For all of the important work that keeps us busy during the week, there are ample opportunities to have fun here in Vietnam. Below are just a few pictures and a handful of words to describe some of the adventures I have been having as of late!

PRETENDING to take a ride on a friend's motorbike! Traveling by motorbike has been one of my favorite aspects of this trip, but you won't see me riding around the streets of Danang anytime soon. The traffic is...harrowing, to put it mildly, but I have heard that the streets of Saigon are exponentially worse. Either way, I think I will stay a passenger for now.

A few weekends ago, we visited BaNa Hills, a hillside resort(well, to be honest, resort in progress) which is also the site of the longest and highest non-stop cable car in the world. The ride up took around 20-25 minutes, but the views were AMAZING both along the journey and at the top.

This past weekend, we went swimming at Elephant Waterfalls (note the elephant shaped rock in the bottom left corner). Although it is supposed to be the rainy season already, it has still been scorching here the past couple weeks so swimming was a nice, albeit unfortunately temporary, respite from the heat.

Karaoke with friends is a regular event here in Danang. I love to sing, and am even part of a singing group at my school in New Paltz, but the beauty of my Vietnamese friends' voices puts any and all of my vocal emissions to shame.

Too much Shopping to be done in Hoi An, but no complaints here. I got a winter jacket tailored so I will have something to wear on my first confrontation with the cold back at home (I am sad that I have no use for a wool jacket during my stay here because mine is so beautifully made!)

At night, Hoi An, a neighboring town popular with tourists, is lit up by lanterns. Combined with the ancient architecture of the once popular seaport, it is truly a beautiful place to be at night time.

In front of Hoi An's Japanese Covered Bridge with friends.

Imagine storefront after storefront just like this one, brimming with lanterns of all shapes, colors, and sizes. Really magical!

The night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, some friends and I took a boat ride along the river in Hoi An. This short trip was perhaps one of the most fun, yet simultaneously terrifying, experiences I have had so far on this trip, as none of my friends know how to swim well and at times, I was confident our boat was in grave danger of sinking!
A crowd gathered in Hoi An to watch a dragon dance during the Mid-Autumn festival. Traffic came to a complete stop and I could have sworn that night that I saw every person there ever was in the world.