The riverside at night
In Hoi An, some rain brought up the level of the river until it started pooling in the street. Just two months ago, a big typhoon hit, and the waterfront side of town was eight feet under water! It's a wonder that the historic buildings here have lasted. One building had several markings of the floods over the years, all high overhead. They're more frequent in recent years.
In addition to visiting sites around the UNESCO-protected Old Town, we also went to the Cham ruins at My Son. My Son suffered some heavy damage from American bombing during the war, but the remaining structures have been called Vietnam's Angkor Wat. (That's quite an exaggeration, we have to say.) We had thought that since the temples around Angkor Wat have several images of the Khmers beating the Chams in ancient wars, it might be interesting to see the other side of the story. As it turned out, the towers are pretty well ruined, so no big epic battle scenes, but we did see plenty of charming details of people and gods and animals.
Some images from our time around Hoi An:
The pleasant inner garden at Tam Ky House in Hoi An's Old Town
The Chinese influence is readily visible in Hoi An, once a port town for merchants from all over
Tile rooftops rise above a colonial courtyard
Ferocious--but dignified--lion/elephant at My Son
Very ruined ruins
A maidenhair fern, agent of ruin
Although the Cham people are now mostly Muslim, the carvings date from Hindu times
Cham dancers lost in the groove
Nearly hidden garden-gnome-like rishi (holy man) at My Son
Mobile dessert artisan hoisting her wares
Sublime creme caramel topped with Vietnamese ca phe den (black coffee)
Defender of the peace
Holy shit, that coffee thing looks good. Gah.
ReplyDeleteWhy is everyone Muslim now? What happened?
I am gathering that there are a lot of rivers around. How are the rivers laid out with regard to public use? I've been wondering, having lived in two cities where the rivers are sort of oddly treated. Actually 3 cities. Do people live along the rivers? ARe their trails? Or are the areas along the rivers common, with restaurants and places for people to sit?
Yes, lots of rivers. Lots of cities along rivers -- they were the roads before roads. Mostly the waterfronts are pretty walkable (as walkable as any cities here, where pedestrians are not king) and open for public enjoyment. You can't swim, but you can look at them, maybe sit along them, buy rambutan, buy bia hoi ("fresh beer"), etc.
ReplyDeleteAnd as to what happened in the change from Hindu (and Buddhist, actually) to Muslim, not sure exactly, but several hundred years have gone by.
ReplyDeleteYou must have known I was behind on reading 'cause you haven't heard my screams of delight at the last pic: "PUPPEEEEEEEEEEEE!" The first picture seems at odds with its innocuous label. I know the buildings aren't actually on fire, but look like it. Got me thinking about: tourists in Hawai'i and if they'd just watch, say, the Royal Hawaiian burn through a camera lens (rather than taking action). I also thought of that wonderful pic we saw together at the museum in SF: the fireman picking out his pumpking while the bldg burned in the bkgrnd.
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