Hoi An at Night
After the grueling motorcycle journey from Hue to Hoi An. We finally arrived at our hotel. Our guides bade us farewell since they still need to go back to their families in Danang City. I realize their job is also tough on them since there will be times that they would be away from their families for periods of time. Fortunately for them, Hoi An is just a relatively short distance away from Danang City so they should be able to get back home before dark.
After checking in to our hotel, we took some time to freshen up as our faces were already caked with dirt from our journey. The shower was really refreshing and now I have strength to continue our exploration.
I was already dark when we got out of the hotel, but Hoi An is a relatively small city. The immediate area of the hotel pretty looks much like any other Vietnamese city or town. However, things started to get interested when we approached the Thu Bon River. The relatively modern buildings have been replaced with old French colonial-Chinese buildings. We have entered the Old Quarter of Hoi An, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Beside the river we saw some old folks on a makeshift junk reciting poetry. I couldn’t really tell what language it was nor can I really be sure that they are really reciting poetry. However, I have a feeling that this was more for the tourist trade more than anything else. It was free though. It was good though that old traditions like this are still being practices, even if they were more for show rather than really keeping with traditions.
The streets of the Old Quarter of Hoi An were fairly dark. The streets, however were illuminated by the lamps being sold in the old shophouses that line the streets of the Old Quarter. Lamps and lanterns of all shapes and sizes shine brightly and really give a beautiful glow. These are more like handicrafts being sold rather than for real use. The lamps were powered by batteries, so much for being traditional.
Also along the streets are carvings being sold. The ones on the street were not particularly impressive but it is still an interesting look. The statues being sold vary from Buddha, to the Blessed Virgin Mary, from pots to Christmas Trees. As usual, I think this was all for the tourist trade. I didn’t bother buying any of them, I just took a few snaps before we headed off to dinner.
Tags: heritage, Hoi An, lamp, lantern, river, UNESCO, Vietnam, world
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