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Published: August 7th 2007
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Cuc Phuong National Park
The road to nowhere leads to me. Time has really been flying by in Vietnam. This bustling country with the second fastest growing economy of Asia is certainly a contrast from the laid back, relaxing atmosphere I experienced in Laos. Vietnam has been a welcome change and with unique culture and social characteristics apart from the partially homogeneous nature of Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. Over a thousand years of Chinese influence has left its mark in many parts of the country, both culturally and socially. It's been less than 100 years since the Vietnamese switched over to the Roman alphabet from Chinese characters. During the French colonial rule the Vietnamese accepted many influences of the west in an attempt to partially assert themselves against foreign domination. Many political and social leaders believed that the best way to free themselves from French-rule was to adopt the best of the west while still preserving their unique and treasured cultural heritage. So...after decades of war, revolutions, changing government, new political parties, and various foreign influences, Vietnam has once again risen to its feet and is embarking upon the mighty and powerful transition into a full blown market economy. In the words of many Vietnamese I've met so far, in Vietnam...communism is
dead. Capitalism is in. What a traveler saw 5 years ago in Vietnam is not the same as today. I'm certain the same will be true in 5 years from now. I'd like to make it clear that I'm not saying any of this in a demeaning way, its just that in Vietnam, things are a changin'.
Anyways...I left Hanoi on a local bus and headed to Cuc Phuong National Park. I spent two days hiking, exploring, and enjoying the beautiful natural scenery the park has to offer. It's boasts an impressive primate rehabilitation center and is home to some of the rarest primate species on earth. Several species of languor's are only found in Vietnam, one species in particular with less than 350 still living in the wild. Because of poaching, each year their numbers decline and I feel very lucky to have visited their home and see some of these creatures living in the wild. I took a motor bike out of the park and headed 45 km to Ninh Binh, a stopover point on my way to Hue.
The bus to Hue from Ninh Binh really, really sucked. The journey is
1000 year old tree
some of the trees in Cuc Phuong are really ancient, including this one. an 11 hour overnight bus ride and I was unfortunate enough to be the 2nd to last person to get on the bus. It had already filled up with Vietnamese in Hanoi before stopping in Ninh Binh to pick up a few stragglers. Luckily the last person on board was a friendly, good-natured German fellow who sat next to me for the journey and shared my misery. We sat in the very back row with no leg room and without reclining seats. Trying to sleep sitting up with your knees against your chin is no easy feat. I am very thankful to see a bed once again. Most of the journey the German fellow, Wolfgang, and I chatted up a storm. We finally reached Hue tired but insanely excited to get off the bus. Hue was hot. At 10:30 am when we arrived the temp was already at 97 degrees. Yikes. Both of us checked into a hotel room and caught a quick nap in an air-conditioned room before heading out for the day.
A highlight of Hue is the Imperial Citadel, home of the royal court of the Nguyen Dynasty. Nguyen kings ruled from 1805 to
1945 before finally being tossed aside during war and revolution. Hue remains an important center in Vietnam and for centuries prior to the Nguyen's it was the capitol of Vietnam. When Wolfgang and I showed up at the Citadel we noticed a sign for an evening festival to be held in the old royal courtyard. We both decided to skip the day's heat and return during the cooler evening hours. I rented a motor bike and both of us skipped outside of town, 16km to the beach for a refreshing break for the heat. We spent several hours at the beach, headed back for dinner, then dashed off to the Citadel. The evening was filled with a marvelous display of colored lights, traditional costumes, dancing, and symphonic music played by an authentic Vietnamese orchestra. It was a very enjoyable evening.
The next day I played around town, read my book, got a $4 massage, and did my best to avoid the heat. The next morning I left for Danang, or more specifically China Beach, an area chalk full of war history. China Beach is just a short drive south from the heart of Danang, and boasts an
Cuc Phuong III
Inside the park. impressive 30km stretch of beautiful beaches. It's romantic lure for western travelers, especially Americans, is that it was the #1 R&R location for US soliders during the war. The army used to airlift GI's from the south and drop them off on the shores of the beach. The beach stretches as far as the eye can see with rolling sand dunes and super warm water. Later when the fighting spread further north, there was a massive evacuation at the US airstrip in Danang. Thousands of people tried to board the two 727's that evacuated residents. Only several hundred were able to board. Soldiers fire their weapons into the mobbing crowd to keep them from storming onto the planes. There is video footage of Vietnamese clinging to the wheel brackets when the plane took off and then falling into the South China Sea as the jets lifted their landing gear and headed back toward Saigon. Absolutely nuts. My China Beach experience, was ummm...a bit more calm. I checked into a little backpacker guest house just meters from the beach and spent the day reading and laying in the sun. I recently trimmed of most of my beard because of the heat,
Imperial Citadel
The main entrance to the royal court. so parts of my face are still pale white from hiding under hoards of hair. With the sun of Central Vietnam, I doubt that will last much longer. I visited the nearby marble mountains to view the gorgeous pagoda's and views of China Beach and the South China Sea. That evening I ate a family style dinner with the owners of the guest house and chatted about local war stories and how the new economic development of Vietnam is changing the way many people live. Hao the owner, who I spent most of my time talking with, had a lot of sad tales to tell. He picked up his first automatic weapon to fight along side the US soldiers at the age of 11. He fought the entire time from 11 years old until the time the US pulled out. It's hard to imagine what it must have been like for an 11 year old Vietnamese local to be running around with US soldiers shooting at other Vietnamese. Let's just say that he has a little more than ordinary disdain for the communist party and North Vietnam. He, like many older Vietnamese from the south, would much rather have had
Girls on the Beach
Local Vietnamese girls selling stuff on the beach. the US win and not let Vietnam fall under communist control. I won't get into all the details of the story but my evening was filled with a lot of interesting history lessons.
This morning I arrived in Hoi An, a beautiful old merchant city along the coast. Along with great historical architecture, Hoi An is home to most inexpensive and creative tailors in nearly the whole of Asia. They can make just about anything for hardly any money at all. Today I spent 4 hours in various tailor shops, getting fitted and sorting through piles of different fabrics. Most of my clothes should be ready tomorrow, so in a few days I'll post another update dedicated to Adam's fashion show in Vietnam.
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