Day 8: Hội An and the "Full Moon festival"

Huế

One of the Typical Souvenir Shops

Because I teared my left ankle yesterday, I treated it in the night with a big patch. It contained a layer with a salve made out of eucalyptus. It reduced the swelling and the pain very effectively. So I could walk relatively normal but of course, the full recovery will take its time ;)

We checked out about 11am, then we started the day with "Phở bò", a typical noodle soup made with beef. The dish was great but when we ate the first ones, the fan above us destroyed itself spontaneously in a big cloud of dust. It was not the best omen to start the day but nevertheless everyone got another "Phở bò" for free. The old ones were just covered in dust :D

View to the "Thien Mu Pagoda" + Me Searching For Someone/-thing :D

After lunch, we drove to our next city, "Hội An", and stopped on the way at the "Thien Mu Pagoda" (viet.: Chùa Thiên Mụ) which is also called "Pagoda Of The Celestial Lady" and is built on a hill. The name refers to an ancient story about a woman who demanded that a pagoda on this hill should be built because the place belongs to the Gods. Then she just vanished in the clouds.

Shrine Inside The Temple

The pagoda is near the "Perfume River" (viet.: Sông Hương), so the wind has blown very strong and its smell reminded me of the sea. Because of that, I felt a strong spiritual touch at this place. This was also increased by the calm and peaceful atmosphere of this place, so strong like I've never felt before.
There were also many monks, a lot of them were children. Also many big buckets with different plants formed the appearance of the temple. Most of the plants were little trees like bonsais.

Then we continued our trip to "Hội An". Our plan was to do a little vacation at the sea and a visit of the "Full Moon Festival". On the way there, we drove through the so called "Cloud Pass" (viet.: Đèo Hải Vân) which is built right on the mountains. It was very beautiful there, because we could see the endless sea next to the mighty mountains. For me, the view was incredible and showed me again how beautiful the world can be :)

Marble Mountains
We also passed the "Marble Mountains" (literally) and stopped at a manufacture for statues made out of marble. The craftsmen built them in every size. So you could buy tiny statues as big as one finger or huge ones which had a size bigger than a car. Most of the statues had Christian or Buddhism themes but there were also some Greek and Roman ones. So we visited the manufacture and some of us bought some little statues for themselves or their beloved ones ;)

Workers at the Manufacture near "Marble Mountains"

Đà Nẵng
After this, we passed the city "Đà Nẵng". It has many golf courses and expensive looking hotels but we saw also the homes of the poor people between. My first impression was that the government of "Đà Nẵng" wants to live from the tourism, so everything they built should shined over the poor reality and they will also remove the poor peoples in one or another way. I prefer cities with real people, so this town won't be an alternative for future vacations. And then we arrived "Hội An".

Hội An

Full Moon over Hội An

"Hội An" is a former fishing village that lives now from tourism. So most of the buildings were hotels, boutiques and restaurants. Only at the "Old Town", we saw restored buildings that gave us an impression of how this place appeared in the past. And I think it was beautiful :D



At this night we went to the "Full Moon Festival" in the "Old Town". We saw many folk performances which were really awesome for me because I've never saw Vietnamese Folk live and with this quality (the performance, not the graphics ;)

Two Old Men Playing
(I don't know the game)

There is also the following tradition: Little boats, shaped like a flower and made out of paper, will be launched with a burning candle into the little streams which flow through the city. I don't know the exact tradition, so I just wished me something when I launched my boat.

Japanese Bridge (viet.: Chùa Cầu) of Hội An

Some people participated also in a funny lottery: Everyone could buy little plates out of wood with three signs on it. After they sold each plate, the lottery began. A male and a female singer sang a song. After each verse, the singers pasted a special word which equaled one sign that could be on your plate. For tourists, an announcer said the pasted sign after each verse and showed it on a big plate. During the whole song, if all three signs from one of your plates appeared, you won the main price.

View from the biggest bridge of Hội An

After this exciting festival, Carina and me swan in the pool of the hotel to let this day end. It was just awesome to swim in the full moon light with no one else around ^^

After an exciting day, there's nothing better than grilled corn

Next time, we visit the Old Town during day and dive into the ocean. There I will also make another important conclusion for my life. Keep on traveling :D