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A very early start – early morning call at 5.30am and we had to have our bags outside our doors by 6.15 and at reception ready to go by 6.30am. The hotel provided a breakfast box for us – some bacon a little sausage and a boiled egg – two slices of toast bread with a cheese slice, a croissant, a banana and a pottle of yoghurt which we could either eat on the bus or on the plane.
Checking in at Da Nang airport was interesting and our guide Van was there to make sure all went smoothly – and I was pleased to find that my suitcase weighed 19.3kg. The usual security checks – no sharps, no weapons and LAGs in the plastic bags and Mary had her mango slicer in her hand luggage and this was confiscated.
The flight was late taking off – a passenger was sick and had to be taken off and the luggage removed as well, so about 20minutes late arriving at Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). Here we were met by the last of our local tour guides – a delightful chap by the name of Cheung. He is a real character, with a great sense of humour. His English is great and he is much easier than both Nam and Van to understand.
Not quite so hot here in Saigon, I think it’s the humidity is a bit lower. We were taken on a tour of the city - we visited the War Remnants Museum, the Reunification Palace, the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Saigon Post Office, with a fancy lunch included in there as well.
The War Remnants Museum was sobering – the photos and stories showing the full horror of the war here in Viet Nam. It is so hard to believe that these atrocities were allowed to happen, and the long term effects of Agent Orange are horrific. How these people have moved on from all that is amazing, and it is shocking to realise that we didn’t really know or understand the full story of what was happening here. And to think that at the end of all that fighting and all those lives lost, the country still became communist and it really was all in vain. The statistics on the wall in the War Office at the Reunification Palace show that there were (I think, I remember – I didn’t write it down at the time – I may have taken a photo of the board) 563 New Zealand troops here in 1972.
The cathedral and the post office were both built by the French – the cathedral looked quite spectacular from the outside but was quite unimpressive on the inside – nowhere near as ornate as I would have expected – and certainly nowhere near as decorative as the Budhist or Hindu temples are.
After our sightseeing trip we were delivered to our hotel – The Majestic, a fabulous old building which looks just like the photos on the website. I am sharing with Dianne again and after settling into our room, showering and changing we headed up to the bar on the 5th floor for a drink. The cocktail of the day was a “Sweet Saigon” which was pretty yummy. The view from the 5th floor looked down on the hectic traffic of Saigon – more motor bikes, thousands of people and the traffic wending it’s way round and across the huge intersection in the road.
Gradually everyone joined us and we then headed away with Kylee to a restaurant for a Vietnamese Barbeque at a busy little rooftop restaurant which we reached by taxi.
The meal was delicious – barbequed beef rolls wrapped around cheese and fried rice (which I was told was safe to eat until Kathy discovered a shrimp in her bowlful) salad and morning glory.
Each night Kylee has chosen a different type of restaurant to take us to introduce us to Vietnamese food, and each one has been quite quite different. Tonight’s restaurant was doing well in the popularity stakes until the waiter brought out the prawn kebabs. Everyone was impressed until they realised that the shrimps were in fact still alive and jumping about on the plate. The squeamish stomachs started to complain until Kylee asked the waiter to take them away and bring them to us cooked, which they did, and then everyone felt comfortable eating them !!
It was then a ten minute walk back to the hotel and time for bed – we were all pretty tired and we knew we had to be up and have had breakfast and be ready to on the bus by 8am in the morning.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Last day in Hoi An
Four of us were up and ready at 8am to catch the shuttle bus to go to Cham Island for the diving. The day was perfect, warm – not too hot, with a little cloud cover and the one and a bit hour boat ride out was a little bumpy but not too bad. A couple of the passengers became seasick, one of them was really quite sick by the time we reached the dive site, and didn’t recover when she got into the water and spent the hour we were snorkelling or diving resting on the rocks.
Despite wanting to dive, I took advice from home not to do an initial dive here, and just snorkel and I am so glad I did, the snorkelling was amazing. The coral was beautiful, so many beautiful shapes and colours. Not a lot of fish, but the ones we saw were very colourful and all shapes and sizes. I would say that this snorkelling site was better than the one I did four years ago at Lady Musgrove on the Barrier. The coral was way more spectacular.
We spent an hour in the water and then went ashore for lunch and a bit of sunbathe. We weren’t expecting lunch so had snaffled some bread and cakes at breakfast time, and I had wrapped mine in one of the hotel serviettes and smuggled into my back pack, but certainly didn’t need it – the lunch was great. Once more my little allergy card came to the rescue – that card has been a god-send, and I would certainly recommend them to anyone travelling with diet requirements.
Because there was a storm brewing, we didn’t get the extra hour of snorkelling or diving after lunch, instead headed home. The four of us headed for the top deck – it was beautiful and warm up there, with just a gentle breeze, certainly not too hot. I got a wee touch of the sun, not bad and just enough to add a little tan colour to my arms and legs.
The ride home was a little bumpier, but not too uncomfortable and later that evening when we called in to the dive centre, the boss said they had made the decision to head home for the comfort of all the passengers, it may have been okay to stay, but safety is paramount and so the decision was made to head home. An interesting comment as the four of us had been discussing the trip over dinner and we felt that safety was perhaps not the biggest concern. There had certainly not been any discussion with the snorklers as to how comfortable we were, and there was no help sorting out masks or getting into the water. Didn’t bother me because I knew what I was doing, and so it seemed did everyone else. However there were no instructions on what we were doing, how to know where to go or how far, or when to know that the boat was going to leave. Maybe I am just so used to living in NZ where everything is documented in triplicate and OSH is the main concern and we can’t do anything without having the right instructions and safety precautions in place.
But the day was awesome, the water was just a nice temperature, there was plenty to see, and the bonus of the lunch thrown in. The boat was full of interesting people, and we got talking to a German Swiss professor who was visiting Hanoi to lecture, there was an interesting German guy who had been living in Ireland and so spoke with an amazing Irish accent, and a chap from Darwin who had been in Hanoi for the World Life Saving Convention (and it turned out that it was the Australian Premiere who had opened the conference and that was all the hoo-ha in Hanoi with police convoys and road closures etc that I spoke about earlier.
Despite wanting to dive, I took advice from home not to do an initial dive here, and just snorkel and I am so glad I did, the snorkelling was amazing. The coral was beautiful, so many beautiful shapes and colours. Not a lot of fish, but the ones we saw were very colourful and all shapes and sizes. I would say that this snorkelling site was better than the one I did four years ago at Lady Musgrove on the Barrier. The coral was way more spectacular.
We spent an hour in the water and then went ashore for lunch and a bit of sunbathe. We weren’t expecting lunch so had snaffled some bread and cakes at breakfast time, and I had wrapped mine in one of the hotel serviettes and smuggled into my back pack, but certainly didn’t need it – the lunch was great. Once more my little allergy card came to the rescue – that card has been a god-send, and I would certainly recommend them to anyone travelling with diet requirements.
Because there was a storm brewing, we didn’t get the extra hour of snorkelling or diving after lunch, instead headed home. The four of us headed for the top deck – it was beautiful and warm up there, with just a gentle breeze, certainly not too hot. I got a wee touch of the sun, not bad and just enough to add a little tan colour to my arms and legs.
The ride home was a little bumpier, but not too uncomfortable and later that evening when we called in to the dive centre, the boss said they had made the decision to head home for the comfort of all the passengers, it may have been okay to stay, but safety is paramount and so the decision was made to head home. An interesting comment as the four of us had been discussing the trip over dinner and we felt that safety was perhaps not the biggest concern. There had certainly not been any discussion with the snorklers as to how comfortable we were, and there was no help sorting out masks or getting into the water. Didn’t bother me because I knew what I was doing, and so it seemed did everyone else. However there were no instructions on what we were doing, how to know where to go or how far, or when to know that the boat was going to leave. Maybe I am just so used to living in NZ where everything is documented in triplicate and OSH is the main concern and we can’t do anything without having the right instructions and safety precautions in place.
But the day was awesome, the water was just a nice temperature, there was plenty to see, and the bonus of the lunch thrown in. The boat was full of interesting people, and we got talking to a German Swiss professor who was visiting Hanoi to lecture, there was an interesting German guy who had been living in Ireland and so spoke with an amazing Irish accent, and a chap from Darwin who had been in Hanoi for the World Life Saving Convention (and it turned out that it was the Australian Premiere who had opened the conference and that was all the hoo-ha in Hanoi with police convoys and road closures etc that I spoke about earlier.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
The next day I headed into town early, but none of my purchases were ready to be collected, so I headed back to the hotel for a bite to eat and then it was off down the road with Caroline and Diane as we had booked a full body massage. Wow those girls have the strongest thumbs, and they managed to find every one of my trigger points, but what an incredible massage. Started with the back, then the legs and feet and then the arms and fingers, finishing off with the face and scalp. Wow, I am going to treat myself to one of those regularly at home.
We got picked up at 5pm to be taken on a boat trip on the river – Double whammy celebration here in Hoi An tonight – the Full Moon Celebration but it is also Budha’s birthday, so a very special night. The trip down the river was lovely, we watched the moon come up as we cruised along, and then headed back to the town. A quick trip around the shops to pick up my purchases. My suit and shirt were ready but the dress needed some alteration, one pair of shoes was ready, but the wee boots needed stretching and altering, and the pant suit was ready. Phew, what a lot of shopping that was and I am thrilled with it all so far.
A real carnival atmosphere in the old town – lanterns everywhere and each shop had set up a shrine and was burning incense and were turning out the electricity and just working in the lantern light. Street performers were all over the place and the locals were out in full force. We headed to Cargo Club for dinner, another of Miss Vy’s restaurants and again the food was sensational. An incredibly busy restaurant with both locals and tourists and from the balcony restaurant we watched the parade of floats on the other side of the river – dragons and lotus flowers and other assorted designs.
After dinner (I had a grilled chicken salad with an icecream sundae for dessert) we headed out to each light a candle and send it off down the river. Apparently this is a cleansing ritual ( a little like going to confession) Candles, lanterns, people everywhere, music and the full moon casting amazing light across the river – what a magical night.
And at 10pm we made it back to the bus for the ride back to the hotel. What a privilege to have been able to witness all that. This truly is a magical place – the people are so lovely, and I think that Hoi An has been the highlight for me. Everywhere in this country the people have been gentle and friendly and helpful, but here in Hoi An they have been truly amazing. Even though the shopkeepers are there to take your money, they are so friendly and you leave their shop feeling as if you have just made a new friend. They want to know all about you, your life, your family. They seem to crave information about the visitors to their country and they are happy to talk about themselves. Their English is really good and they love talking to you.
I have just loved it here and would love to come back again really soon. Roxy – start saving – you and I could have a ball here
We got picked up at 5pm to be taken on a boat trip on the river – Double whammy celebration here in Hoi An tonight – the Full Moon Celebration but it is also Budha’s birthday, so a very special night. The trip down the river was lovely, we watched the moon come up as we cruised along, and then headed back to the town. A quick trip around the shops to pick up my purchases. My suit and shirt were ready but the dress needed some alteration, one pair of shoes was ready, but the wee boots needed stretching and altering, and the pant suit was ready. Phew, what a lot of shopping that was and I am thrilled with it all so far.
A real carnival atmosphere in the old town – lanterns everywhere and each shop had set up a shrine and was burning incense and were turning out the electricity and just working in the lantern light. Street performers were all over the place and the locals were out in full force. We headed to Cargo Club for dinner, another of Miss Vy’s restaurants and again the food was sensational. An incredibly busy restaurant with both locals and tourists and from the balcony restaurant we watched the parade of floats on the other side of the river – dragons and lotus flowers and other assorted designs.
After dinner (I had a grilled chicken salad with an icecream sundae for dessert) we headed out to each light a candle and send it off down the river. Apparently this is a cleansing ritual ( a little like going to confession) Candles, lanterns, people everywhere, music and the full moon casting amazing light across the river – what a magical night.
And at 10pm we made it back to the bus for the ride back to the hotel. What a privilege to have been able to witness all that. This truly is a magical place – the people are so lovely, and I think that Hoi An has been the highlight for me. Everywhere in this country the people have been gentle and friendly and helpful, but here in Hoi An they have been truly amazing. Even though the shopkeepers are there to take your money, they are so friendly and you leave their shop feeling as if you have just made a new friend. They want to know all about you, your life, your family. They seem to crave information about the visitors to their country and they are happy to talk about themselves. Their English is really good and they love talking to you.
I have just loved it here and would love to come back again really soon. Roxy – start saving – you and I could have a ball here
Hoi An - A shopper's paradise
After coming back from My Son on Sunday, it was time for the serious shopping to start. This is the place we had all been hanging out to reach – the place to get shoes and clothes made. When we arrived on Saturday, Van our local guide had taken us on an orientation walk through the Ancient Town and shown us some of the most reputable shops to buy from. Diane and I headed in to the town on the hotel shuttle bus, and the driver got talking to us on the way in. He asked if we had special shops we wanted to go, we said yes, Van had shown us. He said he would drop us at a very good tailor, but we weren’t to tell anyone he dropped us there. (it turns out he was only supposed to take us as far as the bus stop, and not to anywhere in particular). Anyway, the wee girl in the shop that took a shine to me, Dom, she got busy showing me designs and fabric and I decided on getting a suit made. So very quickly she had me measured and we had the fabric chosen. It turned out to be a bit more expensive than the place Van had shown us yesterday, but I was happy with both the fabric and the wee girl who was serving me, so I agreed on a price, paid my money and was most content. I ordered a suit, a blouse and a dress. Meanwhile Diane was feeling very uncomfortable with the whole deal, she felt she could get a suit made at home for less than that, so decided against buying there. But, I was happy and went ahead with my purchase.
From there it was on to the next place Van had showed us to get some shoes made. I had my evening slides with me, and I chose to get another pair of those made, but in blue leather. And I had also chosen a picture from a catalogue yesterday and the young girl had remembered and very quickly had me measured up for them. I asked for a slightly lower heel, and a more rounded toe, and she said no problem!! With all that shopping under our belts, it was time to meet the others at Morning Glory – for our cooking class.
What an amazing experience – Miss Vy the owner of the shop was an amazing woman – she spoke with such passion about food and ingredients and the reason why they use certain ingredients and every ingredient had a use. She spoke of the harmony of food – the ying and yang and balance and showed us how to make spring rolls, crispy pancakes, grilled chicken and the most delicious mango salad. It was to die for. She has written the most informative cook book, and it only cost $39.95, but it is very heavy and I just haven’t got room for it in my suitcase. However we did get a copy of the recipes we cooked tonight so I will just have to be content with that. We ate the spring rolls and the pancake at our cooking stations, but after the chicken was grilled, we took that and our salads into the restaurant and ate them there. She then sent out some kind of curry soup, but I was content with what I had already eaten so didn’t try that, and we finished off with a crème caramel dessert. What a fantastic night, and the food (and considering that we had cooked it our ourselves) was delicious. And to top off a fantastic evening, we were all given a mango slicer as a gift. What a bonus.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Hoi An
Did I tell you about the movement I saw in the restaurant the other night – I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye, it ran between Dianne’s legs and across into the garden. When I looked and tried to see what it was the waiter very calmly said “don’t worry, it’s just a rat.” A rat, in the restaurant, oh my god. So now we are all a bit jumpy. Last night a can fell onto Kylee’s lap and she let out a squeal – yep just like I used to do if I thought I saw a mouse!!!
Yesterday was a full on day. Seven of us took the optional half day trip to My Son, the ruins of the Champa Kingdom from the 4th Century. This place was almost completely destroyed during the Vietnam war and you can still see a lot of the evidence – bomb craters and marks in the buildings. Apparently there are still unexploded bombs around the area so the books warn not to wander off the beaten track. There is a lot of restoration and preservation work going on here but what a huge job it is going to be to complete it.
We were fortunate to see a dance performance which I have captured on video – but unfortunately I can't attach it here.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Hue to Hoi An - Saturday
Our last night in Hue we caught the shuttle into town and spent an hour or so shopping before all meeting at another of Kylee’s choices of restaurant – this time one specialising in European and Vietnamese food – the owner is an Frenchman married to a Vietnamese woman. I went for a very simple meal, fried vegetables with garlic and steamed rice. Just what I needed really – no meat. And this meal again washed down with a local beer and finished off with Bananas in batter with ice-cream.
Hue is much quieter than Hanoi, although the vendors are as persistent as everywhere else. I decided Ii wanted to bring home a ceramic tea set, but couldn’t work out how I was going to carry it for the rest of the holiday – might look for one in Saigon. Bought a wrap – there are just so many to choose from and the colours are just superb. This one lilac with a little light embroidery on it. But I want to save the bulk of my clothes shopping till I get to Hoi An. Took some photos of some styles I might like to get made and again the fabrics and styles are amazing.
We caught the shuttle back to the hotel and got set for the early start today.
Up at the crack of dawn, posted my blogs, checked out what was happening in the news at home and had my bags packed all ready for the bellboy to collect before heading over to the restaurant for one last breakfast here. Again my little girl was waiting for me, and showed me to my seat. She removed all the cutlery and crockery from my table and returned with fresh ones – much to the amazement of my travelling companions. She then asked if I wanted the same as yesterday, but I thought I might try one of the omelettes this morning. She escorted me over to the chef – instructed him to wash the frying pan and he then cracked a couple of eggs into the bowl and started adding the ham and tomato. She asked him something – growled at him and made him put the mix aside – she took another bowl out to the kitchen, washed it, dried it and brought it back to him and got him to start all over again. She watched him like a hawk as he made my omelette, then she went out to the kitchen and brought a fresh plate and cutlery and carried it to the table for me. She asked me if I wanted toast and butter, and told me to please be seated and she would bring it for me. My companions laughed and told me not to strain myself buttering my toast. She then went off to get my fruit for me – mango, pineapple and passion fruit and some other citrus fruit, a little like an orange but very light in colour , sweet but not like an orange. Had a funny name which I cannot remember.
I had a photo taken with this delightful young lady who told me she was 25 years old, the oldest of five children and had been working at the Pilgrimage for 1 year. She is single and lives at home to help support her parents and younger siblings. I wished that I could pack her in my suitcase and take her home with me. She was just so lovely.
And so to the bus for the trip to Hoi An. Through rice growing areas, up and over a couple of passes, travelling along the coast. A stop at a market to see where the local women do their shopping. It was almost enough to put you off meat and fish for life I reckon – all out in the open in the heat. We wondered if the local restaurants buy the food from the same markets, none of us dared to ask as we have lots more meals to eat yet
We stopped at the top of the pass to take photos, visit the bunkers (used by the French and then by the Americans) and then down to Da Nang where we stopped to buy a picnic lunch – bread rolls filled with cheese, bacon, and an assortment of green bits and a stick of cucumber. We took our lunch with us and stopped at China Beach to eat it – we actually sat in the bus, because if we had sat on the beach we would have been expected to hire deck chairs. The beach is beautiful and we had a paddle in the water which was beautiful and warm. After our short stop, we travelled along the coast road which is being developed with huge big holiday and apartment complexes. Our guide Van told us that if we come back in five years time, we will not recognise the place. She also said that it was very different now to the China Beach area enjoyed by the soldiers during the American War. On one side of the road was the remains of the American Base, and on the other side these huge complexes – such a contrast. One more stop along the way, this time at the marble factory. Marble Mountain was one of the important landmarks (and I think battle sites) of the American War – I will have to look it up later and see what it was all about, as I don’t remember that name from my history reading. The marble statues were magnificent, and not hellishly expensive and I succumbed! I bought and am having shipped home a beautiful Lady Budha. She will bring me peace and harmony and happiness and I think prosperity as well – well I hope she will!
We arrived at Hoi An mid-afternoon and Van took us on an orientation walking tour of the old city. What a beautiful place. So quiet, so much cleaner and tidier than both Hue and Hanoi – and the shopping. We visited a couple of beautiful silk places – one even had the silk worms working for us to see the whole process from worm to garment. We saw another place full of absolutely exquisite silk embroidery – the girls sitting all day embroidering from a small picture and producing these amazing pieces of art. It takes a girl up to three months to make one piece. A couple of Chinese temples, a Japanese Bridge and then we were introduced to two very fine tailors who will make our clothes for us and a shoe maker who will make our shoes – and yes they will even make big sizes like mine. Oh what a busy afternoon I am going to have tomorrow. Where to start??????
Handbags, coats, suits, ties, you name it you can have it made here, and the prices sound pretty good.
And finally this weary bunch of women were delivered to the Hoi An Riverside Resort and Spa. Another lovely hotel. How nice it was to walk into our airconditioned room and have a lovely shower and a wee rest and a read, before heading down for dinner.
Time for a cocktail first – my choice tonight a Sweet Angel. Fresh processed pineapple juice, a banana, coconut cream and a dash of a secret ingredient (looked like a sugar syrup to me) all whizzed together in a blender with lots of ice. Very yummy, very creamy.
Dinner – another huge selection with a course of beef, pork and rice, some vegetables and then an unusual dessert – they called it Pumpkin Soup but it was in fact a mousse of some sort – probably had a pumpkin base. None of us could actually identify the other flavours in it, it was rather nice. The others of course had had a much different menu, and theirs looked as interesting as ours with lots of seafood, or dishes using fish sauce.
Another busy day ahead of us tomorrow – seven of us are going to My Son (pronounced something like Mishon) – a half day tour, and the others will go off and do their own thing, and we will all meet up at 5.00pm for the cooking class. And as it is now 11.03 it is probably time I posted this and got myself some sleep.
Hue is much quieter than Hanoi, although the vendors are as persistent as everywhere else. I decided Ii wanted to bring home a ceramic tea set, but couldn’t work out how I was going to carry it for the rest of the holiday – might look for one in Saigon. Bought a wrap – there are just so many to choose from and the colours are just superb. This one lilac with a little light embroidery on it. But I want to save the bulk of my clothes shopping till I get to Hoi An. Took some photos of some styles I might like to get made and again the fabrics and styles are amazing.
We caught the shuttle back to the hotel and got set for the early start today.
Up at the crack of dawn, posted my blogs, checked out what was happening in the news at home and had my bags packed all ready for the bellboy to collect before heading over to the restaurant for one last breakfast here. Again my little girl was waiting for me, and showed me to my seat. She removed all the cutlery and crockery from my table and returned with fresh ones – much to the amazement of my travelling companions. She then asked if I wanted the same as yesterday, but I thought I might try one of the omelettes this morning. She escorted me over to the chef – instructed him to wash the frying pan and he then cracked a couple of eggs into the bowl and started adding the ham and tomato. She asked him something – growled at him and made him put the mix aside – she took another bowl out to the kitchen, washed it, dried it and brought it back to him and got him to start all over again. She watched him like a hawk as he made my omelette, then she went out to the kitchen and brought a fresh plate and cutlery and carried it to the table for me. She asked me if I wanted toast and butter, and told me to please be seated and she would bring it for me. My companions laughed and told me not to strain myself buttering my toast. She then went off to get my fruit for me – mango, pineapple and passion fruit and some other citrus fruit, a little like an orange but very light in colour , sweet but not like an orange. Had a funny name which I cannot remember.
I had a photo taken with this delightful young lady who told me she was 25 years old, the oldest of five children and had been working at the Pilgrimage for 1 year. She is single and lives at home to help support her parents and younger siblings. I wished that I could pack her in my suitcase and take her home with me. She was just so lovely.
And so to the bus for the trip to Hoi An. Through rice growing areas, up and over a couple of passes, travelling along the coast. A stop at a market to see where the local women do their shopping. It was almost enough to put you off meat and fish for life I reckon – all out in the open in the heat. We wondered if the local restaurants buy the food from the same markets, none of us dared to ask as we have lots more meals to eat yet
We stopped at the top of the pass to take photos, visit the bunkers (used by the French and then by the Americans) and then down to Da Nang where we stopped to buy a picnic lunch – bread rolls filled with cheese, bacon, and an assortment of green bits and a stick of cucumber. We took our lunch with us and stopped at China Beach to eat it – we actually sat in the bus, because if we had sat on the beach we would have been expected to hire deck chairs. The beach is beautiful and we had a paddle in the water which was beautiful and warm. After our short stop, we travelled along the coast road which is being developed with huge big holiday and apartment complexes. Our guide Van told us that if we come back in five years time, we will not recognise the place. She also said that it was very different now to the China Beach area enjoyed by the soldiers during the American War. On one side of the road was the remains of the American Base, and on the other side these huge complexes – such a contrast. One more stop along the way, this time at the marble factory. Marble Mountain was one of the important landmarks (and I think battle sites) of the American War – I will have to look it up later and see what it was all about, as I don’t remember that name from my history reading. The marble statues were magnificent, and not hellishly expensive and I succumbed! I bought and am having shipped home a beautiful Lady Budha. She will bring me peace and harmony and happiness and I think prosperity as well – well I hope she will!
We arrived at Hoi An mid-afternoon and Van took us on an orientation walking tour of the old city. What a beautiful place. So quiet, so much cleaner and tidier than both Hue and Hanoi – and the shopping. We visited a couple of beautiful silk places – one even had the silk worms working for us to see the whole process from worm to garment. We saw another place full of absolutely exquisite silk embroidery – the girls sitting all day embroidering from a small picture and producing these amazing pieces of art. It takes a girl up to three months to make one piece. A couple of Chinese temples, a Japanese Bridge and then we were introduced to two very fine tailors who will make our clothes for us and a shoe maker who will make our shoes – and yes they will even make big sizes like mine. Oh what a busy afternoon I am going to have tomorrow. Where to start??????
Handbags, coats, suits, ties, you name it you can have it made here, and the prices sound pretty good.
And finally this weary bunch of women were delivered to the Hoi An Riverside Resort and Spa. Another lovely hotel. How nice it was to walk into our airconditioned room and have a lovely shower and a wee rest and a read, before heading down for dinner.
Time for a cocktail first – my choice tonight a Sweet Angel. Fresh processed pineapple juice, a banana, coconut cream and a dash of a secret ingredient (looked like a sugar syrup to me) all whizzed together in a blender with lots of ice. Very yummy, very creamy.
Dinner – another huge selection with a course of beef, pork and rice, some vegetables and then an unusual dessert – they called it Pumpkin Soup but it was in fact a mousse of some sort – probably had a pumpkin base. None of us could actually identify the other flavours in it, it was rather nice. The others of course had had a much different menu, and theirs looked as interesting as ours with lots of seafood, or dishes using fish sauce.
Another busy day ahead of us tomorrow – seven of us are going to My Son (pronounced something like Mishon) – a half day tour, and the others will go off and do their own thing, and we will all meet up at 5.00pm for the cooking class. And as it is now 11.03 it is probably time I posted this and got myself some sleep.
Hue
The time is going so fast, we are now at Hue, which is wonderfully peaceful and relaxed after the frenetic pace of Hanoi.
We are staying at the Pilgrimage Village boutique resort and spa. It is so peaceful, and the staff are so attentive. Every time I arrive for breakfast I have my own personal waitress who comes over to me, escorts me to my table, pulls out my chair and makes sure that I have everything I need. Each time I get up to the buffet she grabs my plate and she puts the food on the plate for me and assures me that there is no seafood in this dish. I wanted some toast, she made it for me, put my butter and honey in little dishes and brought it back to the table for me. None of the other ladies are getting this wonderful service. I am feeling very pampered and special.
It is now 1pm. We have been out on the tour bus this morning and visited a couple of King’s Tombs and a Budhist Pagoda, and seen how inscense sticks are made, and in half an hour I am booked for a treatment at the spa. I am having an aromatherapy facial and a foot reflexology, about $45 US.
I have a room to myself here, for which I am very grateful. It means I can just soak up the tranquility and enjoy at my own pace. It was wonderful sharing a room with Dianne in Hanoi, she is well travelled and a fountain of knowledge and we shared many stories, but this place is one to enjoy in solitude. Time for me to reflect and ponder, and maybe even think about what I am going to do when I get home, and where my next holiday will be.
It is great to be connected to the world again, although this new word programme is taking some getting used to. This morning I typed for about half an hour and did the whole catch up from Hanoi to here, and then Windows decided to do an automatic update and shut the computer down and I lost the lot. So now I have to go back and start all over again. Never mind, good practice and exercise for my fingers!!!
I have just had a very light lunch in my room – there is a complimentary fruit bowl – a mango, an orange and another fruit with big black seeds and a skin a bit like a potato skin, with a flesh somewhere between a nashi (but not that crunchy) and a melon. Quite nice, although I don’t think I would bother buying one. Especially not when the mangoes are so nice – big and juicy and very sweet. A different flavour to the Peruvian or Argentinian ones we get at home – but of course that may be because these ones are so fresh. The pineapples here are very tiny, but very yummy as well.
Well, must take a break, go have a quick shower and head for my spa treatment.
I am back from my treatment – it was amazing. I had this delightful young man and he gave me a facial – an aromatherapy vitalising facial which lasted 60 minutes. I was a little taken aback when he asked me to take off my top and then my bra, but he stood discretely behind the big towel he was holding and then as I lay down he put the towel over me. He massaged my scalp, and my upper chest and shoulders, the back of my neck and applied a variety of lotions and potions to my face. I tell you I look twenty years younger – well at least I should after all that. The massage part was very similar to the Shiatsu type massage I get at home, and he certainly managed to find the tight and tender knots in the back of my neck. After all of that he then proceeded to do a foot reflexology for another 30 minutes. How heavenly. Wouldn’t mind bringing him home with me, and the little girl who has been serving me my breakfast – her name is Hoahi. They are such beautiful, calm and serene people, always smiling and everytime you pass them in the grounds they smile and greet you. Their English is very good, until you ask them something – they have obviously been trained to say what they need to say to you but haven’t learnt the art of general conversation. But then I guess they have lots of different nationalities staying here so they have had to learn lots of other languages as well.
Yesterday morning we got off the overnight train from Hanoi and were met and transferred to the spa hotel by bus. We have a new guide here, a lady called Van who will be our guide until we leave Hoi An. After a late breakfast we had time for a bit of rest before we headed out for a tour of the city, The Imperial Citadel and the Pagoda. Unfortunately we missed the daily Budhist prayer recital by the monks but we got to see them preparing for their dinner. What an amazingly serene place, and they all looked so calm and happy. The little novice boys start there as early as seven years old. From there we got on a boat for a trip down the Perfume River as the sun was going down. The city is busy preparing for Budha’s birthday in four days time and there were seven huge water lilies floating in the river, which we saw later all lit up, but unfortunately weren’t able to take a photo of them lit. The usual sellers were on board the boat and I bought a pair of baggy black pants for $8. Everything is so cheap, I should have brought an empty suitcase and a bigger wallet!!
I am starting to feel much better, although being very gentle on my tummy so I didn’t eat too much of the meal at dinner time. They bring out the hugest meals – mine was a very thick creamy vegetable soup which would have been enough for me without anything else, so I only ate a tiny bit of it. My main course was chicken with buttered vegetable sticks and rice. It was very delicious but I only ate a tiny bit of it, and my poor waitress and waiter were so concerned that I didn’t like it or it wasn’t good enough and it was really hard explaining that I only wanted a tiny portion. Dessert was a tapioca and banana pudding which was very yummy. Again I washed it all down with the local beer, which is very good.
I had intended staying up to listen to the pianist playing in the bar from 8.30pm to 10pm but again I was absolutely shattered. This heat is very draining, and so I came back to the cool of my room and did a bit of my blog, but my eyes were closing, so I climbed into the huge big bed and again, as soon as my head hit the pillow I was asleep and didn’t wake until 6.00am.
But the good news is – today I feel absolutely great. Back to normal. Most of the girls have had a touch of the belly ache – I was lucky no cramps.
Today we – woops I’ve just noticed that I have already told you what we did today – but because I have had such a problem with this wee computer, I am not even going to try and cut and paste in case I loose it all. At the moment, touch wood, it is working, it is staying compatible and I will continue for as long as I can without trying anything fancy.
It is 4.43 pm, and we are having another thunder storm. It is raining quite heavily and we are due to meet at 5.30pm to go on the shuttle bus to the market and then out for dinner. At least it might cool down a bit now.
And now that I have managed to type up these blog pages, Blogger is down. I can get into my gmail and xtra to get the news, but Blogger are doing maintenance, so hopefully I can post these pages tonight when I get home.
Hard to believe that the first week is over already. The time has gone so fast.
Catch you all later.
We are staying at the Pilgrimage Village boutique resort and spa. It is so peaceful, and the staff are so attentive. Every time I arrive for breakfast I have my own personal waitress who comes over to me, escorts me to my table, pulls out my chair and makes sure that I have everything I need. Each time I get up to the buffet she grabs my plate and she puts the food on the plate for me and assures me that there is no seafood in this dish. I wanted some toast, she made it for me, put my butter and honey in little dishes and brought it back to the table for me. None of the other ladies are getting this wonderful service. I am feeling very pampered and special.
It is now 1pm. We have been out on the tour bus this morning and visited a couple of King’s Tombs and a Budhist Pagoda, and seen how inscense sticks are made, and in half an hour I am booked for a treatment at the spa. I am having an aromatherapy facial and a foot reflexology, about $45 US.
I have a room to myself here, for which I am very grateful. It means I can just soak up the tranquility and enjoy at my own pace. It was wonderful sharing a room with Dianne in Hanoi, she is well travelled and a fountain of knowledge and we shared many stories, but this place is one to enjoy in solitude. Time for me to reflect and ponder, and maybe even think about what I am going to do when I get home, and where my next holiday will be.
It is great to be connected to the world again, although this new word programme is taking some getting used to. This morning I typed for about half an hour and did the whole catch up from Hanoi to here, and then Windows decided to do an automatic update and shut the computer down and I lost the lot. So now I have to go back and start all over again. Never mind, good practice and exercise for my fingers!!!
I have just had a very light lunch in my room – there is a complimentary fruit bowl – a mango, an orange and another fruit with big black seeds and a skin a bit like a potato skin, with a flesh somewhere between a nashi (but not that crunchy) and a melon. Quite nice, although I don’t think I would bother buying one. Especially not when the mangoes are so nice – big and juicy and very sweet. A different flavour to the Peruvian or Argentinian ones we get at home – but of course that may be because these ones are so fresh. The pineapples here are very tiny, but very yummy as well.
Well, must take a break, go have a quick shower and head for my spa treatment.
I am back from my treatment – it was amazing. I had this delightful young man and he gave me a facial – an aromatherapy vitalising facial which lasted 60 minutes. I was a little taken aback when he asked me to take off my top and then my bra, but he stood discretely behind the big towel he was holding and then as I lay down he put the towel over me. He massaged my scalp, and my upper chest and shoulders, the back of my neck and applied a variety of lotions and potions to my face. I tell you I look twenty years younger – well at least I should after all that. The massage part was very similar to the Shiatsu type massage I get at home, and he certainly managed to find the tight and tender knots in the back of my neck. After all of that he then proceeded to do a foot reflexology for another 30 minutes. How heavenly. Wouldn’t mind bringing him home with me, and the little girl who has been serving me my breakfast – her name is Hoahi. They are such beautiful, calm and serene people, always smiling and everytime you pass them in the grounds they smile and greet you. Their English is very good, until you ask them something – they have obviously been trained to say what they need to say to you but haven’t learnt the art of general conversation. But then I guess they have lots of different nationalities staying here so they have had to learn lots of other languages as well.
Yesterday morning we got off the overnight train from Hanoi and were met and transferred to the spa hotel by bus. We have a new guide here, a lady called Van who will be our guide until we leave Hoi An. After a late breakfast we had time for a bit of rest before we headed out for a tour of the city, The Imperial Citadel and the Pagoda. Unfortunately we missed the daily Budhist prayer recital by the monks but we got to see them preparing for their dinner. What an amazingly serene place, and they all looked so calm and happy. The little novice boys start there as early as seven years old. From there we got on a boat for a trip down the Perfume River as the sun was going down. The city is busy preparing for Budha’s birthday in four days time and there were seven huge water lilies floating in the river, which we saw later all lit up, but unfortunately weren’t able to take a photo of them lit. The usual sellers were on board the boat and I bought a pair of baggy black pants for $8. Everything is so cheap, I should have brought an empty suitcase and a bigger wallet!!
I am starting to feel much better, although being very gentle on my tummy so I didn’t eat too much of the meal at dinner time. They bring out the hugest meals – mine was a very thick creamy vegetable soup which would have been enough for me without anything else, so I only ate a tiny bit of it. My main course was chicken with buttered vegetable sticks and rice. It was very delicious but I only ate a tiny bit of it, and my poor waitress and waiter were so concerned that I didn’t like it or it wasn’t good enough and it was really hard explaining that I only wanted a tiny portion. Dessert was a tapioca and banana pudding which was very yummy. Again I washed it all down with the local beer, which is very good.
I had intended staying up to listen to the pianist playing in the bar from 8.30pm to 10pm but again I was absolutely shattered. This heat is very draining, and so I came back to the cool of my room and did a bit of my blog, but my eyes were closing, so I climbed into the huge big bed and again, as soon as my head hit the pillow I was asleep and didn’t wake until 6.00am.
But the good news is – today I feel absolutely great. Back to normal. Most of the girls have had a touch of the belly ache – I was lucky no cramps.
Today we – woops I’ve just noticed that I have already told you what we did today – but because I have had such a problem with this wee computer, I am not even going to try and cut and paste in case I loose it all. At the moment, touch wood, it is working, it is staying compatible and I will continue for as long as I can without trying anything fancy.
It is 4.43 pm, and we are having another thunder storm. It is raining quite heavily and we are due to meet at 5.30pm to go on the shuttle bus to the market and then out for dinner. At least it might cool down a bit now.
And now that I have managed to type up these blog pages, Blogger is down. I can get into my gmail and xtra to get the news, but Blogger are doing maintenance, so hopefully I can post these pages tonight when I get home.
Hard to believe that the first week is over already. The time has gone so fast.
Catch you all later.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Halong Bay
Up early and on the road to Halong Bay. Along the way Nam gave us a commentary on what was around us and a quick lesson on the Vietnamese language. Land mass 333,000 sq mile – 90 million people and only 3.5 RTA deaths per day for the whole country. Wage range for factory workders $US 150 to $1000 depending on the job they do.
We had a shopping/coffee/happyhouse stop half-way to Halong at a huge centre selling goods made by disabled people. Absolutely beautiful stuff – intricate tapestries made by deaf-mute people, amazing silks, sewing which you could have done in three hours, jewellery, ceramics, etc etc. We only had a 20 minute stopover so I had to make a very quick decision as to which silk print to buy. Didn’t have time to try on the jewellery, there was some lovely green (and I found out later that it was Vietnamese Jade) or black Vietnamese Pearls.
We arrived at Halong Bay around midaday and got on board a tender to be transported to our junk. Wow, luxury with a Capital L. I got a room on my own, as did Kathy and Dianne as we had exclusive use of the junk. Time to freshen up and then upstairs for lunch. Beautiful lunch for the seafood eaters, and Kathy and I had 2 little fried sausages for starters, then chicken kebab, then some beef and the last dish was pork. A bit much meat in one sitting really. It was all fried or grilled and quite rich and after me not eating anything much for the last 4-5 months it sat a bit heavy in my tummy.
After lunch we boarded the tender and we were taken ashore to visit the caves. Bit of a walk and a climb here – about 1000 steps, thankfully not all of the up, but a bit of a workout all the same. I thought my calf muscles might suffer after this but amazingly not.
The caves were pretty amazing and after that there was a visit to the grotto – under a tunnel in the rocks to enter this fully enclosed grotto. It was here we were supposed to see the monkeys but they were hiding, probably too hot for them as well. A tiny wee girl was rowing the 12 of us in the boat – she gave me a turn t rowing. Certainly not as easy as she made it look, that’s for sure.
Back on board and time for a shower and sit on the deck for pre-dinner cocktails and watch the sunset. Seems that we are doing a lot of eating on this trip. And again the seafood dinner was great, but our non-seafood version was again a course each of chicken, pork, beef.
We had the opportunity have our nails done by an insistent young lady, who also had jewellery and a few prints and other souvenirs for sale. I bought a lovely set of black/blue pearl drop earings.
About 2 in the morning the effects of all that meat hit me and for the next 24 hours I was not at all well. So I missed the sunrise, and the trip to the beach for a swim and a trip to another cave. Just lay in my cabin sipping cold lemonade to keep hydrated.
We left the Junk at midday after everyone else had brunch and made our way back to Hanoi, with me sleeping in the back of the bus, stopping along the way at a pineapple farm and again at the complex we had stopped at yesterday. I made a very hasty trip to the ‘happy house’ and then bought a cup of Lipton Tea and a packet of round wine biscuits. All I felt like really was some vegemite toast or marmite soup, but this was the closest I could get to something simple to put into my now very empty tummy.
We made it back to Hanoi just as a thunder storm arrived and the heavens just opened up and it poured, so we missed out on the last couple of hours wandering and instead headed up to the restaurant at the top of a tall building where we hung out over a cup of tea (and the others mostly ate ice-cream) for as long as we could.
It was then on to the train station to pick up our dinner boxes (yuk more food) and board the train for our trip to Hue. We were in four berth cabins, and as soon as we were aboard I curled up on my bunk and slept. Everyone else was comfortable – the air conditioning was working, but I was freezing cold, so one of the nurses on board, worried that I might be running a fever gave me a couple of Panadol. Up and down several times during the night, but I did manage to get a lot of sleep and by morning I was feeling a hell of a lot better. Certainly not wanting anything to eat yet, but at least feeling better. 24 hours wasted dam it!!!
We had a shopping/coffee/happyhouse stop half-way to Halong at a huge centre selling goods made by disabled people. Absolutely beautiful stuff – intricate tapestries made by deaf-mute people, amazing silks, sewing which you could have done in three hours, jewellery, ceramics, etc etc. We only had a 20 minute stopover so I had to make a very quick decision as to which silk print to buy. Didn’t have time to try on the jewellery, there was some lovely green (and I found out later that it was Vietnamese Jade) or black Vietnamese Pearls.
We arrived at Halong Bay around midaday and got on board a tender to be transported to our junk. Wow, luxury with a Capital L. I got a room on my own, as did Kathy and Dianne as we had exclusive use of the junk. Time to freshen up and then upstairs for lunch. Beautiful lunch for the seafood eaters, and Kathy and I had 2 little fried sausages for starters, then chicken kebab, then some beef and the last dish was pork. A bit much meat in one sitting really. It was all fried or grilled and quite rich and after me not eating anything much for the last 4-5 months it sat a bit heavy in my tummy.
After lunch we boarded the tender and we were taken ashore to visit the caves. Bit of a walk and a climb here – about 1000 steps, thankfully not all of the up, but a bit of a workout all the same. I thought my calf muscles might suffer after this but amazingly not.
The caves were pretty amazing and after that there was a visit to the grotto – under a tunnel in the rocks to enter this fully enclosed grotto. It was here we were supposed to see the monkeys but they were hiding, probably too hot for them as well. A tiny wee girl was rowing the 12 of us in the boat – she gave me a turn t rowing. Certainly not as easy as she made it look, that’s for sure.
Back on board and time for a shower and sit on the deck for pre-dinner cocktails and watch the sunset. Seems that we are doing a lot of eating on this trip. And again the seafood dinner was great, but our non-seafood version was again a course each of chicken, pork, beef.
We had the opportunity have our nails done by an insistent young lady, who also had jewellery and a few prints and other souvenirs for sale. I bought a lovely set of black/blue pearl drop earings.
About 2 in the morning the effects of all that meat hit me and for the next 24 hours I was not at all well. So I missed the sunrise, and the trip to the beach for a swim and a trip to another cave. Just lay in my cabin sipping cold lemonade to keep hydrated.
We left the Junk at midday after everyone else had brunch and made our way back to Hanoi, with me sleeping in the back of the bus, stopping along the way at a pineapple farm and again at the complex we had stopped at yesterday. I made a very hasty trip to the ‘happy house’ and then bought a cup of Lipton Tea and a packet of round wine biscuits. All I felt like really was some vegemite toast or marmite soup, but this was the closest I could get to something simple to put into my now very empty tummy.
We made it back to Hanoi just as a thunder storm arrived and the heavens just opened up and it poured, so we missed out on the last couple of hours wandering and instead headed up to the restaurant at the top of a tall building where we hung out over a cup of tea (and the others mostly ate ice-cream) for as long as we could.
It was then on to the train station to pick up our dinner boxes (yuk more food) and board the train for our trip to Hue. We were in four berth cabins, and as soon as we were aboard I curled up on my bunk and slept. Everyone else was comfortable – the air conditioning was working, but I was freezing cold, so one of the nurses on board, worried that I might be running a fever gave me a couple of Panadol. Up and down several times during the night, but I did manage to get a lot of sleep and by morning I was feeling a hell of a lot better. Certainly not wanting anything to eat yet, but at least feeling better. 24 hours wasted dam it!!!
Hanoi
It is now Friday afternoon - I started writing this on Sunday (Mother's Day), got half a page written and the computer locked up. Very frustrating. So already I am a bit over technology - my phone battery was flat when I got off the plane in Kuala Lumpur and although at the airport for three hours, I couldn't find anywhere to re-charge it - of course i had packed the conversion plug in my big luggage. It just meant that I couldn't take any photos when I arrived at Hanoi and on the bus ride into town. You know - record the first impressions kind of stuff.
The flight over was good, long and cramped, and quite bumpy at times, but certainly much better than i expected with the weather patterns over Auckland last week. The flight left pretty much on time - 12.05am and at 1.30am we were eating dinner. Seemed a bit strange to be eating at the time, but a nice meal all the same. I managed to get a little sleep but some of the ladies slept all the way, others stayed awake.
A very tired looking bunch of women stepped out of the plane at Hanoi Airport to a temperature of about 35 degrees. We were met by our local tour guide Nam, and we exchanged our money at the money machine. I got out $4,000,000 Dong. Yes, that's right four million dong. All in 100,000 D notes. Its going to take a day or two to get used to this currency. I had no idea at the time how much that was, but working out the exchange rate a little later on it was about $230 NZ. It was then that I learned that there was no need to exchange my money at home and put $US on my travel card, I should have just loaded $NZ and saved myself the exchange fee, as all the money i withdraw on the card here is Dong. And what i should have done was brought American cash. But there you go - you always learn these things later. All part of the learning curve, all part of the travel experience. The locals always quote the price in US dollars and you have to actually ask them the price in Dong.
Nam drove us to our Hotel - a ride of about 45 minutes. What a busy city . 4 million people, 3 million motor cycles and I am sure that every single one of them is on the road at the same time. The traffic is unbelievable and somehow it just all manages to mingle and merge at the cross roads - people, scooters (carrying anything from trays of eggs to 4 people, to big bales of stuff??!! - cars, trucks and buses. How it happens is amazing and later that night we had a lesson on how to cross the road. Phew what an experience that was. And later in the week we went on a cyclo ride around the lake and city centre and we were in the middle of all that merging traffic. What a hair-raising experience that was. However, Nam told us that the road toll for the whole of the country was 3.5 deaths per day. Not bad for all that traffic and all those people.
We arrived at our hotel, had time for a bit of a rest and a refreshing shower, we met for a Team Briefing. Kylee filled us in on some of the details of what was happening over the next three days . Nam then arrived to take us on a walking tour of the Old Quarter. What an amazing place - shops and buildings are only 3.5 metres wide. There are people everywhere, scooters zooming around the place. Vendors wandering around carrying their wares in those baskets that they carry over their shoulders. You took your life in your hands when you tried to cross the road, but the secret was – not to stop or run or reverse and just to mince your way to the other side and the traffic – that is scooters, cars, bikes, buses and trucks – will all drive around you. After trying it out on the back streets of the Old Quarter, he put us to the test on the main big intersection. Surprisingly, we all made it to the other side. And Nam assured us he hasn’t lost a tourist yet.
After our walk it was time for dinner and we were introduced to Vietnamese food at the restaurant directly across the hall way from our hotel. I had chicken with lemon grass which was really rather delicious. I enjoyed a local beer with my meal, some of the other ladies drank wine, while others enjoyed a cocktail. After the meal my was were closing on me, I was totally whacked, so my room mate Dianne and I headed across the road to our beds. We chatted for a while but Dianne soon realised she was talking to herself as my eyes had closed pretty much as soon as my head hit the pillow.
Up early for breakfast as we had to be on the bus by 8am. Breakfast is very interesting – on offer lots of fresh fruit, rice porridge, bacon, omelettes and little sausages, grilled tomatoes, a variety of Vietnamese food like cabbage and seafood and then the highlight – Kylee calls it Breakfast Dessert – pastries, croissants and little cakes and crème caramel or crème brulee. For breakfast – I know very decadent, but the Italians do it too, so it was very easy for me to adopt the habit.
Nam waited until we were all assembled in the hotel foyer before calling up the bus driver to come down our very narrow street. If he had to wait for stragglers he would have created a huge traffic jam.
The temperature was already around 35 degrees and our first stop for the day was at the Mausoleum, where we had to line up in double file to enter the grounds and then the building. Thousands of people every day come to pay their respect to Ho Chi Minh. From there we wandered around the place where he lived, past the presidential palace and his humble home. Hanoi is very Ho Chi Minh loyal and our guide was very knowledgeable about the life of “Uncle Ho” Apparently we will gte a very different view of the man in the south of Viet Nam.
The Museum of Ethnology was our next stop and this was fascinating with displays from all the different tribal people of Viet Nam. An a couple of added bonuses here, the first we came across a bridal couple having their wedding photos taken on the stairs. We learnt later from Nam that they have their photos taken 2-4 weeks before the wedding – in a different rehearsal wedding dress. This particular brides dress looked as if it was hired – it was well worn, and didn’t fit particularly well and her strapless bra cups were showing above her dress and the back was tacked close with long black tacking stitches. What a strange custom to have photos of a dress which isn’t really the wedding dress.
We visited the “Hanoi Hilton” the remains of the prison established by the French and then used by the Vietnamese to house the American prisoners during the American War. What a horrible place, a very stark reminder of how cruel humans are to each other.
A walk around the lake was canned as everyone was feeling so tired – the heat was certainly getting to us all.
Dinner was amazing – Kylee walked us to a popular place for a steam boat meal in the Old Quarter. One end of the table had a seafood one, while our table had beef. It was a great experience, tasty food, messy but loads of fun. Then came the walk home. We were going to stop for a dessert on the way, but a few spits of rain prompted us to walk briskly home, however the rain didn’t eventuate.
On Monday I was awake at the crack of dawn – my body clock hasn’t clicked in yet – and Dianne and I went down for breakfast. This morning I tried the rice porridge (which was quite bland) and sweetened it up with caramel yoghurt which made it extremely tasty. However, the wait staff kept asking me if everything was alright – they apparently add a whole lot of strange dried ingredients to their porridge, but because I couldn’t recognise them, I didn’t try them.
We met in the foyer at 9am and Kylee led us out on the first of our shopping expeditions. She pointed everyone in the directions they needed to go for their particular needs – some wanting camera stuff, others wanting a watch, some silks, and then those like Kathy and Dianne and I who were happy staying with Kylee and just seeing what was there.
I got spotted almost immediately by a little guy who kept pointing or poking at my shoes. I had on my faithful old blue walking shoes which I wore all round Italy. A little bit of the sole was coming away at the toes, and he wanted to repair them – Super Glue madam, very strong, very cheap. I tried to ignore him, and finally he gave up, but round each corner another one of them would latch on to me, until finally I gave in to a young man aged 28, married with a baby, who said he would fix my shoe for 50,000 Dong. So he sat me down on a little stool, and gave me some little sandals to wear while he set about fixing my blessed shoe. He glued the front and then proceeded to resole the heel with a bit of old car tyre, he cleaned them with a toothbrush and suddenly the price had escalated from 50,000 to 350,000. I gave him 250,000 because I hadn’t asked for the sole, but he followed me for two blocks and finally I gave in and gave him the other 100,000. After all the whole job cost less than $NZ20 and it will be another tale to add to my shoes, and hopefully they will last for another 100,000 kilometres.
We had met some other tourists at breakfast time who had suggested we buy silk sleeping bag liners for the train trip in a couple of days as the bedding might be dodgy, so I bought one of those, a fan to keep cool and that was pretty much it for my shopping. Most of the stuff is too small, the Vietnamese people are so tiny.
Kylee introduced us four girls to one of her favourite restaurants the Tangerine Garden, which is French food. I had a marinated raw beef in a coconut with diced coconut and chilli. It was delicious. I know it sounded a bit dodgy, but the calibre of the restaurant made me feel comfortable about ordering it and then for dessert I had a crème puff filled with cream and mango. Dinner tonight was at a huge food hall type place where we shared lots of different dishes – beef, chicken, pork and the others had lots of seafood. It was all very tasty and we are getting the opportunity to try lots of different foods and styles.
Our afternoon was spent walking with Nam through the Old Quarter , visiting a Long House on the way to the water puppet show. That was amazing. The music was performed by very young looking musicians who sat along side the water and they seemed to really enjoy the performance themselves. It would have been nice to have had a bit of a commentary about what was happening – there was only one little bit that we recognised from one of the stories Nam told us earlier about the carp turning into a dragon. But it was very clever, and of course the best part – the theatre was air conditioned, so for an hour we were out of the terrible heat.
Then came the cyclo ride – we sat in the front with a peddlar behind us and we were transported around the city and lake. Through the midst of all those cars, buses and motor bikes. At one point the traffic was stopped, there were sirens and dozens of police cars, police on motor bikes and then the official cars – the Australian Prime Minister was in town. For a few minutes the city came to a complete standstill. We had come across that earlier this morning – a whole street was closed off and we noticed that there was somebody of importance obviously shopping in one of the more up-market silk shops, but there had not been any identifying flags on the car at that stage.
And so – that was Hanoi – a bustling, busy, overcrowded city with millions of cars, and bikes and people all either scurrying around the place, or pestering the tourists to buy hats or fans, or postcards or an amazing array of the most unrecognisable foodstuffs, or the others just squatting in front of their shops hoping that we might stop and buy something. How they ever make a living is quite amazing. They just squat on the pavement between the motor bikes and their wares, and cook their meals, or prepare food – cut up chickens or ducks, chop up pineapples, or boil noodles. It is absolutely fascinating.
So I will leave you all here and catch up on the Halong Bay bit next.
The flight over was good, long and cramped, and quite bumpy at times, but certainly much better than i expected with the weather patterns over Auckland last week. The flight left pretty much on time - 12.05am and at 1.30am we were eating dinner. Seemed a bit strange to be eating at the time, but a nice meal all the same. I managed to get a little sleep but some of the ladies slept all the way, others stayed awake.
A very tired looking bunch of women stepped out of the plane at Hanoi Airport to a temperature of about 35 degrees. We were met by our local tour guide Nam, and we exchanged our money at the money machine. I got out $4,000,000 Dong. Yes, that's right four million dong. All in 100,000 D notes. Its going to take a day or two to get used to this currency. I had no idea at the time how much that was, but working out the exchange rate a little later on it was about $230 NZ. It was then that I learned that there was no need to exchange my money at home and put $US on my travel card, I should have just loaded $NZ and saved myself the exchange fee, as all the money i withdraw on the card here is Dong. And what i should have done was brought American cash. But there you go - you always learn these things later. All part of the learning curve, all part of the travel experience. The locals always quote the price in US dollars and you have to actually ask them the price in Dong.
Nam drove us to our Hotel - a ride of about 45 minutes. What a busy city . 4 million people, 3 million motor cycles and I am sure that every single one of them is on the road at the same time. The traffic is unbelievable and somehow it just all manages to mingle and merge at the cross roads - people, scooters (carrying anything from trays of eggs to 4 people, to big bales of stuff??!! - cars, trucks and buses. How it happens is amazing and later that night we had a lesson on how to cross the road. Phew what an experience that was. And later in the week we went on a cyclo ride around the lake and city centre and we were in the middle of all that merging traffic. What a hair-raising experience that was. However, Nam told us that the road toll for the whole of the country was 3.5 deaths per day. Not bad for all that traffic and all those people.
We arrived at our hotel, had time for a bit of a rest and a refreshing shower, we met for a Team Briefing. Kylee filled us in on some of the details of what was happening over the next three days . Nam then arrived to take us on a walking tour of the Old Quarter. What an amazing place - shops and buildings are only 3.5 metres wide. There are people everywhere, scooters zooming around the place. Vendors wandering around carrying their wares in those baskets that they carry over their shoulders. You took your life in your hands when you tried to cross the road, but the secret was – not to stop or run or reverse and just to mince your way to the other side and the traffic – that is scooters, cars, bikes, buses and trucks – will all drive around you. After trying it out on the back streets of the Old Quarter, he put us to the test on the main big intersection. Surprisingly, we all made it to the other side. And Nam assured us he hasn’t lost a tourist yet.
After our walk it was time for dinner and we were introduced to Vietnamese food at the restaurant directly across the hall way from our hotel. I had chicken with lemon grass which was really rather delicious. I enjoyed a local beer with my meal, some of the other ladies drank wine, while others enjoyed a cocktail. After the meal my was were closing on me, I was totally whacked, so my room mate Dianne and I headed across the road to our beds. We chatted for a while but Dianne soon realised she was talking to herself as my eyes had closed pretty much as soon as my head hit the pillow.
Up early for breakfast as we had to be on the bus by 8am. Breakfast is very interesting – on offer lots of fresh fruit, rice porridge, bacon, omelettes and little sausages, grilled tomatoes, a variety of Vietnamese food like cabbage and seafood and then the highlight – Kylee calls it Breakfast Dessert – pastries, croissants and little cakes and crème caramel or crème brulee. For breakfast – I know very decadent, but the Italians do it too, so it was very easy for me to adopt the habit.
Nam waited until we were all assembled in the hotel foyer before calling up the bus driver to come down our very narrow street. If he had to wait for stragglers he would have created a huge traffic jam.
The temperature was already around 35 degrees and our first stop for the day was at the Mausoleum, where we had to line up in double file to enter the grounds and then the building. Thousands of people every day come to pay their respect to Ho Chi Minh. From there we wandered around the place where he lived, past the presidential palace and his humble home. Hanoi is very Ho Chi Minh loyal and our guide was very knowledgeable about the life of “Uncle Ho” Apparently we will gte a very different view of the man in the south of Viet Nam.
The Museum of Ethnology was our next stop and this was fascinating with displays from all the different tribal people of Viet Nam. An a couple of added bonuses here, the first we came across a bridal couple having their wedding photos taken on the stairs. We learnt later from Nam that they have their photos taken 2-4 weeks before the wedding – in a different rehearsal wedding dress. This particular brides dress looked as if it was hired – it was well worn, and didn’t fit particularly well and her strapless bra cups were showing above her dress and the back was tacked close with long black tacking stitches. What a strange custom to have photos of a dress which isn’t really the wedding dress.
We visited the “Hanoi Hilton” the remains of the prison established by the French and then used by the Vietnamese to house the American prisoners during the American War. What a horrible place, a very stark reminder of how cruel humans are to each other.
A walk around the lake was canned as everyone was feeling so tired – the heat was certainly getting to us all.
Dinner was amazing – Kylee walked us to a popular place for a steam boat meal in the Old Quarter. One end of the table had a seafood one, while our table had beef. It was a great experience, tasty food, messy but loads of fun. Then came the walk home. We were going to stop for a dessert on the way, but a few spits of rain prompted us to walk briskly home, however the rain didn’t eventuate.
On Monday I was awake at the crack of dawn – my body clock hasn’t clicked in yet – and Dianne and I went down for breakfast. This morning I tried the rice porridge (which was quite bland) and sweetened it up with caramel yoghurt which made it extremely tasty. However, the wait staff kept asking me if everything was alright – they apparently add a whole lot of strange dried ingredients to their porridge, but because I couldn’t recognise them, I didn’t try them.
We met in the foyer at 9am and Kylee led us out on the first of our shopping expeditions. She pointed everyone in the directions they needed to go for their particular needs – some wanting camera stuff, others wanting a watch, some silks, and then those like Kathy and Dianne and I who were happy staying with Kylee and just seeing what was there.
I got spotted almost immediately by a little guy who kept pointing or poking at my shoes. I had on my faithful old blue walking shoes which I wore all round Italy. A little bit of the sole was coming away at the toes, and he wanted to repair them – Super Glue madam, very strong, very cheap. I tried to ignore him, and finally he gave up, but round each corner another one of them would latch on to me, until finally I gave in to a young man aged 28, married with a baby, who said he would fix my shoe for 50,000 Dong. So he sat me down on a little stool, and gave me some little sandals to wear while he set about fixing my blessed shoe. He glued the front and then proceeded to resole the heel with a bit of old car tyre, he cleaned them with a toothbrush and suddenly the price had escalated from 50,000 to 350,000. I gave him 250,000 because I hadn’t asked for the sole, but he followed me for two blocks and finally I gave in and gave him the other 100,000. After all the whole job cost less than $NZ20 and it will be another tale to add to my shoes, and hopefully they will last for another 100,000 kilometres.
We had met some other tourists at breakfast time who had suggested we buy silk sleeping bag liners for the train trip in a couple of days as the bedding might be dodgy, so I bought one of those, a fan to keep cool and that was pretty much it for my shopping. Most of the stuff is too small, the Vietnamese people are so tiny.
Kylee introduced us four girls to one of her favourite restaurants the Tangerine Garden, which is French food. I had a marinated raw beef in a coconut with diced coconut and chilli. It was delicious. I know it sounded a bit dodgy, but the calibre of the restaurant made me feel comfortable about ordering it and then for dessert I had a crème puff filled with cream and mango. Dinner tonight was at a huge food hall type place where we shared lots of different dishes – beef, chicken, pork and the others had lots of seafood. It was all very tasty and we are getting the opportunity to try lots of different foods and styles.
Our afternoon was spent walking with Nam through the Old Quarter , visiting a Long House on the way to the water puppet show. That was amazing. The music was performed by very young looking musicians who sat along side the water and they seemed to really enjoy the performance themselves. It would have been nice to have had a bit of a commentary about what was happening – there was only one little bit that we recognised from one of the stories Nam told us earlier about the carp turning into a dragon. But it was very clever, and of course the best part – the theatre was air conditioned, so for an hour we were out of the terrible heat.
Then came the cyclo ride – we sat in the front with a peddlar behind us and we were transported around the city and lake. Through the midst of all those cars, buses and motor bikes. At one point the traffic was stopped, there were sirens and dozens of police cars, police on motor bikes and then the official cars – the Australian Prime Minister was in town. For a few minutes the city came to a complete standstill. We had come across that earlier this morning – a whole street was closed off and we noticed that there was somebody of importance obviously shopping in one of the more up-market silk shops, but there had not been any identifying flags on the car at that stage.
And so – that was Hanoi – a bustling, busy, overcrowded city with millions of cars, and bikes and people all either scurrying around the place, or pestering the tourists to buy hats or fans, or postcards or an amazing array of the most unrecognisable foodstuffs, or the others just squatting in front of their shops hoping that we might stop and buy something. How they ever make a living is quite amazing. They just squat on the pavement between the motor bikes and their wares, and cook their meals, or prepare food – cut up chickens or ducks, chop up pineapples, or boil noodles. It is absolutely fascinating.
So I will leave you all here and catch up on the Halong Bay bit next.
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