Vietnam

A quick flight from Saigon landed us in the city of Da Nang just as the day was coming to an end.  Our pre-arranged transportation failed to show up which seems to be happening a lot lately. After several calls to our hotel to try to sort out our transportation, we finally grabbed a taxi to Hoi An, about an hour away, at a cost of $18 US. It was difficult to see much in the fading light, other than the huge chain resorts that lined the coast. Many of these high end resorts charge $1,000 US + per night – way beyond our meagre and dwindling budget.

Unbeknownst to us at the time, our arrival in Hoi An, an ancient town recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, coincided with Earth Day.  By the time we had settled into our hotel, the Long Life Riverside Hotel, the Earth Day celebrations were in full swing.  Brightly lit paper lanterns in a medley of colours floated down the river in front of our hotel and a live band entertained the swelling crowd.  Even though we didn’t have a clue what the celebrations were for, it was a charming introduction to this equally charming town, which is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a South-East Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century.

The next few days were spent exploring the town and vicinity including the beaches for which the area is well known, using the bicycles provided for free by our hotel as our primary means of transportation.  The ancient town was overflowing with tourists, mainly large Chinese tour groups which have become a familiar sight throughout South-East Asia.  Of course, we hated the crowds.  While the town offered some great photo ops with its unique architecture that blended a variety of influences, we thought it was being ruined by tourism as most buildings have been converted to shops and restaurants which cater only to tourists.   It was far more interesting as we ventured further afield, outside the town and to the beaches which offered miles and miles of almost deserted clean, white sand and warm waters.

Don’t be fooled – while this looks like an array of culinary delights,
it is actually a group of miniature, plastic magnets! 

Unusual fishing boats in Hoi An

Hoi An is renowned for its tailor shops and many tourists choose this location to purchase custom made clothing.  Chris already had two suits and three shirts made in Chiang Mai, so we didn’t avail ourselves this time around.   It is practically impossible for foreigners to purchase off the rack clothing because of the size difference between westerners and Asians.  Neither Chris or I are overly large, yet it was not uncommon to enter a shop and to be told “No size for you lady!”  If a shop did carry larger sizes, I was an XL (at home I am a small or medium) and Chris was a 3 or 4 times XL.  Ah well, it made it easy to resist the temptation of buying things we didn’t need.  I fell in love with the lanterns that were sold everywhere, but even though they folded flat, they were still rather heavy and bulky, and there was no way to squeeze them into our back packs.

On our way to Hue (via private car and driver – see travel tip below), we stopped at Marble Mountain which is a cluster of five marble and limestone hills located south of Da Nang city. All of the mountains have cave entrances and numerous tunnels, and it is possible to climb to the summit of one of the peaks. Several Buddhist sanctuaries can also be found within the mountains, making this a famous tourist destination. The area is renowned for stone sculpture making and stone-cutting crafts. Of course you can buy these sculptures ranging in price from a dollar or two to thousands of dollars. 

The road from Da Nang to Hue is reputed to be one of the most scenic drives in all of Vietnam, with Hai Van Pass, the natural boundary between the north and the south, offering spectacular coastal views on a clear day.  We didn’t regret paying a little extra to hire a private car and driver to take us to Hue.  Not only did we make a few stops  to places like Marble Mountain and China Beach, the driver would stop whenever we wanted to take a picture.  It took us about five hours to travel from Hoi An to Hue including all our stops.

China Beach

Hai Van Pass

Hue is another city designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site mainly for its historic monuments such as the Citadel (Imperial City) and the emperor tombs.  We spent three days here but two would have been enough.

It takes several hours to visit the grounds of the Imperial City which is enclosed by a 2 km square wall and surrounded by a moat.  Within the Imperial City lies the Purple Forbidden City, an enclosure that was reserved for the Nguyễn imperial family.  Construction on the Imperial City began in 1806 and it was inhabited until the mid-1900’s when the  rule of the last Vietnamese Emperor ended.  Unfortunately, the city was hard hit during the Vietnamese war and you can still see the bullet holes in some remaining walls.  Today, the site is in a state of serious decay, although many buildings have recently been restored with plans to continue the restoration work throughout.  It took several hours to go through this massive site.  We were happy that we did this on our own rather than in a guided tour group which would shuffle you through too quickly.

The Royal tombs located outside the city are the burial grounds of prominent emperors and their families.  These sites were very impressive in their size and decoration and seemed much older due to the amount of decay that has eaten away at the stone.  We organized our own excursion (see travel tip below) which made for an interesting if somewhat confusing outing.  First we hired our boat directly from the river front.  We negotiated what we thought was a fair rate with the lady in Boat #162 (400,000 Dong = about $20 CAD).  Once on board, we were offered lunch for an additional 200,000 Dong which we accepted.  This meant a detour to the market so that the lunch ingredients could be purchased.  We had no idea what we would be eating and immediately second-guessed our decision when we realized how primitive conditions were on the boat.  But there was no turning back once the ingredients were purchased.  It turned out to be one of the best meals we have eaten in Vietnam – and we didn’t suffer any gastro consequences either!

The boat ride was rather tedious as we slowly putt putted down the river.  We’ve been on the river a few times now and the thrill was definitely gone.  It got a little more interesting when we were deposited on the shore and instructed to hire a moto taxi to take us to two sites that are only accessible by road.  After some hard negotiations – and I still think we paid far too much at 200,000 Dong for two moto taxis – we entrusted our lives to total strangers as we climbed onto the back of the motor bikes.   Even though we were out in the country, the traffic was still crazy and the ride was somewhat terrifying. Luckily our drivers were very careful and drove quite defensively and most importantly delivered us to our destinations in one piece. The tombs were well worth visiting.

Our visit to central Vietnam was an enriching cultural experience that gave us a glimpse into Vietnam’s imperial past.  Our next Vietnamese experience – an overnight train to Hanoi – was neither enriching nor cultural, but it was an interesting experience, one that we would repeat several times before the end of our trip.

Travel Tip #1:  At $65/night, we splurged at the Long Life Riverside Hotel. Unfortunately, our experience did not match our expectations.  While the staff went out of their way to accommodate us and address our concerns, there just seemed to be one problem after another to contend with, starting with the no-show transportation at the airport.  Because of that, we arrived late and were given the last available room – a musty-smelling room that opened onto the breakfast area which meant no privacy and an early morning wake-up to the sound of dishes and cutlery clanging.  We were given a new room the next day which faced the side of the building that was a construction site – now we were awoken early to the sound of hammers and drills.  The hotel itself is decorated beautifully with hand crafted wood embellishments, large rooms that are more like suites and very spacious bathrooms.  It has all the elements of a more luxurious experience yet it just misses the mark.  Overall we were disappointed with this hotel and would not recommend it.

Travel Tip #2:  If you are short on time, consider hiring a private car to take you from Hoi An to Hue.  Most hotels can arrange this transportation (we arranged it through the Jade Hotel in Hue) and it costs about $65 US for the car and driver.  While it costs more than local bus transportation, it allows you to visit some interesting sights along the way like Marble Mountain and China Beach and travel along a very scenic route.

Travel Tip #3:  The Jade Hotel in Hue is an absolute gem with impeccable service you would expect to receive in a 5* establishment.  The deluxe room cost $25 per night including a satisfying breakfast making it excellent value.  It’s well situated too within walking distance of some excellent restaurants, the river and even the Citadel (about 15 minutes away).

Travel Tip #4:  In Hue, there are several transportation options to visit the royal tombs outside of town – boat, bus tour, and private car.  Most hotels can arrange a tour for you.  The cheapest is by group tour which runs under $10 US per person.  We opted to travel by boat and make our own arrangements which turned out to cost almost the same as the private hotel tour which was $45 US for two. We paid $20 CAD for the boat transportation, $10 CAD for lunch for two, and $10 CAD moto taxi for two. In hindsight, it would have been a lot easier and less stressful to book the tour through the hotel, but then again, doing it on our own made for a much more adventurous day.

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The largest city in Vietnam has had several names during the course of history, but after the communist takeover in South Vietnam in 1975, the temporary government renamed the city after Hồ Chí Minh, the late North Vietnamese leader.  Today this thriving metropolis is officially called Ho Chi Minh City or HCMC, but in practice many still call it Saigon both locally and internationally.  During our brief visit to HCMC we had another history lesson, as well as a lesson in blatant bias and propaganda.

From the moment we arrived in Vietnam, it was difficult to distinguish this Communist country from its non-Communist neighbours.  Evidence of a thriving capitalist society was everywhere, especially in the larger urban centres like HCMC.   Even Western chains have penetrated this market – Starbucks, KFC, Pizza Hut – all evidence of the free market reforms introduced during the 1980’s when the government encouraged private ownership of farms and factories, economic deregulation and foreign investment.  Walking the streets of HCMC, it’s easy to forget you’re in a Communist country….until you visit the War Remnants Museum which presents a rather twisted view of Vietnamese history.  More on that later.

We arrived in HCMC at noon after a comfortable, uneventful two hour bus ride from Ben Tre and spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the neighbourhood around our hotel (An An 2 in District 1).  It was immediately obvious that we were in a popular tourist district, from the Pizza Hut across the street to the restaurants teeming with foreigners.   Beer was less than a dollar a bottle, and that was the tourist price.  Every restaurant had English menus, a refreshing change from Ben Tre where finding something to eat had been an ordeal.  They even had lots of recognizable Western food options. After travelling for five months in South East Asia, we welcome the chance to eat comfort food whenever we can and we’re not ashamed to admit it.

The energy of the city is palpable and infectious.  Traffic is insane, and walking the streets becomes a veritable obstacle course requiring nerves of steel and the eyes of an eagle, especially when crossing a street,  to stay out of harm’s way.  During the first evening, there was a power outage (what is with us and power outages!) but only within a few blocks radius of our hotel.  Out came the candles and flashlights and it was business as usual.  Power was back on within a couple of hours, much to our relief as we didn’t really like wandering through unfamiliar, pitch black streets.

Our history lesson began in earnest the next day during a tour to Cu Chi Tunnels, an immense network of tunnels in the Cu Chi region about 20 km from Saigon.  During the Vietnam War, the tunnels were used by Viet Cong guerillas as hiding places during combat.  They also served as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches and living quarters for many guerilla fighters. The tunnel systems were of great importance to the Viet Cong in their resistance to American forces. During the tour, we had the opportunity to crawl through a small section of one of the original tunnels, a claustrophobic and anxiety-inducing experience as a bat flew through my hair, and who knows what I was crawling through as I inched my way along the tunnel on my hands and knees, enveloped in complete blackness.

Chris emerged from the tunnel happy to get out of such a confined space.

The “tourist” tunnel was much larger than the real thing.  
It was also well lit and had a cement floor compared
to the dirt floor covered in leaves in the real tunnel.

Our guide, Jackie.

We saw examples of the rather ingenious, albeit barbaric booby traps rigged up by the Viet Cong.  Our guide, a 62-year old ex-soldier shared his own personal war stories with us throughout the day.  He was determined to tell us the “truth” and kept repeating that over and over again.  “You need to know the truth about what happened here.”  Turns out his version of truth matched the history books much more closely than the government’s version which would have you believe that the war was between Vietnam and the US, when in reality the war was between North Vietnam (the Communists) and South Vietnam, who were heavily supported by the Western world, including the US.  Our guide was from Saigon and remembers vividly how the Americans were there fighting with the South Vietnamese against the Viet Cong from the North.

The Cu Chi Tunnels felt more like a Disney attraction than a war memorial site like the ones we visited in Cambodia.  It was a rather strange experience.  I personally found the shooting range to be in poor taste and rather disturbing.  I can’t imagine why anyone would want to shoot guns with real bullets – the same guns that killed and maimed so many people. But tourists (mainly men I observed) flocked to this attraction, and the sound of gun shots from AK47’s, echoing through the forest made me feel sick to my stomach as it reminded me that this is what it would have sounded like during the real war only bodies were the target rather than a bull’s eye in a shooting range.  What is with our fascination with guns and weapons?

Our final history lesson took place at the War Remnants Museum, operated by the Vietnamese government since September 4, 1975.  As friendship with western nations blossomed over the ensuing decades, the name of the museum itself as well as the wording on exhibits  dramatically changed from a focus on so-called war crimes and acts of aggression to a less controversial description of the war.  Even so, this museum was blatantly one-side, and extremely anti-American.  Nowhere is there mention of the war between the North and the South. It is always the war between Vietnam and the US.  Such flagrant propaganda made me wonder how Americans would feel seeing themselves so misrepresented.  It certainly diminished my experience.

Beyond the propaganda, the museum did offer a wealth of information.  One room was dedicated to the devastating, multi-generational affects of chemicals such as Agent Orange and other exfoliating chemical agents which the US used to kill all the vegetation in order to more clearly see the Viet Cong.  Sadly, these powerful chemicals killed more than just vegetation and the effects are still being felt on the local population today.  Birth defects, premature death, miscarriages, and cancer  are just a few of the consequences.  American soldiers were also victims of the aftermath from these chemicals.

Another display focused on the work of photo-journalists of all nationalities, many of whom died during the conflict. Men and women risked their lives to record what was happening in this part of the world.  Some images, like the naked girl running down the street after a Napon bomb was dropped, remain etched in my mind from when I was a young girl.

As part of our tour, we made a stop at “Handicapped Handicrafts” which is where disabled artists specialize in egg shell and acrylic art.  I normally hate these types of stops on a tour, the ones where you are put into a position where you feel you should buy something to support the locals.  But this stop was different.  I happen to love this medium of art and even own an original piece at home.  All the men and women at this studio had birth defects, some more severe than others, harsh reminders of the ongoing debilitating affects of the chemical agents used over 30 years ago during the Vietnam War.  Yet all of them were incredibly talented and produced beautiful pieces.

Within walking distance of our hotel, several parks with beautiful gardens, walking paths, and outdoor theatres offered a pleasant respite from the constant traffic and intoxicating pollution.  These picturesque green spaces attracted many locals who did outdoor Tai Chi, Yoga, and aerobics in small groups.  It was a great place for running as well.

Two days were hardly enough time to do this city justice but we left feeling like we had a good sense of it.  With the clock  now ticking down quickly, and a lot more to see in this long country, we decided to fly directly to the central part of Vietnam where we continued our adventure in the historic cities of Hoi An and Hue.

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After 19 months of travel through 24 countries across five continents we’re returning home to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Our flight is now booked for Wednesday, April 10th – a 24 hour travel day that starts mid-morning in Hanoi and ends in Ottawa just before midnight of the same day. If you have been keeping up with the blog and in particular some of the comments, this shouldn’t come as any big surprise. But many are wondering, what’s next for us. And some of our more dedicated readers are wondering what they are going to read with their Monday morning coffee once we come home.

You may recall that this odyssey all began when I questioned how I wanted to spend the next fifteen years of my life before retirement. I wrote all about it in the “Getting Ready” section so I won’t restate what has already been said. I asked myself the big question: What’s Next? I hoped that travel would broaden my horizons, open my heart and mind to new experiences, introduce me to new people from different cultures and walks of life and that somewhere along the way, I would find my answer.

I did find an answer when I walked the Camino de Santiago last June. The idea of returning to school and pursuing a new field (organizational psychology) is still very appealing to me, but in the months that have followed, I have entertained other possibilities as well. Chris and I could flip houses: buy fixer uppers, renovate them and sell them for a profit. We could own and operate a B&B or a small resort. Or we could start another type of business. We could do contract work in our field with 4-6 month travel stints in between contracts. It seems the possibilities are limited by our own imagination, and of course the amount of capital we have to get something up and running.

They say there are lots of opportunities to earn income online, although we haven’t quite figured that one out yet. After our short foray into online advertising with Google Adsense which ended in our embarrassing withdrawal from the program, we considered just putting a “donate” button on our website but thought that was just a bit too crass. On the other hand, while Chris’ photographs are selling around the world, they are not exactly flying off the shelf. Chris’ fantasy of sitting by a pool in an exotic location sipping fine champagne while the money rolled in hasn’t exactly been fulfilled. His income over the past six months ($12.81 CAD) won’t even buy a decent bottle of wine.

Right now, I don’t have an answer for what’s next. To be honest, I have been struggling with this for the past few months, feeling deeply disappointed that this adventure has not led to something new, has not brought clarity to my life path. If this was a Hollywood movie, there would be a tidy, inspiring ending to this story. But this is real life, my life, and the story isn’t over yet. Once I realized that, I accepted that the past year and a half has simply been another chapter in my life story, and the way in which it shapes my future remains to be seen. I can live with that.

For now, we have a six month housesitting job lined up so we have a place to live. Since our travel funds are dwindling we must find work in short order, not that either of us is too eager to go back to the cubicle world. But it is a necessary evil, so for the short term we will both look for a contract in our respective fields. We’ll need to find a place to live long term so house hunting will be a priority too.

Now you know all there is to know about our return to Canada. We still have three weeks of travel ahead of us and we plan to enjoy every minute of it and we hope you do too.

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