Running South

---

We were told that the word "Vietnam" translates to running or moving south which coincidently fits very nicely as a title to this blog. After spending too much time in the north we had to whistle stop down through the central areas quickly so the rather brief sequel that follows reflects just that.

You wouldn't have thought Hue was once the capital of Vietnam, so calm and peaceful, very different to Hanoi. The city and the surrounding area contains lots of important historical sites so after checking in to the very friendly Binh Dong 1 we set out towards the citadel to visit the Imperial city.

The imperial city is a combination of ruins and restored buildings which date back to the 19th century. The site sits on 520 hectares with the exact position chosen by Emperor Gia Long for harmony between emperor, subjects, heaven, earth, man and nature. Within the city there were royal palaces, administrative offices, temples and parks. It was an appealing site to visit however we couldn't help thinking that some of the "restoration" we saw taking place was more inline with total re-build.

The next day we hired a couple of old one gear bikes and headed off in search of a royal mausoleum. The road systems around Hue are laid out like a grid which makes it very hard to cross when you are on a heavy, slow bicycle. After several attempts and watching a local girl get knocked off her bike we gave up and used the pedestrian crossings. Once out of the main city the ride was very pleasant although we had to be careful passing by the many bunches of incense sticks out on the road drying.

When we finally arrived at Tu Duc's mausoleum we were pounced on by every cafe and shop owner in the world trying to get us to park our bikes on their land. Apparently their parking was free however we decided to be the first ones to park outside the entrance which not only was free but also more convenient.

The mausoleums were built by the Nguyen and were designed to be the Emperor's palace after his death. There are three parts to a mausoleum; temple, stele, and tomb. The temple is dedicated to the worship of the emperor, the stele is a large stone tablet which shows details and accounts of the emperors rule and the tomb itself houses the deceased. Infront of the stele is a courtyard where a set of stone mandarins, elephants and horses sit guarding the entrance to the tomb.

Tu Duc's mausoleum was completed in 1867 and was resonably well maintained. Strolling around the serene grounds was the highlight of our time in Hue.

After a three hour bus journey to Hoi An we arrived early evening and once again found ourselves in the thick of a tourist enclave. After 2 weeks in Vietnam we had figured the majority of places worth going to are very touristy, outside these places there seems to be very little. We don't mind the tourist areas, everything is laid on; restaurants, hotels, tours, buses, trains, tickets, etc it makes travelling so easy.

We set aside a whole day to see the sites in Hoi An's old town. We purchased a handy ticket which allows access to five sites and set off towards the Trieu Chau Chinese Assembly Hall. Built in the 18th century, the building houses some very intricate wood carvings. The Cantonese Assembly Hall caught our eye as we passed by so we thought we would try and sneak in. It worked, the guard was asleep on reception and couldn't be more disinterested so we managed to see another Assembley Hall on a ticket that only allowed one.

Wandering towards the market we noticed a strange primitive petrol pump on the side of the road, we had to take a picture, it was so small and diddy and amazingly the petrol was 30p a litre!

The handicraft market was very quiet, it looked as though everyone had abandoned their posts however on closer inspection everyone was taking an afternoon nap. It was nice to be able to walk around and not get pushed into buying anything we laid our eyes on, quite strange for Vietnam.

The old merchant house of Tan Ky was next. Seventeen generations had lived in this house trading all sorts from tea, rice and silk. While the rest of the house was generally old looking the bathroom retained an element not too dissimilar to today's squat toilets. How come they haven't been re-designed and developed since?

The Museum of Trade Ceramics was engaging but I think the best part was the section on how they are trying to restore the old chinese houses in Hoi An.

Most the shops around Hoi An were tailors and you couldn't walk past one without getting absconded. We had heard good things about the tailoring shops in Hoi An however I must say I wasn't tempted into buying, I found the designs and cuts to be a little dated, alright if you like the Next classic look.

We couldn't be in Hoi An without going to My Son, pronouned "Mee Soo". Located at the bottom of the Cats Tooth Mountain the once elaborate temples are now ruins thanks to the yanks during in the war. It was a boiling hot day and we were part of a large group which made keeping up and trying to listen to the guide a bit of a task however it was interesting nonetheless.

The overnight sleeper bus to Nha Trang looked promising to start with however on closer inspection the beds were very short and I got the worse spot in the bus, above the toilet, lovely. I think every single person on that bus went to the toilet about ten times on the eleven hour trip, I heard all about it.

Having not slept very well we arrived at Nha Trang at 6am, just in time for the sunrise. Nha Trang was very laid back, there's not much to do except kick back and relax so after the last few weeks we had had we did exactly that.

---

Photos

Stone Army
With A New Recruit