Nha Trang November 30, 2018

Unfortunately David was not feeling well today and after breakfast we headed out in search of Long Son Pagoda. The walk was a hair-raising experience, having to cross three complex intersections. The street-crossing experience learned in Hanoi has very helpful today and we made our destination without an incident. Julie's palms and arms were wet with sweat, but mission accomplished!

View from our room.

Along the route we stopped at the Nui Church, thanking God for bringing us safety.

Unfortunately the  Long Son Pagoda was undergoing restoration, and all the temples were closed.

 We also thanked Buddha for keeping us safe.

Lots of Christmas displays around town, and our hotel did a fabulous tree lighting ceremony, with entertainment and food.

Tree-lighting ceremonies at our hotel

Dining out today with lobster...it was delicious!

Nha Trang November 28-29, 2018

The ride from the Nha Trang airport was a hair-raising experience. All the drivers to date have been very conservative- always following speed limits. Today's driver had a different MO - he liked speed! The expected time to our hotel was to be 45 minutes, but this driver did it in 35 minutes!

Our Novotel Hotel is across the street from the beach and our room has a beautiful view of the water. The weather is about 30c and the town has many restaurants and trendy markets. This is a great town!

This is a crazy (artistic) part of the beach, with some old cars being used as artistic sculptures. 

This is a picnic table with swings as seats.

 Why are the tables and chairs so small?

We made our way through the streets and there was a local market, with many vendors selling seafood.

Julie discovered this cat to be blind. 

There were many visitors to the pagoda and a wedding couple were doing a photo shoot amongst the ruins. The visit to the pagoda was pleasant, with lots of shade from surrounding trees, and a beautiful .  view of the town.

A view from the pagoda

Julie giving a high five

Many vendors near the pagoda selling souvenirs and food.

Mario is a swinger!

Many restaurants have ostrich meat on their menu, which I've tried - tastes like beef.  This particular shop had ostrich and croc handbags and othe products. 

Danang November 26-27, 2018 Visit Hoi An

Another cloudy day and drizzle, but we were determined to get active. A long beach walk in the morning and a trip to Hoi An in the afternoon. During the beach-walk we found some unique shells and an eel that was headed in-land instead of returning to the ocean. And it was clear that, according to Darwin's Theory of Evolution, this eel will never reproduce. Also seen was the vast amount of garbage on the beach, with plastic water bottles and plastic containers dominating the waste. Most of the resort hotels clean their shoreline, but when hotel guests venture outside the resort area, the amount of garbage is disturbing.

The hotel shuttle dropped us near Hoi An's Old Town, and we started our tour at a clothing factory. They were weaving the cloth used for their clothing manufacturing, which is a big attraction for the town. Apparently local tailors can produce a suit within a few hours. I don't believe it. My dad was a tailor and it took him at least a week to make a fully tailored suit. Its more likely there are pre-made suits in storage that are altered within a few hours. The Hoi An old town is a major tourist attraction and many come in the evening to experience the lights around the town. Also, there are food vendors that set up their pop-up restaurant at sunset. 

The bridge to Old Town.

Hoi An at night...time to leave, the streets are crowded and unpleasant to walk.

In the evening the motorbikes and cars are banned, but the crowded streets are even more congested by these rickshaws. Not a pleasant experience trying to avoid collision.