As I’ve discussed previously the heat is blistering here. In Southeast Asia one of the many beautiful things that is either directly or indirectly caused by an attempt to avoid the sun are night markets, and Vietnam boasts some of the best. Most cities have designated streets that get shut off right at dusk and these massive mobile markets spring to life. You can find anything you can at any other market only it’s outside and it gives everything a carnival like feel. They even prepare a corner of the market with bouncy houses and space for children to rent the old power wheels toys and the newer hover boards to keep them occupied while mom and dad eat, drink and get a little shopping in.
The first Night Market we went to was in Da Nang and not very far from our apartment. Chợ Dêm Sơn Trà or Son Tra night market. as we are living in Son Tra district of the city it was a manageable walk from home, but it was to hot so we took a taxi. We were in the middle of an epic heat wave and even at 9 o’clock at night the heat index was well above 100 degrees. In these oven like conditions your skin felt as if it was baking in the sun even with its absence at night.
We arrived at the market and the cab driver let us out at its entrance and Diễm and I headed in to inspect its stalls and perhaps grab a snack. Unfortunately for me I had prepared a delicious little dinner of herb marinated and sautéed chicken with a bowl of phố and all its appropriate accoutrements. I was unaware we were going to the market or I would have forgone dinner for some street delicacies. We did however enjoy a bit of ice cream a few smoothies and I had a beer or two as well in a somewhat successful attempt at staving of the heat. This market was a pretty standard one as far as markets went, but it was nice to walk around and enjoy the scenery of the amazing seafood stalls and little bbq carts. We would be going to the night market of Hội An tomorrow and I would be sure to save some space for that market in my belly. 
There is something I did notice however that I wasn’t sure how to feel about. Those that read my blogs will probably remember a post from 4 months ago were I stumbled across a display case full of American high school class rings from the 60’s and 70’s. in a gold shop in Da Nang. I stumbled on them here too only it was different. The night market is more for cosmetic jewelry and knock off Gucci flip flops and inexpensive clothing so I thought it odd to have a bunch of gold rings laying around. I picked one up to examine it and noticed the one next to it was identical, and the reality hit me like an uppercut, they were newly manufactured replicas made from cheap metal and sold as trivial cosmetic trinkets. The gold class rings dumped into the gold markets of Vietnam and that still fill its cases today are so popular they are manufacturing replicas. It was a thought I couldn’t at the moment quite wrap my head around. I brushed it off for future contemplation and went to find a beer.
Hội An, ah yes, the beloved Hội An. I had the privilege of going to Hội An back in January….or maybe it was February. It’s not important, what is of import is that Hội An is stunningly beautiful. Last time I was able to eat the sandwich made famous by Bourdain himself and wander the streets of this UNESCO World Heritage Site. Last time I did it in the daytime, this time I would explore its beautiful night market. 
Originally part of the Champa empire dating from 192 A.D. until its annexation by the Đại Việt in 1832, Hội An sits in an important trading crossroads in the eastern indochina peninsula. Located at the Delta of the Thu Bồn river it was geographically important in its ability to bring in goods from deep in the jungles of the indochina peninsula and spread them around the world. Having had Burroughs of peoples from all over Asia and eventually Europe, the Portuguese would establish a presence in 1532, the city boasts some incredible architecture. The Japanese built the famous bridge in its center in the 16th century to link their neighborhood to the mainland. It is the only known covered bridge in the world that also doubles as a Buddhist temple.
Eventually becoming the trading capital of the Cham empire, Hội An would rise to an international status almost unparalleled for its time. By the 17th century she would have neighborhoods established by Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Dutch and Indian merchants. By the 18th Century both Japanese and Chinese merchants considered Hội An to be the best trading destination in all of Asia and her ceramics were being exported as far away as the Mediterranean and the Levant. This was not to last however due to an unusual friendship and a strange time in Vietnam’s history.
As the Cham empires influence waned the Nguyễn dynasty would begin to consolidate the peninsula into something more closely resembling modern day Vietnam. However, it’s beginnings were all but certain and a period of instability threatened the region. In 1777 the Tây Sơn Clan revolted against the Nguyễn dynasty and murdered the royal family. The lone surviver was the 15 year old nephew of the slain lord Nguyễn Phúc Dương named Nguyễn Ánh. Forced into hiding and unsure of his future, he had a chance meeting with the French Priest Pigneau de Behaine and an unlikely friendship was born. It was this friendship that grew over the next decade that would ultimately allow an audience to King Louise the XVI in Versailles in February of 1787. Though aide was not immediate and debate slowed Ánh’s advance, it would ultimately lead to assistance from the French in consolidating Vietnam and crushing the Tây Sơn revolt. Among the concessions by the newly established Việt Nam to the French was the port city of Đà Nẫng. With the mouth of the river in Hội An drying with silt and the French pushing trade in their newly acquired city of Da Nang Hội An became a relative backwater, frozen in time some 200 years ago.
A living breathing museum, Hội An is both magical and beautiful. To walk her streets at night she is even more beautiful than I remember. Her name means guilded city which harks back to her days as a trading juggernaut. Her nickname is the city of lanterns and her streets are filled with workshops hand making everything from the beautiful lanterns which line her streets, clothes, books and leather products. The night market rests on the island in the center of the rivers mouth and water lanterns dance through the river as the lover laden Viet style gondolas navigate the river and its canals that criss cross the city. You can buy a paper water lantern for a few cents and step to the waters edge and release your wish into its mesmerizing reflection. 
Children laugh, lovers kiss, the hungry eat its an absolutely unique and beautiful experience. I wandered the food section getting my fingers on some grilled octopus, barbecued frog and various other things Diễm showed up with, all tasty and delicious. We bought some matching clothes a selfie stick and got all crazy Asian touristy for a night. In short, we had a blast! We caught a traditional folk show near the end and had an absolutely magical evening. The cool breeze created by the water everywhere made the heat bearable and I was having such a wonderful time that I didn’t even care my cook was smoking over my dinner. I got a few laughs at some of the names we found around the town and one in particular was riotous. The Vietnamese have an incredible sense of humor. 
Our time was drawing to an end here and it was time to head back to Da Nang. Vietnam has such an odd makeup. The cities are incredibly modern in places, though a bit rustic as well for western standards, but in between is a world apart. As we headed out of Hội An and began the 45 minute taxi ride back up the coast to Da Nang its like going back in time. Halfway between the two cities darkness envelopes everything. Outside the security of the street lights, behind the homes and businesses that line the streets of the road to Hội An is the vacuum of darkness. Rice patties and farmers homes as far as the geography allows, many still in this day and age do not have electricity and within miles of one of the largest cities on the indochina peninsula people still do their evening activities by candle and lamp light. Imagine if you will, a world still devoid of hot water.
As I stared out the car window it was almost as if there was a presence behind the facade of the visible street, some menacing force consuming the light. A look through an alleyway or a gap in buildings exposed a nothingness that could be neither seen nor explained. Not a shred of light in the distance, cloud cover blocked the stars and moon and not even the faint twinkle of light could be seen in the distance. A strange sight to behold for sure coming from a landscape back home were there is always light emitting from something somewhere. A portion of a tree illuminated by a street lamp, but beyond the reach of the light there was nothing. It was as if branches and leaves floated in mid air. A scene, I must say, which had my mind wandering off to the old studies of Descartes. Did life, earth, wind and water actually exist out there in the all encompassing expanse of nothingness? Cogito ergo sum.
