Hanoi City, Vietnam March 31 - April 2, 2011

April 3, 2011 Guangzhou airport China

Hi all,

After returning from the mountain trek in Sapa, I spent a couple of days in Hanoi to finish off the trip. Hanoi was founded by Vietnam Emperor Ly in 1010 AD, so it is quite an old city. The city within the Red river's bend. You can see the Chinese influence in temples and in its history. In the 19th century, the French arrived and did a little cultural vandalism by tearing down parts of the ancient city and temples, but they brought with them new European architecture and French bread!! Vietnam declared independency from the French in 1954. And then we know what happened with the American involvement in the late 50's through 1975.

I like Hanoi better than Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). They seem to be similiar in size, I think Hanoi is smaller. They are very busy with traffic, motorcycles, etc, but there is a character here I like better. Walking through the Old Quarter is a real trip. Shops are generally arranged in areas, each street specializing in a certain product. There is the shoe shop street, the plumbing street, the buttons and fabric street, and the paper lantern street. This dates back to age of the craft guilds in the 13th century. Actually a good concept. And of course all over, as in HCMC, the sidewalks are alive with activities, eating, motorcycle parking, barbers cutting hair, merchants selling fruit. Walking the sidewalks is a real challenge, dodging and weaving through the dining areas, residents all sitting on little stools about a foot off the ground, and motorcycle parking...it doesn't seem to end. It's fascinating and amazing. You can walk for hours, just

seeing and feeling the city, with action at every step.

I visited the Old Quarter, buzzing with activity, walked the Hoam Kiem lake, the Fine Arts Museum, the Temple of Literature and the Hoa Lo Prison. The Hoa Lo Prison, aka "Hanoi Hilton" is where the American pilots including Senator McCain, were held during the Vietnam war.

At the prison, for the coverage of the American involvement in the war, the only pictures shown were of protestors objecting to the war, and there was a big play on how well the Americans were treated in prison - basketball courts, nice clothes etc....yea right! Propaganda is here loud and clear.

It was a very depressing prison, it served a great deal for housing the political prisoners protesting against the French in the early part of the 20th century. The French even installed a Guillotine in the prison.

Well I'm sitting in an airport in China, waiting for a flight home. I guess this signals the end of the trip. It was an amazing trip, Cambodia and Vietnam, small countries in size but historical and cultural giants, growing rapidly with new economies that are blossoming under a communist regime now nearly 40 years after the war.

Enjoyed having you along.

-Bill

Sapa Village, Vietnam - March 29-30, 2011

April 1, Hanoi Vietnam

Hi all,

About 200 miles north of Hanoi in the northern portion of Vietnam lie the

mountain ranges that border China. In this mountainous region also known as

the Tonkinese Alps, filled with cascading rice terraces and lush vegetation

lies the city of Sapa. Sapa is a popular destination because it puts you

among a diverse population of hill peoples. Sapa is a trekking hub where you

can hike out in several directions and visit 3 or 4 of Vietnam's 54 ethnic

groups.

Sapa is reached best by train, the usual method being a night train leaving

Hanoi about 8PM, then arriving in Lao Cai the next day about 5AM. Then a one hour ride

from 1500 feet elevation up to Sapa at 5000 feet elevation. Sapa was in the

colonial days, a mountain resort that provided an escape from the hustle

bustle of big city to the cool mountains - it remains that today.

The trip to Sapa was one of the highlights of my trip to Vietnam.

I met my local guide, Ta, raised near Ha Giang, a small village about 50 km from Sapa. Ta was

amazing. Over the 2 days he shared his knowledge of the people and the

area, and assisted me in trekking to visit 3 different mountain villages and to

interact with many local residents. Many of the locals wear native, very

colorful clothes, with color schemes representing their respective heritage.

Among the peoples visited were the Black Moung (mung), Red Dao (tszow),

and the Day (tsai).

I was very lucky Ta said. The weather is hazy, but clear. It can be very foggy

in Sapa. The last few days he said you could hardly see 10 meters ahead on

the road.

When you arrive, you are surrounded by the ethnic ladies in their costumes

with a large hand woven baskets on their backs, carrying purses, cloth belts, and other all

handmade objects. Many will follow you for hours hoping to make the big

sale. Most have a small child wrapped in a cloth backpack. At first it's a bit

intimidating, you are a bit offended, then with a little time you converse, laugh,

take pictures, and as they put it, you are their "new friend". Their technique

works, after several hours and 5 to 10 km hikes, you give in and buy

something!!!

Right off the night train, in the early morning Ta took me through the Sapa

market. This was a REAL local city market, fresh vegetables, fish, chickens

including black chickens, all kinds of meat including the unmentionable....yes

dog. Tables set up with locals having the usual morning soup for breakfast.

No trip to a small village is complete without a trip through the local market.

This whole area is incredibly beautiful with deep valleys, many terraced rice

paddies, water buffalo, and hiking trails all over with lush green forests of

bamboo.

I took a 6km trek the first day to visit the Black Moung in the Cat Cat village.

The second day, an 11km hike down a long river valley to visit the Red Dao

and Day peoples. Yea..I gave in and bought several things to support the

local communities. They are good saleswomen. You bargain and bargain and end up with a agreed upon price. You get handmade items taking hours of work for very few dollars.

This was a wonderful pause from the busy city of Hanoi. Back to the city, for

my last 3 days.

Photos: Night train to Sapa; at the market; black chicken; villagers shopping; Sapa town; little Black Moung; trekkers and their "followers"; water buffalo; incredible valley; my guide Ta; my "new friends"

Video: An encounter with the water buffalo

- Bill

Halong Bay, Vietnam

March 31, 2011 Hanoi, Vietnam

Hi all,

On March 26-28, I took a tour of Halong Bay. Halong Bay is a large bay 70 km south east of Hanoi in the north part of the Gulf of Tonkin. You start the boat tours in Halong Bay city, which is about a 4 hour bus ride south east of Hanoi.

What is nice is the bus picks you up at your hotel, although the bus must weave in and out of the narrow streets of Hanoi with high traffic. The "guide" onboard assists you in finding your boat when you arrive at the dock. Also he becomes your guide on board the boat, this is a great system as it avoids a madhouse of tourists trying to find their respective boats. The group on the bus is generally the group on your boat, so you get a chance to get acquainted on the bus ride south. The bus makes a rest stop along the way where, of course, you find a huge souvenir shop ready to take your money.

Halong Bay is a large bay with about 1500 picturesque, yet bazaar karst pinnicle peaks. These peaks were all formed from a limestone layer of sediment at the bottom of the ocean millions of years ago. Techtonic plate activity caused this layer to rise up vertically creating the tall peaks you see today. Available, but not all cruising, are some 2000 Chinese junk design boats outfitted to cruise the tourists to predesignated points in the bay. The boats are quite nice, they are outfitted with kitchen, nice dining area, staterooms and great viewing areas aboard.

The day the trip started it was cool and rainy, but the next day the weather was wonderful with even some broken clouds and sun. Lucked out, it was rainy and foggy a few days ago.

The boat stopped in many hidden bays, allowing passengers to kayak among the peaks. We visited a floating village where the whole village lived aboard floating houses, complete with pet dogs and a school, in the shelter of the peaks. Also included was a stop at an amazing cave, that we got a chance to hike through.

Halong bay is also a World Heritage site, protected from harm or commercialization by this UNESCO designation.

Most visits are 2 days and one night aboard ship, with all the meals included.

I met some great people on board from all over the world. Laura and Jerry, Brits who were on a 10 month backpacking trip around the world, Yugo and Tatiyana from Moscow, Mike from Chicago, Kevin, Christine and Megan, a family from Vancouver, all fun people.

Hope these pictures help show you what an incredible place this is.

From here, on to Sapa, a small village way up in northern Vietnam, where there is an opportunity to visit small villages of hill tribes, all with their own unique style and language. Looking forward to that.

- Bill

Phong Nha Caves - March 25, 2011

Hi All, March 29, 2011 Sapa, Vietnam

One of the wonders of the karst (limestone) pinnacles or peaks that are characteristic of coastal waters and rivers of South east Asia and southern China are that caves can occur in side them as they were formed. Many of these have been discovered over the years. One of the biggest in the world is here in Vietnam, inland up a river in the central portion of the country. I couldn't resist seeing them. I hired a car, made a 4 hour trip (each way) then 1/2 hour boat ride up river, then a 2 hour tour of the caves, then back in one day. It was all very worth it.

You tour the first 2 km of the cave in a local boat, launched by a skilled one-oar pilot using the same technique the gondaliers use in Venice. Then the motor comes on. After a tour inside the cave on water, you beach and walk through the cave. Amazing.

This site has also been designated as a World Heritage Site. The only way to describe it is through pictures, I have a few here.

Next, on to Halong Bay, with its over 1500 karst pinnacles out in the ocean, see you there!

-Bill

Photos: up river to the cave; the entrance to the cave; inside the cave

Video: River traffic on the way to the cave, these boats transport tourists up river to see the caves.

Hue, Vietnam March 23-24

Hi all,

I set up a private tour with a guide over the next few days to visit Hue, the ancient Citadel (a World Heritage Site), some of the Emperor's tombs, and spend some time in the city.

After a beautiful drive over the Hai Van Pass, from Danang to Hue, the highest point in Vietnam, I dropped down to Lang Co beach. On the beach a funny thing happened. All over in the tourist towns in Vietnam you will be approached by street vendors trying to sell you something, T-shirts, maps, trinkets. They are usually young and bold. The usual response is no sale. While on the beach I encountered the usual young vendors, and said no no no...But there was a very old fisherman with a high tech reel there, (see photo) probably in his 90's. He smiled, I asked if I could take his picture..."yes, yes"... and I did, then he charged me a buck for the picture!! SCORE! the wise old guy made his mark. A "fisherman" for money, not fish!! The young vendors have a lot to learn from him. He later gave me some nice shells. :0

My guide took me through the old Citadel in Hue, a beautiful old fort built by an emperor in 1802. You can see the Chinese influence. In fact, Hue was a large seaport in the 16th to 18th centuries, so traders from China and India came here and eventually settled.

There were about 13 emperor dynasties in Vietnam from 1802 to 1945, similar to the old Chinese dynasties. Many of the emperors established a summer home which ultimately became their Mausoleum. I visited 2 of these emperor's tombs. They are incredible places, virtual palaces with beautiful grounds. One in particular, the tomb of Khai Dinh, had a full room (his crypt) of 3 dimensional mosaics. The only place in the world I've ever seen 3D mosaics.

On the way back from the tour, the guide took me to a family business where they make incense and conical hats (worn by women in the field). It was fun, had some tea there with the guide and enjoyed talking to the family. After the tour I went by a street market, I wanted you to see a typical sidewalk market. Also bought fresh, steamed dumplings from the bike mounted dumpling seller, complete with wood fired steamer on board. Got a video of how you roll incense sticks.

Next I visit the Phong Nha caves, more on that later.

-Bill

Danang - China Beach - My Son, Vietnam March 21-22, 2011

Hue City, March 25, 2011

Danang, China Beach, My Son... those places conjure up many images in your mind of a time past and war history in Vietnam. For some this was a home, for others a temporary place in the military, but for now, Danang is booming. China Beach, an expansive beautiful beach in Danang, shows a stark contrast in time. On one end are the old times - fishing boats anchored off shore, and small village near. On the other end of the beach, a mile or so south, 5 star resort hotels are rising up. This is an image of the growth in Danang. After the war, with a large airbase built and left by the US military and with a large commercial river feeding it, Danang was poised to grow and it did.

On one end of Danang, is Marble Mountain, a mountain of solid marble. Extracting this sculpture resource has created a thriving industry at its base where local artists have sculpted everything from dining tables to Buddha statues. I visited a factory there.

A little east and in the mountains and jungle nearby Danang is My Son.

My Son was a religious center built between the 4th and 13th centuries AD by the Cham people, an ancient group of people in Vietnam. It was "discovered" by the French in the 1890's. It's a complex of monuments and towers built by carefully constructed bricks. Unfortunately of the nearly 70 towers at My Son, more than 50 were destroyed or damaged by American bombing during the war. My Son was a hot bed of activity during the war. You can still see large bomb craters nearby. My Son is a World Heritage site. Boy this was a hot day in the jungle, I feel for those who crawled through this jungle for days on end.

I made Danang my base to visit Hue, My Son and the old city of Hoi An. Two days here and the other two days in Hue.

Back for a report on my visit to Hue

Photos: River walkway in Danang; Marble sculpture at Marble mountain; Towers at My Son; The "new" China beach

Videos: "Traffic circle" below my hotel in Danang, note how they move like a symphony, looking out for each other!; Ancient Cham dance, recreated by the locals at My Son.

Bill

On the Road in Cambodia

Wednesday March 23, Hue, Vietnam

Hi All, let me start to catch up:

On the way from Phnom Phen on the 19th, the bus made a rest stop at a small street market featuring deep fat fried insects... yes I said insects! Attached are a few pictures. The featured item tarantulas and crickets. Cambodian appetizers - No I didn't :)

Dinner the night before in Phnom Penh featured a "hot pot". This is a pot placed in the center of the table, ala fondue style, where your meal is cooked by the group at the table. Greens and meats are delivered to the table, and everyone drops them in to boil. A fun feast (see video)

Back to HCMC in the evening and I spent one more day there before flying out to Danang on March 21. In Danang area, much to see. Will get back to you then.

Videos: Fresh Apricots at Cambodian sidewalk market; Insect munchies; Cambodian dinner - Hot Pot

-Bill

Amazing Angkor Wat, Cambodia

March 20, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Hi All,

Sorry...Its been difficult to secure internet service here in Cambodia, so I waited till I got back to Vietnam to send this blog on my visit to Cambodia and Angkor Wat.

Angkor Wat (AW) is just hard to describe, an incredible site and one of the worlds finest World Heritage Sites. The Khmer empire existed in Southeast Asia from about 800AD to 1450AD, and most of the temples visited here were built by dynasty kings from 1100 to 1200AD. The palaces were abandoned after a major war with Thailand. This was at a time when Europe was in the dark ages. AW is actually just one temple of many in a complex here, about 15 or so are regularly visited, but there are 100's of others. The stone carvings and inscriptions represent both the Buddhist and the Hindu influences .

Construction reminds me of the stories of the pyramids, with 1000's of local people involved in its construction. Each palace was typically built over a period of 20 to 40 years, with mass labor.

Angkor Thom, the name given to the capital of the area, has the Bayon temple with large face stone sculptures, facing all compass directions, refecting the Buddhist influence. You can see the mysterious Buddha image.

And lastly, I visited Ta Phrom, this one you've probably have seen in scenes in Indiana Jones, with trees crawling over the walls. This temple, after being abandoned and neglected, was overrun by large jungle trees, lifting many walls and all but destroying the temple. Incredible sites!

After the visit of AW, I went on to Phnom Phen, and visited the royal palace. Cambodia has a monarchy and has been ruled by kings for years. The king was in town, and would visit the palace some time after I toured it. It reminds me of the large Wat Phrom in Bangkok, huge grounds with many temples, lavish construction, silver floors, and including an incredible emerald Buddha.

Off early to markets in town this morning and bus ride back to Saigon.

I'll be with you in a day or two.

-Bill