HUE- HOI AN-DALAT
After our horrendous experience on the sleeping bus we decided to hire a driver to take us the 4 hrs to Hoi An. Trai was an awesome guy who shared with of us much of his culture and beliefs and opinions about Vietnam and its communist political party- an openness rarely witnessed as there are great penalties for speaking against the government. Acquiring a private driver also meant that we got to stop along the way and visit a few sights like, lang co beach, china beach in Denang, Marble Mountain,and the marble statue factory.
We are pleased that we had the opportunity to walk up marble mountain, as at the top of a very steep climb, were pagodas set within marble caves. One in particular was phenomenal- the initial opening of the cave housed a statue of Kwan yin carved from the wall, then we meandered down about 100m into this huge cavern which had the most wonderful acoustics- we toned harmonics here for a while, and as we were fortunate to be the only ones in the cave ( which you have to understand is rare at a tourist site- alone doesn't exist)we decided to sing the gayatri mantra- which immediately surrounded us with 5th and 6th sphere Natural love spirits- the blissful almost tickling like energy that engulfed us and ran up and down my spine was amazing! We had been saying how heavy and tired we had felt from the day before, walkin through the citadel in Hue- a place where many thousands died during the bombing of the ancient city by the Americans in the Vietnam war. The heaviness was thick and sticky and very cumbersome. I'd never really felt this engulfment of bliss before, like mineral springs on your skin- it was interesting to obviously feel how the energy came from around us, and not from within us. While I am thankful for those spirits patching up my spirit body and thus temporarily removing the holes the spirits killed in the citadel were attaching to- I do realize that I avoided feeling why those spirits were able to stick to me in the first place- lots of fear and grief around being attacked. This became evident later when we witnessed to German shepards fighting- well actually one very viciously and relentlessly attacking the other. I have never seen such veracity- the dog being attacked couldn't get away- even 5 people trying to pull them apart, belting the attacker ( which only added to his anger) and spraying them with water. This went on of 10mins- and I was frozen watching this before my eyes, knowing my fear had partly created this event. It was horrible- and terrifying- it seriously looked and felt like the attacking dog was going to rip the other to shreds. I shake now when I recall the image.
Back to marble mountain. We then climbed more steps to the cave of heaven- where the apex had an opening that allowed sunlight and ferns to grow- heaven- light upon the darkness, giving life. From here a very dark tunnel continued to climb and weave its way out to the peak of the mountain- here a local lady assisted us with a torch and guided us through the very steep very narrow rock climb to the top- we would not have done it with out her- which of course she knew and expected a tip for her torch services. Even though there was an expectation, we didn't mind so much cos we would probably have severely injured ourselves without her help.
As we drove into Hoi An we both breathed a sigh of relief- agh, a city we can walk around peacefully.
It was the week of TET, which meant the only week Vietnamese have off all year- to celebrate the new year, be with family and perform ceremonies to bring in their wishes for the year and provide for the ancestors who have passed. So it was a good time to lay low, as many businesses were closed and the cities were quiet as workers had returned home to their families.
We took the opportunity to rest and pamper ourselves a little- we found a 'day spa' across the road which was ridiculously cheap- 35 dollars for massage, organic facial, pedicure and manicure. Something neither of us had ever experienced- I am SO pleased we did! I was so relaxed I couldn't even move my mouth to talk- amazing. The best Thai massage ever. The food in Hoi An was also the best veggie we had experienced so far- another huge relief- something other than cabbage carrot and rice- yay!! We stumbled across the restaurant called STREETS, which is a non profit organization that is completely staffed by orphaned and impoverished kids which are being given the opportunity of a lifetime- a traineeship in restaurant management and becoming 5 star chefs. It was simply brilliant- even better when we spoke to the owner, an american couple, who sold up everything in the states 2yrs ago in order to fulfill the desire to launch this pilot project. One of many they hope. Very heart opening- and scrumptious food- I'm salivating thinking about the eggplant claypot- delicious!
We were very fortunate to take part in the TET celebrations- year of the Dragon. We walked down to the river to look at the array of beautiful designed lanterns and to see the phenomenal fire works!!! In Australia we would be lucky to have 5 minutes of fireworks at new year- however this display went for 30 minutes and were the most spectacular we have ever seen!! ( they must be cheap to make over here- or the governments priorities are just as screwed up as ours!!)
We were also invited to have drinks with the manager and some staff of the hotel where we stayed. They shared some of the celebration food with us- sugared ginger, glutinous rice with bean centre, and a few other delicacies. It was really great sitting around and talking with Bun and his co-workers, hearing their stories. A real treat for us.
We didn't stay long in Hoi An as it was the week of TET, we didn't realize how difficult it was going to be to book flights or buses or donkeys( as a last resort) to move on further south. We are very thankful to Bun who saved our butts, and wrangled us some non existent bus tickets and flights.
Next stop Dalat highlands.