Thursday: Hue to Hoi An

First activity was a ride in a dragon boat on the Huong (“Perfume”) River in Hue. A family owns and operates the boat, sell souvenirs and live on it, too. The father died in the recent floods after rescuing many other victims, Grey skies once again. 😬 We exited the boat at the Thien My Buddhist pagoda that we visited. For lunch we ate at a seafood restaurant overlooking a lagoon filled with oyster traps.
Then drove to Hoi An, with a stop in big and scenic Da Nang, a prosperous city with high rise buildings, a lot of new construction and an active beach resort, with beach volleyball, surfing, and sun bathing. Many in our group had a coffee at Highlands, the Starbucks of Vietnam - there are also Starbucks stores, but Highlands dominates. The sun came out, there was a fresh breeze, and it wasn’t humid: first really nice weather we’ve had.
On to historic Hoi An, where we will spend 3 nights. Along with a few others I went to a tailoring shop that our guide recommended, picked out fabric and got measured for 2 dresses, one of which I may wear to Margot’s wedding. At first I was a little disappointed at the selection of fabrics, but then decided if there had been more it could easily be overwhelming. It only took one hour to get the project started: two dresses and a little jacket. I plan to go back tomorrow for a fitting!Read more