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Published: October 25th 2006
After a short and painless bus ride, we arrived in the Vietnamese city, Hue. Hue has played an important role in Vietnamese history, in that it was once the capital of southern Vietnam and was home to many emperors (most notably, those in the Nguyen Dynasty). The city today, is full of historical artifacts from the Citadel to the numerous tombs and pagodas that line the Perfume River. However, many of these ancient remnants narrowly escaped the destruction of war and bare the hardships they faced. Unfortunately, the structures weren't the only things shattered. In 1968, Hue was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Tet Offensive and was the only city in South Vietnam to be held for a substantial period of time by the communists. During the period of time (about 3 1/2 weeks) that the Viet Cong were in control, they had constructed a detailed list of over 3,000 civilians that they planned on exterminating. More of this history lesson will come as we tell you about our exploration throughout the city and the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
Since we arrived early enough in the day, we decided to make ourselves useful and tour the
Highnesses' Enchanting Pleasure Pavilion
This pavilion is located in the Dien Tho Residence area of the Citadel which is comprised of apartments and audience hall for the Queen Mothers of the Nguyen dynasty.Citadel. Construction of the Citadel began in 1804 under the rule of Emperor Gia Long (who founded the Nguyen dynasty). The Citadel is essentially a castle in which Emperor Long, his family and entourage lived. The royal fortress is encompassed by a moat and a brick wall. There is an impressive 37 meter (about 122 feet) Flag Tower that is Vietnam's tallest flagpole. During the VC occupation of Hue in 1968, the National Liberation flag flew rebelliously from the tower for 3 1/2 weeks. As we entered the Citadel's gates, we were impressed by the vast expanse of land that the fortress occupied. There were a plethora of palaces, residences and temples. As we walked through the different buildings, we envisioned the ornate detail and wealth that once occupied these royal edifices. Most of the buildings were in the process of being restored, but we were still able to appreciate the beauty of these ancient, majestic dwellings. We strolled through the sprawling gardens and open land. It was enjoyable to experience some of the earliest Vietnamese culture. We left the Citadel after a few hours worth of sight seeing and ate at a great local restaurant. Vietnam's cuisine is very
Megs and Mike
Behind us is the Thai Hoa Palace inside the Citadel. basic, there aren't many gourmet dishes and everything is a variation from something else. After our few weeks in Vietnam, we both concluded that we have never eaten so much rice or pork in our entire lives. Basically, every dish we ate consisted of fried rice and pork. Every now and then we ordered some noodles, but it was all very much the same. Despite the lack of variety, we did enjoy the Vietnamese food, especially the cost of the meals (usually $4 for the both of us).
The morning after touring the Citadel, we joined a one day organized tour through the DMZ. From 1954 to 1975, the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) served as the demarkation line between the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam). The creation of the zone at the Ben Hai River was intended to be temporary and not a political boundary. However, during the Vietnam War this was not the case. Central Vietnam, home of the DMZ, was the scene of the heaviest fighting during the war. Some of the bloodiest battles occured here, battles that became household names in The States: Rockpile, Hamburger Hill, Khe Sanh and
One of the Nine Dynastic Urns
These urns were casted in the 1800's and each are dedicated to an individual Nguyen sovereign. The designs are of chinese orgin which date back around 4000 years. Quang Tri. After a brief, thickly accented and hardly decipherable history lesson, we began our drive up the mountainous Highway 9. Our guide informed us that before the war, this area housed plush, three-layer canopy forests. During the war, the forests were eaten away by Agent Orange (an herbicide dropped by the Americans to deplete the covering forests and expose the hidden VC). Our guide recalled that during the war, as a little boy, he remembered hearing American soldiers on loud speakers saying that this substance would not affect plants or people. On the contrary, Agent Orange not only demolished the forests, but caused birth defects and cancer to inconceivable amounts of people. Thirty years later, today, plants and vegetation are just now beginning to grow back and are once again providing the local people with work and food. Although the forests are recovering, they are still strewn with bombs, mines and countless other harmful war remnants. Since 1975, 5000 people have been injured or killed around this region from mines and other wartime weapons. Sadly, despite the risk, impoverished peasants still dig for chunks of leftover metal to sell in return for money. After a short ride into the
mountains, we pulled to the side of the road where we were shown a relatively small, unimpressive hill. We were then told that this was the Rockpile. Rockpile functioned as a US Marine Corps look-out and was where supplies were helicoptered in. Basically, if our guide hadn't pointed out the significant hill of rocks, we would have never seen it. A few quick pictures and then we visited the Dakrong Bridge, which was once an important segue into the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Then we visited the Khe Sanh Combat Base, where the most famous siege and one of the most controversial battles occured during the Vietnam War. The 75 day siege began on January 21st, 1968 with a small scale assault on the base perimeter. As US Marines and South Vietnamese soldiers braced themselves for a full-scale ground attack, the North Vietnamese were secretly infiltrating the South (Siagon and other cities). For two months, the base was hit by ground artillery fire. It is estimated that the US military dropped 10,000 tons of explosives in the immediate vicinity of the base. As the Viet Cong's decoy went unhitched, the siege of the base never came. Although over 10,000 North
Vietnamese died, the North viewed this distraction as an advance and a partial victory. As the Americans slowly came to realize, the VC had used the battle at Khe Sanh as an enormous diversion to attract the US forces' attention so they could penetrate the South. Upon realization that they had been outsmarted and that the Khe Sanh Base held no strategical importance, American forces up and left the blood-filled base destorying anything that could be of use to the VC. What remains at Khe Sanh base today is a museum and several wartime artifacts. This memorabilia included two helicopters, a few bunkers and bomb shells. We were quite perturbed and agitated when several peddlers came up to us and were trying to sell us American soldiers' dog-tags that had been unearthed. We found this morally unacceptable and rather disturbing. In the museum, we were once again shown a one sided account of the war. It was somewhat amusing this time though. There were pictures on the walls that showed American troops hanging out or relaxing in bunkers and there was a subtitle put on it that said "Americans in distress as they are losing the war." There was no
View from Dackrong Bridge
These tracks to the right of the river were where Vietnamese soldiers and supplies traveled through the Ho Chi Minh Trail. sign of distress of sadness in these pictures that claimed to have some. After our visit at Khe Sanh, we drove to the Ben Hai River, the line that unofficially separates Northern Vietnam from Southern Vietnam. Our last stop of the day was at the Vinh Moc Tunnels. In response to massive aerial and artillery bombardment around the area of Vinh Moc, villagers found themselves living in one of the most heavily bombed areas in the world and realized they needed to find safegrounds. And so they began digging. After 18 months of work, an enormous tunnel was built. The civilians of Vinh Moc resided in these tunnels and were later joined by VC soldiers. The tunnels were built on three levels ranging from 45 to 84 feet. There were 12 entrances, seven of which opened onto the palm-lined beaches. Due to the fact that these tunnels were used as residences, they were much wider and easier to navigate than the claustrophobic Cu Chi tunnels. Thankfully, they were dimly lit and tall enough for even Mike to walk through. Walking through the tunnels, we saw bedrooms, kitchens, bombshelters, a maternity ward and a little area that was used as a
Abandoned Weapons
Khe Sanh Combat Base hospital. Somehow, while Meghan was taking pictures in the tunnel, our digital camera broke. So unfortunately, we didn't get many pictures from here on out (but we got a new one a few days later, so don't worry). After the tunnels, we crossed the Ben Hai River, the unofficial border of Northern Vietnam from Southern Vietnam. After the tour was over, we wished that it had included some more legitimate sights. But we realized that after as much bombing and battles that had occured in this region, we were satisfied to see what we did. Hamburger Hill, which wasn't on our tour since it is further south, is said to have tons of remnants, including a US helicopter stuck in a tree. However, it is still litered with land mines and is therefore unsafe to explore.
The next day, before catching a night bus to Hanoi, we decided to take a Dragon Boat (a boat shaped like a dragon) up the Perfume River and check out all of the pagodas and royal tombs. The pagodas and tombs were built as shrines to the emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty. Some were more ornate than others and there was little variety
of architecture or design between them. However, it was easy to decipher which rulers were self-centered or rich by how ornate or gaudy the temples were, because they personally designed them. One emperor even raised taxes to an alarming rate to build his tomb, which was apparent. However, it also put already impoverished people in even worse situtations.
We arrived in the capital city of Hanoi early the following morning. As we walked through the city in pursuit of a hotel, we noticed how it was definitely an older city than most we had visited. We found a place in the Old French Quarter which was a network of narrow, winding alleyways saturated with peddlers selling everything under the sun. The city, from our perception, seemed to be a lot dirtier than others and a bit smaller than the Saigon. After checking into our dilapidated hotel, we explored the city. In the French Quarter, every street has a theme in which those products are sold. For example, on Shoe Street everyone sold shoes, believe it or not. Likewise, there were other streets that sold sunglasses, kids toys, clothing, sewing products, etc. After walking around a good portion of the
city and the manmade lake in the center, we decided to book a tour to HaLong Bay the following day. In pursuit of the perfect three day expedition, we visited a multitude of travel agents. The crazy thing about Vietnam is that there are no copyright laws, so there were hundreds of travel agencies with the same name, even though they weren't the same companies. From our trusty tour book, we found a few of the original travel agencies and booked our trip.
At 9am the next morning, we were picked up in a van and were off to HaLong Bay, a three hour drive northeast of Hanoi and just south of the Chinese border. As Vietnam's second World Heritage Sight, HaLong Bay is located in the Gulf of Tonkin and consists of a dense cluster of 3,000 limestone islands, all covered with thick jungle vegetation. HaLong Bay, in Vietnamese, means Bay of the Descending Dragon and as legend goes, when the Vietnamese were fighting Chinese invaders, the gods sent dragons down to help defend the land. As the dragons descended, they spit jewels and jade which formed the islands and islets which dot the bay and created barriers
against invaders. Besides the innumerous and breathtaking islets, there are hundreds of grottoes and beaches. We arrived to the pier in HaLong in the early afternoon and were taken aboard our boat. It was a three story boat constructed of dark wood and was so charming. We were given the keys to our rooms, all located on the first floor, and settled in. After unpacking, we went upstairs to the dining room on the second floor where lunch awaited us. As we ate a delicious seafood lunch, we departed into the emerald waters of the bay. For an hour we cruised through the brilliant bay and passed by hundreds of the jagged brown islands bursting with green plant life. The contrast between the turquoise water and the colorful islets was amazing. The spiky islands varied tremendously in size and shapes. However, the majority are uninhibited for they are too steep and small to live on. As we were getting comfortable on the rooftop deck, we stopped at a floating fishing village and picked up some fresh fish, still swimming, for dinner. A bit later we pulled up outside Hang Sung Sot Cave. We got off the boat and walked up
several steep flights of stairs and entered the cave. There were three enormous chambers to this cave, all infested with stalagtites and stalagmites. The cave was lit with several diferent colored lights that brought the different formations to life. After a little exploration through the cave we got back on the boat. We journeyed through the bay for another two hours before anchoring outside of a cave. We were then told that we could spend the rest of the day swimming and kayaking. Like the daredevil he is, Mike sprinted to the upper deck and with a running start, jumped into the clear green water. Meghan, not wanting to chicken out, quickly jumped right behind him. After a few more dives, cannonballs and flips, we went kayaking into a grotto. The relatively large hollowed island was bursting with trees, plants and wildlife. As we approached one edge, we noticed a group of monkeys swinging in the trees above. It was amazing. We felt like we had just discovered a hidden treasure. The water in the open-air cave was shallow and clear as glass. The weather was warm and the day was perfect. After a good exercise from kayaking we jumped
back in the water and swam for a bit longer. As nightfall approached, we climbed aboard and cleaned up for dinner. A delectable and plentiful meal of shrimp, fish, beef and vegetables was served to us. We scarfed it down in no time. Naturally, when dinner was finished we began drinking with some of the other travellers. We quickly made friends with an Australian couple and greatly enjoyed their company.
We woke up the next morning, went for a quick swim and then disembarked the boat onto Cat Ba Island (one of the few large and inhabited islands). We checked into a surprisingly nice hotel, ate lunch and then headed towards Cat Ba National Park for some mountain biking. We got our not so well maintained bikes and began our expedition. We rode our bikes for two hours through the countryside and mountainous region of the island. The land was blooming green with crops and there were hundreds of waterbuffalo working their daily chores. After working up quite a sweat, we hiked up to Hospital Cave. Historically significant, Hospital Cave served as a secret, bomb-proof hospital for the VC generals during the Vietnam War. We were greeted at the entrance by a uniform-clad Vietnamese man. When he asked all of us, through his translator, to stand in a straight line and then began to speak loudly in Vietnamese, we were a bit freaked out. The translator then told us that he was a guard of the hospital during the war and that he was happy to have us here and he wanted to paint us a picture of what it was like thirty years ago. Then he broke into song and belted out an amazing Vietnamese wartime song. We wished we had our camera to capture his prescence on video. Fears appeased, we entered the dimly lit cave and walked through now empty rooms that once served as surgery and examination rooms, sleeping quarters and other such rooms. In one of the hardly lit examination rooms, our guide once again vibrated the cave with his songs. It was fascinating. He then showed us a swimming pool and exercise facility that was used to rehabilitate the patients. As we exited the cave, in broken English, he told us that we are all friends and then he pulled out a stack of pictures of him with other tourists from all over the world. He then asked each of us to take a photo with him and then when we develop it, send it to him. It was a great experience and he made it all the better. After the Hospital Cave and lunch, we got on another boat and went to Monkey Island. Believe it or not, Monkey Island is home to wild monkeys. As we swam and relaxed on the beach, monkeys ran everywhere. It was sad to see the local people taunting the monkeys and one local even tried to give a monkey a ciggarette. Horrible. Other people were feeding the creatures and chasing them. No wonder these animals attack people and can become viscious. We stayed on Monkey Island for a few hours and then headed back to our hotel on Cat Ba Island. That night we were served another great dinner in the hotel and then went along the waterfront and enjoyed the warm evening.
We woke up refreshed the next morning, jumped back on the boat, went for a quick swim and then made our way back to Hanoi. We had an amazing time in majestic HaLong Bay and only wished that we were there longer. When we got back to Hanoi we booked our flight for the next morning back to Thailand. After a wonderful 3 1/2 weeks in Vietnam, we were sad to leave but also excited for what lay ahead in Thailand.
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MOM SCHAFER
non-member comment
YEAH
Have you ever been in the middle of a good book and then had to put it down - another great blog guys. Besides the history lesson, it's nice to know you're having fun too!