We cut our stay in Saigon short so we could be in Hoi An on the 14th day of the lunar month for the town’s famous monthly festival.
As we strolled into the historic town center while the sun began to set, it didn’t seem like much was going on . So, we decided to grab an early dinner in the well-reviewed Mango Rooms restaurant overlooking the river.
This turned out to be a good call, as we were treated to some of the best food and drinks of the entire trip. It was a little pricey by Vietnam standards, but worth it!
As it grew darker outside, we began to see more and more people gathering on the streets – you could tell something was about to happen.
One by one the regular streetlights started going out, until only the glow of thousands of chinese lanterns remained. Cool.
After we finished our awesome meal, we made our way out to the riverfront, where the once-empty streets were now full of people, and the river filled with longboats and paper lanterns. What a sight!
Within 45 seconds we had been offered a boat ride at least 20 times, so we finally gave in and piled into one of the rickety boats for a ride among the lanterns. Pretty cool.
Back on the streets, the crowds were getting a bit much, but we got the kids some lanterns to launch into the river before fleeing the scene.
As Hannah said in her haiku, the night was “magical”. I’m glad we made it.
{ 5 comments }
I like the idea of monthly celebrations. It fits the pace of life in SE Asia.
That must have been really beautiful. I’m still glad you’re back.
Beautiful photographs in very difficult light… Well done.
Beautiful pictures!
awesome
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