Road trip thru Vietnamese countryside….yesterday was an amazing adventure. Leaving Danang we drove across the famous Dragon Bridge. The Dragon is the most powerful imaginary symbol in Vietnam & SE Asia. The belief is that it protects the people. Just outside of town, we begin winding our way up into the mountains via the Hai Van Pass which connects Danang with Hue, our next destination. This pass has provided a natural barrier of strategic importance not only in the Vietnam War of my generation, but in many wars throughout history. There are fortifications at the top that mark the summit. It is a Vietnam tradition for couples getting married to take their wedding photos atop one of the forts. This is no easy feat for the bride-to-be dressed in her beautiful dress and heels…but once on top, the background of the forested mountain and the ocean below are extremely dramatic. The couple looks like a figurine on the top layer of a wedding cake. We saw many brides and they were all dressed to the nines.

We traveled off the beaten track for hours…thru bay areas where the fisherman brought in oysters and crabs… And the women got the privilege of cleaning them. We explored an area where the pure eucalyptus oil is made in a still by the locals. The smell was very strong. But, I guess our favorite stop was a small town called Thanh Toan Bridge Village, near the DMZ zone. It sits amid the rice patties, in which the North Vietnamese soldiers built underground tunnels which they used to sneak up on the bunkers the American soldiers built and hid in. The town is named after an ornate bridge built in 1776. We had the opportunity to visit with a local 80 year old woman who showed us the entire process of how the locals hand processed the rice for centuries. There were also many elaborate family temples built over 500 years ago that survived the war. Most have incredible mosaic tile designs inside and out. The turtle represents the Yen (earth) and the bird represents the Yang (Heaven). This days was definitely a first hand view of the Vietnamese culture and traditions. The poverty is somewhat overwhelming in many areas.

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