Hue and my 3 day motorcycle adventure

Hue is the old capital, an Imperial city, home to the Royal family until 1945. I spent my day in town exploring by motorbike (common theme in Vietnam). Some of the main sights are a few kilometres away from the city centre, and on a nice day, would be very bike able, but in this humidity, I opted for an engine to get me around. Myself and some fellow travellers visited the tombs of Minh Mang and Khai Dinh. Minh Mang was ruler from 1820 to 1840, his tomb is the most impressive in the area, with several buildings, gardens and lakes. Khai Dinh was emperor from 1916-1925 . His tomb is the newest and incorporates both eastern and western (influenced by the French) styles.

Khai Dinh's Tomb

Khai Dinh's Burial Chamber - he is buried 18m under this room

Minh Mang's Tomb

Gardens around Minh Mang's Tomb

I then got dropped off in the old city centre to explore the walled city, and inside it, the citadel, home to the emperors. The area was unfortunately heavily bombed during the Vietnam war ( another common theme), so only a few buildings are still accessible. There is also a lot of restoration still going on. I enjoyed wandering around the huge area, taking in the grandiosity if it and finding areas free of other tourists to enjoy watching the sunset.

Me, inside the Citadel

Inside the Imperial City. Finding solitude amongst the ruins.

The next day I left for my motorbike adventure. I had heard from several sources, that a ride through the Vietnamese countryside was not to be missed! The first day we concentrated on the area around the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) along the Ben Hai river. The line between north and south was drawn in 1955 after the French left and was supposed to be temporary for two years. Elections didn't happen as planned in 1957 and the separation remained. People were able to move across the DMZ for 100 days when it was first made, afterwards, movement was highly restricted. The area also saw a lot of fighting and bombing. We visited a cemetery; Vinh Moc tunnels, that villagers made from 1966-68, to hide from frequent bombing and the Ben Hai river memorial, where I had an excellent local guide who shared some personal stories with me, and answered my many questions.

Unmarked graves of the VietCong unknown soldiers

Scenes from the road

Tunnels;  I didn't need to crawl, just crouch a little

Outside the entrance to the tunnels

Ben Hai River, and the memorial to the DMZ on the other bank

Our trusty bike!

Day 2, we traveled north on Ho Chi Minh trail through jungles and past many villages of the minority people in Vietnam. My driver, Tam told me that there are over 50 minority groups with their own language and culture. Unfortunately, some groups have not been treated well by the current communist government as they supported the US during the war. The Ho Chi Minh trail was completed in 1959 and was a major transportation route for goods, people and ammunition traveling from the north to the south, parts of the original trail went through Laos and Cambodia.

Scenes from the road

Day 3, a visit to Phong Nga National Park and the paradise cave. The park contains some of the oldest karst mountains in Asia and some amazing cave systems I thought I was going off the tourist trail a bit, but ended up in the busiest place I've been yet. The big holiday is approaching in Vietnam, Independence Day on Apr 30 and Labour Day on May 1st, and the Vietnamese tourists are out in full force. I would have to say the cave experience was not quite what I expected. I did my best to enjoy the massive caverns and beautiful rock formations, but it was a little tough with screaming children and pushing people around me...oh well!

TOURISTS!

Stunning Paradise Cave

Beautiful scenery in Phong Nga National Park

I'm now in Hanoi, City of the Soaring Dragon. Looking forward to exploring the old quarter and my overnight trip to Halong Bay!

Vietnam - Hoi An and My Son

I spent a few days in Ancient Hoi An town, enjoying the shopping, food and seeing a few sights in the staggering humidity.

Hoi An's Old town is a collection of Japanese merchant houses, Chinese temples (lots of influence from previous colonists) and ancient tea warehouses that have been beautifully converted into shops, restaurants and tailor shops galore. Hoi An is known as the place in Vietnam to get clothes tailored (obviously I didn't give up that opportunity). I walked around the streets of the old town and loved all the architecture and the beautiful bridges. I also bought a ticket to see a few of the insides of the buildings. As beautiful as the town is, it was about a million degrees with 95% humidity (well, maybe 40 with 80%, but still....it was sooooo hot), I needed a few breaks in the amazing restaurants in the old town. Central Vietnam, and particula Hoi An is known for its local culinary delights. I took a break from the tried and true Pho and sampled the local fare over the few days I was there. From Cao Lau (noodle soup with salad and wonton chips) to White Rose (delicate shrimp dumplings), every dish was new from the Vietnamese I am used to back in Canada. I also did my fair share of shopping. I got a dress and suit jacket made. I'm pretty happy with the jacket (I picked out an awesome purple lining), but not 100% sure about the dress, I'll have to get people's opinion when I'm back. I also controlled myself and only bought a few things from the many, many stores.

Bridge along the river in Hoi An

A dragon inside one of the temples

The beautiful architecture

I was thinking of getting a Gortex coat next year. hehe!

Candles at night at the Full Moon festival

The Japanese bridge at night (no tripod, so the street worked as my flat surface

I did a day trip from Hoi An to the ruins of My Son. The temples were built by the Cham people, one of the old tribes of Vietnam whose ancestors now live in the Mekong Delta region in the south of the country and in Cambodia. They were built between the 4th and 13th century as a religious site (Hinduism) of the Cham people. The ruins are located in a valley surrounded by mountains and thick jungle and were actually forgotten for many years until discovered by the French in the late 1800s (I think that's right, trying to remember what the guide said). Anyway, the French cleared the area, photographed the temples and like any good colonist would do, stole a bunch of the carvings (most heads are missing from the statues) to bring back to their museums in Europe. Unfortunately, My Son was heavily, heavily bombed during the Vietnam War as it was used as a hiding area for the VietCong, so many of the grand temples are now in ruins and only pictures remain of the originals. A lot of the area is also out of bounds as there are many land mines and potentially undetonated bombs around. The most interesting thing I learned on the tour (and those who know me well, know I'm the biggest nerd and listen intently on tours) is that it's still a mystery how the Cham people constructed the temples. They used brick, but didn't seem to use anything for mortar. Their structures witheld the test of time (and the jungle) without any decay or mold, only 20th century bombing brought them down. The Cham history is now lost, so I guess it'll remain a mystery.

The Ruins of My Son

Some of the remaining structures

Beautiful mountain scenery around My Son

I'm in Hue now, the ancient Imperial city and tomorrow I am setting out on a 3 day motorbike trip to the interior of the country....rice paddies, here I come!

I will write about that adventure in my next post!

The head is a replica on this statue, almost all the heads were taken by the French

Vietnam - week 1

It's been a great first week in Vietnam. I flew in on April 16th to Ho Chi Minh city (aka Saigon) in the South and have been making my way north along this long, thin country bordering Cambodia and Laos.

My first impression of Saigon was " wow, there are a lot of motorbikes in this city", my second thought was "I will never get on one of those here...way too dangerous!!". The second thought ended up being untrue. I spent my time in Saigon visiting museums and walking/driving around the city. I went to the Reunification Palace. It was built in the 1960s by then leader of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). It was his residence as well as the main war office during the Vietnam War(or American War- as they call it here). The architecture of the building as well as the furnishings are all very reminiscent of the 1960s. The war unofficially ended in 1975 when tanks from North Vietnam crashed through the main gates.

Another highlight was the War Remnants museum. It contained mostly photographic displays of the Vietnam War. There were several very powerful exhibits. There was a room dedicated to photojournalists on both sides of the war. There were several shocking and amazing pictures. It also told the stories of several journalists who died in action trying to capture images to better help those in the US and around the world understand what was happening in Vietnam. The other room that I found most interesting was about Agent Orange and its effect not only during the war but many years afterwards. Photographs depicted horrifying burns and injuries of those exposed to the gas, but also showed many children of survivors born with serious birth defects. That chemical will be affecting several generations of Vietnamese to come. Although the museum was full of propaganda (Vietnam still is a communist country), there were some facts that were hard to ignore. 3 million Vietnamese died during the war, only 1 million were Vietcong, the remaining civilians. The US and its allies used 8 million tons of bombs in the war - a number much, much larger than used in WW2. Because of the jungles and ability of the Vietcong to hide, their strategy was to bomb them and anything else out. I'm happy I was able to see this side to the war to better understand it as a whole.

I spent another day on the back of a bike, seeing some of the sights too far to walk to. It was great fun, unfortunately I burned my leg on the bike exhaust....grrr!

I also went to the Cu Chi Tunnels outside Saigon. They were a stronghold for the Vietcong during the war, only 50 km from Saigon. The people in this region built over 200 km of tunnels initially during the French colonization, but was used extensively during the Vietnam War. We were able to explore some of the remaining tunnels, learn about the people who lived in this region and see some old footage during wartime in this area. It was soooo humid that day, and even more so in the tunnels. The part open to tourists was about 100m, which I crawled / crouched walked through. Some areas were quite tight and more than half of the people on my tour couldn't do it due to claustrophobia. The tourist tunnels have actually been expanded, so I can't even imagine how tiny they were for the people who lived there.

Reunification PalaceWar Remnants Museum

Motorbikes in Saigon

 Me at Cu Chi Tunnels - yep, that's a ridiculous amount of       John, my chauffeur around Saigon

sweat....it was a little humid that day and so much so in

the tunnels

Next stop, Nha Trang, a beach resort town on the coast of Vietnam. It is known to have Vietnam's best beaches (and is also a hot spot destination for Russian tourists - who knew!). I got lots of sun here lying on the beach, snorkeling and actually driving a motorbike around town seeing the sights. Yep, that's right....I actually drove a motorcycle (more like a scooter). It actually wasn't that bad, but we did only hit a max speed of 30 km/hr. I did have to challenge my driving skills and get through a bunch of roundabouts on the way to Long Song Pagoda during the afternoon rush. I can't say that I was comfortable, but I got through it without any collisions or more burns.

 

Rocks near Nha Trang

Long Son Buddha in the town of Nha Trang

There are several firsts for me on this trip. As I said above, I drove a motorbike. I really don't see this happening in Canada, definitely not in my comfort zone and I'm most comfortable at 30 km/hr. Not sure the other Calgary drivers would appreciate that! I also got an infection traveling, my burn was doing well and the just yesterday within 2 hours the skin around it became red, hot and painful. Damn cellulitis!!! Luckily I found a pharmacy quickly and started antibiotics and the infection is going in the

right direction, I just couldn't believe how fast it came on!

Heading out tonight to see the Full Moon festival in Hoi An, I'll write about that later.

Cheers!

Katie