An evening stroll along the riverside in Hoi An, Vietnam, produces a number of fascinating images, to include this one of a vendor selling paper lanterns.
For 20,000 Vietnamese Dong, (about $1 USD), we launched yellow and red lanterns out into the open water, all the while reflecting upon how lucky we are to be here.
Photography & text © Tricia A. Mitchell. All Rights Reserved.
Tricia A. Mitchell is a freelance writer and photographer. Born in Europe but raised in the United States, she has lived in Valletta, Malta; Heidelberg, Germany; and Split, Croatia. An avid globetrotter who has visited more than 65 countries, she has a penchant for off-season travel. Tricia has learned that travel’s greatest gift is not sightseeing, rather it is the interactions with people. Some of her most memorable experiences have been sharing a bottle of champagne with distant French cousins in Lorraine, learning how to milk goats in a sleepy Bulgarian village, and ringing in the Vietnamese New Year with a Hanoi family. She welcomes any opportunity to practice French and German, and she loves delving into a place’s history and artisanal food scene. A former education administrator and training specialist, Tricia has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in international relations. She and her husband, Shawn, married in the ruins of a snowy German castle. They’ve been known to escape winter by basing themselves in coastal Croatia or Southeast Asia. Her writing has appeared in Fodor’s Travel, Frommer’s, and International Living. View more posts
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Travels With Tricia
Is it decorative or a ceremonial reason? I seem to recall that people put lanterns in the water to remember loved ones.
Victor, the lanterns offered to visitors in Hoi An are mostly for decorative (and commercial) reasons. Our vendor spoke enough English for the transaction, but wasn’t able to share the story behind the lanterns. Like you, I’ve also heard that lanterns are released to guide spirits to a final and happy resting place – one of many beautiful spiritual practices we’ve witnessed here in Asia!
Beautiful colours, reflections and ‘life’ shown here, Tricia. Your photos are showing beauty all the time!
This was a spot that I’ve so enjoyed visiting every night while here in Hoi An; we bought paper lanterns from this woman two nights in a row. With the warm glow of candle-lit lanterns on the water, and vibrant lanterns on buildings, it is such a romantic city!