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Published: December 14th 2010
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Chiseling marble
Notice the lack of protective eye wear? Tuesday, December 7th
This morning we set out on a four hour drive from Hoi An via Danang to Hue. As we passed through the Marble Mountains we stopped at the Xuat Anh Marble Carving factory. Touring the facility, we saw workers chiseling, grinding, and polishing marble pieces without any protective eyewear or breathing masks. Workers earn less than $5.00 per day at this factory - a very good wage though for the Vietnamese laborer. We bought a marble fisherman for our yard and are having it shipped home as it won’t fit in our luggage (let alone meet the 50 lb. or less luggage weight requirement).
As we drove along China Beach, we saw the round boats used by local fishermen. These boats have flat bottoms making them fairly stable and less likely to get stuck in shallow water. One larger fishing boat got stuck on the beach when the tide went out. That meant these fishermen lost a day of work as they could not get their vessel out into the water.
Continuing along we drove over the 1700 ft. Hai Ven Mountain pass. This mountain appeared to be much higher as the clouds nestled
around the top of the pass. After stopping for pictures, the local vendors mob our bus wanting to sell us maps and postcards. Five or six people crowded around you chanting “one dolla, one dolla” - that seems to be the national anthem.
This afternoon we arrived in Hue, a city of 287,000 people on the Central Coast. Hue is the former imperial capital of the Nguyen emperors - a World Heritage Site where you find temples, tombs, the Citadel and other architectural attractions. Hue lies along the banks of the Song Huong (Perfume River).
We had lunch at the Mandarin Café across the street from our hotel. The owner, Mr. Cu is a wonderful photographer. His photographs line the walls of this café. He told us he was a former driver of the fire trucks for the Americans during the Vietnam War, but that after the war his life was very difficult. He was sent to a reeducation camp and then was not allowed to work for another 15 years. He started his restaurant 20 years ago, and makes photography a hobby. A very nice man indeed!
We took an afternoon cruise on a dragon boat
on the Perfume River to visit the Thien My Pagoda built in 1601 AD. The famous Buddhist monk who burned himself to death in Hanoi on June 11, 1963 was from this temple. This monk drove himself from the monastery to a street in Hanoi to protest the government’s treatment of Buddhists and the lack of religious freedom. Pictures of the event and the car he drove are housed on the grounds.
This evening we went to dinner at the home of the granddaughter of the last emperor. Her husband and our host, Dr. Ahn described the home’s history and architectural features. Dr. Ahn, a former history professor was also imprisoned at the end of the Vietnam War. Widely traveled, Dr. Ahn seeks to preserve the culture and heritage of the people of this area. His wife and daughter spent the entire day cooking to ensure we had a feast to remember.
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carole
non-member comment
The food presentation is incredible. Take good notes Mar-- xox, Carole