Vietnam, My Thoughts....

We are going home......

So, my trip to Hue, Hoi An and Da Nang, Vietnam had ended recently but the most important question that you people are going to ask me is :- " What have I learnt from the trip to Da Nang?", right? If you are expecting anything brilliant or profound, you would be hopelessly disappointed lar.

The answer is simple - It sucks BIG TIME when the holidays end! Yeah! That is my heartfelt answer to the ever universal question that had flashed over in your minds and mine too. Seriously, it had been a wonderful trip to Vietnam as a whole. I must thank Annie for organising the itinerary and the flights cordination for this trip. Teresa , SLing and SYuen had brought in input for the itinerary and guide that helped us shaped our trip this time. It was the most wonderful time of my life having to spent these days with the group. ( Alvin, Annie, Jonathan, Teresa, Richard, SLing and SYuen ). truly truly fun days indeed. Sure, we missed out on some dog or cat meat soup and dishes, testicles soups & the good stuff plus some crickets, worms, scorpions and what not but it was all good! If we did not get to eat them, the Vietnamese people could have eaten them earlier than us lar!  Just joking! Just joking! 

Sad to leave...

Everyone was easy going while there weren't any prima donnas, dominant kings/queens and even sourpuss in the group at all. This makes it such a wonderful time for all of us. I must say that we have had laughter and more laughter throughout our trip and it was just so wonderful. Sure, there are times our hearts and spleens exchanged places at the places we went  while our legs felt like coming off for some good old leg massage but we were genuinely happy and having fun. Yeah, blame it on our age for getting all our parts leaky and cranky but we made through it all.  We are alive! Thank God for his graciousness in our lives,man! I am ever thankful to Richard  & Alvin who provided us with great sense of humour and easiness in our conversations and great fellowship. The ladies were wonderful too as they were simple, easy going and fun all around. This made a lot of difference when travelling in a group as everyone has their own preference, needs and wants. What was important was the fact that we had a great time! Truly a wonderful time indeed. That is my heartfelt blessings of having such wonderful people in the travel group.

Lovely wooden arch in Hue...

I am grateful too that we had a great guide in Thanh Tuan, his full name. A thorough and true young Vietcong. ( Yeah, his boss googled our names to check us out while I googled his name to check him out ! Jeng! Jeng! Jeng! ) Jokes aside, what a responsible, caring, humble and informative guide indeed. I believe , what he has done for us was beyond his time and responsibility as a guide in those days when we put our lives in his hands!  He helped us to cross the streets, ordered food for us, checked our bill and ensured we have enough food before going on to have his food at a different table and ensuring our well-being in general. I wished we had guides like this is Malaysia and our tourism industry would grow tremendously. Tuan exuberates the fine example of the newer generation of Vietnamese young man in Vietnam who wants to move forward to a greater Vietnam. He is quick witted, humorous, very active and alive plus humble. Never a word of harshness even when the park rangers were sarcastic to him or even when the vendors were rough on him as he bargained the items for our group. I was most impressed with him when he brought out our seafood dinner one by one from the restaurant kitchen even when there was a long queue for our food even after we had picked out the seafood! That is truly going out of your way for your guests! My jaw dropped when he brought those dishes out for us to eat! Truly a remarkable young guide. He did what was beyond his guide duty to help us get food that night! I will always remember this gesture of kindness on this part! Thank you, Thanh Tuan! 

Left : Jonathan, Alvin, Tuan, myself, Richard and Kanh, driver....

I remembered speaking to him as we were at the side street of Hoi An ancient city near one of the tailor shops and he had asked me what Melaka was like. Throughout our journey with him, Alvin, Richard and the group told him of the influence of Portuguese, Dutch, British , Japanese, Chinese, Indian and even the influence of Malay culture in our lives. He is also a well read individual who genuinely seemed to know about Malaysia happenings. I had asked him about what was he looking forward to as a Vietnamese young man. He was quick to answer that he would like to see a growth in his nation and develop a greater Vietnam. He was saddened when he told us of how he had lost his grandfather, uncles and friends to the war and how most Vietnamese were bitter of the war. Those were hard times and  hardship of the never ending war of cruelty. I guess, we can all relate to that, right? Every country in the world has an ugly side of its history! I told him of the great potential of  tourism in Vietnam and the need to check on the greediness of progress in the coming years. If things like food, tourist attractions, hotels and souvenirs get expensive and cut throat stage in the towns we had visited, it would drive away the tourists and the much needed tourism dollars for the country. He was agreeable that there is a great need for control on the capitalism aspect of the tourism industry as more tourist begin to recognise Hue, Hoi An and Da Nang as worthwhile destinations in Vietnam. We had a good conversation and I must say that this young man is full of potential to make it big in Vietnam one day.

The people ....in a drawing

His boss, Man Nguyen ( yes, Google lar! ) is an equally enterprising and good trip organiser/planner. His souvenir of Vietnamese lanterns and Highland coffee packs were a class act of appreciation for being his guests. I am deeply appreciative of what he had done and the gifts were really a great personal touch from him and his company.  Man Nyugen even called while we were on our way home to thank us for using their company services and that, my friend, speaks volume of a good trip planner/organiser. Even when I was back home, I wanted to rate his company services in TripAdvisor and he called me personally to thank me for doing so.  Sure, I gave his company an excellent rating as they did an excellent job for our trip. It was very satisfactory and humbling experience to have such wonderful guide and organiser in Thanh Tuan and Man Nguyen. I really wished the both of them and the company every success! 

Vietnam........

To me, Vietnam, in general. is rising up in the tourism industry landscape. Beautiful beaches in Da Nang and other places of Vietnam is the testament of what the future is about for Vietnam tourism industry. The towns of Hue, Hoi Ann and Da Nang are clean, I mean, really much cleaner than Siem Reap, Phnom Penh and even Jogjakarta where most UNESCO sites are situated. Rich historically and culturally in Hue and Hoi Ann, these are places that will see an influx of tourist in days to come. Food preparation and cuisine itself are generally clean and edible. Fresh vegetables and unique dishes of Vietnam makes it a culinary must for tourist. I love the fresh vegetables and their noodles soup based concoction which is just a delicious delight. The rice noodles, the rice cakes, the mi quang, banh beo, banh mi, bun bo, banh xeo and the list goes on are every day life food that is a must sampler for the tourists. The Vietnamese fish sauce tasted so much better than the Thai which I considered the best thus far.  It is generally not expensive to eat nor to travel to Vietnam making this hideaway a great place to relax and just count your blues away. If you are a beach lover, Da Nang beaches are quite a sight. The clustered boats together with the bamboo basket boats with the back drop of orangey setting sun plus soft sands can be quite a sight for those who love photography too. Thatched huts and thatched shades under the sun makes it a photogenic rest area.

The well preserved historical buildings, artifacts and historical architectures for history buffs like me can be both enriching, astonishing and exciting indeed. The rich cultural background and extravagant tombs, insignia and relics can be stimulating and mind boggling at times. I find it fascinating and exciting to be able to see the linkage of culture and civilization between My Son, Angkor Watt, Prambanan, Lembah Bujang and even Borobudur. I am also intrigued and fascinated that the Imperial City of Hue and the Citadel bears resemblance to the Forbidden City in China but at a much lesser extravagant way but very significant in the Chinese history.

One night in Hoi An....lovely

For those who just simply want to have a chill out moment, a walk along the Perfume River near the bridge or near the Dragon Bridge can be quite interesting as local desserts and food fare are laid out with amazing colors and a feast to the eyes and the tummy. If you are one that prefers the steady high chairs and soft music of cafes and pubs, they are in abundances in the streets of Hue, Hoi An and Danang. But if you are a coffee lover like me, cafes selling potent coffee in Vietnam is a real must for you. The flavorful and aromatics of the roasted coffee beans will definitely ignite your senses for an awesome day of coffee. My senses are tingling now even when I am thinking about it. 

The lanterns of Hoi An.....

I have learnt that the people of Vietnam are generally wary of people. Who could blame them after years of war, hardship, hunger and death! They generally resented the French and the Americans! All the rest are okay. ( Phew! Thank God I am a Malaysian! ). They eye all foreigners with great wariness but once you get to know them, they are generally simple folks just like us. Like the family of rice paper makers, they welcome people to their home and shared what they do best with the people. They served us with what they have best - rice cakes and Chinese tea. I truly appreciate that hospitality and I get to see first hand of how simple living is all about in Vietnam. I get to see too how houses in Vietnam used to be 14' X 40' while over the years, it had gone longer but not wider unless you have got the money for it. For me, looking into the small houses, I could not imagine living in such tight place - I would have nightmare, man. It is not that I am claustrophobic  but it is simply too small of a space. Sure, there are more modern and bigger houses nowadays but remnants of the old small houses are still around for us to see.  I love the country side of Hue , Hoi An and Da Nang. The lush green of the paddy fields and the plots of green vegetables plot. I also realised that Vietnam especially Hue, Hoi An and Da Nang are blessed with so much wonderful seafood. Lobsters, quality fish such as variety of groupers, pelagic fishes and bottom dwellers fishes are in abundance while shell fish are astoundingly in abundance. The best part - they are not that expensive in comparison with other countries I had been to.

The art in Hue.....

It is undeniable that in years to come places like Hue, Hoi An and Da Nang will be caught up with the tourist dollars development. I just wished that it would not be such an explosion of exorbitant prices and resentment towards certain types of tourists in the coming future as some tourist can be a pain in the yunno where!  I have always believed that Vietnamese are the smart, quick witted and would not take no shit from anyone because of what they had gone through over the years. Hardened by war, seasoned by hatred of oppression and arose through the ashes valley of civil war , the Vietnamese will want to make a better living in themselves. It is no surprise that Vietnamese workers, ladies in particular, would marry a foreigner but would want to return to Vietnam to catch on the fire of capitalism and growth in the new dawn era of Vietnam. There is definitely a bright future in Vietnam and I pray that the people would learn to prosper well and keep in their faith to go rebuilt a better and forward looking Vietnam.

Thank you very much, my dear dear friends........

I wish Vietnam all the best and I do look forward to visit Vietnam again some day.  I have wonderful memories of Hue, Hoi An and Da Nang and it will always hold a special place in my heart. Good people made a tremendous impact and lasting impressions in your life, don't you think so? I must admit, Vietnamese coffee would never be the same in my life ever again! Thank you , Vietnam.

~ Tam biet va cho den chung ta gap lai nhau ~  simply means "Goodbye and Till We Meet Again!"~

Vietnam - Hoi An ( Day Five )

Tra Que Water Wheel Organic farm

Bright and early morning, the sun’s robust rays shone directly to my butt and body giving it a roasting sensation as though it was jealous of me sleeping comfortably on the plush bed and clean sheets. I tried valiantly fighting the sun’s rays but I gave up after landing on the floor under a heap of pillows. People used to say ‘ Carpe Diem” but I say, “ Carpe Food” or “Seize the food!” for it is going to be another long day! As usual, the raiding of the coffee house as we walloped breakfast of the day was very important task indeed! 

Vegetables beds

Afterall, the first meal of the day ; breakfast – are meant for the champions! In order not be like the China tourist or Korean tourists, I tried to be dignified in my eating but alas, I gave the pho, the sausages, the crispy bacon and the dumplings a real good fight. They ended up in the cauldron of my belly after a good sacrificial fight! Hurray to me! They sacrificed themselves in dignity!

Seated at our bamboo table ad chairs

When the clock struck 10.00am, our ride arrived and we whisked off together with our luggages to a new adventure for the day – organic vegetables farm located in Cam Ha, Hoi An. This was to be an organic farm experience. Again, the sun was merciless towards us as its rays cuts bitterly into our already darkened skin and the spray of honey dew infused sun block permeates our van each time. Our gleaned and shining skins from the layer of sun blocks makes us looked like some nice roasted organic chicken ; fresh from the oven,man! As there was no other roads leading to the organic farm, we had to walk between the narrow and dusty path to reach Tra Que Water Wheel Organic farm. The vegetables beds were beautifully laid while healthy looking vegetables lined up nicely ; ripe for the picking. We were also shown the sesame seed plant and they were in full bloom waiting to be ripened and harvested soon. It was such a delighted sight indeed.  Soon, Tuan seated us at the bamboo made table and chairs and interestingly, there were two cooking classes on-going at that time. One class was 6 young European girls while the other group was a mixtures of three European white men, a black guy and two European white ladies! The groups were a riot indeed with their oohs and ahss! 

Prawn salad with fresh parsley, mint and salad with flower...all edible!

Seafood salad with fresh vegetables....

Pork with cinnamon and spice...lovely delight

Mackerel fish

Water spinach with garlic ( kang kong )

Fried fresh water fish

Banh xeo - Vietnamese pancake delight - delicious........

The younger European girls were definitely hopeless in cooking and that’s why they came for cooking class! Anyway, we are there for the meal ( our lunch). We ordered salads, banh xeo ( pancake like dish with meat, shrimp and vege filling cooked on a skillet ) , prawns appertizers, rice crackers, seafood salad, pork with cinnamon pot, water spinach ( kangkong ) and two types of fish cooked in some fine concoction of  chili paste. Again, the food was marvelously prepared and tasted really good. I guess, with good food like this, cooking class would be appropriate and in order.     

Marble Mountain, here we come....

On with the next adventure - Marble Mountain. Known as Ngu Hanh Son in the Vietnamese language, it literary means five elements mountains. Marble Mountains is a cluster of five marble and limestone hills located in Ngu Hanh Son District, south of Da Nang city in Vietnam. The five mountains are named after the five elements namely Kim ( metal ), Thuy ( water ), Moc ( wood ), Hoa ( fire ) and Tho ( earth ). All the mountains have cave entrances and numerous tunnels and it was possible to climb to the summit of Mount Thuy. This area is known for stone sculpture making and stone –cutting crafts. Extraction from the mountains are banned recently

We were told that there is a 156 steps leading to the summit of Thuy Son but Tuan recommended that we take the lift up halfway and then walked our way to the summit. A good idea in my head but not so good for the stomach. Anyway, I put up a brave face and told myself “Die Die lar! Jangan mati terkangkang sudah!”. Yeah, I do feel alive scaling caves and mountains but I hate steps,man. I am never good at steps. Steps wears me down a lot. Somehow that day, I feel like a man on a mission or possessed with the knowledge that after the climb, we are going to be rewarded with good food, I clambered on the steps and I made it. 

At the top of where the lift stopped....the view...breath taking indeed

Another view from where the lift stopped......nice

Inside the cave.... cool and pleasant

One of the caves in Marble Mountain......

Steps to higher caves ....slippery, uneven and  polished marbled steps

I could actually keep up with the pace and able to climb up the steps to the carved in Buddhist sanctuaries inside the caves. The pagoda of Pho Dong and temples surrounds the Marble Mountain. Though I find fascinating that the temples are within the caves but dark and dingy places do not augur well with me. I am not afraid of anything but I do find it insane that every nook and corner of the mountains has an altar or some sort. Wait a minute! Hold on to your axes or parangs or your sharpened knives as I really do not want to comment further on this matter. 

Another climb to the top of the mountain...challenging...

SLing emerging from the narrow climb up to the top....

Doing my part to help others ( Koreans! ) to get through the narrow passage

Alvin...emerging victoriously from the narrow passage to the top of the mountain.

But I do enjoy the certain section of the caves whereby fresh winds could go through and bring good air to the lungs. Yeah, I am very impressed and marveled with what I would call - the wind tunnel. It is so nice to have the sliding of fresh air when you are moving up the steps to the summit. Boy, the steps are equally slippery not because of wetness conditions but mainly because of the wear usage of the steps whereby the marbled steps are grinded out to a smooth consistency making the steps slippery. But I like the challenge of getting through the narrow tunnels and climbing up towards the summit. I feel alive and good. 

The view at the top....lovely indeed

At the top.....

In one of the larger cave........

SLing at one of teh larger cave area....

Actually, I had wanted to move on after getting out from the 70 degrees exit at the summit but seeing so many others below, I am compelled to, at least, lend a helping hand to those who were trying to reach the top, right? So, I did just that but little did I know that I would be helping a rather larger group of people. It is alright. I am just happy to help out as the rock edge at the exit is quite sharp and daunting looking. Piercing ones head over this rock edge would have serious medical implications indeed. Yes, I was concerned…very concerned. Anyway, we moved on and the view at the top is truly amazing and breathtaking indeed.

 

Towards the end of the climb.... relieved....

The beatifully erected archway....

The descending part was equally dangerous because of the slippery and uneven steps down. Somehow, it was all good and we were down in a jiffy. We then went on to get to our other members of the group who had been down earlier. Together, after wiping off our sweats and getting a cool down, we were off to enjoy our favourite beverage while in Vietnam – Vietnamese coffee. 

Long Cafe that serves the people for almost 30 years now.....

Long Cafe...

This time, Tuan brought us to Long Café situated at 123 Le Loi Street, Danang to sample the authentic and oldest coffeshop coffee. Dubbed as the “ always-crowded café”, Long Café is a favourite destination of coffee lovers in Danang from young to old. It is model for street style café with small tables and small chairs to go with it. People sit close by together to chat even without tables and it is such a synonymous place for the Danangites!

 

Enjoying our tea first.......

Anticipation for our coffee......

Our coffee .... hot & cold ones.....lovely ( the bowl is filled with hot water to warm our coffee! )

Our cold coffee ....diabetic for sure in years to come...the small bowl is sugar ; just in case not sweet enough!        ( *pengsan* )

We were informed that this was the coffee shop and their special Long coffee that had been servicing their customers for the past 30 years. As we walked into the shop which was crowded, we soon get a feel of what it is like to sit down small chairs and enjoy the coffee in its full body, aroma and taste. This coffee shop is unique as it serves you a cup of coffee and a glass of Chinese tea. I’ve had not such experience and I soon find the practice of sipping coffee followed by a sip of cold tea was rather interesting. Kinda a cham ( coffee with tea mixture ) mix but the taste of coffee is rather brilliant. Looking into the Vietnamese people at their tables, we had asked Tuan what were the people actually do in Danang. Tuan answered brilliantly by saying, “ Drink coffee, chill and do nothing! They do a lot of people watching!”. I guess, in Malaysia, they call it “lepak” or hangout or simply chill , right? Anyway, many of us definitely cannot afford to chill like this day in day out for sure! Tuan added that students come here because of the internet. It is said that every establishment of beverage or food outlet will be equipped with internet or else no one would walk into the business premises. Back to the coffee or ca phe, the rich , bitterly coffee after taste for black coffee is evident and I like it….I like it a lot. The rest had coffee with condensed milk – hot & cold but I guess, the language barrier can be quite a humour if one is not with a guide. Yeah, it would be difficult to communicate with the locals if you do not know the language. So, in many ways, we are lucky to have a guide in Tuan who does the ordering for us and helped us in so many ways. As I snapped away with my camera, I realized that many Vietnamese would look at you with a stoic face before going on with their own conversation. I realized that these Vietnamese in the town are in no hurry of their lives unlike us in Malaysia. Everything is so “hurry-hurry” “quick quick” but pay salary really slow back home but here, it is simply - stop what you are doing and smell the flowers, man before continuing on your journey. I could never ever live this way but I would be glad to take a slice of that laid back chillness back home when I sip my coffee. I had observed that Vietnamese do not wolf down their food or drinks. They do it slowly and take their time to enjoy the little things in life. Sure, Da Nang is a city now and everything will be double in pace a couple of years from now for sure. Nothing is constant, I guess....it will evolve......

 

Heading towards Linh Ung Pagoda...

Then it is off to some market nearby for some souvenirs hunting. As we crossed the street to get to the market, the ladies started to look for their rounded straw bag souvenirs. We passed some pretty lovely shops selling straw bags and fishing tackles. It was an interesting street indeed. Bargaining and haggling were a constant battle between the buyers and the sellers. To me, it was interesting scene indeed to see the friendly atmosphere of bargaining unlike the many places I have seen which can leave one with a bitter memory. In Da Nang, it was very friendly and cordial. I dunno, I just wish it would stay that way for many years to come. Anyway, the streets were crawling crowded with Koreans who drive hard bargains for the stuff they want to buy simply by pushing the numbers at the calculator. We were told that Korean drama is really big in Da Nang and the ladies in Da Nang goes goo-goo and gaga over the Korean boyz! For me, get out of my way, you are hindering my view of the scenery! Aahhhh…........of endless surgery under the knife, botox and implants! Hahahahahhaahahahaaaaaaaaaa……….

 

The pagoda temple. 

Yeah, I stood at one corner of the road seeing all the charades, the waving of hands in bargaining and all the contortions of faces too. It was fun to look at the people. One scene I would not forget is when I saw a mother heading out to a nearby food stall to get some food for her child. Seated outside the shop near the walkway, a child sits at the small chair and small table waiting for her mother to get some food for her. The mother came back with a plate of banh beo , which I believe is 6 pieces, to feed the child. I guess, that is the heart of a mother who feeds the child first while working in a shop. It was a touching scene indeed for me. The sacrificial love of a mother to her child. I guess, even with the economic opportunity for the Da Nang residence, it is still very much a struggle to keep up with daily living. I believe that with the window of opportunity for business capitalism in a communist country, it would most certainly improve the living standards of the people but at what price is the question. I do hope the best for the Da Nang and Vietnamese people as a whole.

 

Interesting bonsai plant around....

From our shopping palate, we then ventured to Linh Ung- Bai But Pagoda or Lady Buddha of Da Nang.  Situated in the SonTra peninsula, just 9km away from the city centre of Da Nang city, Linh Ung pagoda is considered as the largest pagoda in both scale and art of architecture. 

Interesting bonsai plant in an oxen flower pot.

The Da Nang city landscape at night

The Goddess of Mercy statue as it is.....

Walking through Linh Ung pagoda’s main gate, you’ll be greeted by 18 large white stone statues representing the 18 Arhats which are a popular subject in Buddhist art, with all of the human emotions of joy, anger, love and sadness. The most prominent part of the pagoda complex is the highest statue of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara or Goddess of Mercy in the South East Asia at 67m in height with a 35m lotus diameter, an equivalent to a 30 storey building. At night, hit with spot lights strategically placed to bring out the best of the architecture, it is really a sight to behold indeed. At night, just as we were at that time, we could have a panaromic view of the city of Da Nang and it is really a sight to behold.

We were ready for some seafood dinner, at last. We had informed Tuan that we wanted a seafood meal at the end of our trip and he brought us to just the place. I could have sworn that I had taken a picture of the place but somehow, I could not find the photograph. Anyway, Alvin, Tuan and myself went to the selection area to do our selection of seafood for the group. It was quite a task for me as I did not want to put the group down with my selection of seafood. I would have to take into consideration the price of the seafood and ensured that everyone would enjoy the seafood picked out. 

I hope I did okay that night. I picked out cuttlefish, mud crabs (female ), sea crab ( orange – female ) , some clams and stingray. Cuttlefish was to be deep fried with flour while mud crabs & orange sea crabs will be with tamarind sweet sour sauce. The clams will be gingerly fried while the stingray is to be barbecued with lemon grass mixture.

Keeping my fingers cross, the dishes came and they were good except that the cuttlefish and crabs weren’t properly cleaned.  It was quite a letdown if you don’t clean seafood properly. Guess, they still have lots to learn when serving seafood to guests. Service was a little slow but luckily, Tuan ensured that we get our dishes on time than the rest of the locals. Really appreciate Tuan for this. To me, the hero of the dish was the stingray dish- BBQ to perfect texture and consistency. The flesh was good and tasty. I really like this dish. We had beers to go with our seafood this time around. It was afterall a hearty meal indeed. Yeah, we could have had the grouper fish or the lobsters and the conch but I guess, this was enough. Probably, the words of General Mac Arthur will prevail in the future? Yes, I shall return!

 

Fried sotong....yummy

Mud crabs with tamarind spicy sauce

Orangy sea crabs with tamarind spicy sauce

Lala with ginger and hoi sin sauce

BBQ sting ray with lemon grass and spices.... delicious & best dish ever.....

After a cleanup from the mess of eating crabs, we were off to our accommodation Hadana Boutique Hotel in Da Nang city. What a beautiful hotel! SLing liked this hotel as the room was very spacious and nice. There was even a reclining sofa set in the room with a leg rest. Wow! This is fantastic indeed! As SLing and SYuen showered for the night and jumped into the bed to wander into the fairyland of rest and slumber of sleep, I rested for a while and enjoyed all that had happened in the day.

Hadana Boutique Hotel....

Our comfy , clean and spacious room.....in Hadana Boutique Hotel

Look at that reclining chair with a foot rest! Heaven, man

The writing table , coffee tea making facilities and the place I can sketch.

It was an incredible day of adventure and fun. So much laughter and closeness as family unit had set in finely. I guess, I will miss the bond we had made with our guide and the family kinship between us. After a fresh shower, I sketched my last sketch of my rendition of Da Nang. I felt a mixed feeling of gladness and sadness as my holidays are coming to an end  but yet again, it was truly a fruitful trip indeed. There was just so much fun  and joy settings in my heart and I really felt …….genuinely happy…..

 

My rendition of Da Nang.....

Satisfied after finishing my sketch, I closed up my drawing pad, put aside my drawing pen, looked out the window at the street below darkened by the day of the night…..Yeah, it was time to sleep. It has been truly a wonderful day and what a way to end our trip in Vietnam....

Come little comfortable pillows and bed sheets…caress me to sleep and bring me to a kingdom of overflowing rest  and cloud nine sensation of sleep! Good night, Vietnam !~