Beautiful Hoi An

We've been in Hoi An for a couple of days now.  We got here yesterday on yet another bumpy flight, this time on Vietnam's very own airline, Vietnam Airlines, aka "We're Sorry Airlines."  They evidently earned this nickname because they are always making announcements like, "We're sorry.  Your flight has been delayed due to technical difficulties."  Yeah, I can't even tell you how many times we heard that one yesterday - and they were talking about our flight!  We were a little disconcerted.  Technical difficulties?  This is Vietnam.  That technical diffuculty could range anywhere from "We're taking off late because this is Vietnam so we take off when we take off," to "The flight crew is running late and we can't take off without a pilot," to "Y'all just sit tight while we bolt on that engine that just fell off."   Fortunately, we finally made it to the center of the country, landing in Da Nang and then traveling on to Hoi An.  And believe me, it was worth all the wait.

If Saigon represents the big city brimming with energy and craziness, Hoi An represents history and calm.  The ancient part of the city here is actually a UNESCO world heritage site, and it is absolutely lovely.  No slick skyscrapers here.  We're talking buildings that are hundreds of years old.  No cars are allowed, although motorbikes can drive down the streets until 3:00.  After 3:00 it's foot traffic, cyclos and bicycles only.  Most of the old buildings in this part of town have been turned into shops and restaurants.  We had a walking tour through the ancient town last night.  Hoi An is known for its silk lanterns and it is absolutely beautiful when the sun goes down and the lanterns light up.

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We really fell in love with Hoi An after our evening tour and couldn't wait to come back to explore the ancient town on our own the following day after our scheduled tour program.  I'll tell you all about that in my next post.  It's midnight here and we've got to be up at 5:30 because we're moving on to Hue (pronounced "Way") tomorrow.  Don't know if we'll have wifi there or not so it's possible that I may not be able to post for the next couple of days.  If we don't have wifi in Hue, I'll still try to keep up on my writing while I'm off line and I'll post a bunch of stuff once we get to Hanoi.