We know you don't believe us but we really have not planned our trip around the biggest parties and festivals in the Asian culture but when you are away for six months you are bound to hit at least half of them and especially around year end in Asia. These people love to party! Good thing we have some experience in this field! Haha
It is called Tet in Vietnam and it is based on the Chinese Lunar New Year and this year is Year of the Monkey!!! Guess what year Shayne is??? Yup, they say that I was born into the year of the Monkey and Benjilynn agrees fully after reading the personality blurb on the Chinese menu, although I prefer being considered a silver back gorilla breed of monkey.
I really like the idea of having 2 New Years, about 6 weeks apart as I was able to test drive my New Years Resolutions and then tweek a couple here and there. We also got to party in 2 incredible cities, the first in Chang Mai and the second in Hoi An for Tet.
Tet is a big deal here and lasts one full week. Stores are closed, kids are out of school and familes and friends gather every day and party every night. What a fun environment!
Hoi An is called an Ancient City and is located in central Vietnam on the Thu Bon River delta where it dumps into the South China Sea and was the largest, oldest port in Vietnam and is now recognized as a World Heritage Site by Unesco. But aside from all that, it is a very calm, relaxing, pretty, romantic town. The down town area is built right on the river with walkways and bridges all the way down.
It is called Tet in Vietnam and it is based on the Chinese Lunar New Year and this year is Year of the Monkey!!! Guess what year Shayne is??? Yup, they say that I was born into the year of the Monkey and Benjilynn agrees fully after reading the personality blurb on the Chinese menu, although I prefer being considered a silver back gorilla breed of monkey.
I really like the idea of having 2 New Years, about 6 weeks apart as I was able to test drive my New Years Resolutions and then tweek a couple here and there. We also got to party in 2 incredible cities, the first in Chang Mai and the second in Hoi An for Tet.
Tet is a big deal here and lasts one full week. Stores are closed, kids are out of school and familes and friends gather every day and party every night. What a fun environment!
Hoi An is called an Ancient City and is located in central Vietnam on the Thu Bon River delta where it dumps into the South China Sea and was the largest, oldest port in Vietnam and is now recognized as a World Heritage Site by Unesco. But aside from all that, it is a very calm, relaxing, pretty, romantic town. The down town area is built right on the river with walkways and bridges all the way down.
The colours were amazing, everything had a colour whether it was painted, aged, stained or peoples clothing, there was colour everywhere and so much fun to photograph as the lights and colours bounced off the peaceful river.
We thought the colours of this city were amaxing during the daytime and we were not prepared for the night time beauty and serene environment as we had dinner at an outdoor restaurant on the river. These are some shots from our dinner seats. I am not even going to start talking about the food as this could be a novel, this country and especially this region is all about the food. We ate and drank very well as we waited for the midnight fireworks show and party.
Now it was time for some Tet celebration so we grabbed our beers and headed down the street to the party. As you can imagine, if you have seen our previous posts, the fireworks shows in Asia are mind-blowing, so just imagine the show for Chinese New Years in China's neighboring country where the Chinese go to celebrate New Years! Wow, wow, wow, is all I could yell through the entre show. There are no words to describe the explosive light show which took place right over our heads. Seriously, we went home picking shrapnel from our hair and smelling like gun powder. This was sensory overload-explode!
Sorry we don't have too many pics as it is very difficult to photograph fireworks from directly below them and with rice wine in one hand, beer in the other and camera dangling. It was a night to enjoy!
Sorry we don't have too many pics as it is very difficult to photograph fireworks from directly below them and with rice wine in one hand, beer in the other and camera dangling. It was a night to enjoy!
As we walked back to our hotel at 3 AM we were fully satisfied with the days events and the wonderful culture we had just celebrated with. I like this pic as I think you can feel the late night environment as everyone made their way peacefully back to their accommodations with cool little fires buring on the sidewalks as part of tradional ritual and clean up.
We were not aware at the time but Hoi An is considered one of the best Asian cities to celebrate Tet, we can attest to that and we now understand why there were so many Asians from other countries, especially China, in this beautiful city for this special celebration. Thank you Hoi An!
And a quick selfie for SK, enjoy!