So it needs to be admitted that something within us, particularly me, has clicked the wrong way and the last few days we, particularly me, have been short on patience. There's no specific event or reason to blame, but I think we have reached a point in our travel through SE Asia where we need to do a daily "time out", as our happy-to-be-ripped-off-and-hounded-every-two-steps-being-TOL D-to-BUY-BUY-BUY tourist face is wearing thin. I just wanted to mention that because you can adore travelling, waking up excited every day and being very easy going and understanding about most things around you, but in the end, there does come a point when you just need to hide in your room for a few hours and scream AAAAAARRRRRRGGGHHHHH! Anyway... just thought I'd share. We're getting better now by the way.
I think it's also time to share, now that it's after the fact that 12 days ago central Vietnam had a massive typhoon smash its coast, particularly in Hue and Hoi An which I'll be writing about. In addition, another typhoon was bearing down on Ho Chi Minh, where we are now but dissipated just in time! Essentially, the last 5 days Scott and I have been chasing the backs of typhoons, but were highly effective at avoiding them!
Knowing we could possibly be rowing in a boat into town because of floods, we braved our way down Hue having killed too much time in Hanoi. We took a sleeper bus, essentially a bus with bunk beds, quite bizarre, which arrived in Hue in the morning. The trip was uneventful apart from the driver pointing his finger wildly at two old French tourists telling them they had to get off in the middle of NOWHERE because they were overbooked and it was their fault. It almost came to blows, and we felt terrible for them, they even took their bags off the bus and dumped them on the street! It was complete madness, but thanks to a very calm South African woman, who should be a professional mediator, she was able to settle everyone down and two lucky people (Canadians too nice to complain) got to sleep on the friggin' floor. Nice. But at least no old tourists were left on the streets at 1 a.m.
The good news was Hue was overcast and drizzly but not underwater. Not knowing if Hoi An was worse off with flood waters, we decided to spend a day in Hue and took a tour organized by the hotel along the "Perfume River" to see some ancient tombs from the old Nguyen Dynasty. We arrived downstairs and our rides awaited. Two motorcycles. On we got and we zipped our way down to the riverfront where we were led to our dragon boat. And we were the only ones! Sweet. A lovely older lady and her son were the owners and they chugged us down to the Thien Mu pagoda and then onto the tomb of Tu Duc. We were dropped off at the riverbank but then had to negotiate with another 2 motorcycle drivers to drive us through the mud and muck the couple of kilometers into the tomb. The place is magnificent, really a step back in time. A small lake is at the centre of the grounds, and the old residential palaces of the emperor and his many wives surround it. On the lake, as you walk in, you see the area where his many concubines got to "lounge"... on their time off concubining perhaps? Ah, we'll never know. At the back of the grounds is the actual tomb where Tu Duc was laid to rest, it is a simple enough courtyard, but well surrounded and fortified by large stone walls. The grounds of the palace are scattered with pines and other trees not yet in bloom (cherry blossoms? frangipani?). Really, it was a gorgeous, ancient and very mysterious place to visit.
We decided to take the plunge (which could have meant literally) and head off to Hoi An which we kept reading and hearing was a must see. Reports from other travelers we met along the way indicated the entire town was no longer flooded, only the riverfront streets. We arrived to an overcast, but dry town that has literally stopped in time. Heritage buildings abound from French influences to ancient Chinese houses to the Japanese covered bridge. Hoi An is a rare glimpse into history. You walk down streets untouched in hundreds of years. Window shutters are intact, many old homes are made of their original teak, roofs are tiled, homes then used as trade shops which are now restaurants or tailor shops are painted their original yellow...The little town is set on the Thu Bon river and used to be (a long time ago) a very busy and important commercial and trading port. What a gorgeous little place!
The "must do" in Hoi An is to find a tailor, any tailor, (there are only over 200, so choice is hardly wanting) get yourself measured, pick your fabrics and they will stitch and sew away your perfectly fitting clothing of desire within a day or two. Having heard the call of the sheep, Scott and I found a place on the riverbank and had made a few items. Now ladies and gentlemen, I need to tell you now that when you are being fitted and measured modesty is not an allowed luxury, they call the Western men "Buddha" because they are larger and the women will stand and watch you as you change. Throw your shame out the window! The end result was fabulous however, it is awesome to put on a shirt that fits you absolutely perfectly and is well made.
Our three days in Hoi An were slower paced and more relaxing, and we spent our time visiting the World Heritage listed sights in town (such as the 300 year old Tan Ky house) and going on a shaky canoe ride along the river with the sweetest old man with one eye and one tooth to match! We also bought some Tiger Balm that we didn't need from another gorgeous old lady with a winning smile and squishy cheeks because I desperately wanted her photo! The photo is in the album, wouldn't that face make you melt too? Adorable! We also tried very hard to spread our business throughout town as they are rebuilding still from the typhoon (the worst in 40 years, the water went to roof levels). During the day we would eat along the riverfront as the ocean tides of the evening, which affect the river, would eventuate in the night flooding of these streets, hence they could not open for dinner. We also went to a great store, also rebuilding from the floods called Reaching Out Handicrafts. It's a fair trade store that sells Vietnamese crafts made by the disabled. They do have a website, easy to find I imagine if you Google it, should anyone be interested.
Our third and last day in Hoi An came to an end under blue skies and sun, the first the locals have seen in a couple of weeks, and we recognized how fortunate we were. We flew late at night towards the bustle of Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon.
Ho Chi Minh City we found to be surprisingly liberal compared to the rest of Vietnam. The presence of Americans from the 60's and 70's is evident as the city is more "westernized". Comparatively, it is similar to Bangkok where many more things are acceptable and the traffic and shopping and large streets are overwhelming. However, the highlight of our short stay in Ho Chi Minh was the Reunification Palace where southern Vietnam surrendered unconditionally to the north in 1975. The palace was formerly called the Independence Palace. As was the case with Hoa Lo prison in Hanoi, Reunification Palace was an eye-opener for the two of us. The Palace is set in time, just as it was in 1975 when the gates were crashed down, from the President's reception room upstairs, to the war room covered in maps and surrounded by alcoves with old radio equipment in the basements, to the roof where the President's helicopter sat along with 2 painted red circles which mark the points where bombs were dropped upon the palace. Some of the rooms we visited were shocking in their simplicity... What I mean is, we have an image of the "war room" in old spy movies, with a typewriter, old phones, maps covering the walls with pins, and this is exactly what it looked like. It was a bit surreal. We finished our tour with a 30 minute video heavy on the propaganda which could offend many. Trying to be objective however, it is interesting to see this video and compare it to much of the world political coverage we and other countries see today.
Our last evening in Vietnam is now upon us as I write this. We are heading off to have our last Vietnamese dinner. Speaking of Vietnamese food, we are bigger fans of Lao and Thai cooking, but I need to tell you all about my two favourite foods in the world: Pho, which is a rice noodle soup with beef or chicken but has a clear, clean broth sprinkled with coriander and sprouts and chilies, and rambutan, a funny, slightly creepy looking fruit that tastes and looks like a giant, heavenly lychee! Oh how I love those two!
So we now sign out from Vietnam, this adventure now comes to an end. Cambodia is next, can't wait to tell you all about it!
Canaussie rating:
Rambutan: 5
Pho (the chicken one): 5++++ (I will learn how to make it!) (the beef one) 5++++ says Scott (just don't over do the chilli)
Reunification Palace: 5 a must see
Clothes made in Hoi An: 4
Tombs in Hue: 3.5, awsome, but pricey! Stick to one or two and explore thoroughly, not worth going to several
Motorcycle taxis: 4, especially fun when they put both of you on one with the driver...
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