Night Bus to Nha Trang

It seems the further south one goes, the more cats and dogs you see. Mind you there are less Chinese tourists. Perhaps there is a correlation...
The temperature also goes up. Started at about 20 °C in Hanoi, and is around 30 °C in the centre, will get warmer still the further south we go.

So the 'sleeper' coach... Has about 50 reclining bed type things (think ambulance trolley, only not as long and does not go flat). Very comfortable if you are a 4 foot stick insect, or bearable if you are a 5 foot 3 inch stone mandarin. Not built for taller or larger persons.
These racks are laid 3 across the bus in 2 tiers, except the back of the bus where there are 5 across, again in two tiers. The bus was illuminated with red,blue and green rope lights around the windows and blue strip lights down the middle.
Sleeping is possible with artificial aids; benzodiazepines, or a decent bottle of spirits. Mike and Yvonne had neither.

There were a couple of gerbils (Israeli tourists) in the row in front of us who spent the first 2.5 hours of the journey shelling and consuming approx 1 kg of sunflower seeds!
I'm sure the only person who had a decent snooze was our bus driver. The bus certainty seemed out of control on a good part of the 11 hour journey. 

Left at 8pm, arrived at 7am. We have to report that both managed to get some sleep, Mike insisted it was a form of delirium.

Despite the odds arrived in Nha Trang in one piece, some distance from the city centre. Shared a taxi with two young French women who hailed from Paris.
Got safely to our hotel the 'Truong Giang', was too early for the room. So left our sacks at reception and went for breakfast and a stroll.

Leave you with some photos; our 'disco' bus, seats, Mike under his security blanket, Yvonne showing she can straighten her legs, Mike showing he can't. 

Hoi An

Caught the bus to Hoi An. There is no train station. Journey took 4 odd hours. Grabbed a coffee, orientated ourselves and set off towards our hotel, The Golden Dragon. About 1.7 km. A pleasant 30 minute stroll.
Nice enough, clean room, good shower, free use of bikes, breakfast included. A tad expensive at £20 a night. Stayed 2 nights (had a bit of a fly problem in the dinning area. Suspected they came from the kitchen, confirmed by Yvonne!!) then moved to a very nice home stay, much closer to the old city. Better breakfast, big room, nice family and 1/2 the price. No flies!!

If you want to come to Vietnam, and only have a couple of weeks, then we defiantly recommend you spend a week at Hoi An. It is located on the central coast, and used to be a major trading port (long since silted up). Once you get into the old city traffic is virtually nonexistent, cars and motor bikes are banned.
Mike and Yvonne can testify to the relief of not looking constantly for the assassin on a motor cycle.

I'm afraid that the average Asian coupled with any motorised two or four wheeled vehicle is destined to provoke a major rant by Mike.

Back to Hoi An. There are influences from China, Japan, Dutch, and Indians. It has a 'Japanese Bridge', the only known covered bridge with a Buddhist temple attached to one side. The buildings have been preserved. All wood framed with tiled roofs. Lots and lots of lantern's hanging from the eves, and across the roads.

Normally you pay to enter. Its not expensive, and one ticket can last up to a week. The money goes to help preserve the town. As it was Tet the fee was wavered FOR ALL (please note Hue).

Also has a very nice beach which one can cycle to. Yvonne and Mike had a very nice swim in the sea, followed by a lunch of clams with lemon grass. Had to walk about a km to get away from the noisy bit!!

Next day went on a cooking course. Held in a fishing village. Went to a local outdoor market to buy the ingredients. Then by boat to just outside the village. Transferred into 'round' bamboo boats, which we then paddled through the sea palm cultivations, and into the village.
Prepared two dishes and ate them, yum, yum.

Looked to moving up to Da Nang, 30 km up the coast to catch a train to Nha Trang, but no go. All full for days!! Forced to use a sleeper bus. An 11 hour journey.
Tell you about that in the next post!!!

Leave you with some photographs of, afternoon drinks, lantins, cooking, rowing and round boats, relaxing in the sea, Japanese bridge, and the old docks. 

Hue part two

We spent another day in Hue as it has several Emperors tombs, and a very nice Buddhist temple/pagoda.
Hired a driver for part of the day at $35 because the places we wanted to visit were quite far apart.

The Royal Mausoleums were built in the valley of the Perfume River, (river that runs through Hue). 7 were built, we went to 3 of them, which was enough.
The ticket price was 60,000 dong each, (£1.80). Once again only the foreign devils had to pay!!

The Emperors designed and built these places as their final resting places. Some also house their dead wives and concubines there. 
Most of the Emperors died around the 50 mark, so not from old age then!!

As an example Emperor Minh Mang fathered 142 children with his 33 wives and 107 concubines. Born 1791, died 1841.
Must take it out of you...

Finally went to the pagoda which overlooks the city/town. Free entrance, so naturally we left a larger donation. God bless the Buddhists, (that is so wrong).
They hauled an old 1950' s Buick up to the top of the mound where the pagoda complex is. This is the car that the Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc drove to a major junction in Saigon, in 1963, got out and set fire to himself in protest of the persecution of Buddhists monks in Vietnam.

I won't post that picture. You can look it up, the guy who took it won the Pulitzer prize for his photograph of the monks death.

I post you photographs of young monk ringing temple bell, pagoda, Yvonne at one of the Mausoleums, Mike with a life size statue of a mandarin, (important for future travel fact). Final one shows some of the Emperors wives tombs.

Tomorrow we go to the ancient city of Hoi An, a city of lanterns. 4 hours on the bus...

Hue

The trains in Vietnam are quite comfortable, affordable and reliable. You have to book, and around Tet (lunar new year) are all full!!  However, managed to get a couple of tickets at the station, thanks to a friendly tour guide who interpreted for us.  Journey took about 4 hours, watching the landscape slip by, while listening to music on headsets.

The alternative is a constant barrage of Vietnamese rail TV. Monitors suspended from the roof of every carriage. 'While we have a captive audience we may as well try to sell them junk'. Mike would lock the producer's/money men, responsible for the mindless crap, into a carriage and send them round and round on a 4 day loop. Then make them buy every single piece of junk they are trying to sell.
Not that there is anything wrong in selling stuff, but its just done so very, very badly.

Arrived in Hue and found our way to 'Hotel Charming'. Got a free upgrade from a standard room to a 'superior' room. Euphemism for 'has an external window'.

Nice people, gave us a free breakfast when we arrived!!  Dumped our stuff and went exploring. Citadel only about 1.5 km away so walked there.

During the new year period most places allow free entrance for all to monuments, historical sites, etc. All the web sites informed us that this was the case in Hue. Not so, while allowing the Vietnamese free entrance, all foreign devils were charged full price. They just took an aggressive stance when the error of their ways was pointed out!!!
This only applied to Hue.... So one place to side step the next time.

Having said that, the Citadel was worth the visit. Built and used by past Vietnamese Emperors, and then by the modern Emperors, sorry meant to say Peoples Chairman.
Kidding aside, its good that Vietnam is looking to acknowledge and preserve its pre-socialist past.  Even if its for the tourist dollars.

Leave you with some photos. Hotel Charming; Lunch; Pictures inside Citadel; Train to Hue.

Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park

This is why we wanted to go to Dong Hoi. The caves are spectacular, and graded up to expert and experienced cavers, to those who are afraid of the dark. These latter cave parts have lights and stairs, boy do they have stairs!!  Mike and Yvonne were willing to go on the 'adventure tour', but that section of the 'dry cave' was flooded. (Don't worry, some things in Vietnam make no sense at all).

Still, we got our daily dose of exercise. The entrance to the Paradise Cave (Hang Thien Duong) is some 750 metres up a long drag of switchback tracks.
This is the longest dry cave in Asia, at 31 km.
The Vietnamese have constructed a series of wooden steps and platforms that extend about 1 km in, which is all lit. After that the more adventurous can go further with caving equipment.

So, having climbed the 250 odd steps down into the cave you then turn around and climb 250 steps out of the cave. Don't forget you are still half way up this big hill/mountain, and as you are not allowed to go back down using the switchback you came up on, you have to take the stairs. All 400 odd of them!!

Then lunch. Food is very good, although finding vegie stuff is a bit demanding. Yvonne is now a black belt in the use of chopsticks.

The next cave was a doddle. Jump on a boat and it goes into the Phong Nha cave, which is part of the Ho Chi Minh trails. Used during the Vietnam war to hide troops and supplies.

Not a great deal else to see in Dong Hoi. Got a train ticket to Hue, a place famous for it's citadel, and past Emperors tombs.

Leave with some pictures of dark, scary caves; Yvonne with chopsticks.

Dong Hoi

After spending one more night in Hanoi after Ha Long Bay it was time to catch the sleeper train to Dong Hoi, leaving at 10pm and arriving at 7.30 am. Spent the time before catching the train swanning around the old city.

The traffic was manic, so much so that a young woman from Italy, who was crossing the road near us was knocked over by a moped. It failed to stop, and left her bleeding and unconscious. Helped until the ambulance arrived. Yvonne in full first aid mode.

Great discovery, beer hoi is at least as good as medi prep (for those of us who know) in clearing the colon completely, lol. Mike truly hopes it was the one batch!!

On the train, group on a package tour were in the same sleeper car, but just couldn't get their act together. Arguing about bunk spaces, not reading the number of the bunk correctly. Eventually got settled, Yvonne on top bunk, Mike on Bottom.
Both managed some sleep...

Got to our 'homestay' to find that there was one young lady running the place, as all the staff had gone home for Tet. Tet is very important as its not just the new lunar year, but a time to remember family past and present. Everything closes. Loads of fireworks, only we were a good distance out of town, so we didn't see many. 

In fact Vietnam closes for about 7 - 10 days and it is quite difficult to get around.

Place is called 'Ocean View', only there isn't. To be fair we can hear it, and it is about 200 metres away, but obscured by trees.  In any case it is in fact the south China sea!! Lucky for us the local airport is only 3 miles away so we get a few good sights of very low flying aircraft right over our roof.

We decide to explore for 2 days, then move further south. Before we go book a tour to the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, in order to visit some caves. Mike is pleased to learn that it involves walking up an incline for 750 metres, and over 900 steps, up and down. May well turn out to be a tomb, he thinks. More about tombs later....

Mike about to pass out on the sleeper train; Yvonne looking good by the road side; Yvonne's new job; Hanoi in manic mode.

Ha Long Bay part 2

The following day we were taken off the main boat and deposited on a second smaller boat. Everyone else was taken back to the port on the 'Garden Bay'.

So the four of us, Yvonne, Mike, and two crew putted off to the far reaches where the bay merges into the ocean proper. Took us to places where there were very few other tourists. Off we went in our kayak to explore, promising to be back for lunch.

Later went to a pearl farm, owned and run by the Japanese pearl industry. A bit of a swizz as the cultured pearl starts from a bead inserted into a female oyster. The female is then artificially inseminated, and after a few years you get a pearl.

In the afternoon more kayaking into calm, pure bays that are reached by going through caves.

Back to the mother ship to find that a group of Germans on an organised package holiday were to be our shipmates. Even more isolated as we had a little table set for our dinner, and subsequent breakfast. No real hardship as they could not speak English, and tended to be very loud...

If you get the opportunity to take a trip to this bay, then take the two day trip. You will see a lot more...

As we had already seen what the Germans were about to see, we were dumped on this island with a memorial pagoda on the very top. "Yes, yes, you climb to top, very good view, see you in 40 minutes", said our guide sitting down and lighting a cigarette.
Deep joy, one of Mikes favourite pastimes climbing stairs. Still, only a short one of over 400, a doddle!

Leave you with some photographs. Our boat; one of the many coves and beaches; view after many steps; last photo from the pagoda. 

Ha Long Bay

Bus left at 8 am, three and a half hours to cover 140 km. Roads neither good or bad, or a bit of both!! However, driving techniques leave Mikes fingernail imprints on seat.

Observation one: a lot of Vietnamese cannot wait to join their ancestors.

While the speeds are relatively low, the margins for cutting in before a full frontal are terrifying. Also there are still a high number of motor cyclists who do not wear helmets!!
However, we arrive at the port safely. It is raining, and has been for the whole journey.

Ha Long Bay (descending dragon bay) of a thousand limestone karsts and isles in various shapes and sizes.
To quote Ho Chi Minh: "It is the wonder that one cannot impart to others".

Our boat is called 'Garden Bay'. We have a deluxe cabin for 2 nights.

The other passengers (14) are mainly French, 2 from Australia, and 2 French Canadian. The French stayed together as a group, which left Yvonne and Mike on a table with the two Aussies, and the Canadians.
Becomes a hoot as one of the Canadians turned out to be a very camp psychotherapist specialising in anxiety disorders. Taking the Micky out of his ' French cousins', and bursting out in a giggling laughter for no apparent reason.
We thought he and the woman he was with were partners, causing uncontrolled fits of laughter from them both. They were good fun. We were not sure if their plan was to create anxieties so they could then treat them!!

All but us are on a 1 day cruise.
We all visit a traditional floating fishing village. Yvonne and Mike use a kayak, as do the younger Australian couple, everyone else chooses to be rowed in bamboo boats, with their rain coats on!
Then visit one of the many limestone caves.

During the evening we try our hand at squid fishing. We guarantee that we do not catch anything because we take the hooks off, lol.

Leave you with some pictures. Yvonne having her first mohito of the trip; some karsts; on the deck.

Vietnam. Hanoi

30 hours after leaving home we arrive in Hanoi, the capital. Lucky for us its evening and after crashing out wake up to sounds of early morning traffic. Nice room at the top of a tall, long but thin hotel. We even have a balcony.

Most of the buildings are narrow (3 metres) due to an old taxing system. They are called tube houses.

After breakfast we explore. Find the Hoan Kiem (Sword Lake) and have a strong cup of Vietnamese coffee. Take a trip to a shrine which pokes out onto the lake. The story about the sword given to Emperor Le Loi, is as per Lancelot, but involves a giant tortoise not a lady. Also he gets the sword from a dragon, so not out a stone. All in all not like Lancelot at all (apart from the sword/lake bit).

Get tickets to the cities main water puppet show for the following day. Turns out to be a lot of fun. Puppeteers work really hard and can suffer from foot rot.

Hanoi is clean, practically dog and cat free (the Chinese get the blame, apparently they ate them all, but Mike and Yvonne are a wee bit sceptical).

Mike was a tad disappointed at the extravagant and outrageous price of 'beer hoi' at 5,000 dong a half pint (15 pence). Apparently bloody tourists have inflated the price. Beer hoi is
brewed all over Vietnam as a kind of home brew, and sold informally on the street for pence. It tastes like a light beer and is about 3% proof. It is very drinkable. The cost goes down as one moves south!!

In Vietnam almost every house has a shrine in honour of ancestors, and the Vietnamese take the reverence of their ancestors very seriously. This is important for one observation, and one reason, which will become apparent later.

Leave you with some pictures of our hotel, our room is at the very top!! Yvonne having a drink, Mike having a drink, water puppets, and a tree on a bike.