The silk shop had a beautiful picture, made from silk thread, of a kingfisher coming out of the water with a fish in his beak. We met the artist who made the picture and told her how much we admired her work. We bargained, got a good price, and brought the picture home to enjoy.
The bridge was first constructed in the late 1500s and was designed to connect the Japanese section of town to the Chinese quarter.
The name of the village, Hoi An, means peaceful meeting place. The old town section is a very well preserved example of a port and trading village. There are many small shops and restaurants along both sides of the Thu Bồn River. We enjoyed the sights and sounds as we strolled along the riverfront and watched the locals going about their daily business.
The people of Hoi An were friendly and industrious. People watching never got old.
We toured a very interesting lamp shop and were shown the step-by-step processes involved in making a silk lantern. Most everything is done by hand and the employees sat on the floor or in flimsy plastic chairs as they worked. The work was tedious and the workers were amazingly fast.
Now that I had seen the process, it was time for me to try making a lantern. One of the workers sat with me and patiently walked me through each step. My lantern turned out nicely and now I have a beautiful handmade souvenir!
You know you are in a fancy restaurant when... ...the maitre d' opens a beautiful lacquered box and lets you choose your chopsticks. ...there are decorative flowers made of vegetables that garnish the plate. ...the eyes and legs are still attached to the crustaceans. ...the fruit is cut for you into bite sized pieces. ...the chicken is decoratively arranged on the plate.
There are five limestone and marble mountains located in Danang. Each of the Marble Mountains in named for one of five earth elements: gold, wood, water, fire, earth. There are many caves and temples within the mountains and a pagoda with a beautiful view of the area. Recently, a large elevator was built to take people up the side of the mountain to the pagoda.
We also visited picturesque My Khe Beach with a lovely view of the statue of the Bodhisattva of Mercy on Son Tra Peninsula. From the beach, we also had a great view of the Dragon Bridge. The bridge was actually designed by an American engineering firm. The dragon lights up at night and it also shoots fire out of its mouth at 9 pm on weekends.
Our next stop was Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City. We stayed in the InerContinental Asiana Hotel and had a nice view of the city.
Some of the significant buildings we saw were the Opera House, the People's Committee Building (city hall), and Notre-Dame Basilica.
