Feb 5th – Hue to Hoi An

Feb 5^th – Hue to Hoi An

 Sadly another cold and murky start to the day as we headed south towards Hoi An. We had been promised a trip with great views through the mountains just north of Danang. We’d discussed forgoing the bumpy trip on minor roads and Quy agreed that it didn’t make much sense. So, we pressed on for Danang. Quy told us that Danang is where a lot of US servicemen stayed after their tour of duty and hung out mainly at what was known as China beach. Needless to say that the Vietnamese don’t call it that these days as their relationship with China has deteriorated and refer to it by its local name My Khe. It was once a 20 mile white sandy beach that on a nice day could be quite stunning. Sadly today a lot of large hotels have sprung up and claimed parts of the beach.

We stopped at the museum of Cham sculpture. With their roots dating back as far as 192 AD, Vietnam's indigenous Cham people lived an Indian way of life in both culture and language. The Cham Museum in Danang is dedicated to this period and the Champa existence which began predominantly in the coastal areas of Vietnam. Housing the largest exhibition of Cham sculpture in the world, the museum displays almost 300 terracotta and stone works of art ranging from the 7th to the 15th centuries.

Many of the exhibits are considered masterpieces of their field showcased according to the region in which they were found with a total of ten separate interior exhibition rooms. All of the sculptures on display fall into one of the following sections – icon, pedestal, pediment, or fragment, with the area in which they were found determining where they are exhibited. Some of the exhibits are minus their heads which is because the French took these back to Paris. I fail to see the logic in that as they have a head without a body and they left behind a body without a head.

We continued on for Hoi An and lunch in very pleasant restaurant by the river. From what little we’ve seen of Hoi An during our drive in it looks nice. After lunch we continued to our hotel which is lovely and just on the outskirts of town.

Kim wanted to get a dress and some trousers so we went to a place that Alicia had used last year. We had stopped at a place that Quy used, but that wanted a lot of money. After that we went and explored Hoi An. Hội An is a city on Vietnam’s central coast known for its well-preserved Ancient Town, cut through with canals. The former port city’s melting-pot history is reflected in its architecture, a mix of eras and styles from wooden Chinese shophouses and temples to colorful French colonial buildings, ornate Vietnamese tube houses and the iconic Japanese Covered Bridge with its pagoda. Needless to say given how close it is to Tet the whole place was busy. After a while we found a bar and beer to watch the world go by. Around was an Australian who had been travelling with his wife for some time and just loved Vietnam, also there was a Canadian gent who was on his third visit to Hoi An and said that he rarely eat in a restaurant as he was always being invited to join the locals. We ambled back through the old town and came across a bridge from where you could launch paper boats with candles in them. Tamsin bought 3 from a toothless old lady. It was quite poignant for Kim.

We wandered back through the old town enjoying the lanterns towards our hotel and a drink before dinner. 

Feb 4th – Hue City Tour

Feb 4^th – Hue City Tour

Quy picked us up at 8.30am and we had a very short walk just up the road to catch our boat for a 30 minute trip down the Perfume river to the seven storey Thien Mu Pagoda.  The set up was similar to that of the cave boats, so we were probably their only chance of making some extra money that week.  They had a little shop on board  and they did their best to persuade Kim to buy some silk pyjamas, which were obviously not the real thing.  As we wanted to buy something from them, we ended up buying yet more of the very pretty 3D cards.

Dragon head on the boat

Thien Mu (or Elderly Goddess) Pagoda was built in 1601.  The 1^st thing you see is the Happiness and Grace Tower which has 7 tiers; each storey containing an altar to a different Buddha.  Arranged around the tower are 4 buildings, one of which contains the Great Bell weighing 2200kg and cast in 1710.  Beyond the tower, the entrance to the Pagoda is through a triple gateway patrolled by 6 vividly painted guardians.  The 1^st monk to commit suicide through self immolation came from this monastery and the Austin car in which he made his final journey to Saigon in 1963 can be seen here.  There was also a big collection of Bonsai trees of various sizes which were very lovely.

The good self

We then drove for 30 minutes to the tomb of Emperor Minh Mang, considered by many to be the finest of the Imperial tombs.  Built between 1840 and 1843, it is set in 7 hectares of peaceful  gardens and ponds.  At this time of year, there’s no doubt that the extra flowers due to Tet add to the ambiance.   There is a single central and sacred axis which draws you seamlessly from one element to another.  We started off in a ceremonial courtyard containing an array of statuary and then moved on the stela pavilion.  We then continued downwards through a series of courtyards visiting the Sung An temple dedicated to the memory of the Emperor and his wife, and finally looked out over 2 sets of stone bridges.  The 1^st consists of 3 spans, with the central one being for the sole use of the Emperor. 

The 2^nd single bridge leads to a short flight of stairs with naga balustrades , at the end of which is a locked bronze door leading to the tomb itself which is surrounded by a brick wall.  No-one is quite sure where the Emperor is buried within the wall as apparently anyone involved with his burial was murdered so they couldn’t reveal the exact burial place – this is to protect the tomb from robbers.  Personally, I found it hard to believe that in this day and age that modern technology wouldn’t have found the tomb, but our guide insisted the exact location was still unknown.

We then drove back into town and had lunch at Little Italy opened since 2002 and yes, Kim did have pasta!! And Chris had a noodle soup that he regretted later!?

Next stop was The Citadel which covers an area of 520 hectares.  Its walls are 21 metres thick, nearly 7 metres high and 10000 metres in circumference with 10 entrances topped by watch towers.  Inside the Citadel, the Great Enclosure contains the Imperial City and the Forbidden City.

The Imperial City is built on the same principles as the Forbidden Palace in Beijing and is enclosed by thick outer walls.  It covers 6 square kilometres  - sufficient to house the Emperor and all his entourage.  We entered the Imperial City through the Ngo Mon (Royal) Gate, which is surmounted by a pavilion from which the Emperor could view palace ceremonies.  The gate has been restored by UNESCO and apparently looks very garish in the sunlight, but in the drizzle, the impact of the restoration was lost on us.  North of the gate is the Golden Water Bridge which leads to the Great Rites Courtyard on the north side of which is the Palace of Supreme Harmony used  for Gia Long’s coronation in 1806.

North of the Palace of Supreme Harmony is the Purple Forbidden City, pretty much bombed to oblivion in the 1968 Tet offensive.  Most of the surviving buildings of interest are to be found on the west side of the palace and include the Temple of Generations and Hien Lam Cac, a pavilion built in 1821 in front of which stand 9 massive bronze urns.  As we slowly made our way towards the exit through various decaying gateways, we admired the once brightly coloured plasterwork which adorns them and  is so desperately in need of some maintenance.

Our last port of call for the day was a local produce market close to our hotel.  It was heaving with people and motorbikes coming at you from every direction, but we enjoyed the experience.  Certainly, all the produce looked incredibly fresh and we saw fruit and vegetables that we’d never come across before and probably never will do again!

Feb 3rd Dong Hoi to Hue

Feb 3^rd Dong Hoi to Hue

Due to our unfortunate delays yesterday, we asked Quy to rejig our itinerary.  We decided to forgo the planned excursions for the day in favour of what we should have done yesterday i.e. the caves.

We had a reasonably long drive to Phong Na National Park.  We stopped just on the edge of it to take some photos of the dramatic limestone scenery set off by the verdant paddy fields in front of them.  

We parked up and boarded our little fishing boat for the 1.5km cruise down the river to the cave entrance.  The couple who lived on the fishing boat eked out a living from taking tourists to the cave but as there are so many of them, they generally only get one job a week as it’s done on a strict rota.

I enjoyed slowly chugging down the river getting small glimpses into other people’s lives  – we saw people doing their washing in the river, water buffalo feeding by the river and small ferries being rowed across moving people and their motor bikes from one side of the river to the other.

Finally, we arrived at the cave entrance which looked like a small slash in the bottom of a tall cliff.  We stopped to get tickets and picked up a surly black clad individual who was apparently there to check we didn’t deface anything.  Engines are not permitted in the caves, our husband and wife team both got a large oar and rowed us through them – he from the back and she from the front. 

We ended up being rowed in for 0.5km and we kept thinking as we turned each corner “it can’t get any better?!”, but it did.  It was just a stunning experience, made even more special as we just glided through it almost silently apart from the constant gasps of amazement.  Our photos simply don’t do it justice.  On the way back, we were dropped off just short of the cave exit and walked through some of the towering stalactites and stalagmites which we all really enjoyed.  We then rejoined the boat and were taken back down river to our van.

We then had about a 40 minute drive to Paradise cave which was only discovered in 2005 by the British Cave Research Association.  The cave is a wopping 31 km long and parts of it are 100 metres tall and 150 metres wide…..Yes, it’s BIG!!!  Many people consider this to be the most impressive of all the caves.

As time and my energy levels were short, we got the buggy to the bottom of 570 metre uphill concrete path through the tropical forest to the cave entrance.  I struggled as was wheezing so badly, but Chris dragged me up there!!  For such a huge cave, the entrance was tiny – down some wooden steps through a small crack in the rock and if you were tall you had to duck.  You actually had to descend a wide wooden stairway that zig zagged down the cave side but it gave you the most incredible initial views of the cave and it is simply jaw dropping.  The wooden walkway takes you about 2 kilometres into the cave and you twist and turn a bit so that there’s always something new, unexpected and spectacular around the next corner.  Again, our photos won’t have done it justice, but it was very special and not something any of us will ever forget. 

Once we’d visited the caves, we then had a long drive (over 4 hours) to Hue.  As it was raining, I slept for most of it only waking up as we got to the outskirts of the city.  In spite of the rain, it looked interesting – colonial buildings and lots of river action.

As I was feeling quite under the weather still, I retired to bed when we got to the hotel, but Kim and Chris met up for cocktails and dinner.

2nd February - Hanoi to Dong Hoi

2nd February - Hanoi to Dong Hoi

Our taxi was coming to pick us up at 5.40 so set the alarm for 5.05.  In the event, I didn't' need the alarm as was quite ill in the night and hardly slept at all.  I've picked up a cold plus some other sort of bug with bouts of shivering Interspersed with the occasional hot bout all accompanied by muscle cramps and aching joints plus some vomiting too!! 

It was quite a change travelling through Hanoi so early as the traffic was almost non existent, although various fruit and flower markets were very busy.  We had quite a long queue for check in at the airport and then joined another queue for security.  The girl in front of us took loads of selfies in the queue and was forced to delete them all by the security guard checking our boarding passes. 

We then sat in a cavernous building by the gate which was very cold so out came all our layers.  

Eventually we boarded the plane which was lovely and warm plus we got a blanket each which was very welcome.  However, when we were just under halfway through our 45 minute flight, the pilot announced there was a technical fault so we've just returned to Hanoi and are now sitting in another freezing building waiting for an announcement........

......we ended up being delayed 3 hours and flew down to Dong Hoi in a little prop plane.  It's just as cold as Hanoi down here unfortunately.  Our guide and driver met us and whisked us off for a lunch.  I couldn't eat anything, Chris has an upset stomach so tried a little bit of the soup, and Kim managed some of the luke warm veggies.  Our guide was most dismayed about us leaving so much food, but we assured him it was us not really feeling well and nothing to do with the restaurant.

As it was quite late by now, Quy (pronounced wee) said it was too late to get to the caves and suggested we went to the hotel instead which sounded fantastic to me.  As we've seen tunnels from the Vietnamese/American war near Saigon already, we're going to pass on that tomorrow and instead do the caves which are of much more interest to all of us.

Feb 1st Ha Long to Hanoi

Feb 1^st Ha Long to Hanoi

Woke up this morning to see islands drifting passed, very surreal. Having decided to pass on the Tai Chi class on the sun deck at 06:15 we went for the more leisurely continental breakfast after 07:00. After this we were on the transfer to see Surprise Cave. It had been listed as 715 steps, which didn’t sound like too much fun in one go. The reality was the approach to the caves involved an initial step climb of nearer 250 steps, then some down into the cave. We entered the caves accompanied by Ms Huang a lovely petite member of the crew who spoke good English. Our first impression was one of surprise as we entered a well lit cave. It appears to be quite a small cave albeit with a high ceiling and stalagmites and stalactites. It also contains a fresh water pool that is fed from rainwater. On the far side of the cave it is possible to slip through a narrow passage into another cave. This entry has been blocked off since a tourist got stuck and another way around has been made. This next cave is immense and can only be compared to a large theatre. Our guide pointed out various rocks that formed images of animals and birds. She then pointed to a formation that was bathed in red light and asked what we thought it could be. We replied that we had no idea, (and of course knowing exactly what we thought), before she suggested a finger pointing to the sky. “Oh, yes we see it now” we lied. Later we discovered that it’s called “”Phallus rock” which was closer to our first (unspoken) guess. 

Our little group of 4 had become removed from the main groups and it was wonderful to have the cave almost to ourselves as we strolled around this huge cavern with Ms. Huang pointing out images and telling us stories about the cave. Apparently the cave has been occupied over time, mainly by fishermen either as a stopover or for shelter during typhoons.

We returned to the boat to vacate our cabins and pay any outstanding bills before having brunch on our way back to Tuan Chau marina. Here we were met by Quang and Truang and starting heading back to Hanoi. A long the way Tamsin and Kim wanted photos of fields of produce, people carrying kumquat trees on bikes, or come to it anything being transported on bikes, motorcycles, trailers etc..

Arriving back at our hotel we opted for rooms at the back of the hotel as we wanted to be away from the hustle and bustle. They all thought this strange as we could have a view at the front of the hotel - err, what view is that, the one of the run down hotel opposite, or the multitude of motorcycles, or hawkers plying their wares up an down the street.

We went out as we wanted to buy some cards and to have an explore of some of the streets our rickshaw had taken us down a few days earlier. Tamsin wanted to have a look at some fruit that we suspect was known to us as "Buddha fingers". The stores all had interesting and various different wares. At one point we stopped to take a picture of a lady carrying fruit on a pole. She seized the moment and put the pole on Kims shoulders whilst putting a bag of fruit into her hands - clever. We took some pictures and paid over the odds for the fruit (probably by all of a dollar). 

Jan 31st Hanoi – Ha Long Bay

Jan 31st Hanoi – Ha Long Bay

Moving kumquat trees around....

An early start this morning as Quang and Trang wanted to get going before 08:00. The drive to meet the boat for the cruise was going to take about 4 hours. Looking at our map it showed a motorway most of the way so I surprised to hear that about 160kms was going to take so long. The reality is that yes, it’s a two lane highway, but it’s full of motorbikes, over laden lorries, coaches and cars and therefore very slow moving with lots of honking of horns. The weather is low cloud and I expect that will continue for some days which is a real shame, but we can’t change it so we’re hoping for dry.

Along the road it’s a mixture of rural paddy fields and cultivation and urbanization which consists of shops, workshops, homes, karaoke bars, builders yards and restaurants. Occasionally there are markets selling kumquat, mandarin and peach trees, these are to decorate the home to celebrate Tet. Tet being the Chinese New Year that starts on Feb. 8^th. There are rivers and the land is very flat with the occasional hill. Not too surprising given that this is the delta of the Red River.

We’ve just stopped at the equivalent of a shopping outlet. You get out one side and walk through to the other. In between its silk clothes and other goods, carvings, lacquer work, leather work, alabaster work, etc.. Tamsin and Kim both bought silk shirts.

Just before we got to the boat we stopped at a pearl farm. We were shown how they form the nucleus of the pearl using Mother of Pearl and insert it into the live oyster. Two years later they harvest the pearl which sadly means the pearl dies. We were then shown how they grade them by colour, clarity and uniformity.

Halong Bay

Quang and Trang dropped off at the offices for the company we’re using for the cruise, Bayha. All but three of the 20 cabins are being used today. As we waited to board groups of English, Australian, Japanese and , I think, Indian gathered. We left port bang on 12:45 as we were finding our cabins. Kim in 206 and us in 207. The cabins are superb with teak floors and bamboo screens on the walls and a large window. The boat glides serenely through the water at a leisurely pace. There are plenty of other boats around us heading in roughly the same direct. The rocks rise up steeply from the water to about 100-150m or so. They’re covered in vegetation which varies from trees down to ferns etc..

The archway we were rowed through

We’re called to the top deck restaurant for a safety briefing and introduction to the crew. After which it’s lunchtime. This is a rather splendid hot and cold buffet. After which we have about an hour before the first activity visiting the caves. We all go up top and agree that despite the weather it is spectacular. We spot what we think are Kites as they seem to just glide around without much effort. Around us we can see in between the islands fisheries and markers for pots and some boats that look like motorized baths chugging around.

We stop amongst a group of other boats and are tannoyed to the lower deck and the tender which will take us into a bay where there are traditional rowing boats (bath tubs) that we get into to visit the cave. We’re rowed into the cave and along the way notice how shallow the water is, about 2m. The cave is actually a tunnel as it takes into the next bay. There have been some impressive stalagmites that have been broken, maybe to get to the other side.

Happy hour is at 17:00 and runs to 18:30. In between there is a cookery demo of how to make Vietnamese Spring Rolls. Kim carried away the International Honours for Spring Roll rolling taking on challengers from Australia, Canada, Japan and German for the Bayha 2 competition. Then it’s dinner. It’s a tough life!

30th January - city tour in Hanoi

30th January - city tour in Hanoi

Ho Chi Minh mausoleum

We were picked up at 8.30am and driven to the large complex which houses Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum.  Although there is a lot of traffic, it doesn't seem as frenetic as Saigon and we all agreed that the city has a much nicer atmosphere to it.  Certainly the part we're in (the edge of the old quarter) has not had the heart and soul ripped out of it and been replaced with modern skyscrapers.  The houses are tall and skinny and wedged tightly together usually with some sort of family business on the ground floor.  There are also trees and parks everywhere so the city feels green and vibrant.

We parked up and had to walk quite a long way around taped off areas to get to the end of a small queue.  There were severe looking suited officials everywhere pointing us in the right direction.  After walking along corridors and round corners of garden and parkland we eventually came out in a big open square with the mausoleum on one side.  It's a dark forbidding granite monument apparently modelled on Lenin's mausoleum in Moscow.  It was drizzling by now so that some of the white uniformed soldiers actually had on huge white ponchos to protect them from the rain.  They looked just ridiculous goose stepping in them.  As

Former French Governor's House

we got closer to the mausoleum, the numbers of guards increased greatly and I was told by a flick of a head and a sneer to take my hands out of my pockets - no words were exchanged. I'd never seen a dead body before so was a bit apprehensive, but didn't need to be.  Kim was right - the great old man looked like a wax work lying in his open casket enclosed behind a glass case on a raised platform and guarded by 4 bored looking soldiers.  We were in and out in no time at all and met our guide the other side.  He took us to the front of the mausoleum where we could take some photos and watch the guards periodically bring huge orange and red flower wreaths to the entrance, which were sent as marks of respect by visiting groups.

After that we continued our walk in the complex and passed by the old French Governors house (very grand) which Ho Chi Minh refused to live in.  Instead he lived very simply and spent a lot of time in an old electrician's very basic cottage before being moved across a small ornamental lake to a stilted house to avoid floods and then eventually to his final house where he died, which had a bomb shelter to protect him from American bombing.

One Pillar Pagoda

We then moved on to the one pillar pagoda, which had an amazing Buddha inside lit up by a holograph.  As the name suggests, it is supported by a single concrete pillar (originally wood) and has a brick and stone staircase up one side.  It sits in a concrete pool with some brightly coloured flags around it.

A shopping opportunity was next as we visited a lacquer workshop where we learnt that lacquer is resin tapped from a tree.  The workshop had artists who did paintings plus ladies who arranged broken eggshells and mother of pearl onto tracings before they were all lacquered.  Needless to say some purchases were made!

Our last stop before lunch was the Museum of Ethnology where we saw some kids outside doing some jumping between moving bamboo poles which looked hazardous to say the least and was apparently very difficult.  This was a fascinating museum as it showcased the 53 different ethnic tribes living in Vietnam and had exhibits of their intricately decorated, very colourful and beautiful clothes as well as models of their houses and examples of their everyday possessions such as fishing traps and cooking pots.  It was incredibly well done and just a shame that we weren't allowed to take photos.

The 1st Gateway

We then got back into the van and were driven to the Temple of Literature, which is the largest and most important temple complex in Hanoi.  It was founded in 1070 and dedicated to Confucius.  We entered via the southern gate through an impressive gateway adorned with 15th century dragons.  This took us to a large courtyard with a tree lined path down the centre and lovely symmetrical gardens, including 2 lotus flower pools, either side of it.  We went through another pavilion which looked out on the 2nd courtyard which had Chinese characters in flowers set in plastic looking lotus flower pots.  We then arrived at the Van Khue Gac pavilion which was built in 1805 and dedicated to the Constellation of Literature.

The gateway leading to the courtyard of the Stelae

Beyond lies the courtyard of the Stelae at the centre of which is a rectangular pond.  Either side are cloisters housing the 82 stelae carried on the backs of stone tortoises which list the names of 1306 successful examination scholars.  The oldest dates back to1442 and the most recent 1779.  Passing the exam was not easy - typically perhaps only 8 would pass out of 3000 candidates and the successful scholars would go on to become mandarins.  Fittingly perhaps, there happened to be a huge group of young people in black scholastic gowns and hats receiving certificates in this very courtyard.  We then passed through the Great Success Gate to another courtyard with huge shallow sinks housing bonsai gardens behind which were 2 ugly buildings dating from the 1950's housing shops and refreshment stalls. Looking north is the Dai Bai Duong or Great House of Ceremonies which was built in the 19th century but built to resemble a much older style.  Inside is an alter on which a statue of Confucius and his closest disciples sit.

Confucius and a disciple.....

After a very nice lunch we went to the Opera house to admire it from the outside.  It was built by the French and is very European in style.  Apparently it's got an amazing interior, but we were not allowed to go in and have a peek.

Doing our impression of being in an old folks home...rather too well?

Next stop was by the lake near our hotel where we had an hour's ride in individual rickshaws pedalled very slowly  and sedately around the old quarter.  Kim and I did our best to get some shots reflecting the hustle and bustle of life in this crammed, lively and fascinating area but for some unknown reason most of our photos were blurred.  I'm guessing that although we were going slowly, everyone else was just tearing past us.  We both want a photo of someone on a motorbike with a huge kumquat tree on their back, but haven't managed it yet.  We think we might return there and just people watch and snap later.

Part of the water puppet show

We were dropped off at the water puppet theatre as were booked for the later afternoon show.  It was absolutely wonderful.  The live band were on a raised platform to the left of the stage which was basically a pool about 2 feet deep with a curtained area behind from which the puppets emerged.  The puppets are wooden and we think come out on poles and must have strings we couldn't see to make different parts of them move.  We were treated to various short scenes including fishing, rice planting, dancing and various mystical animals.  I couldn't believe it when an hour had passed as it really was mesmerising and I could have happily sat through the entire show again.

After what had been a very interesting and action packed day, we retired to the roof terrace bar for a cocktail or two and then had dinner in a restaurant close to the hote

Below are some photos of Vietnamese street life.....