Vietnam South to North - Part 2

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Vietnam Travels - Part 2

Writing this Monday 26 February and trying to catch up a little on the blog!

A week ago we left Saigon (HCMC) for Mui Ne, a long stretch of beach resorts, guesthouses and hotels.  The Lunar New Year (Tet) Festival stretches on and on in that accommodation and bus prices skyrocket at this time, and the longer this goes on, the better for businesses!  We found a very comfy hotel room in Mui Ne for US$20/night and had 2 nights there.  Didn't see too much of the famous sand-dunes though as we decided to knuckle down and sort out details for the rest of our Vietnam holiday - only took all afternoon!!  Then set out for a local travel agent to book a few things... to find out it's better to book one thing at a time and do it LOCALLY rather than too far ahead.  Fine by us. 

We have been enjoying lots of local seafood, prawns, squid, fish + frogs etc and this area was no exception.  Yes, more photos of FOOD on the blog I'm afraid, but just trying to keep up with the number of photos that Elissa and Brendon took last Sept/Oct!!

As per blog photos we are feeling like we are billionaires, withdrawing 2 million Vietnamese dong currency from the ATMs at a time!!

Wed 21/2 - a morning of travel as we departed the beach at Nui Ne and headed inland to Dalat - in the central highlands.  At a higher elevation and a former French "hill station" the cooler climate was welcome relief after the humidity and heat we'd been getting.  Dalat felt similar to the Cameron Highlands in malaysia - great area for growing fruit, vegetables, flowers (red gladioli galore) etc and quite a relaxed feel to it.  No accommodation stitched up and as it was still Tet our options appeared to be dodgy - until a woman sitting behind us on the mini-bus told us she owned a hotel in Dalat!  Seemed too good to turn down, especially when it turned out to be just around the corner from where the mini-bus terminated in Dalat... I (Jan) am learning to go with the flow much more, not needing to lock in accomm'n, trusting to opportunities like this.  In any case when you are on the "open bus" they call into hotels in the hope that you will like a room and book it, so no shortage in reality.  A nice 2 nights in Dalat, feted by our new friend hotel-owner Chi at a lakeside restaurant.  Another clever business woman with two hotels and also working as a shipping agent for a Russian company in exports, gas and oil etc.

We took a day tour in Dalat, good value US$10 each - stopping at about ten different places - emporer's summer palace, meditation centre, waterfalls, Valley of Love, Dragon Pagoda, etc.  Some of the mosaics and architecture at the pagoda was amazing.

Fri 23/2 - theme song "On the road again" sung - and this time a very warm and long bus journey Dalat to Nha Trang - back to the coast again.  By now Mark had a heavy cold which followed a sore throat so he was blustering and sneezing all day, trying not to infect me and fellow passengers!  From being collected by a car 7.15am we landed in Nha Trang around 2.15pm - a fair bit of waiting in that timeslot but we read or listened to music to help while away the time.  The air conditioning in the bus finally got fixed 5 minutes before we reached Nha Trang... yah!  After settling in to hotel walked a block to buy fruit (mandarins, bananas and custard apple = $1) and then to local tour office to collect train tickets for the following evening, and yes success, we had sleepers (albeit "hard" rather than soft berth) and tickets to prove it.  Our first "cyclo" (rickshaw) trip for the holiday tonight, making us realise how fit and able some of these more elderly gentlemen are.

Sat 24/2 - enjoyed a great day out on a boat - okay it WAS with squillions of other people but once on board and out on the ocean waves it got better and better!  For US$7 each could we expect anything else?!  We stopped at four small islands off the coast and we had two boats in convoy.  After we'd snorkelled on the Great Barrier Reef last Sept we had low expectations of the coast here but were pleasantly surprised to see lots of coral and MANY beautiful fish - terrific!  Yes there was some rubbish floating in the water but it was heartening to see the reef life.  The water temperature just right for Jan who likes it to be warmer than chilled to jump in.  Lunch was at the second island stop - on the top deck of the boat - seafood, spring rolls and a great variety of local cuisine.  Followed by the crew's interpretation of a "boy band" - it had to be seen to be believed - but all very good fun!  This interlude helped us digest lunch before one of the crew set up a "floating bar" in the water and invited everyone into collect a small glass of (cheap) local wine and pineapple chunks - all in the water - quite a novelty to have salty wine & pineapple while swimming!  Next stop Tam Island, quite commercial and definitely with the tourist dollar in mind, para-gliding, jet-ski hire available, plenty of food and drink to be had.  The most expensive snack to date - ice creams, one banana prawn and two iced coffees - but a refreshing stop.

Last stop another island with an aquarium but many of us opted to sit and chat on the boat - an opportunity to meet locals and travellers - in this case a family of three sisters, one married to a German and living there, another in California and the third living in Saigon - the two overseas were refugee "boat people" who fled the war.

A quick call back to the hotel where we'd stayed for a shower before we went to the rail station for our trip to Danang - departing 8.11pm and arriving Danang 5.30am.  Crowds of people queueing to get onto the station platform - we wondered how punctual the train would be - it was right on time and also arrived on time in Danang.  We had the bottom sleeper bunks in a compartment of six beds - a young woman sharing the compartment was very chatty with excellent English.  We were pleasantly surprised at how much sleep we were able to get - we are both enjoying the train trips to date - so weren't too bleary-eyed when we arrived at Danang to be greeted by the usual taxi and mini-bus drivers, all seeking an early morning fare!  We agreed a fare with one Mini-Bus and hopped on board to be taken to Hoi An.  Once more left to wonder on the bus as to where we would stay, but why worry - the driver's family owns the first hotel we stopped at where we were invited to inspect a room.  It looked very good to us at 6.30am so we took it and were glad we did - the family very friendly and welcoming - pretty fast internet here, quick laundry service, food if you want it, and clean and neat - all for $10/night!  It is called Hoang Trinh Hotel and we recommend it unreservedly!!

The "old town" area of Hoi An (pop 75,000) is a UNESCO World Heritage site, governed by preservation laws and some streets are off-limit to cars.  Hence many very interesting local architectural features, little laneways, buildings representing Spanish, Indian, Filipino, Indo, Thai, French, British, Dutch, Portugese, Japanese, Chinese, American and Viet input.  It's also known for its fine tailoring and shoe-making - and the many shops catering to the needs of tourists attest to its popularity.  The quieter pace is very welcome after the hyperactivity of Saigon earlier in our trip.

Sun 25/2Having arrived early Sunday morning and seen what looked like a Christian church close to the hotel, we asked about worship opportunities.  Yes - 8.00am at either 'Jesu' or 'Maria' (Prot or RC!)- so we went with 'Jesu' got there 8.10 or so to find a very full church and loud "bright" music.  After an hour or so a young woman (Hong Thanh or "Natalie") came to sit with us and help "interpret" what was happening -  after worship they conducted a meeting to determine their lay leadership team for the year 2007 so we ended up there for two hours and then had a reception with Pastor & Exec C'ttee over M'Tea. We then arranged to meet Natalie and her boyfriend Thuyen that afternoon.  They took us on a walking tour of Hoi An through the shops and market area and we later took them to dinner - it seemed amazing to us that Natalie (29 yo) said it was the FIRST restaurant meal she had ever had!  It was a delight to spend time with them and treat them to this meal - they plan to marry later this year.

In between our walking tour and dinner, Natalie took us to her workplace "Yaly" a coutre tailoring shop, providing men and women's clothing.... the end result was an order for a suit for Mark and two skirts and a pair of trousers for Jan - we go back later today for final fitting and they should be ready for collection tonight. Have a look at www.yalycouture.com - you order from cut up pictures taken from Women's Weeklies and Celeb magazines.  (Kim Beazley was featured as a 'BIG' man!!)

Again, we are thrilled that so many of you are following our travels with prayerful interest and we are humbled by such support and solidarity with us as we come towards the end of week 8 of this adventure!

Love to all, M & J

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Tuesday 27/2 - Hoi An to Hue

Up 6.30am for our well-rehearsed shower/pack/fruit breakfast/ready for the bus to collect us from 7.30am.  With a last photo of our very warm host family taken, we bid them farewell as the bus collects us 8.15 and we're on our way.  This small family-run hotel (Hoang Tring) has been our best hotel experience so far, at the great rate of just $10/night with free internet.  We remind ourselves that often "small is beautiful".

After a couple of stops for stretch and the obligatories, we arrive Hue 1.00pm and take the easy option by booking into the first hotel the bus stops at.  We settled in and then went out walking with two German women, "Billy" (Sybill) and Astrid - had some lunch and then walked through the Hue monuments conservation centre - ancient buildings of royal palaces and temples and some ruins from the war years - Hue was the scene of the bloodiest battles of the 1968 Tet Offensive and saw 10,000 people, mostly civilians, killed in a matter of weeks.  During the 3 1/2 weeks Hue remained under VC control approximately 3,000 civilians including merchants, Buddhist monks, Catholic priests and íntellectuals as well as people with ties to the South Vietnamese govt were summarily shot, clubbed to death or buried alive.  The victims were buried in shallow mass graves, discovered over the following years, at various spots around the city.  Sadly the present government tells none of this history and these people are not commemorated anywhere.  To the victors go the spoils and across the world it is true that history is told in the way that people wish to remember it.

Home for some late a'noon "chill time"- journal, TV, shower and internet checking trains in China...  then 8.00pm out for a treat tonight - the Tropical Garden Restaurant with a wonderful live performance by traditional local troupe (see photo) - we were so impressed we bought the CD!!  Our meal of soup entree, two mains, fried banana and icecream to share, beer, wine, lemon juice and Vietnamese tea = A$20!  Walking back to our hotel we are shadowed by two or three "cyclos"who are sure that the plea of, "Madam, sir, you want ride to hotel?" will secure us as customers.  The cooler evening air is very welcome as we walk off a lovely meal.  MANY retail outlets are still welcoming customers after 10.00pm - boy do they work long hours here!

Wed 28/2 - Hue

A nice leisurely start to the day - up at 9am, real breakfast downstairs, internet blogging, downloading photos and reading - good to have some down time in the midst of all the other adventure we try and pack in.  Out for a 2pm walk to the river.  We get info on a short cruise for that evening - raid the market for a nice variety of tropical fruits, enjoy the lovely local coffee at a cafe owned by a deaf-mute gentleman (as detailed in Lonely Planet), and home to shower/dress and go to dinner at Song Huong floating restaurant, then onto our 90 minute river cruise - lovely traditional music (songs and instruments), and we also lit and launched paper lanterns on the river with hundreds of other tourists aboard a dozen other similar boats.  This tradition is about saying a prayer/making a wish for someone you love or are concerned about, so we join in enthusiastically.  Home via a coffee shop for diary/reading and bed, ready to move onto Hanoi tomorrow. Refer Vietnam Part 3 for continued reading enjoyment and entertainment!  :-)