Halfway there and back again

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Yesterday we were halfway up the country and almost three quarters of the way through our backpacking trip. Today we find ourselves back in Saigon under the most fortunate circumstances…(drumroll, please)…we got teaching jobs in Danang.

Our plans to continue heading north to see Hanoi, Sapa and Halong Bay have been put on hold until a later date. With the logistics of having to come back to Saigon to get the luggage we left behind and then back to Danang to get settled and start teaching observations before March 21 (Marc’s birthday), we opted to enjoy our last week or so of vacation with some friends in Saigon, rather than rushing through some abbreviated northern travels.

Now a little about our new place of residence: centrally located, Danang is the fourth largest city in Vietnam with a reported population around one million. It straddles the Han River and is only five minutes from China Beach, a 30 km stretch of white sand leading back to Hoi An, the tailoring and shopping heart of the country. It is also home to an international airport, for those who want to come and visit us! There are hardly any tourists in Danang, as it doesn’t contain many cultural highlights and is often ignored because of the popularity of Hoi An to the south and Hue to the north. We will be working for ILA -- the school where we took the CELTA training -- and are signing 10-month contracts ending January 2009.

Things have certainly changed, considering that when we first arrived in Vietnam we planned to teach in Hanoi. And then we thought we had our hearts set on living and teaching in Saigon, as we’ve been missing the city since the day we left for vacation. We are definitely happy to be back here visiting our usual haunts and seeing familiar faces, but the timing of the opportunity in Danang, our compatible teaching schedules, and our initial impression of the city made us really think about why we came here - the experience of living and working somewhere absolutely foreign to us, the complete submersion of ourselves in another culture.

Living in Saigon would be amazing, but also pretty easy with such a large ex-pat community and access to many Western amenities and comforts. Living in Danang will be challenging, and we will certainly need to learn more Vietnamese to really get by (our current vocabulary includes greetings and polite phrases, coffee and pho, which we generally avoid using and hardly ever pronounce properly). Maybe the fact that Danang seems like the most unlikely place for us to live and work put it at the top of our list.

We are going to do a little more sightseeing while we are in Saigon, including revisiting the War Remnants Museum and we plan to provide you all with a more detailed account of that experience in the near future.

Enjoy the photos from our trip to Hoi An, and a few from Danang.

Thinking about you,
The Smiths

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Photos

Happy and lucky in Hoi An
Handcrafted masks apparently symbolizing "happy," "lucky" and "long life" in a shop in Hoi An. We definitely had a happy and lucky time in Hoi An, bartering in the shops, eating amazing food with a riverside view and finding gifts to send home to our families. The city is quaint, charming and very old -- researchers recently found ceramic fragments in the area proving human life existing in the area 2200 years ago.

Narrow streets
The narrow streets of Old Town in Hoi An are crammed with cafes, galleries and shops. At the end of this street is the Japanse Covered Bridge.

Putting his hands -- and feet -- to work
A woodcrafter in Hoi An.

You don't see that everyday
A man walking his dog and his monkey (though the dog is doing all the work) in the street in Hoi An.

Made for Marc
In Hoi An, you can get almost kind of clothing handmade for you in only a day, including shoes and sandals. I was drooling over the dresses and jackets and have to admit that our decision to live in Danang was heavily influenced by our proximity to Hoi An.

Measuring up
Tiring of his oversized pants as he continues to lose weight, Marc got a great pair of jeans made for him while we were in Hoi An. Alice, the woman measuring him in this photo, mostly ignored his recommendation for a wide leg, and relied on her instincts and some full body photos they took of him to create the style. They look fantastic on him.

My Son
We took a day trip to visit My Son - the remains of the ancient kingdom of Champa. This area was spiritual grounds for the Chams from the late 4th century to 13th century.

Dropped the bomb
During the American War in Vietnam, this site was used as a base for the Viet Cong because it was once hidden away and unrecognizable from above. The Americans found out about this and bombed the site, destroying over 40 of the once 68 relics. In the foreground, you can see a bomb crater left over from the war. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Statue
On the side of one of the Cham temples.

Yes, that is a...
...linga, or the male form. They were all over the place and, along with the female form, commonly used motifs in Cham architecture.

Altar
Another linga, this time atop a yoni - female form - with the image of a woman carved into the side. During fertility rituals, the Chams would pour milk over the top of the linga, which would settle in the yoni (altar) and drain out the small funnel in the front. Then the women would drink the milk as part of the ritual, in hopes this would aid them in getting pregnant.

Cham Temple
View of one Cham temple from inside another. It is still a mystery to archaeologists as to how the Chams got the bricks to stick together.

The way to the beach
It was a rainy, misty day in Danang when we arrived and set out to take photos, so we apologise for the lack of them. This bridge connects the two parts of Danang separated by the Hon River. More importantly, it is the road to China Beach only five minutes away.

Under construction
Danang is currently undergoing a lot of commerical development, with some kind of highrise in the building process down every other street.

Cao Dai Temple
Cao Daism is a religion that was founded in Vietnam in the 1920s which combines East and West philosophies. There are about 2 million followers in the country and I'm interested to learn more about it.

Cave temple
Marc went on a solo mission to the Marble Mountains near Danang, which featured sancturies nestled into natural caves.

Cave Buddha
In the Marble Mountains.

Comments

[Dave]

Good Luck in the jobs
Hope the jobs go well in Danang. Looks like you've been having a great trip with some really cool pics. Dave.

[Aunt Marlene]

I finally found you!
Hi you two. I have spent this Saturday morning reading through your travels and now just want to just jump on a plane and go somewhere exciting. The photos are terrific and really enjoy your comments, observations and thoughts along the way. I'll be tuning in and looking forward to your next adventures. Love you both. Auntie Marlene

[Isabelle]

Good luck!
Congrats on the teaching jobs! Good luck!! I look forward to reading your next blogs to learn more about Danang! Marc, nice flip flops and jeans - looking good! :)

[Leslie]

Congrats!
Hey Guys! Congrats on finding jobs! Good luck in Danag - I'm sure you'll feel right at home soon enough. Your pictures are awesome! And I love hearing about all your adventures. Have a good break before classes start! ~ Leslie PS. They finally finished the road between our neighbourhoods! A few months ago it would have been a lot more useful!

[Robin]

WOW
I am a bad friend and have just now read through a few of your blogs... and all I can think is "amazing"!! What you 2 are doing is awesome! You guys look great! I can't wait to read the rest of them!!