Hoi An
Hi everyone,
Yesterday we went to the My Son Temples about 40km outside of Hoi An. These temples were built by the Champa empire that resided in Vietnam around the same time as the Angkor Empire was in the rest of south east Asia. They were not as impressive as most of the temples at Angkor but quite interesting. I guess the writing that was used on these temples remains an uninterpretable form of Sanskrit.
After the temples we took a boat ride from about 20km outside of Hoi An, down the river to a craft village. The specialty of this village is boat building but they also do some wood carving and bamboo weaving. We really enjoyed seeing the wood carving shops and the women weaving bamboo mats in very intricate patterns (a 2 person job). The day we were there the village was also having a festival, presumably for Tet. This meant that there was groups of people playing music and other groups of people playing games. One of the most interesting games was a basket race on the water. The racers get into a basket about 3 feet across and 2 feet deep. The basket is made of what looked like bamboo and palm leaves, and is perfectly water tight (meaning it floats). So, they put the baskets in the water, and the racer stands inside. To make them go they simply rock them forwards and back, with a little leap making for a wave like motion. The goal was to go out about 50 feet to a row of flags and then back to the shore. Most people were pretty slow out there, but one guy was racing like a champ going about as fast as someone might jog.
After all this we returned to Hoi An to pick up our suits, which look very nice. We had dinner at a place some people from Denver recommended. We shared potato skins for an appetizer, but had traditional Vietnamese food for dinner.
Today we started by walking around some of the shops a bit further out from the center. They certainly have quite a bit, but we didn't end up buying much.
Now might be a good time to mention that many of the buildings in Hoi An are world cultural heritage sites. Because of this, in order to see the sights in town you need to buy a $5 ticket; so, this is what we did after the shops. One ticket got us into 5 sites, which is about 1/3 of what there is to choose from in town. First we went to one of the ancient merchant houses. Built of concrete and iron wood, this house follows Japanese, Chinese, and Vietnamese architectural traditions. The atmosphere was surprisingly comfortable, and the woodwork inside was amazing. However, because Hoi An is on a river, the house is subject to annual flooding of up to an average of 1 meter inside the home. Because of this, most important stuff was on the second floor.
After the house, we went to a museum housing relics from an ancient burial site as well as Indochinese war and Vietnam war "relics". After the museum we then went to the "Japanese Covered Bridge" which is one of the main symbols of hoi an. The bridge has quite ornate wood work, and also houses a fairly large shrine. Just over the bridge we went to the final site we planed on visiting, a Cantonese assembly hall. We both agree this was the most impressive of all the sites. Inside the assembly hall there were several courtyards with large porcelain dragon fountains in the center. The gardens were very attractive, and had pools and artificial streams running through them. There is also a shrine here, and several very large rooms, presumably for assembly.
Following this exploration, we went to pick up our shoes from the cobbler and had a quick bite to eat before our cooking class. The cooking class was held at one of the restaurant on the river, and was taught by two of the women that work there. They showed us how to prepare 3 meals each, and had us do most of the cooking ourselves. Kelly learned how to make fried rice, Cao Lau (a hoi an specialty), and wonton soup. I learned how to make fried spring rolls, fresh spring rolls, and fried noodles. Both of the ladies were somewhat impressed with my cutting and spring roll rolling skills, however, they were not impressed at all with my cooking chopstick work. Kelly...well that's another story.
Well that's about it for now. My dad posted a comment with some of my emails. You can read some more there if you would like.
-Tim and Kelly
PS I found out this morning that I was provisionally admitted to UCSD.
Yesterday we went to the My Son Temples about 40km outside of Hoi An. These temples were built by the Champa empire that resided in Vietnam around the same time as the Angkor Empire was in the rest of south east Asia. They were not as impressive as most of the temples at Angkor but quite interesting. I guess the writing that was used on these temples remains an uninterpretable form of Sanskrit.
After the temples we took a boat ride from about 20km outside of Hoi An, down the river to a craft village. The specialty of this village is boat building but they also do some wood carving and bamboo weaving. We really enjoyed seeing the wood carving shops and the women weaving bamboo mats in very intricate patterns (a 2 person job). The day we were there the village was also having a festival, presumably for Tet. This meant that there was groups of people playing music and other groups of people playing games. One of the most interesting games was a basket race on the water. The racers get into a basket about 3 feet across and 2 feet deep. The basket is made of what looked like bamboo and palm leaves, and is perfectly water tight (meaning it floats). So, they put the baskets in the water, and the racer stands inside. To make them go they simply rock them forwards and back, with a little leap making for a wave like motion. The goal was to go out about 50 feet to a row of flags and then back to the shore. Most people were pretty slow out there, but one guy was racing like a champ going about as fast as someone might jog.
After all this we returned to Hoi An to pick up our suits, which look very nice. We had dinner at a place some people from Denver recommended. We shared potato skins for an appetizer, but had traditional Vietnamese food for dinner.
Today we started by walking around some of the shops a bit further out from the center. They certainly have quite a bit, but we didn't end up buying much.
Now might be a good time to mention that many of the buildings in Hoi An are world cultural heritage sites. Because of this, in order to see the sights in town you need to buy a $5 ticket; so, this is what we did after the shops. One ticket got us into 5 sites, which is about 1/3 of what there is to choose from in town. First we went to one of the ancient merchant houses. Built of concrete and iron wood, this house follows Japanese, Chinese, and Vietnamese architectural traditions. The atmosphere was surprisingly comfortable, and the woodwork inside was amazing. However, because Hoi An is on a river, the house is subject to annual flooding of up to an average of 1 meter inside the home. Because of this, most important stuff was on the second floor.
After the house, we went to a museum housing relics from an ancient burial site as well as Indochinese war and Vietnam war "relics". After the museum we then went to the "Japanese Covered Bridge" which is one of the main symbols of hoi an. The bridge has quite ornate wood work, and also houses a fairly large shrine. Just over the bridge we went to the final site we planed on visiting, a Cantonese assembly hall. We both agree this was the most impressive of all the sites. Inside the assembly hall there were several courtyards with large porcelain dragon fountains in the center. The gardens were very attractive, and had pools and artificial streams running through them. There is also a shrine here, and several very large rooms, presumably for assembly.
Following this exploration, we went to pick up our shoes from the cobbler and had a quick bite to eat before our cooking class. The cooking class was held at one of the restaurant on the river, and was taught by two of the women that work there. They showed us how to prepare 3 meals each, and had us do most of the cooking ourselves. Kelly learned how to make fried rice, Cao Lau (a hoi an specialty), and wonton soup. I learned how to make fried spring rolls, fresh spring rolls, and fried noodles. Both of the ladies were somewhat impressed with my cutting and spring roll rolling skills, however, they were not impressed at all with my cooking chopstick work. Kelly...well that's another story.
Well that's about it for now. My dad posted a comment with some of my emails. You can read some more there if you would like.
-Tim and Kelly
PS I found out this morning that I was provisionally admitted to UCSD.
This entry was posted
on Saturday, February 04, 2006 at 5:07 AM.
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7:02 AMCongratulations Tim!!! --- good to have something in your pocket --- Dad - H
9:56 AM
Hey, good going, Tim. Congratulations!!
Jane
6:54 AM
I am happy to report that the provisions on Tim's acceptance to UCSD are very minor --- two additional forms filled out --- a residency form --- hopefully not proving California residency!!! --- and an accept / decline form --- Dad - H
2:15 PM
Tim.Wow! you are moving right alongthere and at home.
Congrats! Love, MOM
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