So let's start from the very beginning, after I purchased the tickets for The Hoi An Memories Show combo comprising of VIP seats, river cruise and release of lanterns from Traveloka.
Meetup at the Hoi An Lantern Park at 5.45pm; please be assured that someone will contact you via WhatsApp and share the details, including location map.
Collected our tickets; as indicated, entry to the park starts from 4pm and by taking the cruise, we actually missed out on two hours of exploring the theme park! But it's okay, I was well aware anyway, and I thought it would be nice to experience the river cruise and the release of lanterns on water.
For more details on the Cruise Down Thu Bon River, please click here.
Arriving soon at the dock next to Impressions Bridge, also known as the moonlight bridge. Frankly, I didn't know this was so walkable, just straight down from Hoi An Lantern Park! I could have easily made my way over to the theme park myself at 4pm!
River cruise and release of lantern cost separately at 120,000 dong per person if you don't purchase the combo like I did. Actually not that expensive since it's only about S$6.25.
Crossed the bridge to the other end; where Hoi An Memories Land is the only occupant of Hen Island, offering theme park, the Memories show, and also a resort and spa section. Greeting us was the Tree of Candies.
Stunning Impressions Bridge. The guide who followed us on the cruise told us to meet back at the hansel and gretel house after the show, latest by 9.30pm.
Continuing our way to the main entrance of the theme park, where food stalls lined up along the pavement. I didn't see much customers and can figure out the reasons; most will prefer to immerse themselves in the theme park.
Grand entrance where nine towering dragon pillars, representing the nine nguyen lords that founded and ruled over Quang Nam, the province that included Danang, Hoi An, and parts of Laos.
A replica of the citadel gate for the Thanh Chiem Bastion, said to be the birthplace of modern Vietnamese writing, and also popularly known as the second capital of Vietnam, after Hue.
The theme park was divided into a few sections and this would be the commercial district where colorful lanterns beautified the street and made it so endearing to the eyes.
Of course had to take some photographs!
I thought this would give some introduction to the Hoi An Memories Land; turned out they were just marketing the souvenir shops! To be fair, the souvenirs sold were of a good quality and you can't find them outside the theme park; hence, take your pick.
Proceeding with our walk.
Crossing the colorful bridge, which could have been recalibrated and renamed as rainbow bridge for more impact. Finally got a picture of Alex without large human photobombs!
Frankly, I was thinking the above at center square district were just for decorations or as large photo backdrops, and there were many other such sets around, but it's way more like that. Let us explore the rest of the sections / districts before I come to their purposes.
The delicious smell of grilled meat was so enticing!
Pricing for your reference; pity my tummy was still stuffed with our dinner at Faifoo Central Restaurant, and I am super conscious whenever I overeats!
Bet you would have been attracted by the first photograph for this post; imagine taking photographs next to the moon; backdrop of many Chinese legends. There's even a LED tunnel that appeared to be lighted by candles from far.
Self-indulgence time!
Going to the spiritual section district; despite being a communist country, religions seemed to play a very important part among the citizens. Temples were thriving from what I see.
For reference; it was quiet and solemn, unlike the rest of the theme park. Hence, I quickly took some photographs and left. The center one appeared to be for the God of Medicine. On second thought, the picture on Guanyin seemed like it was from another district.
Crossing the moon bridge.
Souvenir stall.
Why were there Batman and Minions?!
No prizes for guess which district this is; the Japanese village district! Instead of Vietnamese lanterns, you get a tunnel surrounded by Japanese lanterns! Great for photo taking; frankly, it's rare for me to take so many pictures of myself!
I honestly don't know how to make of this Japanese village as it was a mish-mash of Japanese stuff that made me scratch my head, and some were not even authentically Japanese, like cupcakes?
There's even a playground showcasing characters from Doraemon! I am not too sure if kids nowadays know of this anime but back in my childhood days, Doraemon marvelled us with future technologies like the anywhere door that's literally a teleport device!
p.s. door can be swung open / close.
Just that you don't teleport, obviously.
And this mural of ninjas was just lame, in my opinion.
A wooden structure on the right caught my attention; more so the tower with the blinding lights. Can it be climbed? Sounds like an adventure; let's check it out!
Turned out to be maze, which didn't seem too elaborate but from what I see on top of the tower, someone got lost and apparently damaged wooden walls to get out.
Chinese village district - I actually thought this was an extension of the commercial / Japanese districts; there must be something I missed out.
Menus for your reference; aside from Huda, there's also Carlsberg on the tap. Since I am in Vietnam, it's fair I should check out their local beer and Huda hailed from Hue, the last dynastic capital for Vietnam.
Love Bridge; like many other love bridges around the world, you can buy a lock, commit your love with your partner, lock it up, and then throw away the key. p.s. the last part I am not too sure though. Are you supposed to keep the key or throw it away?
Before we proceed to the The Hoi An Memories Show, remember I mentioned the large sets when I first set foot onto the center square district? Well, they were the setting for mini shows and although the brochure stated 20, I think that's the max. Based on the above, there were 13, starting from 4-5pm; another reason why it's better to go into the theme park earlier!
This was the set for "love story of the silk queen tam tang". Be prepared for the crowd surrounding the set but to me, it was an opportunity to explore the rest of the theme park when the mini-shows were ongoing since most were could be in attendance at the mini shows.
Set on the moon hill, this would be "the story of moon and wind".
Last mini show we caught - "the wedding of Princess Ngoc Hoa", the love story and mix marriage of a Vietnamese princess and a Japanese businessman.
Walking underneath the natural vine canopy to the theatre.
Massive crowd after the end of the show!
Photographs taken while on our way out, towards the hansel and gretel candy house. I was actually bemused by the by the tree with the words "I love Hoi An Memories"; I think it tried to have a heart shaped tree, but it was more like a broken heart!
Arrived before schedule timing, with Impressions Bridge in front of us.
Looking forward to our last activity of the day - Water Lantern Release! If you ask me, I wouldn't sign up for the activity although I might consider if I have friends / family members who might be curious about it.
======
Map
As above.
Website
Admission Fees
As above if you buy onsite.
Pricing via Traveloka
Hoi An Memories Show Combo - S$60.80
%20&%20Hoi%20An%20(The%20City%20of%20Lanterns)%20in%20Vietnam.JPG)
No comments:
Post a Comment