Hue, Viet Nam

We arrived in Hue at about lunch time after the ride on the sleeper bus and walked over to the  Imperial Hotel about a half mile away. It was a very large place built on a traditional, massive scale and was almost empty. The staff were very pleasant and the accommodations and view  were excellent. 

We went to a local,Japanese restaurant for lunch and ate vast quantities of sushi which required an afternoon nap to follow. We had a wander around down town that evening a needed an early night.

Next day, we visited the citadel and the forbidden city and some of the associated museums which were very interesting. We met a very engaging and enterprising young fellow during our walkabout who wanted to take us on a motorbike tour of the local area and even though we had planned to do this by bus, the admiral took a shine to him and we signed up for his tour on the following day.

We then found out that the business was a family concern and they did the usual bait and switch maneuver and instead of the guy we spoke  to, we got his uncle and aunt.

Despite this, they did give us a very good tour and we hit all the high spots over the next six hours. It was, I think much better than the bus tour as you could take your time wandering around the sites and also see the countryside.

There is a great deal of history in this area of the American War as they refer to it here. The Perfume River was, after all, the border between north and south Vietnam with the DMZ immediately to the north..

The population seemed to bear no ill will towards Americans and they all seem too busy trying to make a buck to be resentful. 

That evening we went a vegetarian restaurant that was recommended to the Admiral. At least they served beer there so it wasn't a total waste.

On our last day we walked down the boulevard on the south side of the river to the Ho Chi Minh museum. Uncle Ho was born in Hue and spent his childhood there and the museum was full of photos and memorabilia of his life. Lots of outrageous propaganda but it is always interesting to see contemporary events from a different point of view. We spent the afternoon posting photos and then it was off to the train station to catch the night sleeper train to Ha Noi.

The Imperial Hotel, Hue

The moat around the Imperial City

Flag Tower , Imperial City

Imperial City

gateway to the Imperial City

Museum, Imperial City

Theatre, Forbidden City

Throne room, Forbidden City

Water Lily

Peaceful place where the Emperor Tu Duc used to write poetry

Tu Duc's Tomb

Gateway to tomb of Tu Duc

Tu Duc

View from Vong Canh Hill

Vong Canh Hill, note derelict American installation

covered bridge dating back to 1776 in village of Thanh Toun  near Hue

lady washing clothes in river

Ancient door at the Tu Duc tomb

local baby

family temple near Hue

Bonsai frangipani tree. Would look good on the patio in San Diego

Water lily

Rice drying on the road in village near Hue

Family temple near Hue

Perfume river looking east, Hue

Turong Tien Bridge, Hue

Working boat, Perfume River, Hue

View from the Imperial Hotel, The Perfume River looking west

This was this car , in 1963, a Buddhist monk drove himself to the center of Hue and then immolated himself to protest the South Vietnamese President's policies

The steps at the Khia Dinh Tomb

Thien Mu Pagoda

View of the river from Thien Mu Pagoda

Thien Mu Pagoda

Khia Dinh Tomb

Man having a snooze on the Thanh Toun bridge

Khia Dinh tomb

Statues Khai Dinh tomb

moat Minh Mang tomb

gateway, Minh Mang tomb

Minh Mang tomb

Minh Mang tomb

Hue, Vietnam

Here are some more photos of Hoi An     

Vietnamese model, Hoi An

This is for David. Very cheap beer here 25cents a glass

siesta

Hoi An street

Fruit lady, Hoi An

Japanese bridge, Hoi An

Japanese Bridge at night

Lavender orchids growing wild, Hoi An

old chap taking a walk, Hoi An

The river at Hoi An at night

Crazy bus ride from Hoi An to Hue in the sleeper bus

Hue, Central Vietnam, near the old DMZ

We are now in Hue in the middle part of Vietnam and the trip remains eventful. We enjoyed our tour of DaLat and it's surrounding areas and moved on early the following morning back to the airport to catch the plane for DaNang. The flight was about 90minutes on a turbo prop. We got on a local bus to Hoi An about 30 km. to the south and the ride was hair raising due to the crazy traffic. The driver gave way to no-one except once to a dump truck that was bigger than the bus. This would seem to be the only hard and fast rule of the road i.e. tonnage rules!
We got to the bus station in one piece and then could not find a taxi to take us to final 2km to out hotel. We were arroached by the local motor cycle taxi guys and we made an error and they seriously overcharged us. For anyone travelling here, NEVER, EVER get into a taxi or obtain any service without first asking how much the service will cost. If you don't you may well be overcharged and you will have no choice but to pay up. Also be very carefull with the currency. On USD is 20,000 Dong and a 10,000 Dong note looks quite similiar to 100,000 Dong note. It's easy to make an error and they won't give you change if you don't ask.
Anyway the amount of the overcharge was not serious but it's annoying to be taken advantage of.
The hotel in Hoi An was a bit different but did have some interesting touches and both nights we were there the power went out at about 11 pm. so no A/C.
Not much to do as this was not the hotel's fault , the grid was shut down in high demand season by the state run power company.
Hoi An was delightful and we spent our time there wandering about the town. There are about 200 tailor shops there and they will make up any kind of garment in 24 hours and the Admiral took full advantage of this. They even made her a pair of shoes for not much money.
The bars and restaurants were very good and the weather not too hot. On the following day, the Admiral was again not feeling well so I borrowed a bicycle and went to find the local hospital where, once the pharmacy was located was able to buy 10 tabs of Ciprofloxin and 20 Tabs of immodium for about $6. We are doing something wrong in the west.
We wandered about for the rest of the day instead of taking another tour and again left the following morning on a bus to Hue. This was another experience as I have never seen a bus like this before. Instead of normal seats it had more than 40 beds in two tiers upon which you could recline or lay down.Thebus was airconditioned but very slow due to traffic. The distance is about 180 kms and the journey took 4 hrs. and cost about $11 for both of us.
We got dropped of in the middle of Hue about 500 metres from our hotel and there will be more photos and comments about Hue tomorrow

Hoi An, Vietnam

The vietnam adventure continues. These are some photos of  Da Lat in the Central Highlands

Topiary Dragons at the monastry

T

The monks and trainees ? novices having lunch

More Topiary

The lake beneath the monastry

Lady packing roses for market. Da Lat is the flower capital of Vietnam

Drinking rice wine in the Lat village. The Lat people are a minority group in Vietnam

Hand weaving in the Lat village

Pastoral scene in DaLat

Waterfall Da Lat

Good Morning Viet Nam, Hoi An

We have been very busy since leaving Langkawi last Sunday. The day started early with a ferry ride to Langkawi from Rebak Island. Then on to the airport and a short flight to Kuala Lumpur. The airport at KL was quite run down (reminded me of Heathrow) and very busy. Then a 2 hour flight to Saigon, now called Ho Chi Minh City. We got on a local bus to the town center (20cents) and walked to the Marriott about 10 minutes away. Three days of  air conditioned luxury and unlimited showers were a welcome relief.

We walked around town in the heat the following day and saw most of the central district's high points. The downtown was all decked out with flags and the like for Liberation Day (April 30, 1975) and May Day a Communist national holiday. Lots of French influenced architecture in District 1 but we thought the high point was the re-unification palace where we took a very good tour of the building with an English speaking guide. It was interesting to hear the events of the 60's and the 70's from the Vietnamese point of view even though I don't think that the guide was even alive in 1975 when South Vietnam fell.

We wandered around the down town area and enjoyed the Liberation Day fireworks from the pool deck of the Marriott. This was not quite Sydney Harbour on New Year's Eve but pretty good anyway. Saigon is an incredibly busy place and traffic is a nightmare. We thought Indonesia and Thailand was bad but this was way worse. Basically, if there is a place that a car or motor cycle to occupy then it will be. Trafic lights, lanes and traffic direction are merely a recommendation but no one takes much notice. The only reason why there aren't terrible accidents is due to the fact that they don't drive very fast.

Opera House, Saigon

lady selling refreshments, Saigon

Notre Dame Cathedral, Saigon. Very plain and simple inside

The Reunification Palace with its fascinating contemporary history. Lots of local propaganda  inside

Day Market, Saigon teeming with people

View of Saigon from the pool deck of the Marriott district . The city was very clean and tidy.

After the fireworks, Hordes of motor cycles trying to leave

Downtown, DaLat

On May 1, the Admiral's 29th birthday we left early on the morning for Da Lat in the Central Highlands and we found ourselves in a different world. Much cooler and a much less hectic place. The airport was brand new and we caught a $2 bus into the center of town very clos to our hotel. We walked about in the relative coolness and took a train ride to a neighboring village to see a famous Pagoda. The train was full of Chinese tourists and just as the train left,the heavens opened with a huge downpour. We bought some raingear (50 cents)and trudged off down the muddy
streets to see the sights. The Pagoda was worth it and back we went on the train.
We went out for dinner to a recommended Lonely Planet restaurant and unfortunately the Admiral got sick with a probable episode of food poisoning which cut the evening short. We aren't sure which eatery this illness was contracted in but she is feeling better now. We took a  tour of the Da Lat area with one of the local guides who call themselves Easy Riders. He had pretty good English and showed us some interesting sights but had some strange ideas about how the real world works.Da Lat is a farming community and is quite beautiful with pine forests and lakes and waterfalls

Avocados Da Lat market (30 cents each)

Train station Da Lat built by the French

Mullberries Da Lat market

taking a rest in the park Da Lat

local Eifel Tower Da Lat. This town has ben called Le Petit Paris and many French colonials built villas here and developed the farming

Durians Da Lat market

down pour Da Lat. Rivers in the street

Railway line almost under water 

Buddha overlooking DaLat

Our Easy Rider guide. He seemed to bear no ill will towards the French or Americans but was exteremely distrustful of the Chinese. Note the gong in the Buddhist  temple made out of old US munitions

A very self absorbed, young Chinese tourist who spent 45 minutes taking photos of herself with her smart phone

My new best friend at the Pagoda in the rain