Moonlight or Childrens festival

Tonight to my surprise the city became a giant party. There were clues to bee seen that something was coming, but it was not obvious to me. There were young people everywhere. The beaches were filled with thousands and there was muffler to muffler traffic. I went out for a visit to friends and had no idea that there was anything unusual about the day except it was Tuesday. As I left, I noted the unusually high number of busses that were maneuvering to park along the beach front, but never gave them a second thought. I also noticed that there were almost hundreds of students that were being directed by teachers about something on the beach. That is not unusual as there are many times the schools will teach some kind of course in the outdoors. It was the beginning of the moon festival and childrens days. For 2 days the city was alive with dragon dancers and beating drums. Getting around was a bit difficult because a street at random might be crowded with hundreds of parents with their children watching the martial art dancers with the colorful dragon attire. Driving home later in the evening was crowded with young adults out for a romantic evening. On the second night, The moon came out looking unlike any moon I have seen before… ( I guess hence the name)

Here are some photos.

Tomorrow evening I am off to Saigon to go on an adventure that very few foreigners could ever experience. The Government has just announces a new national reserve deep in the Mekong along the Cambodian border. My friends Hau and Nghia (Manager and Owner of V’Explore Travel) and I are joining up with the owner of a tour company from Laos, and another from Cambodia. Together we will spend a couple of days in an area that one day may become a tourist destination. This is where I really enjoy being seen as a local and not a foreigner. There are almost no doors closed to me in Vietnam.

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6 thoughts on “Moonlight or Childrens festival

  1. Owee, was this the festival where they put the candles on little boats and float them in water? I remember being in Thailand when they had this festival but I remember it was in Nov. not in Sept.

  2. Thanks Marilyn… Ray if you read this, the Email that you provided with your comments does not work. It gets returned to me

  3. HOW EXCITING- what a wonderful adventure- i look forward to hearing all about this new destination – i’d for sure love to have a look- my last visit to the Mekong was a bit disappointing.

    love your photos today btw.

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