Photographer-Author Riding Nam Lion, Marble Mountains, Between Hoi an and Danang, Vietnam
On a bike ride out of Hoi Ann to Danang and China Beach, a couple of Vietnamese girls similarly on motorbike engaged me in conversation going north at 50KPH. I was encouraged to visit their home and meet their family, but politely declined as we were in slo-mo, taking photographs along the way and did not want to buzz straight up to their home. After going our own ways with my friends and stopping a few times for photographs and walks on the beach, we mysteriously encountered the two girls on motorbikes on the road again insisting we follow them into their home town for a bite to eat we were planning to have at that point in any case. They were lying in wait, yes, but we were hungry with no place else to go for food. We ended up at the Marble Mountains where we climbed to a series of Pagodas and temples built into this dramatic series of limestone crags. Marble quarries in the mountains mean the town is filled with carved marble shops as Hoi an is filled with tailors. As we promised the two girls, we visited their parents' shop after dining and the climb, complementing them on their parents' fine craftsmanship. Of course complements were not enough. We had to buy something, anything, like this fine Nam lion I ride, born of the Marble Mountains. Not feeling comfortable that it would fit in my pack, I was assured they could ship it home for me. I ended up buying a 4 inch Smiling Buddha, who's subsequent belly rubs are certain to be the source of all my good luck that followed. The moral of this story is that the Marble Mountains are worth the visit, but be cautious of friendly girls riding motorbikes engaging in conversation at high speed, as they actually may want you more to leave with big marble than to feast on food.
On a bike ride out of Hoi Ann to Danang and China Beach, a couple of Vietnamese girls similarly on motorbike engaged me in conversation going north at 50KPH. I was encouraged to visit their home and meet their family, but politely declined as we were in slo-mo, taking photographs along the way and did not want to buzz straight up to their home. After going our own ways with my friends and stopping a few times for photographs and walks on the beach, we mysteriously encountered the two girls on motorbikes on the road again insisting we follow them into their home town for a bite to eat we were planning to have at that point in any case. They were lying in wait, yes, but we were hungry with no place else to go for food. We ended up at the Marble Mountains where we climbed to a series of Pagodas and temples built into this dramatic series of limestone crags. Marble quarries in the mountains mean the town is filled with carved marble shops as Hoi an is filled with tailors. As we promised the two girls, we visited their parents' shop after dining and the climb, complementing them on their parents' fine craftsmanship. Of course complements were not enough. We had to buy something, anything, like this fine Nam lion I ride, born of the Marble Mountains. Not feeling comfortable that it would fit in my pack, I was assured they could ship it home for me. I ended up buying a 4 inch Smiling Buddha, who's subsequent belly rubs are certain to be the source of all my good luck that followed. The moral of this story is that the Marble Mountains are worth the visit, but be cautious of friendly girls riding motorbikes engaging in conversation at high speed, as they actually may want you more to leave with big marble than to feast on food.
Photographer-Author Riding Nam Lion, Marble Mountains, Between Hoi an and Danang, Vietnam
On a bike ride out of Hoi Ann to Danang and China Beach, a couple of Vietnamese girls similarly on motorbike engaged me in conversation going north at 50KPH. I was encouraged to visit their home and meet their family, but politely declined as we were in slo-mo, taking photographs along the way and did not want to buzz straight up to their home. After going our own ways with my friends and stopping a few times for photographs and walks on the beach, we mysteriously encountered the two girls on motorbikes on the road again insisting we follow them into their home town for a bite to eat we were planning to have at that point in any case. They were lying in wait, yes, but we were hungry with no place else to go for food. We ended up at the Marble Mountains where we climbed to a series of Pagodas and temples built into this dramatic series of limestone crags. Marble quarries in the mountains mean the town is filled with carved marble shops as Hoi an is filled with tailors. As we promised the two girls, we visited their parents' shop after dining and the climb, complementing them on their parents' fine craftsmanship. Of course complements were not enough. We had to buy something, anything, like this fine Nam lion I ride, born of the Marble Mountains. Not feeling comfortable that it would fit in my pack, I was assured they could ship it home for me. I ended up buying a 4 inch Smiling Buddha, who's subsequent belly rubs are certain to be the source of all my good luck that followed. The moral of this story is that the Marble Mountains are worth the visit, but be cautious of friendly girls riding motorbikes engaging in conversation at high speed, as they actually may want you more to leave with big marble than to feast on food.
On a bike ride out of Hoi Ann to Danang and China Beach, a couple of Vietnamese girls similarly on motorbike engaged me in conversation going north at 50KPH. I was encouraged to visit their home and meet their family, but politely declined as we were in slo-mo, taking photographs along the way and did not want to buzz straight up to their home. After going our own ways with my friends and stopping a few times for photographs and walks on the beach, we mysteriously encountered the two girls on motorbikes on the road again insisting we follow them into their home town for a bite to eat we were planning to have at that point in any case. They were lying in wait, yes, but we were hungry with no place else to go for food. We ended up at the Marble Mountains where we climbed to a series of Pagodas and temples built into this dramatic series of limestone crags. Marble quarries in the mountains mean the town is filled with carved marble shops as Hoi an is filled with tailors. As we promised the two girls, we visited their parents' shop after dining and the climb, complementing them on their parents' fine craftsmanship. Of course complements were not enough. We had to buy something, anything, like this fine Nam lion I ride, born of the Marble Mountains. Not feeling comfortable that it would fit in my pack, I was assured they could ship it home for me. I ended up buying a 4 inch Smiling Buddha, who's subsequent belly rubs are certain to be the source of all my good luck that followed. The moral of this story is that the Marble Mountains are worth the visit, but be cautious of friendly girls riding motorbikes engaging in conversation at high speed, as they actually may want you more to leave with big marble than to feast on food.