Christmas and Hoi An

The last two weeks (or so) have been absolutely action-packed for me. First there was Christmas...

Which Dan and I spent in HCMC. We went to a friend's house for dinner (another Australian volunteer) and ended up having ham, turkey, roast potatoes and apple crumble - all very traditional Christmas food and not at all what you'd expect to be eating in the sweltering heat of south Vietnam. It was great! Those mashed potatoes (with cheese!) and roast potatoes were an absolute highlight for these two potato-deprived Soc Trangians! The photo above is the only one we took on Christmas day, and no, that's not a cheeky Christmas carnation behind Dan's ear, it's the lovely wallpaper in our hotel room.

 Then we went to Hoi An with some of Dan's friends from NZ. Hoi An is on the south central coast of Vietnam and it was once a major trading hub. The old town has beautiful old buildings dating back to the C18th when the Japanese and Chinese thought it the best trading destination in all Southeast Asia. Many of the old buildings have been preserved (the old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and they are simply stunning. The buildings in the photo above are along the riverfront, they have mostly been converted into restaurants/tailors/souvenier shops now but they still retain their sense of history.

The photo above shows the Japanese Bridge in the old town of Hoi An. The bridge was built around about the early C17th. There is a legend that the bridge was built to to subdue a world-spanning 'mamazu' dragon monster, whose head was located in India and its tail in Japan. Whenever the dragon moved it's tail it would cause earthquakes in Japan. Vietnam was located on the dragon's back so the bridge was built to pin the dragon down, preventing any earthquakes.
 

The Chinese had a strong influence on the architecture of the area and built many temples. This is one of the smaller temples in the old town, I love the bright colours and intricate carvings on the doorway.

And this is me with a big green rock. I have no idea if this rock has any spiritual significance, but it looked quite impressive and seemed a good place to have a quick rest.

I have a lot more pictures of Hoi An, I'll upload them later. I really enjoyed my time in Hoi An, the old town was really beautiful (and, for the most part of the day, the streets are blessedly free of trucks, cars and motorbikes, and more importantly, free of the sounds of truck, car and motorbike horns - such a luxury in Vietnam!), the food was delicious and the shopping fantastic. More about that later...