With the humidity reaching peak levels in Hanoi, it was almost a relief to head to Danang/ Hoi An for the weekend. The sun was relentless there, but all the pretty sights and the shopping prospects compensated well. My friend, Suman, and her parents joined me in Hoi An; Souvik, however, had to travel for work, and missed our fabulous trip.

I loved the Palm Garden resort from my last visit, so we headed right back there.

The Ancient Town of Hoi An was as charming as ever, the lanterns making it look pretty and inviting. We moved away from the main street to the other side of the river and were blessed with the sight of more lantern shops all in a row!

Some of the heavily promoted excursions beckoned us, and we booked on a riverboat ride to Kim Bong (Carpentry village) and Thanh Ha (Pottery village).

I have to admit, the journey was way more fun than the destination, which is a good thing because we spent most of the time on the boat. The river was beautiful, fishermen in their boats casting their nets, some ferries carrying the locals and their bikes, and us taking turns at the wheel.

The artisan villages were mostly turning out masses of the usual souvenirs; it was amusing to see Ozzie boomerangs getting carved out in ‘Nam!

The artisans themselves were typical hardworking poor Vietnamese, who managed to stay cheerful in spite of everything!

As for the sunrise over the Cua Dai beach, it couldn’t get more picture perfect! Of course, I messed with my camera a little, to get some dramatic images.