city of Danang and visiting Marble Mountain on the way.  A group of 5 mountains named after the 5 elements (so important to Tai Chi) the one we visited is surrounded by  marble sculptors and their works for sale and features a temple complex at its apex with a long flight of stairs to get there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marble_Mountains_(Vietnam)

some of the thousands of carved marble sculptures

 

                                                                   View from the top

 Entry to Cave Temple

 

Stairs down to Cave Temple

So we arrived in Hue at night and though not as colorful as Hoi An ~ Hue is thick with history having been the capital of Vietnam during many dynasties -  including the Nguyen Dynasty.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hu%E1%BA%BF

We had a good day  touring many of the temples and of course the main citadel complex which covers a huge area and is a walled complex with an exterior moat all the way around. Impressive!

 On the bus ride into Hue we met a great guy from Chicago ~ Kelley, who is a world traveler - having the good fortune or smarts to retire at an early age.  We had a great time with him - being a gregarious fellow with a great sense of humor.

 Like I said.....Kelley has a great sense of humor!

 One of the 4 gates to the Citadel

 Selfie!

There he is!

 

Well I think I am going to include Ninh Binh with Hanoi and Halong Bay!

I hope you enjoyed the show and we look forward to seeing you all

and are really looking forward to our rendezvous with Stuart and Sara in a few days!

 

Safe Journeys ~~   Don and Carol