Happy New Year!

Today we celebrate the New Year for the second time in two months.  It's finally officially Tet.  It feels like the celebrating, decorating and excitement began months ago, and the big day is finally here.  Tet Year's Eve was much more festive than what we experienced for our own New Year's Eve, so it was a nice "do over."

For the past two weeks the streets have been lined with Tet flowers for purchase - like Christmas tree stands in December at home.  Most houses have a kumquat tree (of a reasonable size) or a peach tree inside with a few decorations and flashing lights.  They also have gigantic yellow mums on either side of the outside door.  More and more colorful lanterns have been going up every day. 

Hoi An Street Lanterns

We decided to spend the day in Danang yesterday in the lead up to New Year's Eve.  We stopped off at Marble Mountain and showed Grandma and Grandpa around a little - visiting the pagodas and Buddha statues.

   

Posing with the Happy Buddha

Then we continued into the city where we began to notice that almost every business was closed. Lovely.  We made a stop at the market to stock up on cashews and beef jerky before eating a desperation lunch at a cafe across the street - possibly the worst food we've had in Vietnam in five months (but they were open).

Next we had our taxi driver bring us to the flower market so we could witness the final Tet flower purchasing frenzy.  The lot was fairly picked over, but the kids scored some cotton candy, so all was well with the world.  Our final stop was to be for a movie, but sadly the cinema was preparing for Tet as well, and everything was closed.  Grrrr.  We headed back to Hoi An to readjust our frame of mind and get into the Tet celebrating mode.

Stocking up on incense for the holiday



Bao nhieu tien?  How much for that cotton candy?



The Year of the Cat (Brianna &  John's Year)

After a few hours of recharging, we headed out onto the streets around 9 p.m. to meet Grandma and Grandpa at their hotel.  The streets were madness.  We sat on our bikes in creeping traffic for 30 minutes, slowly making our way into the Ancient City and trying not to get burned by hot motorbike exhaust pipes in the process.  At the hotel we joined in a staff celebration in the lobby - enjoying salty mango, pickles, dried lobster and watermelon seeds. Then we headed in to the Ancient City for the celebration.

The riverside was in its full glory - strung with beautiful lanterns and new statues on the water.  This is officially the year of the cat, so there are new floating cats on the river.  A large stage was set up featuring Vietnamese performers.  Games and balloons lined the street, and the restaurants (on the river at least) were full and open for business.  We found a table at one and made ourselves comfortable for the long wait for food and drinks.

Midnight brought an official countdown and fireworks.  We could have been in Burlington on the waterfront for First Night except that I wasn't frozen to the bone and wondering where I had left my toes. Naturally the madness returned when it was time to leave the riverside.  People and motorbikes streamed over the bridge and through the streets of the Ancient City.  We told Grandma to just close her eyes and walk, and somehow we all made it back to the hotel with our toes intact.

   

New Year's Smiles

Waiting for the countdown

I'm guessing Grandma and Grandpa have made a New Year's Resolution...never to celebrate New Year's in Vietnam again:).