Hoi An Snapshots

These are some shots from Hoi An.

Located in the center of Vietnam Hoi An was once a bustling trade city. Much of the old city is still entact today and you can walk amongst the centuries old homes and buildings.

The architecture here is influenced by China and Japan and at night the whole of the old city is alight with beautiful red lanterns.

 Hoi An is on a strip of land situated between a river and the ocean. The local culture still relies heavily on the waterways for both food and transportation.

This is a photo of a local fishing boat on the river, you can just see the mountains to the west in the background.

 Hoi An's multi-ethnic population means that many gods and goddesses are worshiped or have been worshiped. 

Here are some figures of Chinese Gods, as well as Buddha and some Confucian idols. As they stared out from the bars of this store window I had the distinct feeling that they were alive.

Some of the more colorful tourist boats that ply the river bring people to the nearby islands. 

 Water cultures worldwide can be very similar. For example, I find it interesting that there are eyes painted on the bows. It seems no matter where you go From Scandinavia to Vietnam people believe in giving their boats eyes, whether to ward off evil or give clear sight in bad weather.

All photos were taken by Kathleen Broadhurst, and for that matter this post was written by her too.