Hoi An is a tourist town attracting Indian, Australian and Asian tourists.  Colored lanterns are its hallmark, stemming from the days that the Chinese community would hang out a different colored lantern to mark significant events — births, marriages, etc.  At dusk the river fills with boats decorated with colored lanterns.  Our hotel room overlooked the river and the sight was astonishing.  We visited a “silk factory” and followed the progress of silk manufacture from caterpillar to cloth, walked the old city and the markets, shopped a bit at one of the many custom tailor shops (I finally succumbed although the humidity really put me off the idea at first), and generally relaxed and had fun. We went to a “cultural show and the music and dancing were quite impressive.

The tour included a trip to the My Son Temple about an hour outside the city.  Built by the Cham people (the Vietnamese version of Native Americans and apparently treated in a similar fashion) with buildings that date from between the 4th and 14th centuries, honoring Hindu Gods, with most of the statue faces gone (probably stolen for precious stones and minerals). Discovered by the French in the 20th century and somewhat excavated with lots more to do.