Tuesday, 08 March 2005
08/03/2005
Not sure if we are travel weary or if destinations in Vietnam lack a strong identity. Hanoi's Old Quarter, Hoi An and Saigon have made this country very pleasant... oh and the vanilla slice. I don't think we would rush back to Vietnam in the near future, unlike Laos and Thailand. Maybe six months in Asia are catching up with us. We had six stops in Vietnam and half were outstanding and the other three were a bit of a waste of time (Hue, Nha Trang and Dalat - just our personal opinion). It was disheartening to travel such long distances on overnight buses only to arrive in a city that does not live up to what you have read and what you have heard from fellow travellers. Saying that, the three cities we enjoyed were very special, particularly Hoi An.
Hanoi
 The flight from Laos was great and over in an hour, but getting to the hotel was more of an ordeal. We had a reservation for a hotel but the minibus dropped us off at another hotel, and this hotel insisted that it was our hotel but we knew it wasn't. They said our hotel did not exist and neither did the road it was on. We knew this was b@!*ocks as we had seen a cafe from the minivan located near our hotel. So at 8pm in the dark in a very busy narrow road in the Old Quarter we marched off in the direction of our hotel and were very relieved when we found it just 200m down the road. The hotel (Camellia 3) was lovely - huge room, free buffet breakfast and satellite TV, this was a huge bonus as it would mean we would save money in the evening that without a TV we would spend on beer!!
We loved the Old Quarter, shopping was amazing - each street is named after what it sells, or used to sell. We stayed on pipe street, there was a shoe street, cloth street, bell street, jewellry street etc etc. It was great to do a walking tour, although dodging the moped traffic was a little dodgy. Andrew tried the local beer, Bia Hoi which translates as fresh beer, basically draught - very cheap, 33 US cents a galss or 80 US cents for 2 litres. It's OK but has nothing on Beer Lao.
Uncle Ho
 Since we'd done Mao we thought it was worth seeing Uncle Ho all stuffed up - just Lenin to go now. It was much more organised than Mao in Beijing and he looked pretty good - not as waxy as Mao, and we got to see his residences which were impressive and well kept. We even took a peek at his little single bed.
Quality food
On the whole, during our visit to Vietnam we have found Vietnamese food a little bland - there have been of course a number of exceptions but generally, the French inspired food and desserts have been the best grub. It is common in Vietnam for 1 and 2-star hotels to include breakfast in their tariff, this varies from French baguette with laughing cow (or is that mad cow??) spreadable cheese, and fruit salad to Vietnamese beef soup (pho). Highlights were the Cyclo cafe (yes, you sit in cyclos!) and Little Hanoi but the all time winner for cake of the trip was the vanilla slice from a local bakers and at 20 US cents, Zoe had two every night!!
Water puppets
 Having TV was great entertainment but you can't beat the old fashioned kind. Here in Hanoi they have Water Puppets. They perform in a large theatre in a pool of murky green water with the pupeteers shielded by a screen. On the side is a small band playing classical Vietnamese instruments to old songs with singing. A number of stories to music are told with different puppets. We enjoyed it so much that we went out and bought our own puppet, the narrator, Chu. He can join our Indian dancing lady puppet at home!
Perfume Pagoda
These are a series of pagodas on a hill situated by the Perfume River. It is supposed to be a tranquil river journey and nice walk up to the various pagodas (temples). As we found out, this did not apply on a weekend or in a festival. We went on a Saturday and at the start of a three month festival. The place was packed with local holidaymakers making a pilgrimage. Stalls lined the pathways to the pagodas, selling all kinds of junk, and there was plenty of junk on the floor too. We didn't even get up to the main pagoda as there was a mad crush and our pockets were turned out for money. One guy on our trip saw his wallet being nicked and strangled the local until he dropped it!!! So we got out as quick as we could - a nasty daytrip experience. We felt we could have been warned about how busy it would be. Feeling ripped off.
Halong Bay
 Unfortunately this was only a mild improvement on the Perfume Pagoda. The weather turned into a cold spell in Hanoi and in Halong Bay it was even colder. We only had a single jumper each and no coat so it was a case of wearing everything we had at once. The boat was pleasant enough but the sky was dull, so the scenery wasn't that spectacular. We thought Krabi, Thailand was better for karst mountains. We braved the cold air to go out sea kayaking and really enjoyed this, it was good to get some exercise. We went to a really well-lit cave and this was the highlight (we took plenty of photos). It was the wrong time of year for this trip - oh well, we tried. One plus point is that because of the cold we slept really well. It was a nice change to snuggle up rather than sleep under air con.
Hue
We bought an open bus ticket in Hanoi for US$23 each that would take us all the way to Saigon in hop on hop off style. The first leg was yet another overnight bus and it was the best one yet as we actually got some sleep. Hue was unfortunately very dull for a city. We didn't want to do the day trip to the Royal Tombs as this was more pagodas and we had been so disappointed by the Perfume Pagoda. Andrew went to see the Forbidden Purple Palace and was suitably impressed, Zoe preferred to catch up on some much needed sleep.
DMZ
The stop off at Hue was made worthwhile with this daytrip to the De-Militarized Zone. Also known as the 17th parallel, the Ben Hai river separated North and South Vietnam and was the site of many battles in the Vietnam War. 15-20 children still die every month in this province from unexploded land mines. We got to visit the Vinh Moc tunnels, this an underground network used by villagers and the army to ferry supplies to an island used by the North Vietnamese army off the coast. We were able to stand up in this tunnel, it was about 160 cm tall. We were shown rooms with makeshift kitchens, maternity stations and meeting places. The highlight of the trip was the Khe Sanh combat base and musuem, they had some great photos and weaponry outside.
Hoi An
 This was the best destination in Vietnam for us. It was like Luang Prabang in Laos but bigger and better. Lots of gorgeous French colonial architecture, brilliant shopping and tailors everywhere. It was very touristy, but they did it so well. This was our biggest shopping spree so far:
- 5 suits (3 Andrew 2 Zoe)
- 4 shirts (2 each)
- Chinese top and Skirt (Zoe, of course)
- Winter coat (Zoe)
- Chino's (Andrew)
- Oil painting
On top of this the food was excellent and very well priced. We also had a brilliant hotel for just US$15, it had satellite TV and a pool. You can imagine we really enjoyed our time here.
As well as all this consumerism we also did a cultural item with an early morning trip to My Son. This is the Vietnam version of Angkor Wat. These ruins date from the 4th century all the way to the 17th century. Unfortunately they really are ruins as the Viet Cong used them as a base and the Americans bombed them to rubble, so not much is left and they are surrounded by bomb craters. We left at 5am and got back by 10am, so we missed the crowds and the midday sun, certainly the best way to do it.
Fate
While walking down the street in Hoi An marvelling at the architecture we passed a cafe and one of Zoe's ex-work friends bounced towards her - Jennie Pick from Croner in Kingston upon Thames. Unbelievable!! They had not seen each other for 3 years. They spent the next couple of days catching up and went to My Son together and later in Saigon the Cu Chi tunnels. It has been a delight and a great trip down memory lane, she is moving to Cambodia too, so we may meet up again!
Nha Trang - long live Bia Hoi
Guess that Hoi An was going to be hard to beat, and Nha Trang certainly didn't meet the call. Another overnight bus and another disappointment. A not very clean city beach resort, it didn't help that the weather was windy and cloudy. We spent one day on a dive boat to do some snorkelling and this was great fun. The water was very choppy for the first snorkel, and for the second snorkel there were lots of stinging jellyfish so it was a bit uncomfortable but the visibility was good at 20 metres and the variety of fish wasn't bad. The best bit was on the way back as the sun came out and we got to top up our tans on the roof of the boat!
Apart from the beach there is nothing worth doing in Nha Trang so we relieved our boredom by sitting on the street on children's plastic chairs with the locals and drinking 2-litre jugs of Bia Hoi!! After 3 jugs we were stuffed!!
Dalat
Well we got there at 3pm and left at 8am the next morning. Enough said.
We'd painted a picture in our heads of a Mae Hong Son (Thailand) type countryside and a pretty city - but the reality was a little more harsh. A dirty city and the countryside was no different to Laos. We got out as soon as we could.
Saigon
It was a relief that the city was not a disappointment. Saigon is flash, modern for Vietnam and very lively. Lot of bars, shops, restuarants, not as much traffic as Hanoi but still busy and hectic. A great way to end the trip to Vietnam. The War Remnants museum was very interesting we particularly liked the War photographers exhibition and the deformed pickled babies in a jar were quite gross.
Cu Chi Tunnels
 We were originally not going to bother visiting this set of tunnels as we'd ben told the DMZ tour was better, but we had some time so we thought what the hell. In fact, it was just as good, just different. It's more of an interactive experience. Our guide used to an interpreter for the US during the war and he was very informative. Andrew got to shoot an AK-47 and we got to go in the tiny tunnels. They are just 120 cm high at the tallest point and just 50cm by 50cm at the narrowest point. Zoe did 30 metres and Andrew did 90 metres, it was very hot and claustrophobic in there.
Food
Best cake for the trip award - Vanilla Slice, Hanoi. Andrew tucked into the Choux pastry with vanilla in Nha Trang and he loved the chocolate mousse in Hoi An.
Cau Lau - this is the local dish for Hoi An, made with Roasted pork, croutons, mint, bean sprouts and noodles. Extremely yummy.
Super burger in the Jeans Cafe, Hoi An and Spag Bol at Kim's cafe in Saigon - great Western style food.
Accommodation and toilets
We have seen the best standard of all SE Asia in the US$10-15 bracket. All a/c, breakfast, satellite TV and hot water plus one with a pool. And of course excellent toilets.
Landscape
Cities are similar to China, countryside like Laos. Cities quite dirty, lots of rubbish and plastic bags. Pavements are in a terrible state and the houses are very narrow as blocks of land are so expensive so they build up, often over 5 floors for one house. Best landscape was Hoi An, we imagine Halong Bay is nice in the Summer.
People
Too many of them. Reminds us of China, lots of poo and wee walls. Loads of moped traffic. Not as friendly as Thais and Laos but not as rude as the Indians, about equal with the Chinese. They want your money quite badly, but there are not many beggars and they are very proud people. Everyone dresses modestly and the women are very touchy feely towards other western women. They like to grab your arm, stroke your hair or pull your cheek like you are old friends. The schoolgirls look very pretty as they wear the national dress, an Ao Dai to school.
Health
We've both had a cold coming and going, but now they are gone (for good we hope). No major stomach problems, just had a few bad nights sleep. |
