Luck Tales: A fitting send off

Our last two days in Hoi An were gloriously uneventful. When not hiding from the blaring afternoon sun at our homestay, we have gone for morning bike rides to the beach and evening dinners out.

We also made a point of seeing a water puppet show at the small theatre in town. Water puppetry is a tradition that dates back to the 11th century. The performance is done with wooden puppets controlled by a long pole. The puppeteers stand in waist deep water and are usually hidden behind a screen. The show was small and quaint compared to big city performances but we enjoyed the story despite heat and the narrative being in Vietnamese.

Our final night was spent over more tasty food and a final send off by sending two lanterns down the river. These paper lanterns are lit up with a small candle and are considered good luck. You can buy as many as you like from one of the ladies patrolling the bridge and help set them in the water with a long pole.

So long Hoi An! It's been lovely.

Can't get enough of the architecture.

People being rowed down the river.

The puppeteers thanking the audience.

There were 6 scenes. In this one, farmers are trying to catch some fish.

Being a tourist. Even though they practically set the contraption and hat on you before you can refuse, they still expect you to buy fruit afterwards. Saying "no thanks" gets extremely exhausting.

Biking through "the suburbs".

We have been eating strictly Vietnamese food since arriving. We also haven't met a piece of street food we haven't liked. We would go back to the same people for specific things and they would be so happy to see us.