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Published: January 7th 2008
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We cheated slightly and opted for a 1 hour flight to DeNang rather than the 15-30 hour bus ride. We had initially planned to stay in DeNang for a couple of days but after walking around it we found that it is a town under construction with lots of new development but of no real interest to us so we caught a bus to Hoi An.
Hoi An is yet another World Heritage Site. It is an old trading village that has been used by the Chinese, Japanese, French, Dutch and Portuguese and they have each left their mark so it creates a very interesting and beautiful old town. In fact we liked it so much we decided to stay there for a few days.
We met up with some of the people we had met on our boat trip in Halong Bay and saw the new year in drinking Beer Hoi (8p per pint) and Mojitos (40p each). It was by far the cheapest new year we have ever had. Even though the Vietnamese New Year is not until later in the year there were still many local people out on the streets creating a fun atmosphere. We
even had a count down in Vietnamese and English so I think it took 20 seconds instead of 10!
Hoi An is also famous for tailored clothes and after a few days of talking to our fellow travelers about all the clothes they had had made we finally succumbed to temptation. So we spent the next couple of days going in and out of the tailors choosing materials, colours, styles, being measured and fitted for a whole range of clothes. Andy had some beautiful suits and shirts made whilst I chose coats, jackets, shirts and trousers I even had a dress made. We then packaged them all up and sent them on a ship home, which should arrive in about 3 months time - fingers crossed. It was so nice to have clothes made to fit properly and we are already looking forward to the next wedding to try our outfits out!
We then headed to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). This is another busy, buzzing Asian city. When we were in North Vietnam the focus of the museums and history seemed to be on Ho Chi Minh and leading the Vietnamese to revolution from the French. However
in Saigon it is the American War that is remembered more.
As we walked through this new, bustling, thriving city it was hard to imagine that there was ever a war here. However we went out to Cu Chi to visit the amazing network of underground tunnels and learn about how the Viet Cong managed to defeat the Americans. On our way we drove through the countryside, we saw many new young forests with trees less than 10 years old. We also saw barren wasteland where the farmers are still unable to grow anything due the chemicals that still remain in the ground.
As we were guided around Cu Chi we could see the huge craters in the ground where the B52 bombs landed. We saw the kinds of traps and weapons they made from bamboo and re-used American artillery. The most interesting part was the actual tunnels, they are so small and narrow. We were able to go into a tunnel that they have widened for tourists but it was still so dark, hot, cramped and claustrophobic, we were only crawling through them for a few minutes but it was really quite frightening. It is hard to
imagine having to live down there for years only coming out at night.
As we were walking around Cu Chi we could hear gun fire and we were able to have a go at shooting a target using an AK47. I had never done any shooting before and the sound was deafening. I shot two bullets but it is not something I enjoyed or would do again but it gave a very small insight into what it must have been like.
Following this we also visited the war museum and the Reunification Palace. It was pretty harrowing but it was interesting to see the war from the Vietnamese perspective rather than the Hollywood film version we had previously experienced.
Despite all we had seen and many discussions about war, politics and history we also managed to have some fun in Saigon. It was my birthday and we managed to meet up with a Canadian couple who we had met on our journey previously. They took us to a fantastic restaurant where we sampled local Vietnamese cooking even the infamous durian ice cream. This ice cream in made from the local durian fruit. It smells of a combination
of smelly socks, garlic and cheese and the taste is similar. It seemed to go right to the back of my nose and felt as though I had really bad breath. I will stick to coconut flavour next time!
Saigon was our last stop in this fascinating country. Vietnam doesn’t have the same food and flavours as its Asian neighbours and while we were there the weather was grey and rainy. The people are generally nice but there is always the feeling that they are trying to make a quick buck out of you. However despite these things it has been very interesting to see a communist country at work, to see how the nation is recovering from a horrendous war but that despite its troubled history the nation is working together for a better future.
Our next stop is Phnom Penh - Cambodia where the sun is shining.
I hope you are all well and that going back to work after the festive season is not too depressing.
We love to hear all the news from home
Love
Sarah and Andyxxxx
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