I spent the boat ride to the perfume pagoda conversing with our tour guide, Cuong, who said he couldn’t answer any questions about the political situation in Vietnam. He was still informative, however, and explained that the pagoda is a Buddhist shrine where a Chinese lady became a Buddha after four years of meditation. Vietnam has incorporated a mix of religions including Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and various strains of ancestor worship. Today we hopped our fifty dollar flight to Danang and should be in Hoi An this evening. Thankfully Seth purchased a bottle of preserved king cobra rice wine on the trip. It is purported to cure any aftereffects of our trip, including “lumbago, rheumatism and sweat of the limbs.” - Stephan
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