DaNang March 28th

The rain continues to follow us as we sail into Southeast Asia. Although we had a clear day in Hong Kong, the next day at sea was windy and rainy, as was our arrival in Chan May the port for Hue and DaNang Viet Nam. Because the port is fairly remote from either Hue or DaNang, we opted for a ship’s tour that would take us to DaNang and the historic village of Hoi An, once an important port area during the Japanese and Chinese occupation of present day Viet Nam.

On the way to Hoi An, we stopped in DaNang to visit the Cham museum. The Cham people, influenced by India and Bhuddism, occupied the Viet Nam peninsula for more than one thousand years, building large Bhuddist Temples from local sandstone. Many of the relics from the temples were on display at the museum. From DaNang, we continued south to Hoi An.
Hoi An is a picturesque town which continues in the old ways as evidenced by local fishermen in their small boats casting nets then beating the water with long poles to scare the fish toward their nets. The centerpiece of the downtown area is a large covered Japanese Bridge that was built some 300 years ago during a Japanese occupation of the area. The streets are narrow with two story buildings on either side, now occupied by restaurants, tailor shops and other businesses. We had a typical Vietnamese lunch at a beautiful restaurant on the river, then headed back to the ship, stopping at China Beach for a few minutes for pictures, and to view the many new resort facilities being constructed at the former military R&R facility. We had rain on and off during the day, but all in all, it was a very interesting and educational day for us. Now we’re looking forward to a day of combat shopping in Saigon.