Report From the Field 7
Current Location: Hoi An, Vietnam
Rewind:
A few days ago, while sitting at the banks of the Perfume River in Hue, a fellow traveler, Kelly (from New Zealand), defined happiness as "when your heart smiles". If her definition holds true, then yesterday my heart was bearing a big, toothy grin. The reason: we hired motorbikes to take us around the whole day to areas around Hue. For a few hours, we cruised around Hue's beautiful country side, passing green rice paddies, peaceful backwater villages, narrow street lanes no more than a yard wide, and forgotten tombs of past royalties and commoners. The highlight of the day was lunch, provided by some benevolent girls of a local nunnery. The novice nuns (all the ones I met, except one, were teenagers or younger) were delightful, and despite the language barrier, all of us were able to enjoy ourselves and learn a little bit about each other.
Arrived in Hoi An today. What a lovely place! Little lanes full of Vietnamese character, a UNESECO World Heritage old quarter, some of the most persistant solicitors in Vietnam, and more than 300 tailor shops around (it's the tailoring capital of Vietnam. And I have to admit it - I ordered myself a "traditional" Vietnamese outfit. I pick it up tomorrow. Fingers crossed it'll turn out well!). And one of Hoi An's main highlights: the beach!!!
That's where I'll be tomorrow - soaking up the rays on the beach of the South China Sea! ...and maybe jet skiing. We'll see.
By the way, photos of SE Asia and beyond will be posted at the end of the summer, when I'll finally settle down in Beijing again. Until then, I'm just focused on taking National Geographic quality photos... :)
Rewind:
A few days ago, while sitting at the banks of the Perfume River in Hue, a fellow traveler, Kelly (from New Zealand), defined happiness as "when your heart smiles". If her definition holds true, then yesterday my heart was bearing a big, toothy grin. The reason: we hired motorbikes to take us around the whole day to areas around Hue. For a few hours, we cruised around Hue's beautiful country side, passing green rice paddies, peaceful backwater villages, narrow street lanes no more than a yard wide, and forgotten tombs of past royalties and commoners. The highlight of the day was lunch, provided by some benevolent girls of a local nunnery. The novice nuns (all the ones I met, except one, were teenagers or younger) were delightful, and despite the language barrier, all of us were able to enjoy ourselves and learn a little bit about each other.
Arrived in Hoi An today. What a lovely place! Little lanes full of Vietnamese character, a UNESECO World Heritage old quarter, some of the most persistant solicitors in Vietnam, and more than 300 tailor shops around (it's the tailoring capital of Vietnam. And I have to admit it - I ordered myself a "traditional" Vietnamese outfit. I pick it up tomorrow. Fingers crossed it'll turn out well!). And one of Hoi An's main highlights: the beach!!!
That's where I'll be tomorrow - soaking up the rays on the beach of the South China Sea! ...and maybe jet skiing. We'll see.
By the way, photos of SE Asia and beyond will be posted at the end of the summer, when I'll finally settle down in Beijing again. Until then, I'm just focused on taking National Geographic quality photos... :)
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