Saturday 5 February
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| Buddha |
On our first day in Nha Trang we walked to the huge Buddha that sits on the hill overlooking the city. Because of Tet the town was dead; most shops closed and crossing the roads was relatively simple. During the climb up the hill we witnessed a young boy taking a leak in public on the stairs – interesting. The Buddha was a pretty cool dude and it was a peaceful place to spend some time. There were a group of children playing at the top because their mother had a stall selling coconuts and other refreshments. It was super hot, so we enjoyed a coconut but did not enjoy the children pointing toy guns in our faces. It was actually really frightening. It made it worse that we didn’t know what they were saying. We’d had enough so wandered back down through the monastery and back to our hotel. For some reason we thought it would be a good idea to try some Indian out for lunch … fail. It was the worst Indian (if you could call it that) that I’ve ever had. I needed a rest after all that garlic naan so Carol and I headed to the beach books in hand while Helen visited a spa for some treatments. We found a gorgeous bar down on the beach and chilled there for a while. Pleased we did knowing now what the next day held.
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| Monestry and grounds before the walk up to the Buddha (you can see him in the middle at the top) |
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| Some crazy Tet fun (2011 is Year of the Cat) |
Sunday 6 and Monday 7 February
A not-so-pleasant 24 hours
It all started with the idea of a bit of relaxing island hopping where we could work on our tan while drinking a couple of cheap cocktails. Instead of doing it alone and navigating local ferries, we thought, ‘why not take a tour?’ After shopping around there seemed to be only one option, so we booked through our hotel, which we were rather find of.
The day of the tour: first of all there’s always the initial drama picking everyone up from their hotels. At one stage the bus drove off leaving us and the tour guide standing on the side of the road! The bus came back, we jumped on and off we went, togs on, towels and books packed. Arriving at the ferry terminal and seeing the hundreds of people (mainly Vietnamese) and plenty of boats, we realised this wasn’t going to be a pleasant, scenic boat tour we’d anticipated. We were piled on like sardines and then the tour guide proceeded to explain the day’s itinerary in what I think was three languages – Vietnamese, Mandarin and English.
First attraction was the Nha Trang Aquarium, which we thought was happening later that day. We also thought the entrance fee was included in our tour price. We hadn’t heard of the aquarium and it wasn’t in the Lonely Planet (our Bible) or on Trip Advisor (our online Bible) so we thought we’d sit this one out. The Vietnamese and Chinese tourists were so excited it made me think how lucky we are in New Zealand to have so many beautiful and often untouched beaches and coastlines.
There was the typical 20-minute wait for the Vietnamese people getting food and messing around. Next stop and it was snorkelling time. We got dropped off on a fragile looking floating platform and were told where the snorkelling took place. To our right was a 20x20m area of water that looked rather shallow … this was where we were meant to snorkel! No boat trip out to a reef for us. After hearing we couldn’t even get onto the island and walk around we decided we needed to get off this tour as soon as possible. We had a combined diva moment and convinced a jet boat driver from a resort to call someone to take us home! It cost one million dong (NZ$65) and was well worth it!
It was tonight that we discovered A (for amazing) Mart – a 7/11 and so much more. We stocked up on treats for our night bus to Hoi An and a few packet face masks and skin treatments for back at the hotel.
The night bus to Hoi An was not so A for amazing. It was 12 hours of loud, irritating discomfort. The driver took the beeping to a whole new level and the Vietnamese pop music blasted through the speakers until 2am, when it was finally turned off for the last four hours of the trip. To make matters worse the roads were the worst we’d come across – extremely uneven and full of potholes. It didn’t deter our driver because he seemed to speed up to go over them. If one needed to go to the toilet the bus stopped and you squatted on the side of the road in full view of the rest of the bus. I also found it rather curious when the guide slept on a mat on the floor beside me on the isle. I didn’t even know he was there and when I stepped on his mat I got a nasty glare. He didn’t speak a word of English, so it was hard to apologise. I left a small plastic bag off food containing half a bag of pistachio nuts, a couple of bites of a Snickers bar and two bananas, on the bench in front of my seat on the bus. Around 4am I woke from my almost sleep to the rustling of that very plastic bag. The local woman who’d been sitting on the inside steps on the bus for most of the journey had rummaged through it, eaten what she liked the look of and left the rest. We made eye contact, but there was no apology. I couldn’t sleep after that.
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More panda-confectionary goodness from A (for amazing) - Mart
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| Enjoying the first pilsner of the trip at Louisiana Brew House in Nha Trang |
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| 2-4-1 mojitos followed by some serious card playing |
The icing on the cake was the drop-off point after the gruelling 12-hour trip. Instead of getting dropped in the main part of town in the backpacking district we got left outside a hotel 20 minutes away. The hotel obviously pays the bus driver a commission in the hope we’d all succumb from exhaustion and stay there. We’d already booked our accommodation so we shared a cab into Hoi An.
Hoi An was a definite highlight. The ancient town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was a trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century. The buildings are Vietnamese with various Japanese and Chinese influences. It’s situated on the Thu Bon River and because we were there over the Tet season it was beautifully lit up and decorated with lanterns. We meandered through the narrow streets and alleyways and then stopped for a beer and some people watching. This really is tourist town, and not just westerners. There were plenty of people visiting from Vietnam and other parts of Asia as well. With markets, galleries, tailors and shoemakers galore it was hard to know where to start.
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| Hoi An |
Tuesday 8 February
The next morning we hired bikes and cruised around Hoi An. We explored the area on the other side of the river, biking out to more remote residential areas. The houses were very sweet, much like we’d seen throughout rural Vietnam. There were a few close calls in heavy traffic when we got off the beaten track, but all in all definitely the best way to see the town.
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| You're looking at serious cyclists ... and a midget |
In the afternoon Carol and Helen did a Vietnamese cooking course and I had the remainder of the day to myself – that meant shopping and spa treatments! I got an hour massage, a manicure and a pedicure for NZ$25. Excellent value. In a bit of a daze I walked back to the hotel to shower and then hit the shops. I knew Hanoi was going to be cold so got a hoodie made and also some walking sandals – how long could my $1 Khao San Road sandals really last? Learn from my mistake and give them far longer to make the items than they say they need. I had to go back twice because when I went the first time nothing was ready. Later we met someone who had to wait a week for a dress to be made.
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| View of Hoi An from over the bridge |
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| Shop front in Hoi An |
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| Residential Hoi An |
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| Two miniature fans drying my beautifully-pedicured feet |
Wednesday 9 February
Carol and I got up early and got our five-trip ticket for the heritage sites of Hoi An. It was the most well-organised self-guided tour we’ve come across. We visited the Japanese covered bridge, the Museum of History and Culture, Tan Ky House, the Tran family chapel and another that has slipped my mind. My favourite was Tan Ky House. It was absolutely fascinating hearing how they dealt with living and trading when every year the river would flood and they’d need to move every thing up by pulley. It was also beautifully crafted and the design still works in contemporary times. For lunch we went to Miss Ly which is opposite the museum. An American man and his Vietnamese wife run it. Because tourism is really picking up in Vietnam he is spending more and more time in Hoi An, which he doesn’t mind at all. I had white rose (delicate shrimp and pork dumpling that is shaped like a rose) and chicken rice – both traditional dishes of Hoi An and delicious. Even though you can get food on the street for $1, it’s nice to go somewhere a bit special sometimes and splurge. And at $5 for a main it would be rude not to.
That might we got another sleeper bus, this time to Hue. It was just five hours and much more pleasant than the last. We sat at the back and had spectacular views of rice paddies and other rural scenes. It was dark when we arrived in Hue which never paints the best picture of a city.
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| Monkey protecting the Japanese covered bridge |
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| Japanese covered bridge |
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| Tan Ky House |
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Tran family chapel
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| White Rose |
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| Chicken Rice |
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Thursday 10 February
Tu Duc Tomb
(built 1864-67) was built for
Emperor Tu Duc who had the longest reign of any monarch of the Nguyen dynasty, ruling from 1848-83. Work began on his tomb long before his death and he even lived on the grounds for a period of time. The setting is stunning; a small lake with an island, a winding river with bridges and a pine tree forest. There are about 20 structures on the 12 hectares of land, but none of them house his body – it’s in a secret location somewhere in Hue. I’m pleased I didn’t know that when I was there or I’d have been disappointed.
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| The lake on the grounds of the tomb |
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| Not sure of the purpose of this, but it's pretty |
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| Caz taking it all in |
The last stop was the Citadel in the centre of Hue. It's made up of three areas separated by high walls and spreads over 500 hectares. We were there at sunset and the light was superb. There was no interpretation, so we wandered around not sure what each part was. Because of various wars much of it has been lost and the government are slowly working on tidying it up and restoring parts.
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| Spot the elephant |
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Main entrance to the citadel
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| Fishies |
We had drinks on our balcony that night to congratulate ourselves on our day of fitness! Before our 10pm flight to Hanoi we experimented with Indian again, this time with better success. We landed at around midnight in Hanoi and had a taxi meeting us at the airport. He took us to our guesthouse, we unpacked and went straight to bed so we’d be ready to explore Hanoi early the next morning.
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