And my final stop in Vietnam was a quick two days in Saigon. I was feeling under a bit of a time crunch, but still wanted to at least get a brief view of Saigon. I flew from Hoi An to Saigon. Walking around the city was fantastic, and it certainly has a distinct character.
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Tag: vietnam
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Saigon, Vietnam
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The Cu Chi Tunnels
What trip to Vietnam would be complete without a trip to visit the famous Cu Chi Tunnels? From Wikipedia:
The tunnels of C? Chi are an immense network of connecting underground tunnels located in the C? Chi district of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam, and are part of a much larger network of tunnels that underlie much of the country. The C? Chi tunnels were the location of several military campaigns during the Vietnam War, and were the Viet Cong’s base of operations for the T?t Offensive in 1968.
The tunnels were used by Viet Cong soldiers as hiding spots during combat, as well as serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches and living quarters for numerous North Vietnamese fighters. The tunnel systems were of great importance to the Viet Cong in their resistance to American forces, and helped achieve ultimate military success.I went with a few friends, and took the standard tour. Luckily, I brought my headlamp – always comes in handy.
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Exploring Hoi An, Vietnam
Finally, I was in the famed city of Hoi An, Vietnam. I had heard of the town from a number of friends, and was excited to be there. Staying at the Sunflower Hotel was great, and gave me a great location to explore. Sunflower’s pool is fantastic!
At night, there are beautiful lanterns placed everywhere, illuminating the town in a soft, colorful light. The lanterns were certainly one of the highlights of Hoi An, and were sold everywhere. Sadly I didn’t buy any for myself – I’m saving that for next time.
Kids also sold a variety of smaller candle lanterns, which could be floated down the river. Beautiful.
On my second day there, my good friend Tran came to visit, and we explored Hoi An’s very crowded beach at sunset. Everybody bunches up on the beach near where vendors are selling food and drink, and it’s a lively party for everyone.
Hoi An has a bunch of very good quality tailoring shops, and I had two shirts made for me for $10/each. A great deal, for great quality shirts.
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Biking from Hue to Hoi An, Vietnam
Next stop after Hue was our final destination of Hoi An, Vietnam. For this last leg, we rented motor scooters, and took to the open road.
Fueling up in the morning before departing town.
Out on the road, the views were beautiful.
For lunch, we stopped at the Langco Bay Banyan Tree Resort – a strangely desolated place which apparently fills up in seconds when package tourists arrive, and then empties completely when they depart. They did have a nice pool, though.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamfan2/9455964448/in/set-72157634959634783Continuing on, we ascended up Hai Van Pass, before descending down the mountains towards Danang, and eventually Hoi An.
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Arriving at the Sunflower Hotel, finally in Hoi An.
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Planting Rice
Hue, Vietnam is surrounded by rice paddies – and after literally months of seeing rice everywhere in SE Asia, I felt like I needed to know more. Through a few connections, I got connected with a woman who worked her rice paddies in a nearby village. I got driven out to her house, and then offered my services in planting rice in her field. We walked a short way out to the field, and planted rice for an hour or two. The work of planting rice was incredibly back breaking, and I now have a newfound respect for the people who work these fields.
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The Hue Imperial City
Next stop in Hue was the Hue Imperial Palace. From UNESCO:
Established as the capital of unified Viet Nam in 1802, Hué was not only the political but also the cultural and religious centre under the Nguyen dynasty until 1945. The Perfume River winds its way through the Capital City, the Imperial City, the Forbidden Purple City and the Inner City, giving this unique feudal capital a setting of great natural beauty.
Arriving at the entrance gate, the giant Vietnamese flag flying is a powerful symbol.
Inside the walls, corridors are elaborately decorated.
Naturally, I felt at home in the Imperial City, and decided to try on a few of my new clothes.
Outside the gates, this chicken stood guard over a busy intersection.
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A Beach Bar in Hue, Vietnam
Hue was beautiful, in part because of the prime relaxation opportunities available – including this nice beach bar on an unnamed, pristine beach just outside of Hue, Vietnam.
To get there, we drove out to a spit of land, and then hiked through a shady bamboo tunnel.
The bar also has a few little cabanas to hang out in. Nobody really hangs out on the open sand – it’s so hot, feet get burnt in a matter of moments. But in the shade, drinks are served, and the cool breeze blows.
Smoothies and fresh caught clams. Yes please.
Down the beach a ways, there are a few fishermen, who sit in the shade under their beached boats during the hot midday sun and repair fishing nets.
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Arrival in Hue, Vietnam
A few days on the road, and finally we were in our first larger town, Hue, Vietnam. We stayed at a local hostel, and upon checking into our dorm rooms, immediately grabbed a few bikes and set off to watch the sunset, again, over the farmland. Hue is a beautiful town, and it took just moments on bikes to ride from the center of town to pristine rice paddies.
Cruising on out of town on our hip bikes. Biking in Vietnam is instantly great.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamfan2/9453403287/in/set-72157634959634757On the outskirts of town, we got to see all sorts of neat propaganda billboards.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamfan2/9456186980/in/set-72157634959634757Soon, rice paddies are everywhere, with sun glinting off the water between perfectly even rows.
And of course, what good is a sunset bikeride without a perfect dinner at the end? Some local flavors at one of the best restaurants of the trip.
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Sunset at the Phong Nha Farmstay
After a day of exploring Paradise Cafe, we rolled on over to the beautiful Phong Nha Farmstay for an evening swim, drink, and sunset. The farmstay is a beautiful hostel located right on the edge of a huge section of farmland. The various buildings that make up the farmstay are clean and nice. Out back, there’s an idilic pool with waterfall, and the rooftop bar even has a tiny tram system for drinks to be ferried up to the roof from the poolside bar. I had a great time there having a drink or two with manager Ben, and viewing the beautiful sunset. Definitely stay there on your next trip!
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Inside Dong Hoi’s Paradise Cave
Driving southward in Vietnam, one of the distinct highlights of the natural landscape is the world-class cave formations. Although our time traveling through the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park was limited, the essential stop at Paradise Cave was incredible.
This gigantic cave was only discovered in 2005, and tourists have only been allowed to enter since 2010. So, it’s not a particularly old attraction, but in the years that it’s been open to tourism, supporting infrastructure has been build up to an extreme. From Wikipedia:
Thiên ???ng Cave (Paradise Cave) is a cave in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, UNESCO’s World Heritage Site, 60 km northwest of ??ng H?i city. Thiên ???ng Cave is located on an elevation of 200 meters above the sea level, near the west branch of Ho Chi Minh Highway, in Son Trach Commune, Bo Trach District, Quang Binh Province, Vietnam. The cave was discovered by a local man in 2005 and 5 first km of this cave was explored by explorers from British Cave Research Association in 2005, the whole 31 km was explored and publicly announced by the British cave explorers. This cave is 31 km long, longer than Phong Nha Cave which had been considered the longest cave in this national park. The height can reach to 100 m and 150 wide. The limestone formation is also more spectacular than that of Phong Nha Cave. The British cave explorers was impressed by the beautiful and spectacular stalactites and stalagmites inside this cave and they named it Thiên ???ng Cave (Paradise Cave).[1][2] In 2012, a new scorpion species Vietbocap thienduongensis was found here.
On our way to Paradise Cave, we stopped at a very very tasty local restaurant – particularly, the banana flower salad was amazing.
Driving into Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park was beautiful, with limestone cliffs jutting out of the jungle everywhere.
Our drive south into the national park, we drove along the long, winding concrete road that runs the length of the park. For the most part, the road is well maintained, and very windy – lots of sharp turns, and ups and downs through the mountains. However, at one point near the end of our drive, we hit a strange section. As we were winding around the last corner, all of a sudden, the road took a turn, and suddenly we were on an extremely flat, straight, wide, and smooth portion of road. It looked strangely like a runway, including an a few unmarked roads leading off the straight section into another patch of concrete next to a few buildings next to it – much like an apron. Strange. Later, I learned that what we were driving on was in fact a north vietnamese secret runway, used during the war. It’s now been turned into part of the main road, but it’s obviously still in a condition that would allow it to be used again with a bit of rehab. Suspicious.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamfan2/9445620851/in/set-72157634951144212The Paradise Cave entrance area is way overbuilt, and heavily touristed. After driving hours into the jungle, we had all expected to be exploring a dark, peaceful, empty cave. But what we found was the exact opposite – hoards of tour bus package tourists had descended on the site, and were eating crappy icecream bars as golf carts drove them to the stairs leading to the entrance to the cafe.
Inside the cave, it was very built for tourism – a grand staircase led down to a perfect wooden walkway, allowing almost everybody to have a great stroll through the cave. Although overdone, the walkway and LED lighting everywhere gave everybody an excellent experience in the cave – as far as overdone tourist traps go, this was actually a fairly well executed one.
The inside of the cave is truly enormous – and it’s not just a bare rock cave. Stalactites drive from every bit of the cieling, and strange formations crop up everywhere. Everything is illuminated by well placed LED lights, and it’s a truly spectacular sight.
After the cave, we drove down the road a bit for a refreshing swim in the river, and then a tasty, fresh cooked lunch in a bamboo cabana next to the water. A great day!
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Going Inside the Vinh Moc Tunnels, Vietnam
On our way down to Hue, we made one brief, but solid stop at the Vinh Moc Tunnels. From Wikipedia:
Vinh Moc (V?nh M?c) is a tunnel complex in Quang Tri, Vietnam. During the Vietnam War it was strategically located on the border of North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The tunnels were built to shelter people from the intense bombing of Son Trung and Son Ha communes in Vinh Linh county of Quang Tri Province in the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone. The American forces believed the villagers of Vinh Moc were supplying food and armaments to the North Vietnamese garrison on the island of Con Co which was in turn hindering the American bombers on their way to bomb Hanoi. The idea was to force the villagers of Vinh Moc to leave the area but as is typical in Vietnam there was nowhere else to go. The villagers initially dug the tunnels to move their village 10 metres underground but the American forces designed bombs that burrowed down 10 metres. Eventually against these odds, the villagers moved the village to a depth of 30 metres. It was constructed in several stages beginning in 1966 and used until early 1972. The complex grew to include wells, kitchens, rooms for each family and spaces for healthcare. Around 60 families lived in the tunnels; as many as 17 children were born inside the tunnels.
Since the area above the tunnels was continuously pummeled by bombs during the war, bomb craters are everywhere – and huge.
Concrete ditches run everywhere, allowing the people living in the tunnels to sneak around on the surface, and fight against enemies on the land.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamfan2/9456183528/in/set-72157634959634759The tunnels sit on a hillside looking over the South China Sea. It’s a beautiful view.
Inside, the tunnels are very very small and cramped – it’s amazing that anybody was able to live in there for as long as they did.
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Biking to the Cave of Prehistoric Man
After departing the beautifully abandoned Cuc Phuong National Park Resort and stopping to see a few monkeys and turtles, we hopped on bikes to complete the next leg of the journey through Cuc Phuong National Park.
There’s a reasonably well maintained concrete road that winds its way through the park – perfect for leisurely biking.
Our main stop during our day of biking was at the Na Mo Cave of Prehistoric Man. From Wikitravel:
The Cave of Prehistoric man is the site of the one of the earliest discoveries of human habitation in Vietnam. Excavated in 1966, the cave revealed human graves, stone axes, pointed bone spears, oyster shell knives, and tools for grinding dating back 7,500 years ago.
Exploring the cave was interesting – it wasn’t particularly difficult to access the entrance – but when we arrived, it was realized that nobody had brought a flashlight or headlamp except for me. I was lucky to have my headlamp with me, but everybody else used the flashes on their smartphones as flashlights – lame, but it worked. In traveling alone through asia, I got to meet all sorts of people – including ones who go caving without a proper light! It was all in good fun, though.
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Monkeys and Turtles at the Cuc Phuong Preservation Center
The next day of our journey southward, we woke up early in the middle of Cuc Phuong National Park, and headed over to the Wildlife Preservation Center. Monkeys and Turtles were the main attractions. However, we also saw a few interesting insects, as well as a spectacular view from the top of the park rangers tower.
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Exploring the Abandoned Ruins of the Cuc Phuong National Park Resort
Deep inside north Vietnam’s Cuc Phuong National Park lies an abandoned resort. From the looks of it, its been lying dormant for a number of years, with the jungle slowly eating away at the once sprawling structures. There’s a conference center, now inhabited by butterflies. There’s an olympic size swimming pool, now turned into a turtle pond.
After spending a few days in Hanoi, and a weird two days in Halong Bay, I joined up with a group of friends, and the 7 of us, plus our van driver, headed down the coast towards Hoi An. Our first stop on our long drive down the coast was the Cuc Phuong National Park – a beautiful park which has within it mysterious limestone caves, animal preserves, and beautiful hiking trails. After a full day of exploring the park, we finally rolled into a once-abandoned building within the resort complex. The building, although it was officially abandoned, had been taken over by a family or two, who ran it as a sort of makeshift guesthouse. Sparse accommodations, with patchy electricity, but livable nonetheless.
During our single night at the “resort”, we took a night hike through the rain to check out a bunch of insects, had a few beers back at the house, and got a good night’s sleep in the jungle.
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Halong Bay, The (Annoyingly) Boozy Way
Halong Bay lies just north of Hanoi, and is one of the absolute must-see excursions for anyone visiting Hanoi. And for good reason – the bay, with it’s towering stone karsts jutting out of the water as far as the eye can see is stunningly beautiful. Marine life abounds, fisherman ply the waters, birds take to the air, and the serene rocks emerging from the water welcome every evening’s golden sunset.
Since I was staying at Hanoi Backpackers Hostel in Hanoi, I made the fateful decision of joining them on their “Castaways” Halong Bay Tour. I thought it was going to be like any normal boat tour – get on the boat, relax with a drink, have the knowledgeable local tour guide explain to you about your surroundings as you serenely navigate the waters.
Instead, what I got was vastly different. Since Halong Backpackers is oriented towards the young 20’s drinking crowd, this was not a tour – it was a full on booze cruise. I should have known, but I didn’t.
For the booze cruize oriented portions of the trip – it was aussie tour guides encouraging everybody to drink heavily, while wearing colorful sombreros and yelling wildly. I participated for all of one single beer, and spent the rest of the time enjoying the view and taking photos.
Halong Bay is indeed extremely beautiful, and seeing the fisherman bring in their nets at sunset was a relaxing and wonderful experience. I loved the natural beauty of Halong Bay, including kayaking through dramatic caves – but next time, I won’t accidentally join the booze cruise.
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Arrival in Vietnam: Hanoi
Finally, I made it to Vietnam. Another country that had always had a bit of a mystical, legendary status for me, for whatever reason. It was good to be there, and I was excited to get exploring the rest of the country. I only spent about 4 days in Hanoi, but the time I did spend there was great.
I arrived from Luang Prabang, Laos on Vietnam Airlines, and met up with a few fellow travellers in the airport. The four of us made our way to the Hanoi Backpackers Hostel, which at the time seemed like a good option. In retrospect, I should have picked anywhere except for this place. Hanoi Backpackers is a relatively nice hostel, however, it’s aimed squarely at the early 20’s, just out of “uni” Aussie, Kiwi, and Brit drinking crowd. The place is filled with these kids, freshly escaped from school and their parents home, and excited to drink together and hang out. Given that I’m a bit older, and was traveling not solely to get drunk with my same group of friends, it wasn’t exactly my scene. But still, it was a relatively clean place, and when my room didn’t have drunken frat boys stumbling around in it, was a nice place to sleep. The one nice feature of this style of Hostel is that when I did want to have a night out to meet people at bars and clubs, there were more than enough options the front desk staff had to suggest.
Also in Hanoi, I had the very good fortune of meeting up with my friend Kyle, who is a fellow photographer. We had a few good rounds of the local brew, Bia Hoi, which costs about USD$0.20/glass, and is drank while sitting on flimsy plastic stools on the sidewalk.
Additionally, in Hanoi, I got to check out a traditional Water Puppet show – certainly interesting.
