Douglas A Derr
47 year old male, avid life long traveler, prefer backpacking and traveling on the cheep, visiting more exotic and out of the way places.dderr
Travel Blog Posts
North Vietnam, Ha Noi and Ha Long Bay
Published: April 28th 2008Asia » Vietnam » Red River Delta » Halong Bay
April 28th 2008
After Hue, a night bus to Ha Noi. Very big bustling city in the north of Vietnam. Went to see Ho Chi Minh (he's on display just like Lenin is in Moscow). Unfortunatly he wanted to be cremated. I thing being on display is as far away from becoming ashes as I can imagine. Went to a water puppet show (the stage is water and the puppets are controlled from behind a screen with a stick under the water). This show was better than the one in Saigon. Spent a couple days on a Junk in Ha Long Bay, famous for its thousands of limestone formations/islands. James Bond, the man with the golden gun was partially filmed here. Went kyaking around some of the formations and fished for squid at night.... read more
April 28th 2008
After Hoi An I took a short bus (only 4 hours) to Hue in the center (vertically) of Vietnam. Hue is famous for its Citadel, Palace and several tombs. The palace is patterned after the Forbiden City in Bejing, China but on a smaller scale. Lots of reconstruction going on. The day was very hot with little shade available. But I enjoyed the sites anyway.... read more
April 28th 2008
After Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and the Mekong Delta, I visited several places in central Vietnam and along the coast. Nah Trang is a beach resort city and Hoi An is a world heratige site with many ancient houses and other structures. It was a quick trip with overnight busses and only 1 day visits to each city, but I really enjoyed both.... read more
April 22nd 2008
Spent a few days exploring the Mekong Delta region at the very south of Vietnam. Lots of waterways. Most people survive off the water. Visited a floating market and saw a staged cock fight and had the most interesting meal. I had frog, snake, eal and sewer rat while this fish was staring at me. Then drank snake wine made with cobra and scorpions soaking in rice wine (tastes just like you would expect a raw dead snake to taste), not soo good. Love the fresh pinapple though. Central Vietnam should be next. Doug... read more
Day trip from Saigon
Published: April 22nd 2008Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City » Cu Chi
April 22nd 2008
I took a day trip to the Cao Di Temple and to Cu Chi Tunnels. The Temple is the main temple for the Cao Di religion, a religion mixing 3 other religions; Catholicism, Budhisim and Hinduism. The red, yeallow and Blue represent each religion (I know red is Catholicism but don't know the other 2). The Temple was colorfull and the cerimony beautiful. The Cu Chi tunnels are where the people in the south were fighting for the north and used them to move around and hide from the Americans, also set up many booby traps to catch the enemy. Had a great time and will be posting pictures from the Mekong Delta later. Doug ... read more
April 22nd 2008
I spent a few days in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). It's a very active cosmopolitan city with lots of motor bikes all over. Took a boat ride and it was like I was in Disney World; I went from the hustle and bustle of the big city to total tranquility and lush greenery in an instant once the boat went under a bridge. Had a great time in Saigon. Not much to see, but lots to do. Doug... read more
April 13th 2008
I spent a relaxing 2 1/2 days on the Island of Bali, Indonisia. I think this could be the most beautiful place I've been to. I wasn't completely off the grid because I did want to see the important sites so I hired a driver and needed to know what time it was in order to meet him each day. Visited a couple temples on the west coast and a temple site in central Bali on a lake that was a former volcano. Got to see one beautiful sunrise. I got up at 5:00 AM the other morning and got dressed, camera ready headed out and realized it was raining once I got to the street and headed back to bed. I stayed on the East Side at a relatively quite (less visited) area called Sanur. ... read more
April 13th 2008
I spent 2 days in busy, cosmopolitan Jakarta, on the Island of Java, Indonisia. Tough crossing the street and not too much to see, but the people were very friendly and were happy to have me take there pictures. Then I took the 10 hour (which took 12 hours) train to Yojakarta in central Java. Saw shadow puppet show (rather boring as not much action) and traditional dance at the Sultans palace. Came here primarily to see borobuda and Pramanan temples. Stopped by Mount Bromo (an active volcano) to see the sunrise and climb up and around the rim on my way to Bali. It took 14 hours by mini bus from Yojakarta to Bromo and another 15 hours by regular bus from Bromo to Bali. Not so comfortable, but this is a price you have ... read more
April 1st 2008
On my way to Langkawi Island I stopped on Penang Island to visit the Temple of 10,000 budhas and the third largest reclining budha.... read more
April 1st 2008
After a difficult couple of weeks travel, I spent a few days in paradise on an Island off the West Coast of Northern Malaysia/Southern Thailand called Langkawi. Absolutely beautiful. Langkawi means brown eagle and went Island hopping and saw some brown eagles. The sunset is defferent every day.... read more
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