Dear All,
Hello again and welcome to a further Southeast Asia travel monologue. Been quite busy since the last mail so will just add a few highlights here.
I think I left you last when we were about to board an overnight train to Dong Hoi. Said goodbye to our cheerful guide Mango, and boarded at 10pm for an 11pm departure. I was lucky in getting a berth in one of the nicer cabins, along with Praz, Usha and Kiran. The others got stuck in a 6 bedded berth, though we'd bought all 6 berths for some privacy. More cramped in there though and from all accounts more smelly. Quite late by the time we settled ourselves in, so put our heads down for some sleep pretty soon. A/c stopped working in the night leading to a bit of a warm tropical nights slumber. The next morning up early and witnessed some lovely beautiful scenery on our way. Disembarked at 8am and met by our guide for the next 3 days, a Mr Chin (seriously, not making these names up!). He turned out to be a slightly older man in his 50s, peering out at the world through thick glasses (reminded one irresistibly of Mr Magoo!). Initially came across as slightly unorganised, but the fault of the company, not his. Over the course of the day quickly established himself as a firm favourite with us and took on the benign uncle role effortlessly. He drove us to a lovely beach-side resort (the only one this part of Vietnam) for breakfast and a chance to freshen up. Lovely place to spend a few relaxing days, with private access to the beach and landscaped gardens. Mr Chin observed sagely that we looked tired and gave us an hour to collect ourselves.
A huge breakfast buffet on offer and was taken advantage of with alacrity by almost everyone. Following breakfast, took a bus to the Phong Nha National Park, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. Again, pretty cool scenery, including the usual pastoral scenes (this time enlivened by a man riding a buffalo quite fast and trying not to fall off). At the Park, we were subjected to a brief subtitled film on the glories contained within, most of which we had no time to see. Took a short 5km boat ride on the Son River to the Phong Nha caves (the main 2 - there are over 300 scattered in the hills at last count). Great experience, as were were slowly rowed through the low set cave mouth and floated through a series of tunnels and caverns admiring the rock formations and lighting which made it look quite otherworldly at times. Rivalled the Halong Bay cave for impressiveness. After that cave, had a stiff climb (about 600 steps) the the other main cave. Managed to get to the top without my lungs staging a mutiny (though I resembled a perambulating sweat bath), and hoping that meant slowly getting fitter with all this activity! This cave also quite fantastic and again, words unable to do it justice. Could have spent a lot longer in there marvelling at the various features. This particular cave quite sacred to the Vietnamese and it was believed to be the abode of fairies and some rock formations resembled the 4 sacred animals of their religion (Turtle, Dragon, Phoenix and Lion). By now almost 3pm, so headed down to our boat and then back onto the bus. Still had over 200km to go before reaching our nights stop in Hue, the ancient imperial capital. Had a lunch/dinner combo at the same resort on our way at 4pm, which revitalised everyone a bit. Including Mr Chin obviously, as no sooner had we got back on the bus and settling down to a reading, napping, music, etc. than he started singing a Vietnamese song and then made up a game where one of us would have to go up and sing after him. Ended with most of us sitting at the front of the bus, on the floor, near the driver, and singing along to various songs on the iPods for the next 3 hours. Was worth any number of missed naps to watch Mr Chin dancing away to random western songs! Finally arrived at the Asia Hotel in Hue around 9pm. Everyone very tired and looking forward to a good shower and sleep.
The next day saw various sights around Hue. The imperial capital if Vietnam since 1800s, and had a lot of historical buildings. The Imperial Citadel was most impressive, covering 9 square km, even with most of the buildings destroyed in the wars of the last century. Mt Chin (fornerly a history teacher) kept us both entertained and educated with his enthusiastic teaching gestures. Learnt the rather complex succession of the Nguyen Dynasty (the last dynasty of Vietnam) with a number of betrayals, poisonings and coups enlivening the history. My favourite bit was when the adopted son of Tu Duc (a great king who ruledfor 36 years but without heirs) was put in prison after 3 days on the throne by the Queen Mother for being ugly! had to ask Mt Chin to repeat this as seemed a bit too random, even for such obviously enthusiastic people as the Vietnamese. A true account though. Thankful I wasn't in the royal line of those times is all I can say! That day very hot and humid and all of us visibly flagging. Went through innumerable bottles of water and the girls swarmed the ice cream stand like locusts. Never has a cold coke tasted so good! The rest of the day saw another pagoda which didn't make a huge impression on me. A boat ride up the Perfume River which was far too loud and mundane for my liking. Perfume River sadly not the answer to cosmetic companies dreams. The afternoon saw us visiting a couple of mausoleums whioch were very impressive though. the first was that of the above mentioned Tu Duc. Huge grounds and impressive monuments. Custom had it that these places were built when they were alive and so Tu Duc used to come to his own mausoleum to rest, do office work and hang out wioth his concubines. Certainly an interesting take on ones own graveyard! That evening spent recovering from the days heat, while the girls indefatigably went shopping.
The next day we drove to Hoi An, a beautiful small town slightly further south and spared the destruction that seems to have visited so much of Vietnam during its wars. The whole town declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On the way passed by some spectacular coastal mountain scenery, with white sandy beaches, jungle green mountains and deep blue sea all in a sweep of the eye. Rather aggressive vendors when we stopped at viewpoints, but not in a threatening way. Unpleasant after the laidback style of Laos. Reached Hoi An in the afternoon. Stopped off at a silk tailoring shop where I finally succumbed and got myself measured for a black silk traditional Vietnamese outfit. To be delivered to my room the next morning - amazingly quick service and incredibly cheap compared to western prices. Ironically, the girls bought nothing at that shop, but more than made up for it by spending about 3 hrs shopping that evening. Walkied arounf Hoi An with Mr Chin (whose hometown this was) and saw the unique Japaneses covered bridge. It contains a shrine to a god who is supposedly keeping in check a big monster. When I say big, I mean huge. The monsters head supposedly in India, the body though Vietnam and the tail in Japan. Seemed a rather small shrine for such a big job!
The next day, the 25th November, we left Hoi An to go to Saigon (now renamed Ho Chi Minh City). Spent the morning wandering about a few more places in Hoi An, with Mr Chin providing more stories to keep out interest engaged. Very lucky to have found a guide such as him. My outfir arrived and after some expertcritique from the girls (mainly Taz), sent it back for a few adjustments. Came back in an hour and seemed to be fine to my inexpert eye (girls not around), On the way to the airport, had a lovely walk on the China Beach, very relaxing and a great way to say goodbye to central Vietnam and our benign guide, Mr Chin.
Short flight to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and picked up by a rather taciturn guide called Duc. A quick city tour of Saigon followed. The War Remnants museum was very interesting and quite horrifying. The scale and callousness of the Vietnam War and the tactics used by the American troops really sunk in for the first time, despite what I'd read previously. The pictures of maimed and deformed victims of napalm and Agent Orange (so many children!) were so saddening, and yet the Vietnamese get on with their lives and look forward all the time. A seriously strong willed people.
The next day was our trip to the Mekong Delta. This is where the mighty Mekong, a huge river that flows through 7 countries and is the lifeblood of Indochina, finally empties into the sea, but not before dividing into 9 other river and countless streams which crisscross the land for miles. Fascinating to see the lives of people living so symbiotically with the water, houses overhanging the river, petrol stations on boats, morning shoppers paddling from boat to boat to get all their vegetables. The water a muddy brown and at points, the Mekong so wide we could hardly see the banks on either side. Doing all this exploring in a low lying (especially after I got in!) boat. Our homestay that evening was more in the nature of a small guesthouse, with 8 beds set up in a roofed but open walled hut. Flowering gardens, bonsai trees, sitting areas with hammocks all added to the sense of idyllic peace, with a couple of small streams running through the compound.
That afternoon went for a bike ride which was the highlight of the day. Wound our way (on the flat thankfully) along a narrow path lined with banana plantations and fruit orchards, occasionally crossing small streams on narrow bridges with no railings. Local children shouting hello as we passed and no other foreigners in sight. A few people fell off bikes (no names of course), but soon everyone picked up old skills and enjoyed themselves. Great fun and a lovely way to see the remoter areas of the delta.
On the way back form the ride stopped off at a bonsai garden where for reasons unknown, they had a boa constrictor. Our local guide, Mr Lucky (so far Vietnam guides been Mango, Chin, Duc and Lucky) suggested I try draping it round my neck. About 5 ft long and surprisingly heavy. Strong bugger too! Took a lot of strength to hold it in place when it finally woke up and tried to investigate the gastronomic possibilities of a duckling cheeping away at my feet. Predictable enough chorus of screams and gasps from the girls, though Praz and Kiran touched it and Nishat had already done this before (one wonders what she hasn't done!). Uzma caught on video speculating on what a fine handbag it would make. Left the poor snake alone after 10 mins and on our way again.
An early night that day, though rather restless. The local roosters obviously decided to show off for the benefit of us outsiders and held a crowing contest every few mins from midnight on. Pretty sure thay'd have been in the cookpot if they'd messed around like that in our village in India!
So, next day found us groggy but smiling. Early morning walk ( a habit of mine in this tour) found 3 of us wandering over random bridges and deeper into delta territory. Peaceful. Locals ambling back from their morning shopping giving us cheery greetings. A brief stop at a pottery cottage industry, where I helped make a few bricks (sounds more impressive than what I really did, which was toss a lump of clay into a machine) and then met up with our bus again.
The afternoon was pretty cool. Managed to negotiate a trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels, even thouh not on our itinerary. Saw incredibly small tunnels (though Praz, Uzma and Taz managed to slip through an opeining about a foot wide!) and even got to squirm our way through a 30m stretch.later the guide told us that normal tunnels about 60-70cm high, while the ones we went through had been enlarged to 1m high. Even then pretty claustrophobic and hot down there. Any smaller and I'd have been a permanent ornament down there. Also introduced to the pretty clever way they hid their tunnels from the Americans.
Back to Saigon and this is our last evening in Vietnam. Tomorrow we fly to Cambodia where we'll be exploring the mysteries of Angkor Wat and the Khmer culture. May even bump into some of my ex-pat acquaintances.
Again have probably gone on for far too long and you're either falling to sleep or building up a good dose of resentment that you're not enjoying these cultures instead of working. What that, I bid you adieu and hope that you're all well.
Siri
Hello again and welcome to a further Southeast Asia travel monologue. Been quite busy since the last mail so will just add a few highlights here.
I think I left you last when we were about to board an overnight train to Dong Hoi. Said goodbye to our cheerful guide Mango, and boarded at 10pm for an 11pm departure. I was lucky in getting a berth in one of the nicer cabins, along with Praz, Usha and Kiran. The others got stuck in a 6 bedded berth, though we'd bought all 6 berths for some privacy. More cramped in there though and from all accounts more smelly. Quite late by the time we settled ourselves in, so put our heads down for some sleep pretty soon. A/c stopped working in the night leading to a bit of a warm tropical nights slumber. The next morning up early and witnessed some lovely beautiful scenery on our way. Disembarked at 8am and met by our guide for the next 3 days, a Mr Chin (seriously, not making these names up!). He turned out to be a slightly older man in his 50s, peering out at the world through thick glasses (reminded one irresistibly of Mr Magoo!). Initially came across as slightly unorganised, but the fault of the company, not his. Over the course of the day quickly established himself as a firm favourite with us and took on the benign uncle role effortlessly. He drove us to a lovely beach-side resort (the only one this part of Vietnam) for breakfast and a chance to freshen up. Lovely place to spend a few relaxing days, with private access to the beach and landscaped gardens. Mr Chin observed sagely that we looked tired and gave us an hour to collect ourselves.
A huge breakfast buffet on offer and was taken advantage of with alacrity by almost everyone. Following breakfast, took a bus to the Phong Nha National Park, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. Again, pretty cool scenery, including the usual pastoral scenes (this time enlivened by a man riding a buffalo quite fast and trying not to fall off). At the Park, we were subjected to a brief subtitled film on the glories contained within, most of which we had no time to see. Took a short 5km boat ride on the Son River to the Phong Nha caves (the main 2 - there are over 300 scattered in the hills at last count). Great experience, as were were slowly rowed through the low set cave mouth and floated through a series of tunnels and caverns admiring the rock formations and lighting which made it look quite otherworldly at times. Rivalled the Halong Bay cave for impressiveness. After that cave, had a stiff climb (about 600 steps) the the other main cave. Managed to get to the top without my lungs staging a mutiny (though I resembled a perambulating sweat bath), and hoping that meant slowly getting fitter with all this activity! This cave also quite fantastic and again, words unable to do it justice. Could have spent a lot longer in there marvelling at the various features. This particular cave quite sacred to the Vietnamese and it was believed to be the abode of fairies and some rock formations resembled the 4 sacred animals of their religion (Turtle, Dragon, Phoenix and Lion). By now almost 3pm, so headed down to our boat and then back onto the bus. Still had over 200km to go before reaching our nights stop in Hue, the ancient imperial capital. Had a lunch/dinner combo at the same resort on our way at 4pm, which revitalised everyone a bit. Including Mr Chin obviously, as no sooner had we got back on the bus and settling down to a reading, napping, music, etc. than he started singing a Vietnamese song and then made up a game where one of us would have to go up and sing after him. Ended with most of us sitting at the front of the bus, on the floor, near the driver, and singing along to various songs on the iPods for the next 3 hours. Was worth any number of missed naps to watch Mr Chin dancing away to random western songs! Finally arrived at the Asia Hotel in Hue around 9pm. Everyone very tired and looking forward to a good shower and sleep.
The next day saw various sights around Hue. The imperial capital if Vietnam since 1800s, and had a lot of historical buildings. The Imperial Citadel was most impressive, covering 9 square km, even with most of the buildings destroyed in the wars of the last century. Mt Chin (fornerly a history teacher) kept us both entertained and educated with his enthusiastic teaching gestures. Learnt the rather complex succession of the Nguyen Dynasty (the last dynasty of Vietnam) with a number of betrayals, poisonings and coups enlivening the history. My favourite bit was when the adopted son of Tu Duc (a great king who ruledfor 36 years but without heirs) was put in prison after 3 days on the throne by the Queen Mother for being ugly! had to ask Mt Chin to repeat this as seemed a bit too random, even for such obviously enthusiastic people as the Vietnamese. A true account though. Thankful I wasn't in the royal line of those times is all I can say! That day very hot and humid and all of us visibly flagging. Went through innumerable bottles of water and the girls swarmed the ice cream stand like locusts. Never has a cold coke tasted so good! The rest of the day saw another pagoda which didn't make a huge impression on me. A boat ride up the Perfume River which was far too loud and mundane for my liking. Perfume River sadly not the answer to cosmetic companies dreams. The afternoon saw us visiting a couple of mausoleums whioch were very impressive though. the first was that of the above mentioned Tu Duc. Huge grounds and impressive monuments. Custom had it that these places were built when they were alive and so Tu Duc used to come to his own mausoleum to rest, do office work and hang out wioth his concubines. Certainly an interesting take on ones own graveyard! That evening spent recovering from the days heat, while the girls indefatigably went shopping.
The next day we drove to Hoi An, a beautiful small town slightly further south and spared the destruction that seems to have visited so much of Vietnam during its wars. The whole town declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On the way passed by some spectacular coastal mountain scenery, with white sandy beaches, jungle green mountains and deep blue sea all in a sweep of the eye. Rather aggressive vendors when we stopped at viewpoints, but not in a threatening way. Unpleasant after the laidback style of Laos. Reached Hoi An in the afternoon. Stopped off at a silk tailoring shop where I finally succumbed and got myself measured for a black silk traditional Vietnamese outfit. To be delivered to my room the next morning - amazingly quick service and incredibly cheap compared to western prices. Ironically, the girls bought nothing at that shop, but more than made up for it by spending about 3 hrs shopping that evening. Walkied arounf Hoi An with Mr Chin (whose hometown this was) and saw the unique Japaneses covered bridge. It contains a shrine to a god who is supposedly keeping in check a big monster. When I say big, I mean huge. The monsters head supposedly in India, the body though Vietnam and the tail in Japan. Seemed a rather small shrine for such a big job!
The next day, the 25th November, we left Hoi An to go to Saigon (now renamed Ho Chi Minh City). Spent the morning wandering about a few more places in Hoi An, with Mr Chin providing more stories to keep out interest engaged. Very lucky to have found a guide such as him. My outfir arrived and after some expertcritique from the girls (mainly Taz), sent it back for a few adjustments. Came back in an hour and seemed to be fine to my inexpert eye (girls not around), On the way to the airport, had a lovely walk on the China Beach, very relaxing and a great way to say goodbye to central Vietnam and our benign guide, Mr Chin.
Short flight to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and picked up by a rather taciturn guide called Duc. A quick city tour of Saigon followed. The War Remnants museum was very interesting and quite horrifying. The scale and callousness of the Vietnam War and the tactics used by the American troops really sunk in for the first time, despite what I'd read previously. The pictures of maimed and deformed victims of napalm and Agent Orange (so many children!) were so saddening, and yet the Vietnamese get on with their lives and look forward all the time. A seriously strong willed people.
The next day was our trip to the Mekong Delta. This is where the mighty Mekong, a huge river that flows through 7 countries and is the lifeblood of Indochina, finally empties into the sea, but not before dividing into 9 other river and countless streams which crisscross the land for miles. Fascinating to see the lives of people living so symbiotically with the water, houses overhanging the river, petrol stations on boats, morning shoppers paddling from boat to boat to get all their vegetables. The water a muddy brown and at points, the Mekong so wide we could hardly see the banks on either side. Doing all this exploring in a low lying (especially after I got in!) boat. Our homestay that evening was more in the nature of a small guesthouse, with 8 beds set up in a roofed but open walled hut. Flowering gardens, bonsai trees, sitting areas with hammocks all added to the sense of idyllic peace, with a couple of small streams running through the compound.
That afternoon went for a bike ride which was the highlight of the day. Wound our way (on the flat thankfully) along a narrow path lined with banana plantations and fruit orchards, occasionally crossing small streams on narrow bridges with no railings. Local children shouting hello as we passed and no other foreigners in sight. A few people fell off bikes (no names of course), but soon everyone picked up old skills and enjoyed themselves. Great fun and a lovely way to see the remoter areas of the delta.
On the way back form the ride stopped off at a bonsai garden where for reasons unknown, they had a boa constrictor. Our local guide, Mr Lucky (so far Vietnam guides been Mango, Chin, Duc and Lucky) suggested I try draping it round my neck. About 5 ft long and surprisingly heavy. Strong bugger too! Took a lot of strength to hold it in place when it finally woke up and tried to investigate the gastronomic possibilities of a duckling cheeping away at my feet. Predictable enough chorus of screams and gasps from the girls, though Praz and Kiran touched it and Nishat had already done this before (one wonders what she hasn't done!). Uzma caught on video speculating on what a fine handbag it would make. Left the poor snake alone after 10 mins and on our way again.
An early night that day, though rather restless. The local roosters obviously decided to show off for the benefit of us outsiders and held a crowing contest every few mins from midnight on. Pretty sure thay'd have been in the cookpot if they'd messed around like that in our village in India!
So, next day found us groggy but smiling. Early morning walk ( a habit of mine in this tour) found 3 of us wandering over random bridges and deeper into delta territory. Peaceful. Locals ambling back from their morning shopping giving us cheery greetings. A brief stop at a pottery cottage industry, where I helped make a few bricks (sounds more impressive than what I really did, which was toss a lump of clay into a machine) and then met up with our bus again.
The afternoon was pretty cool. Managed to negotiate a trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels, even thouh not on our itinerary. Saw incredibly small tunnels (though Praz, Uzma and Taz managed to slip through an opeining about a foot wide!) and even got to squirm our way through a 30m stretch.later the guide told us that normal tunnels about 60-70cm high, while the ones we went through had been enlarged to 1m high. Even then pretty claustrophobic and hot down there. Any smaller and I'd have been a permanent ornament down there. Also introduced to the pretty clever way they hid their tunnels from the Americans.
Back to Saigon and this is our last evening in Vietnam. Tomorrow we fly to Cambodia where we'll be exploring the mysteries of Angkor Wat and the Khmer culture. May even bump into some of my ex-pat acquaintances.
Again have probably gone on for far too long and you're either falling to sleep or building up a good dose of resentment that you're not enjoying these cultures instead of working. What that, I bid you adieu and hope that you're all well.
Siri
No comments:
Post a Comment