Vietnam - From Saigon to Hanoi

Hey guys, sorry for this way long over due Blog post. But with all the chilling we did on Jungle Beach and then with all the rushing we did after we left there, we haven't really had much of a chance to sit down and work on the Blog. Unlike at the moment, all I have is time so I've decided to just do an entire post to cover the 6 weeks we spent in Vietnam. And as you all know Richie can rant on at the best of times so I'll warn you all from the beginning......

!!WARNING EXTRA LONG POST!!

So on with the stories! When we left Cambodia our visas were overdue by 4 days or so. We had heard that you get charged $5 for each day you stay over your departure date. We also heard so many over exaggerated stories concerning the aggression of the Vietnamese people towards westerners and so were expecting to get some hassle at the border but to our surprise and relief, not only did we get no hassle but we weren't even charged any extra cash. Just a smile and a stamp and back on the bus with us! Happy days!

First place we went to was Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), formerly known as Saigon. We were expecting just another big South East Asian city, same as Phnom Penh or Bangkok. While the similarities are there, it is very different for a number of reasons. First thing to mention is that the stories we had heard about the country being amazing but the people being somewhat cold or harsh, for us at least, just aren't true! We had incidents with some locals in Vietnam where they were rude, but no more or less than we had with any of the other nationalities we've met on our travels.

The Vietnamese, all smiles....

In fact we had more friendly encounters with locals in Vietnam than anywhere else in Asia. The Vietnamese are a very proud people and as a result they don't lower themselves to pestering you so much in the street, as we encountered in other places. They take no for an answer, which is a more amazing thing that most of us give it credit for. They open themselves up to conversation about anything, especially if you show them respect and even more so if the Bia Hoi is flowing freely.

Bia Hoi being the local brew beer in Vietnam that all visitors should seek out due to two factors. First the best way to meet locals is to hang out where they do and secondly, on our first night in HCMC we bought two rum and cokes in a backpacker bar and they charged us 144,000 Vietnamese Dong, which is about 5 Euro. The next night we were in a Bia Hoi bar and our bill at the end of a very long night came to a total of 109,000 Dong! 4 Euro for an entire night out ain't bad. The Only thing that flows more freely than Bia Hoi in Vietnam is the Internet. All of Vietnam is online, with WIFI running the length of the country and leaving HCMC streets plagued with cables and wires.

Saigon Online

Another big difference between Vietnam and the rest of South East Asian is its architecture. Unlike the others with their endless Buddhist temples and houses on stilts. Vietnam has Churches, Buddhists temples, Taoist temples, Chinese temples and more (despite the fact that the government is Communist).

Notre Dame Cathedral, Ho Chi Minh City

Xa Loi Pagoda, Ho Chi Minh City

Chinese Fertility Temple, Cho Lon, Ho Chi Minh City

Incense cones hanging from the ceiling, Chinese Temple, Ho Chi Minh City

Also the houses that line the streets are like nothing we'd ever seen. They're all the width of a single room and they just go up and up, almost like a tower of Jenga blocks. Unfortunately for us this results in a lot of hotel rooms being windowless boxes!

Crazy architecture, Ho Chi Minh City

This far we had managed to avoid the "guided tours" and had organised everything ourselves. A guided tour is something we have both agreed to never partake in again. Apart from the feeling of being herded like cattle, there was also our friendly guide who's business card ironically referred to her as Ms. Quiet even though she spent the majority of the time on the bus talking and interrupting quality book time. From trying to get us to sing along with her to telling us at length why she doesn't have a boyfriend (AWKAWRD!) first thing in the morning.

Cao Dai Holy See, Tay Ninh

On the tour we visited the Cao Dai temple in Tay Ninh. Cao Dai is probably the most influential religion for its young age in the world. It has spread across Vietnam and other parts of the world due to its unparallelled open mindedness. Cao Dai combines the religious beliefs of Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. They worship the all seeing eye which resembles the eye within the pyramid on the back of a dollar bill (which is a little strange). They believe all the great religions have merit and also believe in a spirit world that can be contacted for advice. Advice used to hasten the evolution of the soul through reincarnation. All in all a very unique and colorful religion and their most holy temple "The Hold See" is an amazing representation of this.

The All Seeing Eye, Cao Dai Temple, Tay Ninh

Cao Dai ceremony, Tay Ninh

After the Cao Dai temple we went to the Chu Chi Tunnels on our way back to HCMC. This was a place that neither of us enjoyed in the slightest. Like all visitors who visit Vietnam we've had plenty of conversations with locals and other travelers about the history of this famous country, just like the harrowing history of Cambodia before here. So we both understand the significance of the atrocities committed during war time here.

Richie goes underground, Chu Chi Tunnels

But if like us you're thinking that a place like the Chu Chi tunnels, where countless people lived and died in nightmarish conditions and the massive craters from B-52 bombers still litter the landscape, would be treated with the same level of peaceful respect as somewhere like the Killing Fields in Phnom Penh, you'd be wrong. Instead its like a play ground for tourists, with everyone laughing and smiling as the guide demonstrates how the Vietnamese utilised hunting traps to mutilate the Americans.

Letting off a few rounds, Chu Chi Tunnels

Or when in a mock bunker once used to make traps from abandoned or faulty American grenades and bombs, comes to life as all the mannequins start moving like something out of Itchy and Scratchy Land! We weren't impressed, so we fired some guns and crawled through the tunnels and went home to find a local to drink with and give out about it to.

Sweating it up underground, Chu Chi Tunnels

Another lasting impression concerning Vietnam's past that most people take away with them from HCMC is a visit to the "War Remnants Museum". Outside the museum random vehicles and artillery from the war, mostly American, are scattered about the place. Inside they have an exhibit that stretches over two floors. They purposely start at the end with the most shocking details of the war including the horrors of agent orange and napalm etc. Upstairs is more dedicated to the political side of the conflict. The whole museum obviously stinks of Vietnamese propaganda, but then hey, they won so the winners should get to write history, no?

Photo exhibition, War Remnants Museum, Ho Chi Minh City

I used to think this was the case before seeing places like this. Yes the museum is full of propaganda but its also full of terrible facts that were missing from the western propaganda that we were spoon fed in the west. The unfortunate conclusion this left us with is that win or lose, no one tells the truth. The best we can ever hope for with these kind of things to read both sides of a lie and make up your own conclusion of the truth.

Weapons on display, War Remnants Museum, Ho Chi Minh City

After all the culture and war and politics, we needed a break so on our last day in HCMC we went to the Damsen water park!! We had arranged to meet up with some other backpackers there for the day. We got some hilarious reactions off the hordes of children when they saw us bounding through the park and when, under our friend Squeaks advice, growled at them when they tried to skip us in the queue for rides.

Still everyday, no matter how silly you spend it, has a lesson to teach. The lesson we learnt at the water park is that maybe we're too big for water parks. Kids are light as a feather and don't pick up speed in those death trap slides. A 6'4" man however picks up tremendous speed and completely destroys himself on exit. We came home sore and left for Dalat the next day still sore.

Having loads of fun, Dam Sen Waterpark, Ho Chi Minh City

When we were on the bus to Dalat, we first assumed the lack of air conditioning to be down to another example of not getting what you paid for in Asia. But as we ascended the mountains and the temperature began to drop we started to understand the lack of air conditioning. As for anyone who has traveled here before knows that the air conditioning on most buses lacks an off button! So we very happy with its absence as we got to Dalat. When we arrived it was 5 degrees out! For a moment we were really happy, and almost homesick. But such a sudden change in temperature and us walking about in shorts, t-shirts and sandals would result in yours truly becoming bed ridden for a day or two due to catching a cold.

More crazy architecture, Dalat

Apart from enjoying the crazy difference in temperature, Dalat's architecture was again very different, even different from that seen in the rest of Vietnam. Walking through the winding streets and small back alley stair cases that cut through the blocks of buildings leaves you feeling like you're walking through a small mountain town in Switzerland rather than somewhere in South East Asia.

Local market, village just outside Dalat

The main tourist attraction that most people do when visiting Dalat is to go on a tour with one of the so called "Easy Riders", who drive high spec bikes rather than the usual 110cc semi auto scooters seen throughout South East Asia. We were planning on the doing the same, as they do come with good recommendations. But after meeting a couple of them who were a little pushy and reminded us more of just glorified tuk tuk drivers (a menace that Vietnam doesn't suffer from, unlike it's neighbors). With this in mind we discussed our apprehension with an English couple we met on our first night in a deadly little place called the Saigon Nite Bar.

Our tour guide, "Rot", Dalat

Riding our bike through beautiful scenary, Dalat

They agreed completely and not only that, they had a recommendation of an alternative and much more unique bike tour that they themselves had been on just that day. A Vietnamese man by the name of "Rot" worked in a hotel called "The Pink Hotel". As a child Rot had been adopted by his Aunt and Uncle and was the only one in his family sent to university, where he studied tourism and now ran a daily tour that challenged the Easy Riders tourist trap. Unlike the Easy Riders who bring you to all the well known tourist spots as listed in the stupid guide books. Rot simply led us out into the country side, stopping to show us wildlife, real market places (with puppies on sale for dinner), cricket farms, silk farms, coffee plantations, huge waterfalls and then finally back to his family home in the country.

Silk Farm, Dalat

The huge Damri waterfall, Dalat

On the land his family owned they had a coffee plantation and a local indigenous tribe called the "Cil" lived and worked on the land. We were invited into one of their homes to discuss with them their culture and traditions and sample some of their food. Speaking no English or Vietnamese, we all spoke through Rot who spoke both perfectly as well as the Cil tongue as well. Unlike the well made up indigenous people that make a living off tourists, these people were real. The stories they shared, the food they shared (most notable being the dessert made of rice, coconut, mango and cow shit, yummy), the house we all sat around in, the entire experience was real and is likely something we will never forget.

Spending time with a "Cil" family, Dalat

We had a long and beautiful drive back to Dalat, following Rot the whole way. After an easy night we got back onto the road again and headed for the coast, to Nha Trang, and ultimately to Jungle Beach 60Km north...........

Four weeks pass......

As I sat in hammock for maybe the hundred time during our four week stay in Jungle Beach, I stared up at the international space station and pondered that no matter where you are in the world, no one is as far away from home as the people floating up there. But at that moment and like many moments I had enjoyed during my time in Jungle Beach I felt as alone as the people up there. 

At one point during our stay here, there was no more than maybe 8 guests. Over Christmas and New Years that number raised at one point to a total of 57 guests. But the beautiful thing about Jungle Beach is that no matter how many people are there, you can still always find a moment to yourself and feel like there's no one around for miles. I can honestly say we've never been as relaxed in our entire lives as we were while we were at Jungle Beach.

Lazy days, Jungle Beach

But the other thing that makes Jungle Beach such an amazing place to stay is that to counteract the peaceful relaxed vibe it has, every meal is eaten communally. So you effortlessly jump from moments of lonely reflection to colorful conversation over dinner, drinks and bonfires with people from all walks of life.

Syl keeps up with tradition on his Birthday, Jungle Beach

Team Canada, Patrick, Jungle Beach

Team Vietnam, Gai, Jungle Beach

Team Germany, Seppe (smiley guy with the tats), Jungle Beach

Apart from the steady flow of new arrivals there was always Patrick from Canada and Seppe from Germany, who like us were long time guests. Gai the supper energetic vietnamese woman who worked there and brought a smile to everyones face, everyday! And not to forget Syl himself, the charismatic and always on the move Canadian owner of the resort. Just never sit next to him if its anyones birthday and theres a cake at the table, you have been warned!

The life of the fisherman, Jungle Beach

There is things to fill your days with around Jungle Beach if you can manage to get yourself moving. Something which I had great difficulty doing, as my number one goal during our stay there was to get through all 1250 pages of "Shogun" by James Clavell (During which Tammy managed to read about 3 or 4 books). But if you get your rear in gear, there's a village at the end of the beach where the local life bustles and flows every morning.

The locals, Jungle Beach

And then there's the beautiful waterfall which can be reached after a short trek of about 30 minutes. Seppe led us to it when we went and insisted we take the difficult route along the rocks rather than along the trail that ran parallel to the rocks. We just made it to the first waterfall, but the mountains keep going on and on and so does the river. Seppe told us that there is more waterfalls to discover deeper into the jungle.

First teir of the waterfall, Jungle Beach

(Great long exposure shot that Tammy got) Lazer Frisbie at night, Jungle Beach

One thing about our visit to Jungle Beach that anyone reading this probably won't be lucky enough to experience if they ever visit, was that just before we got there one of the dogs (Ugly Mom, I know crazy name for a dog) had a litter of puppies. Who in time had complete run of the place, which only added to the relaxed vibe. Nothing like putting down your book when three puppies come stumbling towards you just begging to be all introduced to the comfort of your hammock. Though my appreciation for Puppy Jungle was nothing in comparison to Tammy and Patrick's who both turned into puppy addicts!

Puppies, Jungle Beach

All the other dogs will still be there no doubt. All the males chained up though unfortunately, due to there appetite for local Vietnamese' ankles. But as a result of their racist attitude toward the locals, the dogs in turn act as a fantastic security alarm.

"Lucky" barking at the locals again, Jungle Beach

"Whitey" takes a nap in the shade, Jungle Beach

"Ugly Mom" takes a break from the puppies, Jungle Beach

Our time in Jungle Beach came to an end over the New Year, where we enjoyed a very peaceful few hours before dinner waiting and watching the arrival of the infamous blue moon. Then with the biggest turn out at the bonfire since we got there and about a dozen bottles of lovely cheap Vietnamese champagne we partied all night like anyone of you would have expected us to.

Telling stories after dinner, Jungle Beach

Taking photos of the Blue Moon, Jungle Beach

New Years night by the fire, Jungle Beach

One last night under the moon in the hammock, Jungle Beach

Soon after the sun set on our time in Jungle Beach. With heavy hearts, lighter wallets and far heavier backpacks than we had remembered we eventually left and headed back to the real world.

The difficulty of such a horrifying experience led to one of the most stressful days of our trip to date. We had to get the taxi driver to go from ATM to ATM taking as much out as possible at each one in order to pay the rest of our bill. We didn't have a bus booked so ended up on the latest one we could find where they tried to push us into the smallest horrible seats at the very back despite there being other seats left and ignoring the fact that our tickets were open seating.

The sheer ignorance of the bus driver and his open physical hostility towards us resulted in me returning the favor and we almost came to blows! We opted for our money back in the end rather than be treated like cattle and just got the bus to Hoi An the next day instead. A far more comfortable sleeper bus actually picked us up at our hotel instead of requiring us to go the bus station. And rather than hit and push us the driver welcomed us aboard with smiles. All around a much better service, except for the poor guy who got the last ticket and ended up sleeping on the floor because they over booked the bus.

Sleeper Bus, Nha Trang to Hoi An

We arrived in Hoi An at about 6am in the morning and wandered around on the wrong side of town looking for a guesthouse. We ended up following some guys on a motorbike through a hectic market place as they led us to their hotel. It wasn't a contender for best place we've stayed but it wasn't the worst either so we just took it. We were slap bang in the middle of the big market area which meant we just had to step outside to be surrounded by the sights, sounds and smells of this quaint and beautiful town.

People of the Market Place, Hoi An

Once the main port of trade for Vietnam somewhere along the line Danang, slightly north of Hoi An, simply replaced it. As Danang grew and grew into the ugly international commercial port city it is today, with its casinos and golf courses, Hoi An simply stood still and probably hasn't changed one bit. It's one of the most well preserved areas we had seen in Vietnam and all of South East Asia for that matter.

Ancient Japanese Covered Bridge, Hoi An

View over the market place, Hoi An

The same can be said for the locals as well, every street you walk down, every corner you turned there was another face that told a thousand stories. Most of them though, especially the quirky boat drivers along the canals are aware of how interesting the funny foreigners find them and have resorted to actually selling smiles for tips. Once I had been caught out with the first time, I made sure to walk the streets armed with my telescopic lens taking shots from unnoticed vantage points! Mwuah Ha Ha, Richie and Tammy 1 - Locals of Hoi An 0!

Faces tell a thousand stories, Hoi An

The traditional Vietnamese of Hoi An included more than just the older generation as I mentioned above, but also the current and the next. Like most places in Vietnam the young locals were happy to sit down and have a drink with you or just be polite to you in the street and the kids always wanted to play with the strange looking white people. All this again just adding to what I mentioned at the beginning of this post, i.e. that the people in Vietnam are beautiful and don't deserve the bad reputation that most people I know who have gone here give them.

Vietnamese bride to be, Hoi An

Cute kid plays hide and seek with us, Hoi An

Apart from all I mentioned already, the majority of people planning on visiting Hoi An will know of its two main attractions before hand, the first of these is the abundance of lanterns made and sold there. During the day Chinese lanterns can be seen hanging outside almost every shop front and house hold. Some are for sale, others are for decoration, but whatever they're there for, they all share one common attribute, they are turned on during the night time. This turns the ancient, crumbling, pastel streets of the Hoi An day into the magical, glowing, multicolored streets of the Hoi An night.

Chinese Lanterns, Hoi An

Post sunset glow, Hoi An

The other famous attraction, arguably its most famous one, is its tailors. The tailors of Hoi An are said to be the finest tailors in all of Vietnam and South East Asia. As a result of this fame every street is packed with them. The sheer amount of competition forces some of them to stand out on the street and shout at you to come and see what they have on offer. On our way to breakfast the first morning, we rejected one such offer, telling her maybe later as right now we were going for breakfast. A half hour later when reappeared on the street with our bellies full, the same woman also reappeared, having followed us and waited the half hour, began to beckon us back down the street to her store!

Richie comtemplates fabrics, Hoi An

This sort of pushiness, unfortunately for this poor woman, only tells me and Tams that this woman is desperate for business, which in South East Asia generally comes down to the fact that what their selling is rubbish in comparison to the rest. So moving on down the street we continued to reject anyone trying to drag us inside and only visited the places where the owners simply smiled and bowed, confident in the fact they didn't need to push us as the quality of their work was enough to get them business. With this ethic in mind, we found a couple of places we liked and Tams got two dresses ($20-25) and a jacket ($30) made, while I got two pairs of trousers ($25), one shirt ($15) and a jacket ($30) made. These new tailored clothes replaced a lot of the now ragged threads in our backpacks.

Tams gets measured, Hoi An

We stayed in Hoi An one day longer than we had planned and toyed with the idea of staying even more, due to loving the place so much. But with so little time left before the 13th of January, when we were due to fly from Hanoi to Bangkok we figured it was better to get moving as we still had pretty much half the length of the country to go. No trains go through Hoi An, so we got a bus to Hue and spent a couple of nights there. Hue used to be the capital of Vietnam up until the end of World War 2, during the Nguyen Dynasty.

Ngo Mon Gate, Imperial City, Hue

Thai Hoa Palace, Imperial City, Hue

The ancient imperial city stood here until in 1968, due to its historical importance and its proximity to the DMZ (De-Mitilarised Zone) between North and South Vietnam, it was invaded and captured by the North Vietnamese Army during the Tet Offensive and held for 25 days. In the name of capitalism the American's proceeded to bomb this ancient beautiful place to its foundations and as a result once you go past the first couple of buildings all that stands before you is a large uneven field where instead of buildings being restored, they're being rebuilt, which just isn't the same.

Feeding the carp, Imperial City, Hue

Hidden away in the south corner of the complex with no signs to direct the crowds, was, for me at least, the most impressive buildings in the citadel. 

The Mieu, a complex of temples where the members of the royal family used to pray, luckily escaped destruction like the rest of the complex and is definitely worth a quiet stroll through. Also there is tonnes of temples and mausoleums from the Nguyen Dynasty in the area around Hue, but with only 2 nights to spend there, we didn't get to see them.

The Mieu, Imperial City, Hue

Leaving Hue for Hanoi we got our fist train since leaving Thailand and man oh man was it sweet. It turned out we had a whole 4 berth cabin to ourselves for the entire 13 hour journey. And having paid the extra bit of cash for soft bunks rather than hard ones, we slept like babies most of the way.

Getting the train, Hue to Hanoi

Arriving in Hanoi with just about a day and a quarter to see the place was a dissappointment. It being the current capital of Vietnam I don't doubt that it has lots to offer. But with no time and shitty weather, we pretty much just spent our time here waiting for our flight. I spent my last night in Vietnam meeting up with my friend Prun who lives there for one last Bia Hoi, while Tams stayed away from the cold, safe in bed in our hotel room.

Back to Thailand the next day, our time in South East Asia wasn't finished just yet. But our time backpacking was pretty much over, as all we had planned for here was to spend time with our friends.