Enchanting Saigon

On Thursday we had a lazy morning packing up before heading to the airport for our flight to Saigon, or rather Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC).   There are 19 urban districts in HCMC and 5 outer districts, and only 5 of these inner districts were in the original City of Saigon prior to 1976, when the City was renamed after the war and  the resulting reunification of North and South Vietnam.  One of our guides also explained that Viet means north and Nam means south, which is why we often see the country spelled as "Viet Nam" here!

We arrived in HCMC about 6 pm and went to the hotel restaurant for one of the most beautiful buffet's we have ever seen.  Both of us commented that the sushi was some of the best we have ever had.  Every bite had a different flavour and we waited a long time to finish with dessert, because we did not want to take away the amazing array of flavours that lingered,  Sorry to sound like a Food TV show - but I expect that Sonya will be buying at least one Vietnamese cookbook in the near future. 

  Now on with the sightseeing!

Here is the view from our Hotel room, as far as you can see.  With 9 million people in the area, there is almost no green space to be seen!

Friday morning saw us going to the Chinese Wholesale market.  Both of us thought that we were almost "marketed out" from seeing all the other markets, but this one was different again for the two reasons in the title - it was a wholesale market and it was Chinese!

Wholesale orders are taken by phone and the products dispatched forthwith by motorbike! No complicated computer system here!

Our guide Trung told us that there are about 1 million Chinese people in the HCMC area, and about 1/2 of them live in the area near the Chinese wholesale market.

After that we did a tour of the feng shui providers.  What is feng shui you ask? This is a simple question that can be difficult to answer. Feng shui is an ancient art and science developed over 3,000 years ago in China. It is a complex body of knowledge that reveals how to balance the energies of any given space to assure health and good fortune for people inhabiting it.   Feng means wind and shui means water. In Chinese culture wind and water are associated with good health, thus good feng shui came to mean good fortune, while bad feng shui means bad luck, or misfortune. This means that the direction of your front door is important, how the water flows through or near your property and so on, hence the complexity. As an example your front door and back door should not line up as this will lead to your money flowing in and out!  Hmmm ... so much for basic budgeting - just realign your doors instead!

Anyway, there are 3 blocks filled with small stores selling everything needed to ensure good feng shui!  

After that we were off to Cu Chi, an area about 1.5 hours (70 km) outside of Saigon, where the Viet Cong Army had set up their resistance to the American Army.  The area is know for its 200 km of tunnels beneath the solid clay ground.  Individual tunnels run up to 33 feet deep. They are between 1.5 and 3 feet wide and can be 3 levels deep.  The top level can withstand the weight of a 50 ton tank, while the deepest level is virtually impregnable, even from the American bombs, the clay is that solid!

Here is an entry point for the tunnels with me trying to squeeze in!

It was amazing to go into these and realize that they virtually lived in these tunnels.  Yes, Sonya and I even crawled through a portion of the actual tunnels.

The next set of tunnels we crawled in after the one above was much smaller and tighter than this one!  Anyone with claustrophbia would be well advised to stay away!

As we were touring the area, I heard gun shots and asked our guide about it.  He said that there was a target range to shoot the guns that were used during the American War (as some of the Vietnamese call it).  Naturally I couldn't let the opportunity pass without trying to shoot an AK47.  You have to buy a minimum of 10 bullets, so I had a bit of a target practice.  

I will say that the AK47 is a very straight forward gun to shoot, but known to be  somewhat inaccurate.  At least that is my reason for not hitting the target!  The attendant did say I was close several times.  I guess I will never know if he was just being generous!

After that it was a trip back to the French Quarter in Saigon to tour the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Old Post Office (that still functions as one) and Reunification Place, formerly the seat of the South Vietnamese Government.

The next morning we were off to the Mekong Delta, about 1.5 hours from our hotel. The Mekong descends from its source high in the Tibetan Plateau and follows a 4,500 km (2,800 mile) course through China, Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and southern Vietnam before emptying into the sea.  The region covers almost 40,000 sq km (15,400 sq miles) and its inhabitants include Khmer, Chinese and Cham.

When we got there, it seemed like  half of the tourists in Saigon were on their way there, as getting to our boat was a bit of "Mayhem on the Mekong", as can be seen by this shot showing just a portion of the boats trying to get to the dock!

Our first boat was a pretty good one, particularly when you see the one below also floating around the dock area.  We can only hope that he was not picking up tourists!

We went into some very small tributaries or estuaries in the delta.  This was our next boat and captain.

He was extremely competent at navigating the boat, and never said whether I was helping or hindering his navigation of these narrow channels.  Another example of Vietnamese generousity, perhaps?

You can see from the picture what these estuaries are like, the one below is a good example of the width of these passages.  They were quite busy with similar boats carrying both tourists as well as local products.

We had tea and local fruit on one of the islands, both of which were very very tasty. It is great to have vine ripened fruit such as pineapple, watermelon, and jack fruit.  Wow, what a difference to that what we get in Canada during winter!

After that we had to get a ride back to the boat on a horse drawn cart! Yes, this was our cart, and the road we travelled.

 We ended the day at a traditional "water' puppet show before heading to a river boat dinner cruise.  The water puppet show started in the 11th century, with the technique being handed down from Father to Son in order to keep the "how to" secrets in the family.  

Here are some of the puppets in action, and below the puppeteers!

Then it was on to the Saigon River dinner cruise  aboard this lovely boat.

On Monday, we joined our tour with Avalon Waterways.  They provided their 10 commandments for traveling with them, which we thought were appropriate for all travelers, so we repeat them here for all to read and follow:

1.  Thou shalt not expect to find things as thou hast them at home... for thou hast left thy home to find things differently.

2.  Thou shalt not take anything too seriously... for a care free mind is the beginning of a a vacation.

3.  Thou shalt not let other travelers get on thy nerves... for thou art paying thy money to enjoy thyself.

4.  Thou shalt not forget thou dost represent thy country at all times.

5.  Thou shalt not worry... for he who worrieth hath no pleasure... and few things are ever fatal.

6. Remember thy passport so that thou knowest where it is at all times.  A man without a passport is a man without a country.

7.  Blessed is the man who can say thank you in any language.  This and your smile doubles the value of your trip.

8.  While in Rome, do as the Romans do... and use a smile, friendliness, and common sense at all times. 

9.  Do not judge the people of a country by one person with whom thou has had trouble.

10.  Remember thou art a guest in every land... for he who treateth his host with respect shall be treated as an honoured guest.

As we leave you from Saigon, we advise that we are not sure when our next post will be, as we are advised that the internet connection on the river boat is slow at best when it is working. 

One last picture before we go, and our comment is that ... At Least They Both Have A Helmut!

Come on down to Cambodia with us!

Paul & Sonya

Aloha From Nha Trang

Well, it allmost feels that way, sitting on the beach in 28C weather.  Except of course we are looking east to the South China Sea, rather than the Pacific Ocean.  The water colour is quite similar, the sand is lovely and the wind is warm.  

After arriving yesterday, we had a slow day just wandering around to get the feel of the place.  As we meandered, we notice many signs written in Russian.  Sonya thought that the place was very quiet, almost too quiet, and she surmised that it was because the Russian financial situation had significantly impacted the local tourist trade.  A chat about this with our guide this morning confirmed this to be the case.  He said that the Russian tourist trade was so significant that there were direct flights to Nha Trang from Russia.

Prior to starting our tour today, we got up early enought to witness the sunrise.  John Buys, you would have liked it because we did not have to get up at 3 am to drive up hill on a goat path to see it, and you didn't need a hat and scarf to stay warm, as at Haleakala in Hawaii.  Oh, that's right, Diane didn't give you a hat or scarf, did she!! Anyway, it was a lovely sunrise as seen from our hotel room balcony over a local island that is sometimes mistakenly called Bamboo Island.  

After breakfast, we had a city tour to take in the local highlights.  

As a quick aside, when asked to define the Vietnamese culture in three words, one of our prior tour guides used the words, "respect, trust and humanity".  Based on our experience so far, these are well chosen words.

Our tour guide today did a really good job of adding to this by explaining some of the very complex Vietnamese traditions.  Over the centuries, Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism have become simplified, intertwined and Vietnamized to constitute a core religion that is shared to some extent by all Vietnamese.  This religion is sometimes referred to as Tam Giao (triple religion).  There seems to be no contradiction in practising a bit of each.  Even church going Christians practice ancestor worship at home. 

Plus the Vietnamese believe that there good days and bad days.  Fortune tellers / astrologers are always consulted to determine when to move house, apply for a job or get married:  In each case the fortune tellers decision is final and instructions are closely followed.

In this area, there is a minority group called the Cham people, that add some Hinduism to this mix, worhsipping Shiva, Brahma, and Ganesh, along with a few of their own Cham deities such as Po Nagar.  We visited the Po Nagar temple, that was originally built between the 7th and 12th centuries.   

The Po Nagar Cham Tower is dedicated to the Cham goddess Po Yan Inu Nagar - the holy mother of the Champa Kingdom.

After that we were off to the principal Buddhist temple for this area, the Long Son Pagoda.  The 19 meter statue sits atop a hill overlookng the city.  It was built in 1963 to comemorate the Buddhist struggle against the  South Vietnamese regime.  You may recall the most famous monk, Thich Quang Duc, who made international headlines when he killed himself by setting himself on fire in 1963.  Around the base of the statue, there is a picture of him and 6 other monks who also died in 1963 in the same manner.

And you thought that it was confusing to try and understand all the different aspects of Christianity in North America!

Next to the Nha Trang Cathedral.

Built in a Gothic style between 1928 and 1934, this Catholic cathedral is one of the city’s defining landmarks.  Its beautiful stained-glass windows depict Jesus, Mary and a variety of saints.

The inside of the structure is a smaller version of the Basiica in Edmonton. 

Lastly, we were off to the Dam Market for a look at the local market. 

Then back to the hotel for a long awaited leisurely afternoon at the beach.  Of course, it would not be complete without having a refreshment - in this case it is the (incredibly delicious) Vietnamese Coffee, which I must learn how to make when I return to Canada!  A little known fact is that Vietnam is the world's second largest exporter of coffee after Brazil!

Goodbye from the beautiful beaches of Nha Trang.  See you in Saigon!

Paul & Sonya

And À Hue We Go

After the train back to Hanoi (with a 4:10 am wake up on the train), we had a quick freshen up at the hotel then straight to the airport for a flight to Hue (rhymes with Way).

Hue is a beautiful city about 90 km south of the DMZ - the "De-Militarized Zone",  or the border between the former North and South Vietnam prior to unification, which is at 17 degrees latitude.  Hue is steeped in history, and it is amazing that there is anything left there after millennia of battles over control of the area now known as Viet Nam. (Chinese, French, Japanese, French, American ...)

There is a strong French influence here.  We even stayed at the Saigon Morin Hotel, a beautiful colonial hotel in the heart of Hue.  The picture of one of the founders even reminded Sonya and me of Elphege Morin, a relative of mine, so it was a wee bit like staying at a relative's place!

The food here is a little different from the northern part of the country with more complex spicing, but equally delectible.  The freshness of the produce and the fish make for wonderful meals.  On our way back from a late lunch, we witnessed one of the more inventive uses of a "cyclo", a three wheeled cycle typically used to ferry tourists around the town.  I guess they don't need a Dodge RAM to move a few pieces of plywood!

We started the next day with a lovely boat ride up the Perfume River on a dragon boat similar to this one.

You might imagine why it was given this name - but you would be wrong.  The reason it is called the Perfume River is because all along the banks there are fragrant trees and their blossoms fall into the river, providing a lovely aroma.  

We next visited the tomb of Tu Duc, the fourth emperor in the Nguyen dynasty.  Tu Duc was very short in stature, having reached only 153 cms., 5'0" for old folks who still think in imperial measures. I would  

be a giant among them as you can see in the picture below.

The size of the place is quite large for what is essentially a tomb, and it is a bit disturbing for my western mind to think that all this was built for the tomb of one man, but I suppose it is not much different for other monarchies.  By the time of Tu Duc's rule, the French controlled Viet Nam, so he was largely a symbolic head with no power.  This is also why in part that few other emperors where buried here, as their role was largely inconsequential after the French started ruling the area.

After this, we visited the Imperial Citadel, truly an impressive structure. The circumference of the wall of the citadel is 10 kilometers long and has a  moat surrounding the outer wall.  The wall is 20 ft. high and up to 65 ft thick at its base.  The scale is hard to capture in a picture, but here we are in front of the flag tower, just outside the inner city which also has 20' high walls.

Within the walls is the Imperial Enclosure, and within this was the Forbidden Purple City, designed after the Forbidden City in Beijing.  Regrettably, there is not a lot left to see due to the heavy bombing by the Americans when the VC where hiding there.  They are rebuilding, so perhaps a few years from now, you may be able to come to Hue to see its grandeur.

On Sunday we left Hue on our way to Hoi An, a beautiful little community just south of Da Nang. If the name Da Nang is familiar, it is where the show "Good Morning Vietnam" was based and home to the well known China Beach, where the American soldiers took their R&R.  It is so named because it is on the South China Sea, but also where the Chinese did much of their trade with Viet Nam.  When the Americans where digging to set up their military operations a lot of Chinaware (pottery and dishware) was dug up in the process.  Not a lot to see really, but it is sort of neat to say that we've been there!

    

On our way down the main thoroughfare north and south, we had to share the road with a cattle drive. Wow, that was just like the highway to Thailand in Myanmar!

Before reaching Da Nang, we had to go through a very high pass in the mountains.  This area proved to be home to a significant amount of conflict between North and South Vietnam and the site of a number of bunkers.  There was even a wedding couple having pictures taken on top of one the bunkers. Go figure!  

Sonya will keep this in mind as another creative option if she is asked to shoot another wedding!

We finally made it to Hoi An after a quick lunch in Da Nang.  Hoi An is known as Lantern City. 

We even had the opportunity to make lanterns for ourselves.  Based on the frustrated look on the face of the lady that was guiding us, I don't see a career in this area for either of us in the near future!

Still, we did come out with a finished product, such as they were!

On Sunday evening we caught up and had dinner with our new friends that we met in Halong Bay - Olly and Gizelle Wray.  Along the way, we also bumped into our train bunk mates from Australia - Phil and Sharon.  Clearly we are all on a similar circuit!

On Monday, we did a full tour of the Hoi An area.  We started with a tour of the local market, which was much like the other markets that we had toured, but more compact and more interesting because of it. 

After that we went to a culturual show that displayed the highlights of the local talent, including Auld Lang Syne (in Vietnamese, no less!) in honour of the New Year and upcoming Lunar New Year on February 19.  The music was great, but the players looked sooo serious!  

After that, we did a river boat tour, and the driver was daring (or foolish) enough to allow Sonya to drive the boat!  Particularly so, as she has never driven a boat before!  Luckliy all went well!

Sonya did a bit of shopping locally and even managed to find a kitchen tool in the market.  Jeff and Joel Herback, she is bringing one back for each of you, but only if you can figure out what it is- see here.

Lastly a quick trip downtown night market  where Hoi An shows that it is the Lantern capital of Viet Nam.  

Many wares are for sale, including some beautiful laquerware.

Some young girls and very young boys (who should be at home doing home work or getting ready for bed!) were busy selling candles to float down the river with your wishes.  

Tomorrow we are off to Na Trang for two relaxing days at the beach!

Good night and sweet dreams from Hoi An!

Halong Bay and Sa Pa

One always wonders if a 4 hour bus ride one way is worth the trip to a location, but there is no question that the trip to Halong Bay was worthwhile.  It is a Unesco World Heritage site, with 1,969 islands (called karsts) located in the area.

The view is almost indescribable and the pictures don't really do it justice.

The mist you see in the picture made the place even more surreal.  We spent the night on a sailing junket (Indochina Sails).  The boat is a grand lady with 10 or so guest rooms and beautiful wood throughout.

While in the bay, we boarded a local fishing boat and toured a local "floating" fishing village.  These are built on floating platforms of plywood on top of 45 galllon plastic drums, anchored to one of the islands so the tide does not carry them off.  The islands are too steep to be inhabited themselves.

While onboard, we met Igor Ustinov, the son of the actor Peter Ustinov (Inspector Hercules Poirot of Agatha Christie fame).  He is a very charming gentleman, a well known Parisian / Swiss sculptor,  who runs a foundation for the study of prejudice, and another organization that runs 26 schools around the world.  He has a home in Lausanne, Switzerland, a condo in Montreal and a home in the Gatineau Hills near Ottawa.   

After returning to Hanoi, we re-organized ourselves to jump on the King Exress night train to Lao Cai and Sa Pa.  The Lao Cai train station is 2.5 killometers from the Chinese border.  We were going to knock on the door, but as we had no visa, our guide vetoed the idea!

The train runs on narrow gauge train track, and the beds are quite narrow as well.  The combination makes it interesting to try and sleep.  Sonya descirbes it as "trying to sleep on a bunk bed in our travel trailer, while Paul is driving through the mountains and passing at the same time!"

Needless to say, I had the top bunk, as Sonya was not crawling up there!!  We shared our cabin with a lovely young German lady, Tina, who was backpacking through Vietnam and Cambodia.  Safe travels to her!

When we arrived in Lao Cai, there was a one hour drive to Sa Pa - ALL uphill.  We spent the morning at the local markets where the locals buy their food.  You can have your chicken running around or ready to fry as can be seen here!

After that we toured the local shops, set up for tourists, and saw a number of the local ethnic minorities  selling their wares.

The next morning after breakfast, we walked down through the terraced rice paddiies to some of the small villages of some of the local minorities (Black Mongh and Red Zao). The views of the terraced paddies was incredible.  We had seen a shot of these on a national geographic show about China but never expected to see this for ourselves.   

When we got to the village, we stopped in a local home for a cooking lesson and lunch.  Our guide Lan and I did all the work while Sonya was busy snapping photos!

The lady of the house cooked up the rest of the veritable feast!  

Oh, yes, we also had some happy water, otherwise known as rice wine, being poured here by our guide Lan!

After finishing lunch, we walked to another village to visit the home of one of the local people, a 70 year old lady who invited us into her home.  

After seeing this, Sonya realized that she would likely not ever need to do a kitchen renovation.  Here's hoping that I can hold her to that!!

After that it was back to Lao Cai to catch the train back to Hanoi overnight.  So, was the trip to Sa Pa worth 16 hours on a rocky train??? Absolutely!!  

See you ini Hue!

Paul & Sonya