After a terrible night’s sleep, a day with a lot of sitting sounded good. The Duong Lam Ancient Village tour was leaving right then so I got in on that.
It was a typical bus tour with the obligatory stops at tourist shops, but otherwise was good. It got me out into the countryside; lots of water buffalos standing in fields.
The trip included waters and lunch, so I just rode along and enjoyed not having to decide anything.
At lunch, the ever-present Trump conversation was had. I kept trying to change the subject, but these folks really had questions to ask of an American. The other people on the tour were Singaporeans.
The tour ended and I had a forgettable bowl of pho for dinner. A pleasant walk around the neighborhood found me at the cathedral again. This time it was open, and some kind of music recital was happening. That was neat. On the way back to the hostel, the weekly night market was getting started.
I also found the party neighborhood. If I was 21, it would have been heaven. As it was, the only titillating discovery was the 24-hour nacho stand. That’s where I’m at these days lol.
Come to think about it, I actually walked a lot today.
Here’s todays pictures…
There doesn’t seem to be a lot of control on the quality of installation of the cable industry. This was the most controlled one I sawFirst stop was the Silk Village.They do it at this place the oooooolllllld fashioned wayPunch cards!This machine was cool.
In Hanoi and otherwise I guess, all the shops are grouped together. Over 1000 silk shops are in this villageIf it’s a village, the village temple has the same name. The silk village temple
Our first choice pagoda was closed for renovations, so this was the one we went to. It was way out in the country, and let’s just say that the locals were surprised to see an American. This banyan tree is about 920 years old.Vietnamese Buddhism sure is different from what I’ve seen before. The temples and structures are very humble and often in very poor repair.
This one just around the corner is in much better shapeNow we’re in the ancient village. It’s pretty old, but the important structures are all the old wooden housesSo all those white chips are drying radish slices. Just laying on the filthy filthy groundThe villagers are farmers, so this is an altar to a god of agricultureJust as soon as I learn this language…I’ll know what this saysThe original? city gate. It’s over 500 years oldApparently the climate is hell on wooden structures. The government has actively started conservation.
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Here we are at the first of 3 original wooden houses from chinese times. those pots are used to make soy sauce, and rice wine.
The people who live here now are only the second family to live here since the 1500’s
Here’s the courtyard and house of the 2nd house. They turned the compound into a restaurant.Lunch was good. Pork meatballs, vegetables, spring rolls, rice, and chickenThe interior construction. Looks cold in winter, if such a thing exists here
Its tough to see, but these are clusters of graves, tombs specifically. When they get so old nobody remembers who’s buried there, the remains are dug up and reburied somewhere else so the land can be used to farmLots of communist monuments like thisNow we’re in a neighborhood of temple furniture builders. The guy in the background was carving wood with a chainsaw, in flip-flops.I saw a lot of putty being usedThis is the temple used by the market sellers. It’s closed bc the market is closedThis is the temple for the furniture makers.The furniture makers in the sun dong neighborhood must be doing ok. They were making neighborhood improvements, and everyone we saw was pretty cheerfulSome new bits on this gateOur last stop was another shop, this one selling lacquer ware. These are eggshells. duck only, pleaseThis guy was in laying mother-of-pearlThink of the tennis elbow. The polishing is done manuallySome of the intermediate steps in the production process
And I’m glad it’s finally here. I have wanted to see this place for a loooooooong time.
Tough day at the airport. Made a rookie mistake with a boarding pass, and almost missed a flight. Also had to use the atm inside the immigration area which is always expensive. Luckily the bus ride from the airport was a breeze, and only $1.40.
It’s just as chaotic and awesome as I’d hoped for. As I was walking from the bus stop, some one grabbed my feet and told me I needed a shine! I mean, I do, but still!
I had a nice walk around this lake (cough mosquito pond cough) and some dinner at a famous pho place.
For pictures see the Ha noi album I posted on Facebook.
In this prefecture, anyway. Had a healthy breakfast, then took a streetcartrainbus to Iwakuni.
It’s just a regular town, but has a nice little park/castle area.
The town itself was established by exiled samurai. They were like “we’ll build our own castle!” The emporer let them finish, then came and tore it down lol. After the war, the US moved in and built a base. Now the castle has been rebuilt of course, and there’s lots to see in the area.
That took most of the day, and it was lovely.
When I got back, it was still light, so I walked around the town here. The village is called Jigozen. The schoolchildren thought I was hilarious, taking pictures of random stuff.
Here’s todays pictures…
You have to buy a ticket, which was funny, because there’s a perfectly good free bridge to walk across.This is the most recent incarnation. The last one was washed away in a flood very recently
There’s lots of old guys fishing down thereDon’t forget this was mostly samurai families for hundreds of years
Found a free museum where they displayed relics from the area’s past. also, you could watch a video of them rebuilding the bridge. it was neatThe brown box had a motion detection system and would automatically play some song, it really* sounded Russian?
One of several iris gardensI felt much safer inside
Yay! A cable car!
Since this basically private residence had NO original artifacts, there was a display of ancient weaponry
A map of all the castles you could visit in Japan
One a three area parksSome original content, so to speak
Found the favorite daughter!
If you remove the telephone lines, this picture could have been taken 300 years ago
Another parkThe family shrineYou cant see it, but some Shinto had tied protection on this great old oakAt the bridge again, back to the bus stop!
This next bit is just some shots from the neighborhood.
I seem to be obsessed with cemeteriesWhat a great place to be dead for eternity. What a view!Another neat old pine treeUnmistakable in any language
There’s one outside every shrine
There’s an oyster farm here
My hostelJigozen shrine, one of a dozen within a mile. it’s across the street from the hostel Youll notice that the misbehaving child is the one having fun
Travels with Froggy and Other Stuff 