Vietnam Tour - August 2009
Wow! Vietnam was a fabulous adventure in almost every sense of the word. Given the history between the US and Vietnam I didn't really know quite what to expect from this trip. However, it was one of the destinations I really wanted to see, and it very definitely did not disappoint.
Hanoi (Day One) -
Almost 20 hours in transit from Seattle and I am finally here. Just a quick trip downtown to check into the hotel, drop off my bags, meet the group and we start our tour of Hanoi. Our first stop is the Temple of Literature, founded by Emperor Ly Thanth Tong in the 11th century this was Vietnam's first university. A place where Vietnamese royalty, nobles, bureaucrats, and members of the elite classes were educated. Dating back to 1484, the names of those who completed final examinations here are carved on steles on the backs of stone turtles.
The history, and traditional architecture are awe inspiring, but I think what most strikes me about this place is the sense of serenity inside the temple grounds. The chaos of Hanoi streets surround the temple walls, yet inside there is almost no impression that you are still in the center of such a large city.
Next, we moved on to the One Pillar Pagoda, the original structure was built in 1049 to resemble a lotus blossom floating on the water was dedicated to the goddess of Mercy, Quan Am. A prayer offered here is said to invoke well being and fertility. However, apparently one of the last things the French did before leaving Hanoi in 1954 was to destroy the the original Pagoda. The current Pagoda was rebuilt with a concrete pillar from its remnants by the Vietnamese government in 1954.
Travel tip: You should wear skirts, or long pants, when visiting the One Pillar Pagoda. Shorts are not allowed.
A short walk from the Pagoda is the Presidential Palace. Built between 1900 - 1906 for the French Governor General of Indochina, the Presidential Palace is a classic piece of French Colonial architecture, although the Palace itself is not open to the public. However, it is said that Ho Chi Minh refused to live in the Palace for symbolic reasons so a traditional Vietnamese stilt house and carp pond were constructed on the grounds where he actually lived. Today, Ho Chi Minh's tomb is also located nearby.
So, after our look at historical Hanoi, it was nice to slow down a bit and soak up some of the feel of classic Hanoi by taking a cyclo tour of the old quarter. The cyclo is a traditionally unique vehicle to Vietnam, basically tricycle with a seat at the front for passengers with the driver seated behind in bicycle style. Yet the passenger seat of a cyclo is perhaps best place from which to experience the eclectic nature of Hanoi.
Finally, we finished with a visit to Ngoc Son Temple at Hoan Kiem Lake to complete an amazing first day.
Ninh Binh (Day Two) -
Today we journeyed a short distance out of Hanoi to visit the ancient royal capital Hoa Lu, and Dinh & Le temples in the morning. Hoa Lu was the capital of Vietnam from 968 - 1009 (In 1010 the capital was moved to Hanoi), during the Dinh and Le dynasties. The two temples are located only a short distance apart, surrounded by a panorama of classic Vietnamese countryside which is a mixture of rock mountains and the flat plains of rice fields, are dedicated to the two Emperors who ruled during the period when Hoa Lu was the capital (Emperor Dinh Tien Hoang and Emperor Le Dai Hanh).
In the afternoon, we set out by sampan along wetland waterways in an area sometimes refered to as Dry Ha Long Bay to visit Tam Coc Caves (literally, Three Caves). The small hand (and foot) rowed boats provided a leisurely pace by which to appreciate the scenes of everyday life in Vietnam (fishing and seaweed farming), along with the beautiful scenery where limestone rocks rise out of green rice paddies and waterways pass unobstructed beneath.
Later, back in Hanoi, after dinner we attended a water puppet show downtown.
Ha Long Bay (Day Three/Four) -
We got a bit of rain in the morning as our group temporarily left Hanoi behind for and overnight cruise on Ha Long Bay, but the sun came out again for our afternoon on the boat.
Ha Long literally means descending dragon, and the local mythology is that dragons dropped jade and jewels that created all of the monolithic limestone islands and islets as a fortress against invaders from the north. I don't know about the dragons, but OMG Ha Long Bay maybe one of the absolute most beautiful places on Earth. I swear it felt like everywhere you looked was a picture just begging to be taken. Absolutely awesome...
Yet in addition to the incredible scenery of Ha long Bay, during our cruise on the Junk (deluxe boat) we also found time for swimming, kayaking, sunbathing, and some fabulous fresh seafood prepared by our crew. We climbed up to tour Sung Sot Cave the first day, survived an even longer climb on the second day to see the 360° views from the top of TiTop island before wading on the beach there. It is easy to understand why Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO world natural heritage site, because even if this was my only stop, I think the trip to Vietnam would be a success.
Hanoi (Day Five) -
On our tour schedule, today was set aside for a day of leisure to explore Hanoi. I choose to use my time in seeing some of the sights which were not on our formal tour such as the National Museum of Vietnamese History, and of course Hoa Lo Prison (The Hanoi Hilton).
At one of the many art galleries (A Dong Art Gallery) I even bought a large oil painting of Ha long bay (they arranged to ship it home for me), and after lunch I even stopped at Fanny Ice Cream for an afternoon treat.
Hue (Day Six) -
Unlike so many organized tours where they try to squeeze so much in that you end up getting out of bed at sunrise, rushing through breakfast and hustling out to the bus every day to keep up with the schedule, this was actually our only early call of the whole trip to make our 7 AM domestic flight from Hanoi to Hue.
But the flight was about an hour long on a Vietnam Airlines jet, and just like day one we set out to see the sights right away. We started off visiting the tombs of Emperor Khai Dinh (the 12th Emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty, 1885-1925), and Emperor Tu Duc (the 4th emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty, 1847–1883). Moved on to the Imperial Citadel built in 1804, then the Thien Mu Pagoda, before finally settling in to our hotel in Hue City about a block from the Perfume River.
Da Nang / Hoi An (Day Seven) -
Today was actually my birthday. I didn't know before, but apparently it is actually a national holiday in vietnam as well. So our tour organizer made it special for me. I got a bouquet of flowers at breakfast, and we spent the morning relaxing, swiming, and playing on the beach at Lang Co Resort. It wasn't China Beach, but it seems that was not available since that whole area was under construction (luxury villas and 5 star resorts).
In the afternoon we went on a walking tour of Hoi An, the seventeenth century Japanese covered bridge, Fukien Assembly Hall, handicraft workshops, and of course time for shopping at the myriad of tailor shops.
At dinner there was wine, and surprise birthday cake for desert afterwards. All in all, a pretty fabulous day!
Hoi An / My Son Holy land (Day Eight) -
It is just a fact of life even when you are traveling that sometimes it is going to rain. But armed with umbrellas we able to acquire from the street vendors we took our short excursion out of Hoi An to see the remains of the Cham dynasty temples at My Son, and in this case the rain may have actually been an advantage as we escaped tour crowd volume, I had been led to expect might be encountered on this site.
Like many asian countries, in the modern culture of Vietnam the Buddhist influences are apparent at most sites you visit, so I think it is interesting to tour a site like My Son where the historical spiritual origins are related to Indian Hinduism. But the archaeological information on the Champa kingdom also dates the remnants here to sometime around the 4th to the 15th centuries, which means that these buildings pre-date those of the similar temple complex at Angkor Wat in Cambodia by several centuries.
Originally the sanctuary was a large complex, but unfortunately during the American War forces from the North apparently used the archaeological site as a base and resultant bombing of the area has left only about 20 of the original 70 structures intact. However, in 1999 My Son was named a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Da Nang / Ho Chi Minh City (Day Nine) -
This morning we moved on to Da Nang where we visited the Cham Sculpture museum where many sandstone sculptures recovered from the My Son sanctuary are exhibited, and we also began to see the first traces of the American presence here during the war in the form of an abandoned helicopter base we passed on our way into the city. Later, from airport in Da Nang we departed central Vietnam on another Vietnam Airlines flight to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).
As dusk fell in Saigon, it was time to shop at the night market!
Ho Chi Minh City (Day Ten) -
As we traveled south, the historical emphasis seems to shift more to the American war rather than the French colonialism. There was a war museum in Hanoi, and Hoa Lo Prison (The hanoi Hilton), but there was far more about the French influences than the war with the US. Even at Hoa Lo the American PoWs are only a very small part of the exhibited history. But I guess it makes sense really, this is the part of the country where the American GIs actually were during the war.
In the morning we started off with the Cu Chi Tunnel complex. The tour here starts off with a presentation about the tunnels, and the screening of a short propaganda film produced during the war about the herioc revolutionary boys and girls of the Cu Chi Tunnels killing the occupying American GIs (Yes, it is a lot more blunt than that actually). From there a tour guide leads the group on a path through the jungle where B-52 bomb craters are labeled, pit traps with wooden spikes are displayed and explained, the small tunnel entrances demonstrated, and mock-ups tunnel life are shown. If you are brave enough (and small enough) a guide will even take you down into a sample of the actual tunnels so you can see what it was like for yourself.
Along with the tunnels we also visited the War Remnants Museum, like the tunnels the history presented here is brutal (up until diplomatic relations were re-established with the US this was named the "War Crimes Museum" and I am pretty sure the content has not changed). Those who are sensitive about the war will probably want to avoid these sites, for myself I had an idea of what might be expected so I kept in mind that ultimately, they won, and the history here is going to reflect that.
However, if there is one sight everyone should see in Saigon, I think it would be Reunification Palace, the former Presidential Palace of South Vietnam. Quintessential 1960s architecture with an interior to match right down to the rotary dial desk phones and the Huey helicopter on the roof, it is like time stopped here when the Vietnam war ended. Although Thien Hau Temple (Pagoda of the Lady), and Binh Tay Market in the Cho Lon (Chinatown) district of Ho Chi Minh City is interesting too.
But if all that was not enough to put this day over the top, our lunch stop was Pho 2000 (for the President). Bill Clinton (and his daughter Chelsea) was served lunch here during his visit to Vietnam as US President. According to numerous pictures on display our group was seated at the President's table too (I had Chelsea's spot).
Ho Chi Minh City / Mekong River Delta (Day Eleven) -
We began the last day of my Vietnam adventure with a trip to the Mekong delta where we learned about the rural industries like bee keeping, snake farming, and the production of coconut candy before returning to Saigon by speed boat in the afternoon. Just enough time for some last minute shopping before our formal farewell dinner.
Some of our group were continuing on to Cambodia, but for me it was time to head for home. This was a small intimate group (only nine people) and the pace was very comfortable it really did make me sad to say goodbye. However, I absolutely cannot end this adventure commentary without a shout-out to our tour organizer, Haratour (Hanoi Railway Tourist Service). They (and especially Mr. Tran Xuan Oanh) were the absolute best. If you are thinking about arranging a Vietnam tour, you positively have to call them!