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