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Published: January 15th 2010
Hi all,
We have now left Hanoi and we're travelling south down the length of Vietnam to arrive eventually in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). Our first mode of transport was 'The Reunification Express' which was an overnight train as far as Hue (like 'whey'). Again, not quite the Orient Express, but it helped having silk sleeping bags and our own pillows. I also wore an Aussie fly net over my head to keep mosquitos and bugs off me, earplugs and an eye mask, which might have looked strange but it did for me. Another feature of the trip was that we were all in 4-berth cabins, so we shared with Mal and Julie who are a really nice Aussie couple. It was like being in a mini-dorm and it was quite a hoot.
Hue is another UNESCO World Heritage Site (there is a pattern forming to this itinerary). The interesting sites were spaced out, so we all went in convoy on the back of motorbikes with locals driving. Whilst it wasn't strictly in accordance with our travel insurance Sawat, our guide, assured us that Intrepid hire only the safest drivers with well maintained bikes, so we decided
to risk it. We were glad that we did because we were able to get off the roads and drive through the countryside alongside paddy fields and rivers, through woodland and remote villages. Hue has the most rainfall in Vietnam, unfortunately, so we weren't surprised that it was raining, but we still had a great day.
After Hue we took a mini-bus south to Hoi An (yet another UNESCO ....) which is about half way between Hanoi and HCMC. Hoi An is all lovely French architecture again. The South Vietnamese seem to be a lot softer than the North Vietnamese, but they work just as hard. There are approx 200 tailor shops in Hoi An, all trying to get you to have dresses or suits made. Harry wasn't tempted because he had a suit made in Bangkok once before and never actually wore it. However, I've had some things made here which I'm really pleased with, probably because they're a lot simpler to make than a suit!
Just outside Hoi An is yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site called My Son which was populated by the Cham people from 4th - 13th Century. It's surrounded by mountains (My
Harry enjoying the party on the boat
This pic should've been with the Hanoi blog Son actually means 'beautiful mountain') and it's a bit like Angkor Wat in that the temples were overtaken by vegetation until about 100 years ago when the French discovered it. Unfortunately the Viet Cong used it as a base during the Vietnam war and it got bombed quite heavily in the 60's, so a lot of it was destroyed. You can still see the bomb craters which are perfectly round deep holes. In fact, it's surprising that the whole place wasn't destroyed really.
Everything is really cheap here by Western standards. You can have two meals and two beers for about 5 quid, so it makes sense to get away from expensive Euro zones and come here if you can get a reasonably priced air fare. It also feels quite safe, especially in the tourist areas - and there are quite a few European-type families here with young children which was a surprise to us. There are obviously some scams going on, as there are in all tourist destinations, but if you know what they are you can easily avoid them.
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Claire
non-member comment
Beard
Loving the beard Harry, it suits you! I must say, you both look very relaxed and chilled out.