Temple marathon

Two days ago, we had a temple marathon day. We made a short drive from Danang to Hoi An, which is a World Heritage Site. The town, which was saved from bombing during the war by an agreement between the two sides, is beautifully preserved and, needless to say, a tourist magnet. Our destination was several Buddhist temples.

The first two temples we visited were outside Hoi An. They were quite old--someone said 400 or more years old--and so beautiful and peaceful. All the temples have gardens. Some are large, as at Thay's root temple, Thien Mu, and some are small. But always, there are lovingly tended plants, many cultivated in a sort of bonsai style, although much larger.

The Vietnamese also have a lovely form of water garden that I've fallen in love with. It represents a mountain and is surrounded by a pool of water. These are constructed in basins or small ponds and come in many sizes. There are usually bonsai or small plants placed on the rock, and often small figurines. Sometimes there are fish in the pools. They are so peaceful and lovely.

At each temple, we are greeted by the venerables (the monks who are in charge at the temple). There is always an exchange of gifts, as well. And invariably, we get water, cookies, or a meal.

Our luncheon in Hoi An was at a large temple, and the meal was the most amazing one we've had. Not that every temple meal hasn't been delightful...believe me, they have been! But this one was a feast. The laypeople kept bringing plates of food. Just when I thought, "Okay, now THIS is it," here would come another exquisite platter. We were ravenous, having eaten breakfast at 5 a.m., so it was a little hard to know when to stop. And of course we wanted to try a little of each dish. At the end of the meal, we sang to the laypeople to thank them for their warmth and hospitality.

We had a little time to walk around Hoi An. It's a shopper's paradise. The town is well known for its clothing, and everywhere you look, there's a store with even more beautiful clothing than the last one. Several people had clothes tailored, including Sandra, who got the most divine outfits. (Don't worry, Billy, they were reasonably priced.)

Thay was invited by the owners of a resort outside Hoi An, and the entire delegation enjoyed a couple of hours of hospitality--a luscious buffet of fruit and cold drinks (and the ever-present Vietnamese coffee), a visit to the beach, a swing in the hammock. The monks played volleyball (my guess is that the Western family on the other side had no idea when they got up that morning that in the afternoon, they'd be lobbing the ball back and forth with a group of Buddhist monks!). The nuns went for a swim. It was a nice bit of downtime for all of us.

Yesterday, we deviated from the planned itinerary and took the train rather than the overnight bus. The train (the Reunification Express) was well maintained and the ride was so scenic. It was really the first we had seen of the Vietnamese countryside. Water buffalo, rice paddies, corn fields (yes, corn fields). Children playing soccer. Women and men tending the fields. It was like a moving meditation to watch the scenery.

Now we are in Nha Trang, a seaside resort. Not that we'll do much resort-ing. We have temples to visit!

See some new photos at http://tinyurl.com/326l3h.