Hue

We caught the overnight train from Hanoi to Hue. We've decided that, at the very least, the train we caught was a pensioned off Chinese sleeper train. The standard in trains between China and Vietnam was quiet amazing, although I've since read there are different train companies one can book through. As a consequence of the different standard we did not sleep as much as we would have liked :-).





Arriving in Hue at around 10am we bypassed the taxi touts and went straight to a reputable metered taxi company - learning from our arrival experience in Hanoi. We fronted at the Gold Hotel to find they didn't have room for us despite having booked, confirmed and paid a deposit. After some discussion and staying firm to our guns, the General Manager was called and we found ourselves being chauffeured to another hotel of a higher standard - and still only paying our hostel rates -win win!

That night, New Year's Eve, we attended the hotel gala dinner. It was a bit of a hoot - reminding me of a Japanese game show. - with male and female MCs who drew lottery tickets to very emotive music in between the entertainment, which we suspect was all the hotel staff. It was an enjoyable night of a different kind!

Day 2 in Hue was a tour. Hue was the old capital of a united Vietnam in between Hanoi periods. It has been the location of many battles - north/south, French, and the infamous Tet offensive in 1968. We visited the Citadel - that was originally built in 1802 and which has seen many a bloody battle inside the fortress. It was humbling to hear our guide try to explain the history of battles between north and south and the then what we know as the Vietnam War - it brought me close to tears to hear him talk of his fathers experience of the Tet offensive. He explained that they were expecting fireworks to celebrate Tet (Chinese new year) and how he had gone to wake up his wife to have her join the celebrations only to open the door and find a soldier with an ak47 telling them to return inside. Dotted between these stories and explanations were exclamations of 'my country' statements that made one feel very humble but also amazed at the almost consistent history of conflict that Vietnamese have experienced over the centuries - fighting off many invaders or attempted invaders.

We also visited outside Hue - to the royal tombs of Tu Doc, Minh Mang, and Khai Dinh and the associated temples, a number of them have been restored but my preference was for the unrestored summer palace.

The end of the day saw a visit to the Buddhist temple pagoda that was the scene of an immolation in the early 90s that led to Vietnam being taken to the Human Rights Courts for breaching their constitution when prosecuting the temple, accusing it of being part of an international Buddhist faction (which I believe is at odds with the ideals of communist Vietnam).


Day 3 we spent a few hours wandering the Dong Ba markets which were much more like the markets I was expecting than the ones in Hanoi. These were markets for the local people not tourists. We saw all manner of fruits and vegetables, meats and fish as well as fabrics, home wares, clothes and cloth. We didn't have time to investigate all of it as we needed to get back to catch the bus to hoi an...the next adventure.

South to Hoi An.

This adventure started by boarding a bus. It cost us all of USD8 per person to travel from Hue to Hoi An- a few hours away. Expecting a greyhound coach, the bus pulled in and cerainly met expectations from the outside, however, when we entered it was a 'sleeping bus'. Two 'decks' seat three seats across that recline to a sleeper. It is extremely interesting to say the least. I do imagine you could travel overnight in it. It holds about 48 but allows all to stretch your legs straight out and recline to a sleeping position - quiet ingenious really.

We arrived at Hoi an about 5 pm, thanking our lucky stars we were not going any further on the bus. I think we were booked on the cheaper sleeping version and I would not recommend it, I've heard the the Sinh Tourist bus is the best, but I'm not sure even that would be worth it unless you were on a very strict budget or very young and hardy.

Hoi An that first night was a little disappointing. We ventured from the hotel about 730pm to find something to eat but it was hard to orient in the dark. No major light sources could be found and we ended up in a local eatery with chicken and noodles at 20,000 VND per head (about $1). Adequate, but we were wondering where we had found ourselves.

The next day we walked into town, and what a difference light makes. We managed to find our way a little better and found a beautifully quaint and picturesque historic town hugging a river. Buying some tourist tickets we were able to visit some authentic historic houses and museums that help put the little town into some perspective. Hoi An is an ancient trading town that has had settlements going back to the Iron Age which has only been rediscovered in the last 20 or so years. The town itself has been listed as a world heritage site due to wonderfully preserved nature of the town centre. Apparently trade died after a series of unfortunate natural flooding events which moved the trade centre north to Danang. As a consequence, the town was pretty well bypassed for development and as a result, it is wonderfully preserved. Some of the family chapels have donated ancient royal decrees and artefacts as recently as 2005 - some of these are two and three hundred years old. It makes me realise how young we are in Australia as a comparison (although I do admit our indigenous heritage - but lament the lack of documentation).

We spent a day at the local beach - cu dai - where B2, L and M spent some time on a jet ski, while B1 and I read, slept and walked. In the restaurant attached to the private part of the beach, we ate seafood and enjoyed a bottle of wine. We all felt it a very different beach experience from what we are used to in Australia where it seems a little more egalitarian.

Another day we cycled around the town, enjoying a relatively flat path that enabled us to take the Coe of the village in (and L and I scope out the shopping areas).

On yet another day, the boys hired motorbikes and went for a tour around the countryside. Unfortunately it rained quite relentless and they ditched half way through the day, looking like drowned rats. This day, L and I visited the tailors and had our bespoke dresses fitted (!). Nothing fancy, but it is rather nice to have something made to fit perfectly and not to 'make do'. Had I have known, I'd have saved for an entire year and had a suitcase ful made....the prices were quite extraordinary. There were bookmakers as well that could tailor shoes perfectly - a little pair of leather saddles for about $20... however I didn't need any more shoes!

He weather set in a little and we decided to leave Saigon (as the locals call it).

Ho Chi Minh City

We took the easy route after staying a few extra days in Hoi An...we couldn't face an overnight train trip again so paid $60 per head to fly to HCMC arriving at 11 pm.

Day 1 we spent getting our bearings...Ben Thanh Market and The War Remnants Museum. Talk about differences. The markets are famous for pressure selling. Bargaining skills come in extremely handy, as does walking away if you can't agree. We managed to buy M a 'Rolex' which he is impressed with. A few other bits and pieces were also bought but after an hour, it was time to escape.

We went to The War Remnants Museum, arriving to see the yard full of old tanks, anti aircraft guns and helicopters. I thought it would be a bit of propaganda and technical exhibition inside, however I was not prepared for the heart wrenching stories and photographs which took the war from technical to personal, continuing to this day with people who are still suffering the effects of Agent Orange generations later. In a couple of displays I was completely overwhelmed and had to leave to gather myself again. I walked out appreciating my freedom, my family and my good fortune at being born in another country and not in Vietnam of the times. There were uplifting sections where repair and renewal were highlighted which helped.

We are staying in the middle of backpacker central (Pham Ngu Lao Street) and had a lovely dinner on the streets just watching the breadth of humanity pass by - including educating the kids about (and me) about 'lady-men').

Day 2 was a tour of the main temple for the Cao Dai believers at Tay Ninh. We grappled to understand this unique religion - a blend of Buddhism, Taoism with belief that Jesus and Moses are included. Followers pray 4 times a day and it is quite a sight to see, with different colours, music and singing.

After a quick lunch it was on to the Cu Chi tunnels. I think (although I haven't seen written proof) that this is a tourist attraction staged by the political, forces of Vietnam. A very determined path and sequence of experiences extolling the virtues of the guerrillas of Ben Dinh in the Vietnam war. A movie starts the tour and then we visited a series of exhibits....trenches, traps, dressed soldier mannequins, Ho Chi Minh sandal making etc then finally we got to enter 100m of tunnels - with exits every 25m. In two, stages we descended about 10m underground and walked doubled over. My back was scraping the roof and I was stuck behind two girls who kept stopping to take photos...I lasted 25 metres, finding stopping in pitch black in humid cramped conditions quiet uncomfortable. M however went off like a rabbit exploring all the openings on his own with his trusty torch. He ended up helping some of the other tourists find the exit as the lighting extinguished apparently.

We also had the opportunity to purchase bullets to fire a series of guns. We took turns to fire an AK47 at a target. I only fired one bullet to try, while kids got about 6 each. B2 could have happily stood for 30 mins firing constantly. I was happy tonfire one shot - the noise was enough for me. I can't imagine firing one constantly or for extended periods of time without suffering severe hearing problems. B1 and I were both surprised at the lack of recoil.

The bus came back into Saigon at peak hour and that was a sight in itself. The sheer number of motorcycles pouring out of side street onto arterial roads was amazing. The movement of cars and trucks was halting, and motorcycles filled every available space in and around every vehicle. It is absolutely breathtaking - amazement at how such numbers can keep moving at such speed.