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Feb. 25, 2008 – Monday- travel day Fly Viet Nam Air to Danang from Nha Thong on to Hoi An Cost: $43US for flight
Booked Vietnam Air flights at head office while in Saigon Hotel: Thanh Binh
III in Hoi An
Cost $25 breakfast included |
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To airport in Na Tang by Sinh Cafe
and met in Danang for taxi on to Hoi An |
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*The Thanh Binh hotel here was fantastic. There is a huge dining area that is all wood with wood beaded curtains, Ming vases, big ceramic Buddha’s and a wonderful efficient and friendly staff and a SWIMMNG POOL! |
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To See: Cooking
school –Morning Glory Restaurant
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| OLD TOWN HOI AN |
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In the 16th and 17th centuries, HoiAn was the international trading center in South Vietnam where foreign merchant ships came in great numbers for annual commercial fairs that lasted from 4 to 6 months. Right in this old town Japanese, Chinese, Dutch and Indian traders set up their emporiums or established their own quarters for permanent habitation. From these old trading days it has made HoiAn a culturally interesting living museum of architecture and lifestyle. |
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The old town of HoiAn has a unique concentration of architectural monuments of various forms and old houses along the streets that cut one another forming good examples of symbolic oriental cities in the Middle Ages. From the market to the wharf many have been preserved intact. |
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Night time the lanterns shops light up, a sculpture in the river glows and the streets are safe and alive. If weather is good this is a good place to rent bikes and tour the countryside. Also there are many offer’s to ride around on the river in a little local boat paddled by women. |
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River sculpture lit up at night |
The world famous 53 year old owner of Café des Amis loves European music, has over 50 Vietnamese dishes so the evening set meal is always diverse and interesting... all for only $5US |
Morning Glory Cooking School |
| Silk shops and tailors by the hundreds, so have something made, be surprised how good and cheap it is. Just pick out the fabric and chose a style. Shoes made also but difficult to fit properly. | ||
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| Hand made beautiful clothes averaging about $10US for a tailor fit Thai silk blouse, are made in one day |
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The Japanese covered bridge built in the former Japanese quarter in the early 17th century is a unique symbol of the past. Across the bridge there is another part of town thriving with vendors, workshops & art galleries |
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Handicraft workshops |
Wood carving |
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The Reach Out Shop help girls with
disabilities. This deaf girl made the silk wall hanging I bought
with the longevity symbol for only $22US |
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Folk songs and dance are an
extraction of classical drama and use traditional musical instruments |
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So wonderful with it's old aged and traditionally well kept cultural activities, habits and customs, HoiAn was our favorite town in Vietnam. |
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HUE |
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The capitol of Vietnam from 1802 to 1954. With the colonial French withdrawal from Hue in 1954 Vietnam divided into North and South Vietnam. Hue, only 50 miles south of the new border suffered extensive damage in the Vietnam war. Here the bloody battle in 1968 pitted troops from North Vietnam against the South Vietnam forces and American Marines. |
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| Over 50,000 American people organized walking to Washington to have a meeting, protest against the war in Vietnam and ask the Government to withdraw American troops back to America, on 27 November 1965. | ||
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Feb 28, 2008 – Thursday- travel day
Bus to Hue from HoiAn Cost $3 1 ½ hours Hotel: Sport Hotel
Cost: $22 Restaurant: Little
Italy- Good food at end of and across street |
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| *The bus was huge, half empty and the trip up from HoiAn goes through Danang to Hue a 135 mile trip. It was interesting along the coast where you see circular basket type boats used for fishing and through a 6280m long tunnel. Can take the train from Danang but heard it was nothing special although it has been written up as the best in Viet Nam. We stopped at Marble Mountain and later a restaurant near the beach. In Hue we were picked up by Sinh Café bus in the rain with umbrella over our heads, backpacks carried to an SUV and shuffled off to the Sport Hotel all included in the $3 bus ticket. Getting a bit used to all this attention! | ||
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Feb 29th & March 1, 2008 – Friday & Saturday – in Hue To See: Bus/Boat tour
booked from Sport Hotel upon arrival Cost: $10US – All day tour lunch included. Entrance fees extra |
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*It was a packed day on the tour and the bus was packed also with travelers from all over the city. We had an English speaking guide and started off in a bus to the Citadel and a look at the fascinating insight into Imperial Viet Nam. We had a look at how they make incents and conical hats. Then we were off to several Tombs of Emperors during the Nguyen Dynasty. The tombs are set in beautiful gardens and one took some 10,000 servants 2 years to build. After a 5 course meal we board a Dragon Boat at the beautiful Thien Mu Pagoda and cruised lazily back to town. |
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IMPERIAL |
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CITADEL |
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The Imperial City, also known as the Citadel, is the former Imperial seat of government and also housed the families and Emperors who ruled between 1802 to 1945. It is a sprawling complex of temples, pavilions, museums, and surrounded by protective walls and moats. |
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Lavishly decorated CuaNgoMon (the Noon Gate) is the main south entrance built in 1823 and is a central door connected to bridges. Emperor Gia Long had the gate built and would address the people from the top. No outsiders were allowed to enter only Imperial family members and dignitaries. |
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The Emperors Coronation Hall where the Emperor would sit in state to receive foreign dignitaries |
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The main structure was bombed during the Vietnam War leaving only an empty field in the center of the complex |
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Inside the Thai Hoa Palace, built in 1833, also known at the Palace of Supreme Harmony, houses many artistic ceramics and colorful painted fascia's. |
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| EMPEROR TU DUC TOMB |
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Located along the Perfume River many
of the tombs date from the late 19th to the 20th centuries when Emperors
were reduced from Emperors to figureheads under French colonial rule and
had little else to do but build elaborate burial sites. |
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A scholar and philosopher Tu Duc had this sprawling complex built around a lake with wooden pavilions and tombs dedicated to many of his 104 wives. |
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This is the Tomb of Empress Le Thien Anh, Emperor Tu Duc's first wife born in 1820 and died in 1902. She was honored together with the emperor in Hoa Khiem Temple |
Tu Duc's tomb is in the back of a long corridor of tombs hidden away in the final courtyard with just a modest stone coffin in the middle. |
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EMPEROR MING MANG'S TOMB |
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Completed 20 years before his death
in 1883 this Emperors tomb is the largest and most opulent. The
Minh Mang tomb is widely known for it's solemnity and precise layout.
Built on 28 hectares the tomb
ensemble is surrounded with an oval protective wall of 1,700 meters and
the tomb consisted of 40 architectural constructions symmetrically
arranged along a 700 meter axis. |
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The tomb consists of three entrances namely Great Blessing Gate in the middle, Right Blessing Gate and Left Blessing Gate on either side. On the salutation court there exist the thanh stone statues of great mandarins, along with elephants and horses representing the royal entourage that accompanies and protects the Emperor in the otherworld. |
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 Dragon boat ride down the Perfume River from the Tombs to the Thien Mu Pagoda built in 1601. The Pagoda is the official symbol of the city of Hue |
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Inside the Thein Mu Pagoda are relics of the past including this car which The Most Venerable Thich Quang Duc went from the pagoda to an intersection on Jun 11, 1963 in Saigon and as soon as he got out of the car sat down in the lotus position and burnt himself to death to protest against the Ngo dinh Diem regime's policies of discriminating against Buddhists and violating religious freedom |
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Fragrant scents from colorful incents waft through the temples and tomb complexes so a visit to the workshop was an added treat |
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And last, while enjoying a wine in the French Chambole restaurant, in walks friends from the Norwegian s/v Fruen fra Havet that we sailed with on the Indonesia Rally. |
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HANOI |
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March 2nd & March 3rd Sunday & Monday-travel day
Fly Viet Nam Airlines to Hanoi from Hue Cost flight $63 Hotel: Hong Ngoc Hotel
Cost $47 with $15 pick up at airport also 40 min out of town Restaurant: Green
Tangerine- 48 Pho Hang Be *OK,
we panicked and made this hotel reservation long ago to be sure we had a
full day here and not be running around looking for a hotel although we
did see another one called the Hanoi Lucky Hotel nearby for $20 that
looked nice. As for flying here we found it was three times more expensive to fly out of Saigon to KL but we enjoyed Hanoi so glad
we came. |
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Hanoi is the rising star in SE Asia with it's fascinating blend of East and West, influenced by the Chinese and French rulers of the past. Located in the north 1,100 miles from Saigon (HCMC) has a population of 3.4 million and the counties political center which remains a socialist country. |
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Located on the banks of the Red River many of the
merchant families who have lived here for generations still remain in
the Old Quarter |
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| Back in a big city we were overwhelmed by the motorcycle traffic which seemed to be going in every which direction. We discovered that in order to cross a street you just slowly walk out into the traffic at a steady pace and don't stop but keep moving. The traffic just continues on and flows around you. | ||
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 The latest in hair fashion but the process a bit antiquated |
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 Sidewalk Barber Shop |
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Food is the epicenter of Vietnamese
culture playing an important role in many events and social life. |
 Quan An Ngon Restaurant |
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 Sidewalk cafes |
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A local delicacy is dog meat popular mostly in winter |
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Towards the end of the 19th century in an effort to contain the growth and development of popular anti-colonial movements amongst the Vietnamese community, the French government of Indochina reinforced it's apparatus of suppression by strengthening the police force, developing the court system and constructing an extensive network of prisons. |
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Built on the site of what is believed to have been a former craft village, Hoa Lo Prison quickly became a place where thousands of patriots and revolutionary fighters were imprisoned and tortured, both physically and spiritually. Many Vietnamese sacrificed their lives here to secure the independence and freedom of the nation |
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| Confined for years in tiny cells
with chains and leg-irons, they endured savage treatment by prison
guards. Yet despite the atrocious conditions in which they were
forced to live, these brave patriots and revolutionaries maintained
their dignity and high sense of purpose, turning the prison into a
school for revolutionaries and staging frequent and often ingenious
attempts to escape from the clutches of their oppressors. |
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Following the liberation of the
north in October 1954, Hoa Lo became a state prison and was henceforth
used to detain criminal offenders. However, from 5 August 1964
until 31 March 1973 it was used to detain American pilots whose aircraft
had been shot down over Ha Noi whilst bombing or attacking the north
Vietnamese people. It was during this period that the Americans
gave Hoa Lo the nickname 'Hanoi Hilton' |
| Between 1964 and 1973 the prison's inmates included Senator John McCain, recent Republican nominee for President of the USA. The conditions at that time were much improved including a basketball court and photo's of American prisoners having a traditional Thanksgiving dinner inside the prison, proving they were well treated. |
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WATER PUPPET SHOW |
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| The water puppet show was a traditional yearly event put on before the planting of the rice. While the fields were flooded, stages were set up and wooden puppets were manipulated by people with long poles attached to the puppets under water and hidden behind a bamboo curtain. These puppets told stories and fables and were a form of entertainment frolicking and splashing in the water. | ||
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| * We did not take a tour but walked everywhere and hit all the To See places except the Ethnography museum and could not get in the Ho Chi Min’s mausoleum. The museum was ok with all Ho Chi Min’s doctrines of peace and freedom and we didn’t have to see the embalmed body. The ‘Hotel Hilton’ was interesting and to know our American fliers including John McCain were imprisoned here. But the best of Hanoi was the Water Puppet show in a big theater with a water stage and 2 foot high wooden puppets painted bright colors frolicking and diving in the water. A MUST! | |
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Our last meal was in a 1928 old French
colonial house tucked away on busy street. It was a fabulous meal
in an open court yard, with shuttered windows, mood lighting and it only
set us back $27.
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Green Tangerine |
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Our last view of Hanoi and Vietnam was out of the taxi window on the way to the airport in the early morning hours watching Tai Chi and the sunrise over the Red River |
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March 4, 2008 – Tuesday- travel day Fly Air Asia Hanoi to K.L. Cost: $95 each $15 taxi Fly Air Asia KL to Langkawi Cost: $17 each $6.60US taxi airport to Telaga Marina |
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We wish we had more time
where we could stay longer, travel more leisurely and not have to fly. Those
taxi rides to and from the airports are budget killers. We did find the Sinh
Café’s in Viet Nam well worth using to book buses, taxi’s, hotels and tours as
the Cafes were in the tourist area’s and part of the system of hotels we were
delivered to. It is possible to save a bit on some hotels by just using their
buses and finding your own hotels. Usually the Sinh cafes are near the areas
you want to stay. Remember: It is the journey, not the destination that matters!! |
