in Central Vietnam - Hello Da Nang!

The tour I am taking in Vietnam is keeping us on a brisk place - we've finally got a chance to catch up on rest, internet and time coming to Hoi An - as we move through central Vietnam.

You can start to see the change in culture as we moved out of North Vietnam. Da Nang in Central Vietnam was a focal point of entry for imany nvasions, as it breaks into the centre of the S shape of Vietnam - both the French and the Americans used Da Nang as a base of operations in their respective times. The area around Da Nang and even up to Hue is full of French, American and even Vietnamese bunkers - all on the same hill tops. 

We got a chance to ride motorbikes up to Bunker Hill outside of Hue - where you can see the city flag of Hue on the horizon, as well as Laos to the distance and the Perfume River below - a spectacular view point (and a local hang out for teenagers - some things are the same all over).

Da Nang is now an economic point for Vietnam, close to shipping and transportation routes. The city is pretty industrial.  Except for the change from French Colonial fascades to Art Deco ones, Da Nang wasn't what I expected.  Save for the Champa Museum, is pretty much missable. 

Hoi An is very interesting. Only an hour or so drive from Da Nang, it was spared most of the bombing by both French and Americans, so it has retained a lot of its ancient character. Hoi An is almost exclusively known by tourists for it's tailoring shops, and everyone here seems to be in an orgy of buying of suits, shoes, clothes and handicarfts. It seems that Hoi An has a well-deserved reputation for fine craft work. Tomorrow I am heading off to My Son - one of the ancient Champa areas. The Champa were conquered by the Vietnamese, and are now just one of the 54 ethnic minorities in Vietnam. Their stone work is very Hindu inspired - lots of Ganesha's, Garuda birds, the gods Uma, Shiva, and Vishnu and the ubiquitous asian dragons and phoenix's.

So far stomach roughly so good - but the continual World Health Organization cautions about Avian Flu in Vietnam are making me nervous - I am only eating shrimp and beef (although I supect their "beef" is water buffalo - there aren't that many cows here...)

hope you are all well!

I am going to try updating the blog more often than sending a lot of e-mails  - check it out at: www. taraknight.blogspot.com