Danang's riverfront promenade welcomes those fresh from the Hanoi moto scene and leads us quietly along the banks of the Han River to the magnificent Cham Sculpture Museum. This is easily a major highlight of the central coast of Vietnam with a brilliant collection of 7th to 12th century sculptures. Grilled squid on the street is a close second to the museum!
Not quite beach weather yet, we decide to forgo China Beach and head south to Hoi An's ancient streets, arriving amidst flooded rice paddies with a flat tire! It's easy to see how vulnerable this town is to the typhoons that have hammered Vietnam this fall. But, within a day, the river recedes a foot or two and all seems well. There are a few culinary reasons to visit Hoi An and one of them is their crusty rice pancakes and White Rose dumplings! Like Ancient Lijiang in China, the architecture is hidden by hundreds of shops, but instead of souvenirs, Hoi An offers up tailors. There must be hundreds of them, nearly every 50 feet, interspersed by a multitude of shoe shops!
Nearby in a lush mountain valley rests the remains of the longest continuously inhabited city in the Mekong Region. Though only inhabited by tourists these days, My Son still has a presence...despite the American bombings that reduced much of it to rubble.
Not quite beach weather yet again, we decide to head north to Hue and stop at the Marble Mountains along the way.
