Taken in December 2015 in the Mekong Delta
Dragons feature prominently in Vietnamese temples. These mythical beasts are one of four sacred creatures common to Vietnamese folklore. The others are the Phoenix, Unicorn, and a kind of Tortoise. The unicorn isn’t the variety seen on the book covers of 16-year-old girls, it’s a nasty beast.
Taken in December of 2015 in Saigon
Taken on December 31, 2015 in Bai Tu Long Bay
Taken in December of 2015 in Hanoi
Taken in December of 2015 near Hoi An
Taken in December of 2015 in Saigon
We saw this little chapel flanked by huge billboards for a vocational college and a beer. If anyone else was out on the river-walk that night, looking steepleward for answers, he must have concluded that he should settle for a career in HVAC repair and get wasted at his earliest convenience.
Taken on January 1, 2016 in Bai Tu Long Bay
One of the interesting experiences to be had on a junk boat tour in Vietnam is dining in a cave. This cave used to be employed as a shelter for fishermen during storms. Given all the rocky skerries in the bay, I suspect being in a boat in a storm here would be terrifying. However, the caves are now prohibited to those without a license. Because the fishermen took to lopping off stalactites and stalagmites because they make for impressive mountains for bonzai displays–and those displays can be big money makers when done well.
An example of what I’m talking about can be seen below.
This one was located at the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long in Hanoi.
Taken on December 30, 2015 in Hanoi
The scaffolding was a stage erected for New Year’s Eve festivities. I assume the flowers and lights were part of that function as well, but my experience is limited; I only saw the Opera House before and after New Year’s Eve. (We were on a junk boat over the holiday itself.)
Taken on December 25, 2015 in Hue.
Sông Hương is called the Perfume River because in the autumn flowers that fall into the river give it a sweet scent. I discerned no notable scent, but we were there in December–so maybe we missed it.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 