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Vietnam - May 7th -20th 2010 After travelling through Lao, we were unsure of where to go next. Vietnam for me had always been like Russia, I wanted to go there, but i didn’t know why. Maybe it was all the books I had read or movies I watched about the Vietnam War, but something was always pulling me there. We weren’t planning to go there because we didn’t want to go through the hassle of arranging the visa which was required, but after talking to travel agents in Vientiane, we learned it was only $50 and 2 days later you are set to go. So we embarked on a 9 hour journey that would take us to our 29th country on this trip.
We had no idea what to expect coming here, not many people we met had been here, so it was a bit of a mystery to us. We arrived in Hue late in the evening and from previous experience, were fully prepared for the hassle and battle required to find accommodation late in the night. To our pleasant surprise we immediately found the Amigo Hotel, which by our now lowered standards was pure luxury. We
were not accustomed to this kind of extravagance since India and Nepal were not yet distant memories. Our room came fully equipped with a T.V., fridge, A.C., mini-bar, and spotless décor... they even had toothbrushes, towels and free toilet paper!!! We immediately started to turn around when the gentlemen showed us the room, assuming from experience that we could not afford it. To our surprise the room was only $10 US and we didn’t even need to bargain! From that moment we fell in love with Vietnam.
We rented a scooter the next day for about $3 CAD and started our exploration of Hue. Like many of Hue's historic sites, the Kinh Thanh Citadel is hardly ancient, construction first began in 1805, under the rule of the Nguyen Dynasty. Nonetheless it is an impressive sight. At its prime it could have been compared with the Forbidden City in Beijing. Unfortunately years of war have left much of the grounds in ruins and they require much restoration to bring it back to its once magnificent form. It was still a great experience as it was completely different from anything else we had seen on this trip.
There are tombs
and pagodas scattered everywhere in and around Hue. It would take a week just to see them all. We settled on seeing the most famous one. Once you have seen the best, what’s the point of seeing the rest (especially when there is an entrance fee)? The Tu Duc tomb grounds were expansive and took us over an hour to cover. The site was beautiful and it was obvious that special care was taken to blend the architecture with nature. A lot of the site was in ruins as well, but again they are ruins completely different then Europe, the Middle East or even India.
Hue was a cool city, modern yet at the same time full of history, but two days was enough and we started to head south along the coast to Hoi An. The beautiful river lined buildings, cafe’s and restaurants are an attraction in itself in Hoi An. Although the main reason people come here is for the tailor made suits, dresses, gowns and even shoes. On every corner a shop keeper is trying to pull you in and make you a custom “Armani” suit. For new travelers the constant hassle to buy suits, shoes,
jewelry and useless souvenirs would be an annoyance but after the hassles we encountered elsewhere we thought the shopkeepers in Hoi An were actually quite polite in their techniques.
As there is not much to do in the city of Hoi An we opted to rent a scooter and go see the UNESCO world heritage sight of My Son. My Son is a temple ruin of the Cham people, a once powerful Hindu empire which ruled the area. The temples were constructed from the 7th through the 12th centuries; unfortunately a lot of them have now been reduced to mounds of rubble. Some temples are better preserved then others but since the temperatures were soaring near 40 degrees Celsius with approximately 80% humidity we were quickly losing interest. In the past 12 months we have seen countless ruins and are hard to impress at this point.
After Hoi An it was finally time to hit the beaches of Nha Trang, rumoured to be the most beautiful in all of Vietnam. We were planning on doing nothing more than relaxing on the beach and diving over the next few days. Unfortunately on the night train from Hoi An to
Nha Trang, Dan started to get a fever which put him down for several days. The medication used to cure this fever put him down for several more. Yet another casualty of traveling. Luckily it was nothing serious but diving had to wait until Thailand. Although the beaches in Nha Trang were beautiful, in our minds they did not live up to the hype of the ideal paradise, this too we are hoping to find in Thailand.
In order to break up the travel day from Nha Trang to Saigon we decided to stop in Mui Ne. We only stayed one night but it was long enough to see all the attractions Mui Ne had to offer, including the sand dunes and small fishing towns. We enjoyed a delicious seafood dinner by the sea and the next day it was back on the bus headed for the capital city of Saigon.
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is just like every other large city we have encountered; busy, loud, and overpopulated. The one thing that sets Saigon apart from other large cities is the unbelievable scooter traffic. We opted not to join the scooter madness and explored the city on
foot. On our excursion we encountered the Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica (the first since leaving Europe), the Reunification Palace, War Remnants Museum and of course the night market where you can buy anything your heart desires for next to nothing.
Vietnam was not one of our original destinations but we are both happy we got to see it before it is spoiled by tourism. Travelling as long as we have we’ve noticed that tourism, while helping the local economy, makes the local people almost corrupt in their treatment of the very people who bring them their business. Luckily, Vietnam is still relatively off the beaten track and as a result it’s inexpensive, not overrun with tourists and the locals are helpful and not only because they want to sell you something. Not since Syria have we encountered people who would go out of their way just to say hello or welcome and help you find your way. A truly pleasant place to go and explore.
Next stop Cambodia!
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