Hoi An and Hue, Vietnam

Riverfront of Hoi An

From Saigon we decided to head to Hoi An, which is about halfway up the coast from where we were.  We booked two “soft sleepers” on an overnight train for the 17 hour ride north.  We boarded the train at 7pm and found our room, which was a four bunk room (two on each wall).  Daron and I had the top bunks, while our cabinmates were a nice older couple from Australia.  They had adopted a couple of Vietnamese children after the Vietnam/American War and were on a trip to look for family members of their children.  A sheet, pillow, and blanket were provided – thankfully the room was also air conditioned.  Daron and I both slept fairly well, even with the rocking of the train.  The Aussie couple departed early in the morning and a nice Vietnamese man got on, taking one of the lower bunks.  He didn’t speak much English and we suck at Vietnamese so we didn’t converse much beyond smiling and nodding our heads a lot. 

The beach near Hoi An

We found a nice hotel room for $15 in Hoi An – it had everything we wanted: A/C, hot water, internet, and it was clean.  It was a short walk from our hotel to the riverfront, which is the most scenic part of Hoi An.  The buildings are French Colonial and date back to the 18^th century.  The area has lots of restaurants, bars, shops, and tailors - it is very touristy.  Hoi An is well known as a place to have clothes made - in fact, the tailors call out to you as you walk down the street!  We thought about doing some custom clothing, but in the end we didn’t want to spend our time doing measurements, fittings, etc.  Instead we spent one day riding bikes around the area – we had lunch on the beach which was fun.  We found a fabulous expat coffee shop that had wonderful pancakes and french toast!  While we were there one of the waitresses asked if she could practice her english with me, as she was currently taking english classes.  I enjoyed helping her out - and can appreciate how difficult it is to learn another language (we have difficulty with hello and thank you!). We're so lucky that everyone is trying to learn the language that we already know.  I can't imagine being Russian and trying to travel in Vietnam - what a challenge!  

The Citadel in Hue

I spent one of our days there in the hair salon having my hair chemically straightened – I’d finally had enough of the curls caused by all this humidity.  The process took almost four hours and only cost $30!  And is my hair ever straight!  As the saying goes, “Be careful what you wish for…”  My hair is crazy straight – and flat.  As soon as I get out of the shower it looks like I took a hair straightener to it.  I’m hoping over time it will relax just a wee bit - even so, it’s an improvement over what I had going on before! 

From Hoi An we took a bus to the town of Hue (pronounced Hway), which was only a three hour ride.  Strangely, halfway to the town the weather got cool and overcast, which is how it stayed during our entire time there.   Hue was once the imperial capital of the Nguyen Dynasty of Vietnam between 1802 and 1945. The Nguyen Dynasty was the last ruling family of Vietnam.  The city is well known for its monuments and architecture, much of which took a heavy beating during the war.  It didn’t help that its location was very close to the dividing line between north and south Vietnam.  It is located in the south side, but was briefly occupied by the north before being taken back by the south.  Many soldiers and civilians died here. 

Statues at one of the tombs in Hue

On a lighter note, our hotel room in Hue was one of our favorites during our time in Vietnam.  We were on the sixth floor, with French doors that opened onto a balcony with a beautiful view of the city.  The room was spacious with lots of light, and a modern bathroom to boot.  The best part was breakfast – it was brought up to our room every morning (and was delicious!).  All of that for $23 a night!  The only down side was that every time we left the hotel we got lost trying to get back to it. It was located down a small alleyway off of some diagonal street - we never could figure it out. We'd just show people our card from the hotel and they would point us in the right direction - eventually we'd make it back!

At an incense and art shop

We explored the historic sites in Hue, including the Citadel where the old imperial rulers lived.  We spent one full day on a tour of the tombs in the area.  The tombs hold the remains of the Nguyen dynasty rulers and are quite extravagant - they did not seem like tombs at all - more like large gardens and temples. All of them had a strong Chinese influence.  In fact, there was so much talk about China during our tour that I had a semi-blonde moment where I had to ask, “Are these emperors of China or Vietnam?”  An Aussie fella in the seat in front of me (about eight of us in the back of the bus were having too much fun), answered me with: “Girlfriend, you are in Viet – NAM!”  Very true.  

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Daron filling in for a water vendor!

With over nine million residents, Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city in Vietnam.  Prior to the Vietnam War, the city was called Saigon.  On April 30, 1975, the date the Vietnam War ended, the city came under the control of the Vietnamese People’s Army.  Among those fighting for the south, this event is commonly called the “Fall of Saigon,” while the communist Socialist Republic of Vietnam (or the north) calls it the "Liberation of Saigon.”  In the U.S. we know this war as the “Vietnam War,” while here in Vietnam it is known as the “American War.”  

Reunification Palace and liberating tank

There are no tuk tuks in Vietnam, so our only choice for transportation here is a taxi, a cyclo (bicycle rickshaw), or a motorbike.  The taxis are too much money for short distances and the cyclos are way too slow – plus only one person can ride a cyclo so we would need two, and we could probably walk faster than they could cycle us around.  So we’ve been taking motorbikes wherever we need to go.  They don’t put both of us on the same motorbike like they did in Cambodia.  We always get our own driver and a helmet (which never fits me, it’s usually fallen to the back of my head halfway through the ride).  I’m starting to like riding on the back of a moto – the drivers are confident and know how to get around the traffic – I (almost) always feel safe, and it’s such a thrill!  I wouldn’t want to drive one myself as I’m sure I’d get in an accident.  The traffic in Saigon is crazy, and yet somehow it seems to work.  Here the sidewalks are fair game, especially during rush hour when they are teeming with motorbikes.  Nobody but us crazy tourists walk around town – and crossing the street is like taking your life into your hands!  We’ve learned to cross at a slow and steady pace – the motos just buzz around you like bees.

Don't push that button!  ;)

Speaking of taxis, we heard a few horror stories about them during our time here.  They like to prey on unsuspecting tourists, either by not using the meter and overcharging or by using the meter and then interpreting the amount due with an extra zero.  Friends of ours had a taxi driver try to tell them the meter that showed 65,000 dong ($3.25) due was actually 650,000 dong ($30.25)!  With their wallet out ready to pay, they were protesting, and the taxi driver reached over and swiped all their money out of the wallet!  After heated words, they got their money back, although they are not sure if they got all of it.  This is not an isolated incident, as we heard of this happening to others too. 

War Remnants Museum

The money here in Vietnam is called the dong and 20,000 dong is worth roughly $1.  The smallest note we used was 500 dong, although Daron did find a 200 dong note on the ground one day.  It seems that everything is rounded to the nearest thousandth, so we rarely used the 500 dong notes and ended up giving away the 200 dong note.  The denominations most commonly used are 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, 100,000, and 500,000.  We never used coins and rarely even saw them - the only time we did was when Daron found a 200 dong coin on the ground (he's really good at finding money!). American dollars are also used here - in fact, many prices are quoted in U.S. dollars.  The ATMs here spit out dong and not U.S. dollars like in Cambodia.  We stocked up on U.S. money before we left Cambodia just in case, which I'm glad we did.   

Actual war remnants

During our time here we visited the Reunification Palace, which was once the symbol of the South Vietnamese government.   On that fateful day (April 30, 1975) North Vietnamese tanks crashed through the gates of the grounds and the South Vietnamese government officially surrendered to the North.  The building seems to have been frozen in time – not much has changed since that day.  The most interesting part of the building was the basement, which looked like command central with giant maps on the walls, old radios, rotary phones, and even manual typewriters!  Has technology ever changed!   

We also visited the War Remnants Museum, which used to be called the American War Crimes Museum before many of the foreigners complained about the name.   It was quite the gruesome place, with terrible photos of wartime atrocities, all performed by Americans.   There was photo after photo of “here is another American doing x and y” and “yet another American doing…”  Not a very pretty picture of us Americans.  It was a very one-sided view, as I know that similar acts were performed by the North Vietnamese as well.  As they say, the victors get to write the history books.  As they also say, war is hell, which this museum definitely proved.  I was almost afraid to speak in the museum as I didn’t want anyone to hear that I had an American accent – that was a first on this trip!  There was a whole exhibit on Agent Orange that was also very sobering.  It showed the effects of the poison on generations born after the war – mutations, deformities, etc.   Most inspiring were the people who had become successful despite their handicaps – one was a famous artist, and another a successful writer.   If nothing else, the museum showed how terrible war is. 

At Cafe Zoom, our favorite place to watch traffic!

On to another less depressing subject – we are finally in a country with good coffee, which Daron and I are both happy about.  The Vietnamese make excellent coffee, and are even famous for their “weasel coffee,” where the coffee beans are fed to weasels and then harvested from their droppings.  We didn’t have the pleasure of trying this type, as the regular stuff was good enough for us.  The rest of our time in Saigon was spent eating the local food (love the fresh springrolls!), wandering around the neighborhoods, and our favorite pastime – watching the traffic!  I cannot get enough of watching all the buzzing motorbikes – it looks like total chaos and yet somehow it all works!

Mekong Delta, Vietnam

One of many women boat drivers (note colorful clothing!)

The Mekong is one of the world’s great rivers and its delta is one of the world’s largest.  It seems only fitting that Daron and I should spend a little time in this area, after following the Mekong River through Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.  In this area of Vietnam the Mekong splits into numerous branches before spilling into the South China Sea.  All of these branches explain the Vietnamese name for the Mekong:  the River of Nine Dragons.  This area is primarily rural and one of the most densely populated areas of the country.  Nearly all of it is intensively farmed, as evidenced by the extensive rice paddies everywhere we looked. Rice is the single most important crop in Vietnam, involving over 50% of the workforce population. Other important crops are fish, sugarcane, fruit, coconut, and shrimp.

Vendor headed to the floating market

Speaking of rice, I recently learned what a labor intensive product it is!  Much of the work is carried out without modern machinery.  Fields are plowed with the help of water buffaloes, seeds are individually planted by hand, and when the seedlings reach a certain age they have to be individually uprooted and transplanted to another field to avoid root rot.  This painstaking process is mostly undertaken by women. Rice plants take three to six months to grow, depending on the type and environment.  When ready to harvest, the plants are thigh-high and in about one foot of water.  The grains grow in drooping fronds and are cut by hand, then transported by wheelbarrow to thrashing machines that separate the husk from the plant.  Other machines are used to "dehusk" the rice for brown rice, or "polish" it for white rice.  The rice is then spread out on the ground to dry before milling.  For such a cheap product, I was surprised to find out how extensive the entire process is!

Floating market traffic

After all the excitement of getting to Can Tho, we decided to take it easy our first day in Vietnam.  We had breakfast at the hotel, then wandered around the riverfront area, where everyone and their sister wanted to give us a boat ride (traditionally the boat drivers are women, which I found interesting).  We ended up booking a boat trip for the next day so we could see the floating markets. 

The morning of our trip we met our boat driver at 5:30 am outside our hotel.  He walked us the short distance to his boat and before we knew it we were on our way down the Mekong.  Lots of other tourists were in boats doing the same thing.  We watched the sun rise as we headed to the first market, which was quite impressive.  It could have been a scene from the movie “Waterworld.”   The boats, or junks, as they’re called, are all moored in one area – it’s obvious that the boats are not only used for cargo, but are also people’s homes.  It is a whole other way of life out here!  The masts on each boat show what is for sale.  A mast may have a carrot, a potato, and lettuce hanging off of it, or whatever other vegetables they’re selling.   It was amazing to see the large amounts of produce piled high on the boats, with transactions taking place all around us. 

Looks like a scene from the movie Waterworld!

On our way to the next market we made a quick stop to visit an operation that makes rice paper.  We saw them boiling the rice into soup basically, then spreading it on a burner like a crepe, then lifting it onto a bamboo rack so it could dry in the sun.  After it dries it will be cut into consistent sizes.  It’s a very manual process; none of it is mechanized.  We only saw two women at the place, doing everything themselves.  

Back on the boat we eventually made it to the next floating market, which was much smaller than the first.   We may have arrived a little late, since it took a while to get there.  It had a very intimate feel though, with lots of small boats just like the one we were in, all next to each other.  We joined the crowd – our driver bought a pineapple and carved it up for us (delicious!), and we purchased a flatbread sort of thing, as well as a coconut drink.  The market people were very friendly and we enjoyed interacting with them, even though they spoke very little English and we spoke no Vietnamese! 

Boat mast showing what's for sale

Our boat driver made our trip fabulous!  He had such a fun personality.  When we weren’t at markets he was fashioning all sorts of things from bamboo leaves.  He made me a ring, a necklace, a bracelet, earrings, a pinwheel, and a grasshopper.  He would drive the boat with his knee while folding bamboo leaves.  They were amazing works of art!  He really made the trip fun for us. 

On another note, the “pajamas as clothes” style is alive and well here in Vietnam!  In Cambodia the style was men’s pajamas (in feminine colors), with the collar and buttons down the front.  Here in Vietnam it’s more like flashy colorful matching tops and bottoms, sometimes with short sleeves, or a boat neck, or capris – all different shapes.  The main thing is that both the top and bottom are the same crazy fabric (although sometimes they're not - it makes me dizzy to look at them!).  I’m curious to know how the trend started because it’s really taken off!

Yet another plastic bag gets caught in the propeller!

Tomorrow we leave on a real bus (hopefully) for Saigon, otherwise known as Ho Chi Minh City.  We’re looking forward to getting a taste of the big city. 

Good Night Cambodia, Good Morning Vietnam!

The Cambodian border checkpoint

We are sad to leave Cambodia, as both Daron and I agree it has been our favorite Southeast Asia country so far.  The people are so warm and friendly, always smiling, and so curious.  Many of them speak good English, which made traveling and communicating that much easier.  The Khmer language was difficult for us – we tried and tried to learn how to say “hello” in Khmer but never mastered that one.  “Thank you” in Khmer was easier (thankfully!) and we used that one often.  Everywhere we went we saw evidence of the dark days of Cambodia, from destroyed buildings to landmine victims.  The saddest part of the war is the thought that Cambodians were killing Cambodians.  After the Vietnamese liberated them, many of the Khmer Rouge soldiers just faded back into the population, with no justice to be had.  It was such a giant step backwards for the country, from which they are only starting to recover.  As annoyed as I was by the beggars and peddlers, it was hard not to look at them and think of what they and their country had been through (which is probably why it works so well for them!). 

Me waiting at the Cambodian border office

Crossing into Vietnam was an unexpected adventure.  We bought bus tickets to take us from Kep, Cambodia to Can Tho, the largest Vietnamese city in the Mekong Delta.  They were expensive as far as bus tickets in Asia go ($18 each), but we were told it was a nice bus.  We were picked up at our hotel in Kep in the morning by a minivan – little did we know it would be the best vehicle we would be in that day!  The minivan took us to the small border town of Ha Tien, on the Cambodian side, where we left the minivan and were shuffled onto motorbikes – one motorbike had my backpack in front of the driver, then the driver, then me, then Daron (yep, all on one bike!).  The second motorbike had just the driver and Daron’s big backpack.  We went a short distance to the border where we disembarked and completed our departure tasks for Cambodia, got back on the motorbikes and went the short distance to the Vietnamese side.  We already had our visas, so they only looked over our passports, gave us a stamp each, and let us go on our merry way.  Back on the motorbikes, we were taken a loooong way.  I’m glad Daron and I were on the same motorbike, otherwise I would be more worried than I already was.  Our destination turned out to be the local bus station.  Our motorbike driver paid the bus driver for our bus ticket - I’ll bet the ticket cost about $3 each!  We could have done this ourselves for much, much less than the $18 we spent for a “nice” bus, which of course was not the bus we got.  No nice cushy bus with air-conditioning, unless you count open windows as A/C! 

Crossing into Vietnam

The local bus we were on picked up and dropped off passengers all along the way.  Eventually we made it to Chau Doc, another large city in the Mekong Delta area that was NOT where we were headed.  The bus stopped on some random street corner (not a bus station), where they told everyone to get out because that was the end of the line.  It was total chaos after that, as the bus driver and his wife flagged down two motorbikes and told them to take us somewhere.  While being pushed onto the back of a motorbike, I took one final look at Daron on the back of his motorbike, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time I would see him!  A helmet was pushed onto my head as the young woman who drove the motorbike I was on took off!  I felt like I was in some sort of racecar video game, as we swerved in and out of traffic consisting of other swerving motorbikes, cars, and busses!   My heart was pounding!  We ended up at some sort of office where lots of people were waiting for something, and three people at desks were yelling into their phones and at each other.  They seemed so angry, and both Daron and I wondered if they were mad at us for some reason, but I think that’s just the way they are, loud and boisterous.  To top it all off, not one person there spoke English.  The woman motorbike driver talked to the desk people on our behalf; eventually we figured out we were there to buy tickets for transportation to Can Tho.  We had to pay $1 each to the daredevil motorbike drivers who got us there, and the transport to Can Tho cost us $6 each, EVEN THOUGH we had already paid $18 each to get there from Cambodia!  Erg! 

Our "fancy" local bus

Soon a large, very nice Mercedes minivan backed into the transportation office and everybody got in.  We were the last to board, as we were still sorting out our tickets, and ended up sitting on tiny plastic stools placed on the floor alongside the bench seats.   We were squished even tighter than sardines!  There were at least 25 people squeezed into that van, and we kept picking up people along the way!  The newcomers had to stand in the back of the van behind the last bench seat, up against the back door.  As we went along, people got off, people got on, and by 7pm that night we made it to the bus stop at Can Tho.  Phew!  The motorbike drivers swarmed us as we exited the minivan (we’re starting to get used to this part).  We were so tired we didn’t even bargain the price to take us to the hotel we had picked out ($5).  After another crazy ride swerving through traffic and barreling through intersections with traffic headed right towards us, I was never so happy to reach our hotel.  Both of us were tired and relieved to reach our destination, even though it was not the way we thought we were going to arrive.  We both slept like babies that night. 

Daron in the bus, before we knew how the day would go!

Interesting facts about Vietnam: 

• The population of Vietnam is 90 million.  It is the 14^th most populous country in the world. 
• Vietnam is a young country, with 65% of the population under the age of 30 (there was a population boom after the war). 
• Vietnam currently has a two-child policy.  About 17 percent of families have more than two children, mainly because they have two daughters and want a son.  The Vietnamese have a long standing belief that sons must care for their parents in old age and carry on the family name.  
• Life expectancy here is 73 for women and 68 for men (the guys have all that stress from carrying on the family name, etc!).
• 85% are Buddhist; 8% are Christian; 3% Cao Dai; 4% other
• The country’s land area is 127,243 square miles, slightly larger than New Mexico.  It has 2,300 miles of coastline and 2,400 miles of land borders.
• Vietnam’s official name is the “Socialist Republic of Vietnam.”  It is a single-party constitutional republic – in other words, a communist government.
• In 1986 Vietnam’s government approved broad economic reforms, opening up the country to foreign investment, and thus improving Vietnam’s business climate.
• In 1994 the U.S. lifted the economic embargo that had been in place since the 1960’s.  Full diplomatic relations have been restored and Bill Clinton was the first U.S. president to visit north Vietnam in 2000.
• Vietnam is the world’s second largest exporter of rice (after Thailand). 

And the most important one: 

• Facebook is banned in Vietnam!  The ban started in late 2009, although there are ways to get around it from what I read on the internet (I’m too lazy to try to figure it out!).  The government never officially stated that it was banning FB, but earlier in 2009 Vietnam’s government tightened restrictions on blogging, banning political discussion and restricting postings to personal matters. Several bloggers were arrested for writing about politically sensitive subjects (I guess I won’t be changing the name of my blog to “Criticisms of Vietnam’s Government” anytime soon!).

Sihanoukville, Kampot & Kep - Cambodia

Romantic setting on the beach

From Phnom Penh we headed south to Sihanoukville, which is a cute beach town with lots of potential, although the water and sand do not hold a torch to the beaches of Thailand.  Again, the problem of garbage resurfaces here (pardon the pun!), as you cannot get in the water or walk in the sand without tripping over bags of garbage.  From what I’ve read, it’s better than it used to be, although it still has a ways to go.  A ton of construction was going on while we were there – I would love to see the place in one or two years, as I imagine it will be quite nice (if they can get the garbage issue under control).

Construction in Sihanoukville

The other downside to the beach was again, all the sellers and beggars.  I must sound like a broken record as often as I’ve mentioned them during our time in Cambodia.  I really enjoy the Cambodians that we interact with, but the constant selling and begging is annoying.  We had a nice dinner on the beach – they set up comfy chairs and tables right on the sand, along with lit candles and the moonlight – it was very romantic.  What takes away from it all are the kids that come by, wanting you to give them food from your plate, or to buy a bracelet from them (they will sit on your chair right next to you).  After them it’s the women with babies, then the people missing limbs that scoot along in the sand, all wanting handouts.  We were sitting ducks at our nice romantic table on the beach, while half the town’s population paraded by us with their hands out! 

Old part of Kampot town

Our hotel had a pool so we spent lots of time swimming there, away from the constant peddling.  We explored the local market, as well as the various towns around us, and had lots of great meals at local restaurants.  We caught up with some friends that we had met in Laos who are on the same path we are, which was a lot of fun.  Most importantly, we obtained our visa for Vietnam at the consulate in town – 30 day visas are not available at the border like they were in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.

Ladies fetching crabs in Kep

From Sihanoukville, we took a minivan to the nearby town of Kampot.  There is no beach at Kampot as it sits on a river instead.   The town itself is quite small and sleepy, which was just right for us after all the attention we got in Sihanoukville.  We came across only one beggar in Kampot, although he was good at making the rounds as we saw him every evening without fail!  The town itself has seen better days – my first impression was that it looked like it had been bombed, which of course it had during the Khmer Rouge days.  Kampot is famous for its pepper farms (peppercorns, not chili peppers).   They were all but destroyed by the Khmer Rouge, who were focused on growing rice, not spice.  More recently, the pepper farms have been making a comeback – Kampot pepper is soon to be Cambodia’s first product to receive a “geographical indication,” just like French cheeses.  We’ve had quite a few dishes during our time in Cambodia with Kampot pepper and can vouch for its tastiness. 

Old building taken back by the jungle in Kep

From Kampot we traveled to Kep, which is a seaside town known for its crabs.  It was created in the early 1900’s as a seaside resort for the French elite, back when the French ruled Cambodia.  All that’s left of the French colonial mansions that dotted the landscape back then are bombed out remnants where squatters now live.  We were there on a weekend which is when all the locals head to the beach.  Lots of Cambodian families were swimming in the small waves (with all their clothes on) and picnicking on local crab.  We visited the crab market ourselves and saw the crab cages floating a little way out in the ocean.  As soon as someone orders crab from one of the restaurants a woman will wade out to one of the cages and bring it back to shore for their meal.  It doesn’t get fresher than that!  We tried the crab, but honestly we weren’t too impressed.  They are quite small, and served still in the shell so they are a lot of work for a small amount of meat. 

We enjoyed getting a bit off the tourist trail during our time in Cambodia.  It was nice to relax and kick back in some quieter areas before heading towards the busy-ness of Vietnam.