Vietnam Part 2

Continuing the tale of my trip through Vietnam...

We flew from Nha Trang to Danang, from one tiny airport to another, on Vietnam airlines - slightly worrying from when we pulled into the airport, but the flight seemed ok, until the landing - one of the worse I've ever experienced. But, we survived and got on our minibus to Hoi An.

We stopped first at Marble Mountain, climbed up for views of the city, and into the tunnels used by the Vietnamese in the war to shoot down planes flying above. We also stopped in a few marble shops, but it was all out of my budget! And besides, I don't think a giant marble statue will fit in my NY apartment (whenever I get one!).

The view from Marble Mountain

Down in a cave

We stayed in Hoi An for 2 nights, a small town of 80,000 people famous for its history and for shopping. The town was declared a UNESCO world heritage site and there are many historic temples, pagodas, and homes to visit. But more striking than the beautiful buildings when you arrive in town are the hundreds of shops. Basically you can buy just about anything in Hoi An, and even better have it made especially for you - dresses, suits, jeans, shoes, boots, belts, jackets, etc. This, of course, proved more tempting than most of the group could handle and almost everyone left with at least something custom made. After you pick what you want and the fabric, they take your measurements and photos of you, then you come back the next day for another fitting. If there are any alterations, they do them the same day. It was great! And cheap. :)

Sugar cane for sale in Hoi An

Monks visiting the famous Japanese covered bridge in Hoi An

Hoi An also has a beautiful beach that I spent a few hours on - rode down to the beach on the back of a motorbike (with a helmet of course), paid $2 for a lounge chair under a bamboo umbrella, and then when I was ready to go back, they called my motorbike driver to take me back to the hotel, for $3 round trip. Not bad. The only downside to the beach was that someone was constantly coming up asking me to buy something - postcards, jewelry, snacks - and didn't like no for an answer.

That evening, we went for a cooking class - made and enjoyed a 5 course meal - and have the recipes to try at home.

On Monday, after too much time ordering custom made clothes, I bought my ticket and toured the historical sites.

That afternoon, our group was picked up on motorbikes for a tour of the countryside. We went through the rice paddies and fields, spotting people out working, water-buffaloes pulling plows, lots of fishing, and small villages.




We then had a boat ride out to a small island where we had a private bbq. Another amazing day, it was great to be out of the city and see more local people and how beautiful the countryside is.

That night we celebrated St Patrick's Day - it was a fun night, no green beer to be found, but I was happy with the special of 2 beers for $1!

Wednesday morning we took a dragon boat down the river to visit the Thein Mu pagoda. The dragon boat was nothing like the boats we were in for a work function in London - it was much bigger and I didn't have to paddle! It was a day of sightseeing - after the pagoda, we visited The King's tomb, and after lunch toured the citadel. Lunch was unique though - we had lunch at a Buddhist nunnery, cooked and served by the nuns. It was yet another delicious, massive spread of food, but this time all vegetarian. After lunch, we took an afternoon rest on mats on the floor, making sure to have our feet away from the Buddha - yes, all 10 of us literally laid on the floor of the nunnery. I didn't sleep, but was amused at the concept, so figured I had to lie down!

One of the smaller buildings behind the pagoda

Lunch at the nunnery

The nuns going out

Thursday was another early morning, checkout at 6:15am for a flight to Hanoi - bigger plane this time so it felt safer! We were impressed by the architecture and layout of the city, much more French than Saigon had been. We stopped to take photos at the mausoleum where Ho Chi Minh's body is still being out to be viewed(apparently sent back to Russia for 'maintenance' 3 months per year - he died in 1969!) I can't say I was disappointed we were too late to visit the body.

The crowds waiting to get in to see "Uncle Ho's" body

We all followed Son, our leader, for lunch at a local restaurant. We ended up eating on the 5th floor, essentially the attic - I was getting more uncertain each floor we went up - for one, it seemed the whole place could have fallen over, especially with the number of people packed in for lunch, and 2, it wasn't really the cleanest, most appealing of places, especially our attic - though it was a private room I guess. But, lunch ended up being delicious - a bowl of soup with meatballs in it, then you add rice, greens, and however much spice you want. Eating with chopsticks was a challenge, but well worth it, because it was good!

Lunch in our private room/attic

We took a tour of the city that afternoon - visited the Temple of Literature (honoring Confucius) and the Hanoi Hilton, known for where John McCain was held. Of course, we received a very cheery and happy version of what went on in the prison - that the prisoners were held under the best of circumstances, allowed to have a Christmas tree, make Christmas dinner, send home letters, play sports, and generally live comfortably.

That night we saw a water puppet show, which was surprisingly impressive and then had dinner on the top floor of a building in the center of Hanoi looking down on the craziness that is the traffic of the city.
The water puppet show

And the next day we went to visit Halong Bay, on an overnight trip. Yes, believe it or not, I'm still not finished telling about Vietnam, more to come later!