Same Same But Different!

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Hanoi to Nha Trang

A brief history of Vietnam....

Vietnam has been a completely different experience to China, even though it was in effect ruled by them for 1000 years before the Viet people took back their country in the 10th Century. The French colonised it in 1885 and managed to keep it up until the First World War. This short period of colonisation was a very significant one in Vietnamese history as the French introduced major cultural changes, bringing in modern education methods and Catholicism became widespread. The following years after the French were evicted were very unstable, with the country effectively being split into two nations, Ho Chi Minh's communist north and the pro-catholic south ruled by Emporer Ngo Dinh Diem.
This is where the American's became involved.. aiming to assist in removing the communist rule which had begun attacking major sites in the south of the country. The rest is well documented history. Needless to say, Vietnam is now a unified nation politically, but there is a different feel in the north than in the south. Maybe it's the colonial style to the cities of the south and the more hard line designs in the north. It can't just be me, as more people live in Saigon, or hideously ironically named Ho Chi Minh City, than do in the capital, Hanoi. I can't think of many countries in the world where this is the case. Maybe the USA, India and Australia, but not many at all...

Back to the travels! I felt the above was important to share as the history of Vietnam is a major part of the country today and you can't help but be affected by it as you visit historical sites and museums throughout the country and gain an understanding of what they've been through as a nation.
So, Hanoi, the northern gateway to Vietnam. Hanoi is crazy. So many people, every single one, it seems, on a motorbike, zipping around, somehow not colliding with each other. It's surprisingly easy to cross the road though, just keep walking and they'll drive around you! There's plenty of youtube videos to vouch for me!
The first night we went for a wander around the city centre to get my bearings, stopping briefly for a lick at Fanny Ice Cream Parlour before heading to a local beer joint where the locals all sit on tiny plastic chairs on the pavement and while away the night drinking very cheap beer. We visited several museums in Hanoi including the Museum of Ethnology which was really cool, despite the extortionate taxi ride con; the driver had rigged his meter to go at twice the normal speed! We're not that stupid mate... The museum was fairly interesting inside but the best part was in the gardens round the back where there were full sized reconstructions of traditional Vietnamese houses of all shapes and sizes. The 'most interesting museum of the trip so far' award goes to the Hỏa Lò Prison, or more commonly known as the Hanoi Hilton. A former prison used by the French and also Ho chi Minh's Communist regime to keep US POW's in not too favourable conditions...
The next day I had booked a day trip out to Ha Long Bay, one of the great wonders of the world. Vast limestone peaks rising out of the water like scales on the back of a dragon (Ha Long translates as 'descending dragon'😉, and it was a beautiful day as well which helped. Spent the whole day out on the boat only stopping to jump into a kayak and go and explore some caves, and hidden areas, one of which was used in Tomorrow Never Dies!
We got a sleeper bus to Hue (say it very fast..) and arrived at sleep o'clock in the morning (see my previous blog for my feelings on Asian sleeper buses...). We had already booked our room (as we continued to do for the rest of Vietnam) and unusually for us went straight out to explore instead of going to sleep for a few hours. Hue is famous for it's ancient walled citadel and the Purple Forbidden City inside this, former home of kings and queens of the former capital of Vietnam in the 19th Century. The buildings are very well preserved and often left in the original condition rather than be restored which makes a nice change! On our second day here we went on a boat trip down the Perfume River (trust me you don't want to splash it on your face..) and visited several tombs of former emperors which were really beautiful ornate buildings; one set in a huge park, another high up so that everyone could see it and a third in a lily garden.

This is a traditional Vietnamese Story we were told whilst on the trip to the tombs which I think is a)really cool and b)shows how greedy and lazy the humans are...
In the beginning when the Gods was handing out life times, humans were given twenty years of life because they were lazy and ended up last in the queue. Meanwhile the poor buffalo, whose each and everyday is filled with toil and the stresses of life gets one hundred years. The buffalo soon tires of this existence and begins to plead to the Gods for some relief and release from these onerous burdens. The Gods hear the buffalo's requests but say there is nothing they can do. Elsewhere in the jungle, the monkey, who spends all his days messing around, causing havoc, upsetting all and sundry and complaining loudly at every opportunity, has been given forty years. The monkey soon tires of his lonely life of widespread unpopularity and also pleads with the Gods to help his plight. The Gods give the monkey the same answer as the buffalo.
Time goes by, and man suddenly realises his days of pleasure and freedom are numbered and must soon come to an end. He pleads to the Gods for more time. The Gods say there is nothing they can do, but that they will consider if the plight of all these creatures can be improved.
Eventually one God suggests a solution. If all are willing, he will halve the life of the buffalo to fifty years and give the spare fifty to the human, who instantly agrees. The God offers the same deal to the monkey, and again both parties gleefully accept. This explains how human's first 20 years of life are so productive, learning to do everything that will stand us in life. The 50 years we took from the hard working buffalo are our working years, and the 20 years we took from the mischievous, chattering monkey are our final years where we sit around chatting!!

Another sleeper bus to Hoi An, world-famous for getting clothes custom-made for very little money (Top Gear stopped by here in their Vietnam special). The whole town is a Unesco World Heritage Site so is very well preserved if a little bit touristy, but the best thing to do is just to sit by the river and watch the world go by. We did a day trip out to My Son which is like a mini version of Angkor Wat. Well it was before the US bombed most of it. The remaining buildings were very interesting to wander around despite the searing heat! It was here in Hoi An that we had our first real traumatic experience. The rainy season is in full flow in SE Asia and whilst I was staring out the window at the torrential downpour and Rhian was having a snooze I could hear dripping, so turned around expecting a tap or something, but instead found our ceiling had turned into a waterfall and there was water everywhere, so whilst Rhian ran downstairs and got some staff, I used a bucket to try and stop it from ruining everything and by the time they had come back up I was soaked, but had managed to protect most of the gear and the lady was shocked at what was going on! We were swiftly moved rooms and spent the next half an hour thinking about what would have happened if we weren't in the room!! It was like the opening scene from Inception in there!!

A short trip on a bus to Nha Trang, Vietnam's beach capital and a great place to kick back for a couple of days. Whilst we were here it was Vietnam's National Day (the day that Ho Chi Minh died) and we went to the Sailing Club danced the night away on the beach with the locals! We spent a few nights here taking advantage of the relaxed atmosphere before heading to our last stop, Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City via another sleeper bus, but this time I purposefully requested the back seat so that I could stretch my legs and attempt to get some kind of sleep!...

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