Hoi An is known for its beautiful lanterns lining every street. They come in a variety of shapes: rice garlic, sunset garlic, papaya, cake, lotus, ink bottle, umbrella, and UFO, along with countless patterns and colours. A popular thing to do when visiting is to go to a lantern-making workshop, which Erin, Beth, Adventure Girl, and Neve were interested in doing. So the four of us set out to learn all about it on our first day in Hoi An.
We arrived at the charming space of Hoi An Handicrafts, and were welcomed with a cold tea and the strong smell of wood glue. We were escorted to a low table for four that was covered in dried glue, and surrounded by lanterns, hung floor to ceiling on the walls. Creativity flowed through the room.
We were first asked to choose the shape of lantern we wanted to make, and were brought a pile of bamboo sticks. We strung them on two wires: top and bottom until they curled in a circle.
We pushed the sticks into two iron frames and secured them by twisting off the ends. Then came the most fun part: choosing the fabric!
We had a really fun time singing along to the music, learning a new skill, laughing at our mistakes, and getting help from the talented teachers who roamed the room. In the end, we were super pleased with our designs and can't wait to hang them up at home!
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