Another day on the move, but that is hardly new. But before leaving Hue, we did a group bike excursion to the outskirts of town, making a stop at a museum containing agricultural equipment traditionally used in Vietnam, a local market, and the Thanh Toan bridge. The ride took us along some delightful paths, at times beside rice fields being worked by some locals. What a contrast to the ride in Hanoi, no crazy traffic to contend with here.
Local home & attached pagoda
beside the canal along our bike route
Tur, our leader, demonstrating
use of agricultural equipment
Local market-stop on our cycle route
Wonderful covered bridge beside market
At lunch we all loaded into yet another bus for the ride to Hoi An. The route took us through the mountains and down to the coast for a short stop at an incredible beach. The views were breathtaking. We made one "siteseeing" stop, at the Marble Mountain, a cluster of 5 marble and limestone mountains named after the five elements: earth, fire, water, wood and metal. The climb up to the mountain gave us our exercise for the day, but it was well worth it: caves, buddhist sanctuaries, pagodas, and a monk who was chanting in the most haunting way. Truly inspiring.
And now we are in Hoi An, where we will stay for 3 nights!!! What bliss. It's quite a charming little touristy town, known for the made-to-order clothes and shoes that can be produced in no time. Our supper at one of the more upscale restaurants was excellent. The hotel here (Van Loi) is once again at the edge of the centre of town, so close but quiet. Actually got to unpack, and have laundry done.
It's going to be very hard to select just a few pictures for the day. I took many.
Our first (maybe only) beach
Cave on top of Marble Mountain
