Hoi An

Our hour bus rode to Hoi An was broken up by a shopping trip in a local rural market.  Out guide gave each of us the name of an ingredient to purchase n the market.  The challenge was that he gave us the name in Vietnamese.  Of course no one knew what we were saying and Bruce and I purchased limes and garlic instead of sugar.

Here is the market

We passed through Da Nang which was where the US had Air Force base and the hangars are still visible from the road.

 

We saw a farmer plowing his field with a water buffalo

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We walked on China Beach where the GI went for R&R.  We watched a family cleaning oysters that they cultivated on old bicycle tires.

Here is the family

Hoi An is a town that was untouched during the war and later "discovered" by back packers.  It's modern and clean and clearly catering to tourists.  

Here I am taking a typical tourist photo as we entered Hoi An.  Those baskets are very heavy.

We has lunch, a walk through town and then a cooking class,followed by dinner.  Our chef was a comedian worthy of the borscht belt and made no secret of his feelings for the Chinese.  

Here are some photos from the cooking class/dinner

This morning we left early for a bus rode to the My Son ruins of the Champa people.  A series of temples dating back to the 400's, these priceless structures were bombed and heavily damaged 

by US carpet bombing during the war.  

Here are some photos from the ruins

Bruce and I opted not to take take the optional tour this afternoon.  We leisurely walked through town, did a little shopping and had a quick light dinner before returning to the hotel by taxi.

The hotels we are staying at are all small local facilities.  They are clean and adequate, but generally quirky by American standards and sometimes awkward.  We have to be creative to find electrical outlets and work the shower.  Internet is free, but it have not been able to upload photos to my iPad in several days.  

Our restaurant meals have been excellent - good quality food and many different courses with a light fruit dessert.  Breakfasts are in the hotels and have ranged from very good to "ehh", but there's always something to eat.

We are flying to Na Trang tomorrow and will be visiting a small village In the afternoon.  I will try to upload photos again tomorrow, so check back.  

If you are reading along, will you send me an email?  I would love to hear from you.