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Published: March 8th 2008
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Da Nang
Our second stop in Viet Nam gave us a feel for the large cities and the traffic experience. We chose a tour to the former imperial capital of Hue, a city about a two hour drive from the Tien Sa Port over the Troung Son Mountain Range which lines the border between Laos and Viet Nam. Unfortunately, our guide, who was very young, was difficult to understand, and he didn’t understand our questions, either. Or maybe, because he had a set explanation of things, he didn’t want to answer us although, I believe it was the former. He was too young to have been a part of the war, and now he lived in a communist country. Having been educated by communists, to him the Viet Nam war was referred to as the US War, or American War. The museums held only Viet Nam memorabilia, and nothing positive about the US. However, in spite of this, our tour was interesting.
We drove over the Hai Van Pass where we saw an American fortification still standing. The drive was up a very circuitous, rather bumpy road to our first stop “for a rest.” Vendors offered free toilets, but
expected a dollar or a purchase of something upon exit. We were getting into territory of real poverty. Vy, our guide managed to tell us so we understood, that the salaries of average workers here was not more than $100 a month. Because of this, children of these families did not go to school because they couldn’t afford it. After our rest, we continued down the mountain to Hue.
Not many people in the country can afford cars, so everyone has either a bike or motor bike or motor cycle. No fancy Harley’s, however. So, the roads are filled with them, and the only other vehicles are buses and trucks, for the most part. We saw very few cars on the way. On a highway of four lanes (two each way) one lane is almost entirely bikes and motor bikes while the buses and trucks vie for the “fast” lane. Our bus driver had one hand on the horn all the time, and used it more than I have ever heard before. They don’t believe in traffic signals, either, which makes intersections a great big game of chicken. Incredible! I do have pictures and won’t publish this until I
can show a few. I’m having real problems getting on the internet on the ship, and haven’t been able to publish any pictures the last two entries. Maybe in Singapore?
I digress. Back to Hue. We visited the tomb of an emperor first. Many of the buildings are still there dating back to the mid 1800’s. One of the veterans on the tour said this and the forbidden palace we were to visit were off limits to GI’s, and thus were hot pockets for the Viet Cong. Our guide continued to talk about the emperors and the eunuchs guarding the concubines, and didn’t answer anything about the later war period. We were taken to a nice, quite new hotel for lunch, and then went to the final stop, the Forbidden City. This is a small copy of the Forbidden City in Bejing, a much smaller copy. Here the challenge was crossing the street. We were told not to look them in the eye, but slowly step in the cross walk and keep going because they won’t stop for us, they will go around us - either in front or back, depending on our speed. We weren’t ever to run
across, as they may slow down a bit, but won’t stop. I actually made it across with my street crossing phobia and all. Once across, we continued on and heard more about the last emperor. The place is in need of some repair, or rather, some tender loving care to bring it up to snuff. Since there is not any money for such things, the restoration is slow in coming. After seeing the thick brick walls and the solid buildings, and of course, the moat, we understood why the place was a favorite for the Viet Cong.
Our trip back was interesting because instead of going back over the pass, we went through the mountain in a four mile long tunnel. It had been completed in 2006, and was funded by the Japanese, interestingly enough. We were able to save about 45 minutes driving time, but we arrived back in Da Nang just in time for rush hour, and got back to the ship about 5 minutes before they were scheduled to raise the gang plank. One woman was quite incensed because she couldn’t shop, but others said, in effect, get over it. So, all in all, we had
an extremely interesting and eye-opening day in Hue.
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