Blogs from Quảng Nam, South Central Coast, Vietnam, Asia

I reached Hoi An from Trang An, taking an overnight sleeper bus. The nearly 900KM journey took about 14 hours, but Vietnam has comfortable sleeper buses and I found the journey alright, even though tiring. Hoi An, meaning peaceful meeting place, used to be a trading port. Situated on the Thu Bon river, this town used to have easy access to a wide river which made it a port for trading. Today, the river is much smaller and hence the port has moved to Da Nang, changing the economic basis of Hoi An from trading to tourism (90%+ of the work force depends on tourism). I explored the town the first evening and was amazed by the number of tourists (very large) and the lanterns, lights and lit up boats. It was a kaleidoscope of colors ... read more

My Son or ’beautiful mountain’ is a UNESCO world heritage site a one hour drive from Hoi An. We heard about it on our last visit to Vietnam but couldn’t fit in a trip to see it. That's why we were uniquely determined to pop by this time around. It is a sacred site built by the ancient Cham people. They are a distinct ethnographic group in Southeast Asia with origins in Indonesia. From the eighth to fifteenth centuries they built their Hindu shrines deep in the Vietnamese jungle. Each temple is dedicated to a different god including; Ganesh, Shiva and Vishnu. The temples lay hidden for nearly six centuries before their rediscovery by French explorers in 1895. Then began the not inconsiderable task of clearing a route to the site and making it available to ... read more

Considered one of the most interesting and instantly recognizable creations of Vietnamese people, Basket Boats are known locally as “Thung Chai” or “Thuyen Thung”. They are very important to the local fishermen in the central coastal regions of Vietnam. Affectionately referred to as the “Right Arm” of the fisherman and the “Child” of the mother boats, “Thuyen Thung” is an inseparable part of a fisherman’s life. It is a multi-purpose vessel – used as a very effective lifeboat in case of emergency, a singular boat to catch fish close to shore and a small, lightweight means of carrying cargo and people to and from the larger boats anchored offshore. There is little official documentation about the origins of the Basket Boat. However, it is said that during the French Colonial Era, a variety ... read more

The bicycle culture in Hoi An, Vietnam is fascinating. Just take a look...... read more

Hue and Hoi An We departed from Hanoi around 7/8pm. We were all in the first class sleeper carriage with a 4 person sleeper and me, Bill, Andrea and my dad shared a cabin. The others gate crashed the girls’ cabin and started making gin and tonic mixers (thanks to Duc for buying it!) I swore it was a dry day but was coerced into having a G&T! So we talked, they drank (a lot- finished the Gin and cleaned the trolley lady out of beer). I went to bed at midnight (my crew were already asleep) and the others went to bed soon after. We arrived in Hue at about 9am, some worse for wear (and badly hungover luckily not me!) We checked into the hotel and had a light breakfast. The weather was drizzly ... read more