Monasteries and Mopeds...Da Nang/Hue, Vietnam

I’m sitting out on the pool deck, it’s about 1am on Wednesday morning gliding over the South China Sea. I feel a bit guilty for being up this late as I just finished listening to a lecture on the epidemic of sleep deprivation. Cecadas have invaded the ship and are carrying their tune across the deck reminding me of home. Sometimes, when I would get stressed out, I used to go to my backyard late at night and disappear in the darkness, thinking about how much I wanted to just sit and think for a few years...perhaps strumming a few clever tunes along the way. The most brilliant and personally satisfying times of my life thus far have been when I’ve had nothing to do but think. I suppose that sounds ridiculous, seeing as how thinking is the essential element in brilliance…but I know what I mean.

I suppose that’s why I liked the monestary we went to in Hue, Vietnam yesterday. Whenever white people in America say they’re Buddhist I tend to laugh in the back of my head, assuming they’re going through some anti-conservative religious upbringing shiz they’ll grow out of around 35 or when they fall in love with someone who doesn’t share their same views. In Vietnam it seems real, and I feel like I should learn about real from them.


SOME PICS/VID FROM DA NANG & HUE, VIETNAM

Rice fields along the countryside drive into the city...


Once we got to the city, I saw no more than a handful of cars/trucks/busses. Mopeds ruled the streets and sidewalks. A Vietnamese moving van...


City Traffic


Buddhist Monestary






Roadside incense on the way to the former king's estate...


Former king's dojo (spelling?)...




Former king's tomb...