Cooking Class & Dien Quang School Choir

Dien Quang School Choir

THURSDAY 28 JULY 2011

After a relaxing breakfast I cycled to the tailors to pick up my Kimono and later went to the Hai Cafe for a Vietnamese cookery course. There were 9 of us on the course, including David and Simone Brown who live in Port Douglas, Australia. Simone used to live in Llangennith! There was also a woman called Andrea who has been living in Australia, but comes from Watford near where I was brought up. She was there with her friend Meredith from Brisbane.

We were taken to the market to look at all the different types of fruit, vegetables and herbs and then went on a boat about 2 kilometres up the river to the Red Bridge Cooking School. We made Rice Paper, Fresh Rice Paper Shrimp Rolls, Crispy Hoi An Pancakes and Eggplant in Clay Pot. We were also shown how to make a tomato rose and a cucumber fan. We then ate what we had cooked and a couple of other dishes that were made for us, before being taken back down the river by boat.


Meredith and Andrea came with me to the White Lotus restaurant to see the children from Dien Quang sing. The White Lotus Restaurant is part of Project Indochina and all its profits go to various programmes in Vietnam. It also trains young Vietnamese from disadvantaged backgrounds in food service skills. Each year the Indochina Project runs English language programmes during the school vacations in a disadvantaged community in Vietnam and this year it was held in Dien Quang, a village about 30 kilometres away. It was a very special evening - the girls were excellent and Ann was very pleased that so many people had come to hear them sing. She invited me to visit her next time I’m in Melbourne.

Hoi An

WEDNESDAY 27 JULY 2011

I remembered to pick up my laundry this time. I still haven’t managed to sort out the laundry I left behind in Hanoi. The hotel have been to collect it from the launderette but were told they couldn’t have it without the receipt, which I don’t have.

I hired a bicycle near the hotel and met Sarlet again, so we agreed to meet up for dinner. I needed to go to the Sinh Café to book my overnight sleeper bus to Na Trang, but had difficulty finding it. I asked a couple of people the way, and then a boy on his motorbike talking to his friends offered to show me. We went a different way to what I was expecting, and the streets got narrower and narrower until we ended up in a dead-end. He apologised and another friend of his with a motorbike helmet came along. At that point, I got scared and said I would find my own way, and peddled as fast as I could out of there! I felt safer when I was in larger streets with other people, and he followed me and then showed me where the café was. He may have been genuine, but I don’t think so because he could have taken me straight there on the main road.


On the way to the beach I was looking at various shops for a Kimono dressing gown. I wanted to buy one ready-made to avoid the fuss of having one made, but at one tailors they had the material I wanted and offered to make it in a day. A woman from Melbourne called Ann was also there and asked if I was free tomorrow night as she has been working with children from a small village in the country who were going to sing, and she wanted people to attend.

I then cycled the 4 kilometres to the beach, which was beautiful – although the sea at 30 degrees was too warm to cool you down.

In the evening Sarlet and I went to another excellent Hoi An restaurant.

Diving Off Cham Island

Cham Island

TUESDAY 26 JULY 2011

Two Danish girls and I were picked up at my hotel by taxi to go diving. We were taken to the harbour where we got on a boat for an hour’s ride out to the Cham Islands. 

My Dive Leader was Dino from Australia, who gave an excellent briefing. We did 2 hour-long dives, with an hour’s break in between. There was some beautiful coral in all colours, including jet black, and about 50 species of fish. We saw 3 moray eels which were more colourful than the ones I’ve seen before and the biggest octopus I have ever seen. Dino was very excited when we saw the biggest grouper I have ever seen – about 5 ft., as he has been looking for it for about 2 months.

We then went to the main island and some of us swam ashore from the boat where we had an excellent lunch and an hour’s siesta in the hammocks before swimming back to the boat.
I decided to add an extra night but was told by the staff that they may be full and I had to wait until tomorrow. So I booked through ‘Agoda’ which was cheaper and I could pay by UK credit card. I then went out for another excellent Hoi An dinner.

Hoi An

MONDAY 25 JULY 2011

I was awake early, so went to see the bustling market by the river as ferries full of people and motorbikes, and all kinds of vegetables, fish, ducks, chicken, snake wine and food were on sale, including the famed Cao Lao, Hoi An’s version of noodle soup. The smells were a mixture of fish, herbs and the smelly durian which seem to get everywhere in Asia. Hoi An is THE place in Vietnam for silk and to have clothes made.

Hoi An was granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 1999 and its ancient centre is focused around three streets parallel to the river where wealthy Chinese merchants built their homes. Many of their descendants still live in Hoi An, and it’s possible to visit some of the houses and assembly halls. A 75,000 VND (£2.50) ticket entitles you to visit 5 places.

The Phuc Kien Assembly Hall is extremely ornate, with a small fish pond and large pyramid coils of incense hang from the ceiling. The Tan Ky Merchant’s House is a late 18th century shophouse, where the 7th generation of the original family still live. The house floods every year, and the family just move all the belongings upstairs. There is also a beautiful Japanese bridge which was originally built in the 16th century but has been rebuilt many times over the centuries.

I had lunch at the Cham Diving Centre café where I booked a dive for the next day, and then spent the afternoon relaxing by the pool. The swimming pool was green and too warm to cool you down – about 32 degrees – but it’s in a great location by the river.

Hoi An is famed for its speciality cooking, and I had an excellent evening meal of several small dishes of the local food by the riverside.

Hoi An Market

Hue To Hoi An by sleeper bus

Bus to Hoi An

SUNDAY 24 JULY 2011


I had a relaxing start to the day and then got a taxi to the café where I had booked my bus ticket. I left my case there and went to a nearby 5 star hotel where I had lunch in their 19th floor bar, where there were magnificent views of the Perfume River. 

I was then taken by taxi to the Sinh Café where I got the 1.30 p.m. sleeper bus to Hoi An. The sleeper buses run from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City – a total of 1800 kilometres. There are no sitting seats, but each one is like a lounger, where you can sit up or lie down completely.

We arrived in Hoi An about 6.00 p.m. and I got a taxi to my hotel, the Pho Hoi Riverside Hotel. The staff here were not as helpful as I had experienced in Hanoi or Hue. My room had no view so I asked to change rooms because I was expecting a garden view and was told there were no other rooms, and yet on ‘Agoda’ it showed 3 other rooms at the same price were available. However, the hotel is in a great location, with lovely gardens, restaurant and a swimming pool, all overlooking the river with the ancient centre of Hoi An just over the bridge.

Hue

Mausoleum of Emperor Tu Duc

SATURDAY 23 JULY 2011



After an early breakfast I went on a tour of the city to see three of the seven Royal Mausoleums built by the Nguyen emperors in the valley of the Perfume River. We first visited Minh Mang’s Mausoleum which was built between 1841 and 1843, using 10,000 workmen. The next temple was that of Khai Dinh who reigned from 1920 – 1931. His Mausoleum is a mixture of baroque and very ornamental Sino-Vietnamese style. We then went to a Marshall Arts display, which was excellent after which we stopped at some stalls where incense sticks and conical hats were being made.

The third Mausoleum we visited was that of Tu Duc with it’s beautiful pavilions built among lakes. Tu Doc enjoyed coming here to write philosophy and poetry and drink tea from dew collected in lotus blossoms. He also liked fifty-course meals and had 104 wives, not to mention a load of concubines as well!

Martial Arts Display

After lunch, we visited the Citadel of Hue where I met Sarlit, who had been with me on the bus yesterday, and she told me what had delayed us yesterday was another train had fallen over and buckled the rails. Our train didn’t get in until about 10 p.m., over 12 hours late.  I wasn't surprised, as the train had not felt very safe at all.

After the citadel, we went to the Thien Mu Pagoda, before catching a boat to take us back down the river.

Incense sticks

24 Hours to Hue by night train and coach

Vinh Moc Tunnels

FRIDAY 22 JULY 2011

The train journey from to Hanoi to Hue was the worst I have experienced. I had booked a 4 berth soft bed with air conditioning. It was a 4 berth with air conditioning, but the beds were solid and the pillow extremely thin. On the train to Sa Pa we were given water and a wet towel, but nothing on this train. The train rocked so violently I kept hitting my head on the wall. Every now and again there would be a terrific bang which presumably was one carriage hitting the other when the train slowed down. This was definitely an old stock train! The one good thing was that I shared it with three girls this time who were very quiet – unlike the passengers outside our cabin!

The train stopped about 6.30 a.m. and over an hour later there was an announcement in Vietnamese. I found out from a fellow passenger that there had been an accident further down the line and it would be about 3 hours before the train would leave, and we were still about 200 kilometers from Hue! There was no food or water provided, but I had some snacks with me. 

I noticed a man getting off the train with luggage and asked if he had managed to arrange a lift. He said they were teachers with a Catholic boys’ school trip from Auckland, New Zealand, and their bus was supposed to meet them an hour further down the line. They had rang for the bus to pick them up, and he offered a lift to me and the three girls in my cabin! How could we refuse? The best thing was they were on a history trip and were spending the day visiting the DMZ (De-Militarised Zone) north of the 17th parallel, and the Vinh Moc tunnels.

 
We stopped at Dong Hoi where rooms had been arranged for a quick shower before having lunch. Dong Hoi had been completely flattened by the American bombing who had dropped 330,000 tonnes of bombs on the area. 

We visited the museum and tunnels at Vinh Moc, where 600 villagers lived underground for six years until 1972 after their village was destroyed. The tunnels were about 1.7- 2 meters high, and people lived in tiny squares cut into the tunnels. There was also a school, clinics and a maternity room - 17 babies were actually born in the tunnels. The tunnels had several entrances, one by a beautiful beach. This area saw some of the fiercest fighting between the Americans and North Vietnamese, as it was the border between the North and South. We then drove on to Quang Tri, a town which had been completely obliterated during 81 days of some of the fiercest fighting of the war – about 380,000 tonnes of bombs had been dropped on it!

New Zealand Catholic Boys' School

We finally arrived in Hue about 6.30 p.m. and when I got to my hotel I was told that the train would not be arriving until about 8 p.m. that night – over 12 hours late!  I had had a far more enjoyable day than waiting on the platform for 12 hours.

Maternity ward in Vinh Moc Tunnels

Beach near Vinh Moc

What can you get on a motorbike?

 

Last day in Hanoi

Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum

THURSDAY 21 JULY 2011


After a leisurely breakfast, I collected tonight’s train ticket from a tour agent and then got a motorcycle ride to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, where ‘Uncle Ho’s’ embalmed body was lying. His last wishes were that he be cremated and the ashes divided between the north, centre and south of the country, each site marked by a simple shelter. He had been embalmed anyway and put on public show in 1975. Admission was free, but security was tight – they took a bottle of water away from me, bags were screened, and cameras had to be left behind.

I then visited the nearby presidential palace where Ho lived and worked from 1954 to 1958 and the simple stilt house where he lived from 1958 to his death in 1969. His cars from the 1950s were also on display.


I got a motorcycle ride back to near my hotel and walked around the shops and changed some money before going to a café for lunch. I have seen some amazing things being carried on motorbikes, from long metal bars, bamboo, a tray with a five course dinner on it and a pillion holding a very large plate of glass! When going on the back of bikes, I have found that the best policy when things look dangerous is to just shut my eyes!

I spent the afternoon relaxing at the hotel and waiting to go to the station at 6.30 p.m. for the night train to Hue.  As soon as I was on the train, I realised I had left some of my clothes at the launderette!  I rang my hotel to ask if they could pick it up and send it on to me.

Chauffer driven around Hanoi

WEDNESDAY 20 JULY 2011

I arrived back at my hotel about 5.30 a.m. and waited with some others in the lobby until my room was ready, about 9.30 a.m. My brother’s Hong Kong company has offices all over Asia, and he’d arranged for one of his Managers to spend the day with me. 

Sam came with his driver about 11.30 and we went to the Sofitel for a wonderful lunch. The Sofitel was originally called the Metropole and built during the colonial French time and so was full of history. We then picked up Sam’s secretary, Toi, and went to an area where there were loads of silk shops and then to the Temple of Literature.

We were going to drive around West Lake, but it was rush hour, so opted for a drink by the lake at the Hanoi Club Hotel. Toi had to go home, so Sam and I went to a Korean restaurant. We ordered prawns, BBQ pork, and a seafood dish, but they also brought out lots of little dishes which were complementary. With Korean food, you use large lettuce leaves on which you put your choice of food – pork, onion, sauces, vegetables etc., wrap them all up and then eat!

It had been a lovely day, being chauffeur driven and shown Hanoi by a local.

Temle of Literature

Trekking in Sa Pa, Day 2

TUESDAY 19 JULY 2011

We  had a leisurely start after a superb breakfast of fresh pancakes, pineapple and honey. Some of the Hmong tribe started gathering near us like migrating birds, waiting to leave. We left about 9.30, accompanied once again by some of the Black Hmong tribe, and it started to rain just as we set off again! It was even more slippery after the rain, and quite a bit of up hill and down hill walking until we got to a lovely waterfall. 

On the way Shosho showed us some leaves which people in the villages would use to commit suicide! She said it used to be quite common, but not many try to commit suicide now. We walked through Giang Ta Chai village where the Red Dzao people live, and had a lunch of noodle soup with egg by a suspension bridge over the river. After another 20 minute walk, we had to wait about an hour for the mini bus to take us back to the Summit Hotel. We only walked about 3 kilometers today but it had been very interesting and seemed further.

I wandered around Sa Pa, where there were lots of different hill tribes selling their handicraft. I had dinner with Dennis and Kim, and at 5.30 p.m. everyone except for 2 girls and I were put on mini buses to go back to Lao Cai, and we were told to wait. I thought we were going to have a bus to ourselves but not a bit of it! The one that turned up was already full and we were told to sit in the front. When we got down the hill to Sa Pa, they wanted someone else to get in the front with us. There was no room, so in the end they put 3 very thin Vietnamese in the front, and we sat in the back squashed between the luggage, and one had to stand. We went round hairpin bends, quite fast at times, and overtaking on dangerous corners. We arrived about 6.30 p.m. but my train was the last one and didn’t leave until 8.45 p.m. 

Three Korean men shared my cabin, and two of them promptly removed and folded their trousers! However, they were very nice and gave me a pear and a beer!

A very muddy trek

Trekking in Sa Pa, North Vietnam, Day 1

The Black Hmong Tribe

Shosha and another guide

MONDAY 18 - TUESDAY 19 JULY 2011

We arrived at the station in Lao Cai about 6.15 am and were taken by bus to the Summit Hotel in Sa Pa, about 3\4 hour away up the mountain road. Sa Pa is in the far north west corner of Vietnam, about 25 km from China. As it is about 1200 meters above sea level, the temperature was much fresher. The French used to go to Sa Pa to avoid the summer heat of Hanoi. The bus was met by girls from the local tribes, all talking at the same time – some of these were to be our guides. 

 After breakfast at the hotel, we were introduced to our guide Shosha who is from the Black Hmong tribe. In my group were Dennis and Kim from Holland, Theresa and Kristian from Denmark, and Jason from Melbourne. Jason’s girlfriend was ill, so had to stay behind in the hotel.

As soon as we set off, it started raining lightly which continued through the morning and made walking quite slippery, particularly where it was steep. Along with Shosho our guide, about fourteen other Black Hmong walked with us, and one helped me over tricky places. as we walked along the Muong Hoa Valley. The mountain scenery was spectacular, as we walked through paddy fields and saw rural Vietnamese life, with boys as young as 5 in charge on the buffalo and people working in the paddy fields. We stopped for lunch at Lao Chai, which is Shosho’s home and where the Black Hmong live. We were asked by the people who had walked with us to buy their handicrafts. It’s part of the deal – they help you along the way, and you give them a few dollars in exchange.

It poured with rain after lunch. Shosho took us to her house, where we met her mother and then we had a look at the local school which had been donated by the Japanese. We continued until we got to our ‘Homestay’ at Ta Van where the Black Hmong and Dzay Tribe both live. Each tribe wears a different costume, and they all have their own language. They are all very small – about 4’ 10”. Shosho is 19 but looks a lot younger.

The Homestay had electricity, TV and hot and cold water and a shower. The waste from the sink went straight on to the floor, and cooking was done over an open fire. Our beds were mattresses on the floor with mosquito nets. The village had some electricity about 17 years ago, probably from generators, but about 2 years ago they were provided with electricity from Sa Pa, for which they have to pay. There are about 25 Homestay houses in the area, some provided by other countries, and they provide an additional income to the villages. A young married couple ran our Homestay on behalf of a local man who owned the house. Ta Van has a population of about 3,000 including the outlying farms, and the scenery is beautiful. I asked Shosho if she liked living there but she said she didn’t like the mountains – there were mountains in front of her and mountains behind her.

The rain stopped just as we arrived, after walking 12 kilometers in the rain! After a rest, we had a walk around the village and saw workers coming back from the fields, children looking after the buffalo, and men carrying cement on their backs to take to a building project.

We had an excellent supper – the best spring rolls I have tasted and then Jason went back to Sa Pa by motorbike, as his girlfriend was still ill. The rest of us played cards and drank the very strong rice wine which Shosho called ‘Happy Water’.

Shosha's House

Military Museum and Ho Chi Minh Museum

SUNDAY 17 JULY 2011

After breakfast, I walked to the other side of town, about 2 kilometres, to go to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum to discover that it was only open until 11.30 a.m. I had a bowl of noodle soup in a café and a fresh lemon drink which were both delicious and cost about £1.20. I then went to the Military Museum which had helicopters, planes, tanks and missiles from both the Vietnamese and American sides during the Vietnamese/American war.

As I was in the area, I visited the Pagoda and Ho Chi Minh Museum, but was too tired to take much in. I got a motorcycle taxi back to my hotel and was so pleased he actually took me where I needed to go and didn’t try to charge too much, I gave him a tip.


I was picked up at the hotel about 8 p.m. and taken to the train station with some other guests from my hotel, where we were herded on to the correct train – there were three trains going to Sa Pa at different times. A Vietnamese family of 4 shared my carriage – only 4 berths in each carriage. The grandmother was sleeping above me and in the middle of the night managed to tread on my leg and woke me up. She got up a couple of times in the night, and then I was woken at 5.30 a.m. with her talking extremely loudly on her mobile phone!

Temples at Hoa Lu and Tam Coc

Bridge to the Temples at Hoa Lu

Water Puppet Show

Cycling to Tam Coc

SATURDAY 16 JULY 2011

I was picked up at my hotel about 8.30 a.m. by mini van and we drove for about 2 hours to the temples at Hoa Lu, which is the site of the 10th century capital. The temples are 17th century copies of the 11th century originals and are in honour of the Dinh and Le Kings whose statues of both kings are in the temples. Offerings are placed in front of the statues, bananas in one and an arrangement of coca cola in the other!

Some of us chose to cycle the 10 kilometres to Tam Coc where we passed through small villages and between paddy fields. The rice had recently been harvested in some areas and rotting material was strewn across the path, making cycling difficult in places. We met up with the others at Tam Coc for lunch and I chatted to the two Vietnamese boys I had cycled with. One of them was 18 and had been adopted when he was a year old by a Belgium family. He was here with his Godfather, who had arranged the adoption, to meet his brother and mother – he hadn’t seen them for 17 years!

We then went on a sampon, two to a boat, to go up the river and the girl steered with her feet. I shared with a German man who had lived in Hanoi for 5 years. The scenery was like a moving picture postcard as we passed small fishing shacks, conical-hatted Vietnamese families fishing and looking for shellfish, buffalo, mountain goats – all against a backdrop of almost vertical limestone crags – it is easy to see why this area is known as Ha Long on land. We went through three tunnel caves where it was so low we had to duck our heads in places. After rowing back to Tam Coc, we had time for a drink before getting the mini bus back to Hanoi.

I had rung during the day to check if I was on the night train to Sa Pa, but when I got back to the hotel I was told I would be going the next day. After a shower and some dinner, I went to a Water Puppet Show, which, surprisingly, is a puppet show on water. The puppets are skilfully manipulated by the hidden puppeteers and the themes mostly revolve around Vietnamese rural life.

Ha Long Bay Boat Trip - Day 3

Friday morning we were woken at 7 a.m. for another early breakfast. The weather was overcast and drizzle but this soon stopped. We sailed to another floating fishing village where we were taken in small boats through a cave into a lagoon area which was absolutely stunning.

After a very early Vietnamese lunch at 10.45 a.m. we docked about 12.00 p.m. where we waited about an hour for our bus to take us back on the 3 hour journey to Hanoi.

It was a good trip, apart from the rain. The whole area must look amazing in sunshine.

Ha Long Bay Boat Trip - Day 2

THURSDAY  14  JULY 2011

During the night there was a terrific thunderstorm, with great claps of thunder immediately after the lightning, and it poured with rain. The rain continued the whole of the next day, which was disappointing as Ha Long Bay would definitely look better in the sun. However, it was still beautiful in the grey mist.

We had to be up by 7 a.m. and had a rushed breakfast, as our boat was taking some of those who were only staying for one night back to the port, and we were offloaded onto a smaller and quite uncomfortable boat at 8 a.m. However, the engine wouldn’t start so we went kayaking in the rain around the small floating houses until another boat arrived about 10.30. We then sailed to a Pearl Farm where we saw how oysters are farmed and an oyster was opened in front of us to reveal the pearl inside.

After lunch, we sailed around the islands again and visited the largest floating fishing village in the area, where we kayaked in the rain again.

We met up with our big boat about 4.30 p.m. where there were some new travellers and after dinner, some of us played cards again.