February 15th, our last day. Tomorrow we head for home but there was still a lot to see and enjoy. Let’s begin with a leaping dog, part of the New Year celebration.
Then we were off to visit a lacquer shop where beautiful pieces are made and sold. The stop started with an explanation of the lacquer process and demonstrations of each step. I did my best to take photos of the artisans as they worked. The first photo is of a fellow as he was creating a patten to be used later.
The next few pics are of a lady applying eggshells to the board.
Next is a man working the lacquer onto the board and over the design.
Here are some of our fellow travelers admiring and contemplating the multitude of products.
Next stop was the Ba Thien Hau Temple, a Chinese style temple which is dedicated to Thien Hau, the Lady of the Sea.
The roofs, with their intricate artwork, were interesting.
A photo of Thien Hau.
The air was heavy with the smell and smoke of smoldering incense. According to legend, the prayers of the devoted pass on to the deity as the smoke curls upward.
As we made our way through the temple I tool a couple of photos of burning incense and the devoted.
Outside, in the vicinity of the temple, was a man selling birds, . . .
. . . a women selling waffles, and . . .
. . . a lady selling pop up cards with really intricate designs.
After lunch, JoAnn and I took a walk in the neighborhood of our hotel. Here are a few photos of the area.
I truly liked the French style architecture on some of the buildings.
I like to think that photography is all about the people. She was just sitting there cleaning cookware.
Another card vender. I bought the card she’s holding. I’m a sucker for dragons.
A few more of the area. We liked what we saw of Ho Chi Minh City. It was more sophisticated than Hanoi and seemed to be less frenetic too. The hoards of scooters were absent; to be clear, they were all around but not like they were in the capital.
No big city can exist without its fair share of graffiti.
Dinner. Dinner tonight was at Hoi A Sense’s Gastronomy, a lovely restaurant where the sound of music floated in the air.
The decor was lovely and the food was very good. We really liked the entire experience and will return if we ever get back. Two more photos, the first with floating, candle fill flowers reflecting the lanterns hung above the water and the second of the colorful lanterns.
My last photo is one more of the people; a little person sitting forlornly by the side of the road. Good bye Vietnam.
