The rest of Vietnam

After killing a few days back in Hanoi, & Allan departing, Smalls & I got our overnight sleeper train. We were setting off on our way down the East coast of Vietnam, with our first destination being Danang - a 12hour ride away (Vietnam is bigger than I had expected).

The primary purpose of our visit to Danang was to check out the National Cham Sculpture Museum that is located there. Cham craft are intricate sand sculptures. There are examples of the art form from all over Vietnam, & from varying dates in time. A lot of it is very impressive, including the well preserved state that the majority of the exhibits were in. Below is a selection of photos to give you a taster of what was on show...

We only stayed in Danang for one night, as there wasn't much to it (as far as tourist sights), but as we walked around the city after the Museum we got caught in one MASSIVE thunderstorm. All around us people took cover, although Smalls & I braved the downpour (which we found to be both refreshing & enjoyable) - much to the amusement of the locals! We arrived at our hotel looking like we had literally just climbed out of a swimming pool fully clothed! I wish I had a picture, but sadly my camera isn't waterproof.

The next day we made the relatively short trip to Hoi An, which is a 30km bus ride away (costing all of $2!). We immediately liked what we saw.

Hoi An is a step back in time to a simpler Vietnam. As a 17th century international trading port the town has many foreign influences - predominantly Chinese, Japanese & European. These influences are clearly visable by the ecclectic composition of buildings & shops, all set in narrow streets & lanes. At one end of the city (which is more like a town in size) there is an impressive Japanese bridge.

At the other end of the town is the market, which is very large & sells all sorts of goods - including a vast array of food stuffs, DIY equipment, kids toys, ornaments & figurines, & many, many silk stalls & tailors. All of the people working there see the Western tourist as a walking wallet - so merely brousing the markets is like running a gauntlet of persistant stall owners..."come look in my shop!"

Ön our second day in Hoi An we decided to set off on a tour of some nearby Cham temple ruins. This was at MY SON (pronounced "Mee Sun''), which is located 35km inland - at the base of the "Cat's tooth" Mountain. The night before both Smalls & I had decided to go out for a few drinks, as we hadn't done so since tubing (our livers were given a two & a half week break!), although such a choice was ill advised...at least, reaching for the top shelf liquors was! Needless to say that we paid for our stupidity the next day, as we nursed our hangovers in the swealtering heat of the jungle & ruins!

Thankfully, we had the best guide anyone could wish for. Not only was Xuan's grasp of English excellent (& incredibly amusing at times), but his enthusiasm for the ruins was more than catching. It was him alone that got us through! :-)

This area was another of those heavily bombed by the US forces, during the Vietnam war. It seems that the yanks merely chose to shoot at any landmark or town/city that they came across. There were many craters all over the landscape immediately surrounding the ruins, & some of the ruins themselves had been badly hit. Still, they are nonetheless impressive. The construction of these temples began in the 4th Century & continued until the 13th Century.

These Cham temples were a religious centre for the people. The picture above is of an sacrificial plinth, on which various animals were slaughtered for the peoples' Gods (mainly goats & pigs).

The sight is not one of the biggest in the world, but there are some very impressive structures here.

I took the above photo at the tour centre outside the National Park. I thought I would share it, not only because it's a good photo, but because waterlillies are one of the most common flowers in South East Asia. I can only imagine that this is largely due to the VAST number of flooded fields (intended to grow rice).

After our blistering tour of the ruins, we caught the boat back along the Mekong river to Hoi An. On the way we stopped off at a small village that had one trade - that of wood craft.

There was a massive variety of carvings on show; anything from massive cabinets or statues to tiny trinkets. My particular favourite subject for carving was the chubby cheerful buddha

I would thoroughly recommend Hoi An, as it is a city like no other we have visited in Asia. Although there are many international influences, there is less evidence of the modern westernised world here...there are no flashy stores or fast food takeaways! One of my favourite areas of the city was on the riverfront, where the majority of the bars & restaurants are situated...

Yet again we were off down the coast to our next destination, Nha Trang. This time we took another sleeper bus, which is not advisable to anyone nearing six foot or taller...trust me. My lack of sleep did enable me to see the sun rise over the rice fields, the Ocean & the mountains that were the stunning scenery all around us. Unfortunately I had a flat battery - so no pictures! :-(

Nha Trang is just another Vietnamese city, except for its glorious sandy beaches that stretch for miles up & down the coast from the city. The waters surrounding this area of the East coast is brimming with sealife, so there is a large presence of Diving companies in the city - which is the main reason that people visit. Neither Smalls nor I did any diving, & the weather wasn't all that good for the beach, so we checked out most of the seafront bars. A hazy couple of days, but enjoyable! We met a litter of adorable puppies at a local shop, & met up with other travellers that we had met previously on our tour of Asia.

Whilst Nha Trang is nice, I would say that it is missable - unless you are desperate for beaches & diving.

Another ten hour sleeper train was to take us to our final Vietnamese destination, one I had been very much looking forward to...Saigon, aka, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). It was recently renamed after Vietnam's most popular Communist leader, Ho Chi Minh.

If we had thought that Hanoi was crazy for scooter activity, we were staggered to find that HCMC was even more extreme! No picture can do justice to the hectic nature of rush hour in this city!

Our first tourist sightseeing stop was the Reunification Palace (pictured above). This was the operation head quarters for the South Vietnamese Army from 1966 (who were on the US team), & it was captured by the North Vietnamese in April 1975 - which brought about Saigon's surrender to the Northern Communists. Below is a picture of the tank that broke down the gates at the front of the palace, which is now stationed inside the front grounds.

The inside of the palace is very lavish (for the 1960/70's), & incredibly roomy. The vast hallways & meeting rooms are designed to impress. Above is a picture of the main conference hall on the ground floor. There are many banquet & meeting rooms throughout the palace, but there is also a Casino & Cinema on the fourth floor. Below is a picture of the view of Saigon (HCMC) from the top balcony.

After the palace it was time to visit the War Remnants Museum. The anticipation of this visit was both excitement & dread, as I had heard about the graphic nature of the displays. I also know enough about the US-Vietnam conflict to know that it wasn't going to be easy reading/viewing.

The Apache Helicopter - an iconic symbol of the Vietnam conflict.

It is hard to explain how pointless the whole affair seemed. I appreciate that this particular exhibit is very biased, making ALL US soldiers out to be barbaric, although it is hard to understand the US' foreign policy here. Many would probably say the same thing about their foreign policy today. So many lives were needlessly lost, & many people still suffer today - thanks to the aftermath of destroyed countryside & cities, along with the physical effects of the chemical warfare tactics used by the US. It is worthwhile also noting that US Vietnam vets are still suffering as a result of these tactics today.

I have not included many pictures, as they are not really images you want to keep. However, I would strongly recommend that if given the chance you visit this Museum & learn more about the details of, & the aftermath of, this particular conflict. In order to combat (no pun intended) the mood that the Museum put us in we headed to the cinema to see Disney/Pixar's latest animated film - "UP." It was very good, & just the tonic that was required! :-)

The next day it was time to go on a day tour East of HCMC. Our first stop was at a craft centre on the outskirts of the city. Here they made a variety of ornaments & house hold goods, but their main trade was that of Egg shell & Mother of Pearl pictures.

Each of these pictures is painstakingly made by hand, on a production line of about twenty employees. Some are incredible, & reasonably priced (as far as I could tell). I took a few pictures (which was much cheaper & easier than purchasing), with the one below being my favourite.

The next stop was the Holy Cao Dai Temple, located in the Holy Cao Dai City (not far from the Cambodian border). Cao Dai is a modern religion, with priciples & beliefs constructed from an amalgamation of many religions - including Buddism, Christianity, Hinduism & Confucianism.

The gates to the Holy City

The Cao Dai temple

Ceremony

The Cao Dai followers are largely old people who live in, or nearby, the city. The age of the followers is largely as a result of the religions requirement for ceremonial prayer, at the temple, every six hours...without fail. Each prayer/worship session lasts about half an hour. It was very impressive to watch, even if it was all a little strange to me!

The last stop on our day trip was the Cu Chi Tunnels. These are about 200km of underground tunnels, used by the Communist Vietnamese forces (aka - the Vietcong/VC) during the war. The tunnels are too small for most to fit in, as they measure about 30cm x 60cm. The tunnels proved to be a useful means of avoiding detection by the enemy, whilst also providing an excellent opportunity for surprise ambushes. The picture below is of a watchman's hole. located on the outskirts of the small town the VC stayed in.

In the immediate surrounding area to the town & the tunnels the VC made many vicious traps. These were designed to seriously injure the enemy & to slow down his progress in the jungle. The trap above is one of the nastier ones, although all involved spikes of some form!

The tunnel that we actually crawled through had been expanded by over double its original size, to enable tourists to make it through! Even this 200m stretch was difficult to crawl through & incredibly hot. I could not imagine having to actually live in those tunnels (ones half the size of the ones we used) for days on end. They were a tough lot, those Vietcong!

That day trip concluded our tour of Vietnam. I loved the country! It has a lot of history, both pleasant & bloody, some amazing scenery, incredibly friendly people, & best of all it is the cheapest country we have visited in Asia to date. I would thoroughly recommend it. I would like to come back one day to explore the Central Highlands, & the Mountains & National Parks North of Hanoi. I have heard & seen spectacular reports.

Now we have a new country to explore...Cambodia!

written by

johnnoble on July 24, 2009 from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

from the travel blog: John's year off...

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Hope you weren't too hungover after drinks in Hoi An!!

written by A & D! on August 10, 2009

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