Vietnam - can it get any better?!

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HANOI

Flight to Hanoi on Laos Airlines was actually quite enjoyable - no issues with the propellors plus we got fed, -always a bonus.
A lot of people warned us about Vietnam - claiming that the people were not so friendly and that the cities were heaving with mopeds....totally disagree with the former but the latter.....we had never seen so many mopeds in our lives. HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of them, no road markings, no rules = wacky races. Funny to watch, not so funny trying to cross the road, which can take sometimes up to 20 mins to find a gap - and you always run the risk of getting your legs burned from the exhausts. Great fun.
Hanoi (the capital) is a great place, albeit we kept getting lost (everyday actually, we just could not figure out the road system for the Old Quarter) but then that just means you actually get to see even more of the city.
We decided we would take a trip up to Ho Chi Minh's mauseleum - where you pay respects to his embalmed body (he was responsible for securing Vietnam's independence in 1945 at Ba Dinh Square, adjacent to his tomb. The country loves him, affectionately known as 'Uncle Ho') however we had no idea just how popular this 'attraction' was. We were informed the queue was 2h long, PLUS you had to wear long sleeved shirts/trousers etc....in 41c heat, we decided to pay our respects from the cafe opposite with a beer.
We also visited another 'attraction' - the Hanoi Prison. This was used when the French (when they occupied the country) imprisoned the Vietnamese who did not comply, and also during the 1960's - when the Vietnamese imprisoned the Americans during the war. Interesting place albeit steeped in propaganda. Made it look like the Americans were at Butlins having the time of their lives. However, as the trip went on you can see why the Vietnamese are so proud of who they are - after years of foreign occupation and years of wars - this has made them very proud people. (obviously the unjust, bloody war against the Americans in the 1960's is something the country/world will never forget)

Once again the Asian food failed to disappoint, plus we were finding Vietnam even cheaper (if that was possible?!) than Laos and Cambodia - bonus! A really good Vietnamese dish with rice (Beef Pho) plus a large '333' beer = £2.00-2.50 each! Furthermore, Vietnam - particularly the north boasts its' own fresh lager -'Beer Hoi'. This stuff apparently has a shelf life of 24h as it has no preservatives etc. It was soo tasty, really light and fresh, you could have drank it all day long (worrying?!),. It worked out at about 14p a pint....
Gina needed quite a lot of this beer as we watched England crash out of the World Cup in a local bar..... The Vietnamese LOVE THEIR FOOTBALL, their knowledge of the Premiership and European football is top drawer, proper pundits with opinions and views. It was brilliant watching the World Cup games with the locals - up on their feet shouting at their TV's which they had dragged out onto the pavements. Excellent atmosphere.
We also learned from the locals that the country's passion for football can get out of hand - particulalry around the time of the World Cup. Gambling is becoming a huge problem across Asia, we were told that people actually bet their house/car/livelihoods on the outcome of a game. Should the result not be in their favour, a few actually commit suicide!!! The suicide death rates 'surge' every four years due to the World Cup, we learned that one local guy threw himself off a building that week!!

HA LONG BAY

A 3hr drive to the coast is the beautiful Ha Long Bay. Formerly an actual part of the Vietnamese mainland - thousands of years ago, the land split away and formed tiny limestone towers - 1969 in total that cover 1500 sqm meters of the Bay. It's the main tourist destination for northern Vietnam. We booked a 2-day tour of the islands and stayed overnight on the junk boat. The views, particulalry at sunset were amazing as were the various caves we visited via kayak. The boat itself was fantastic, as was the food and the people we met. (if you did not have enough beer with you, local women would row miles to reach your boat with their small rowing boats laden with booze/crisps etc)

An overnight bus took us to 'Hue'. The bus journey itself was not without drama as we watched a Vietnamese army officer get completely p*ssed on vodka with his mate while playing cards. The noise was pretty bad so a young backpacker from New Zealand complained to the driver at about 1am. The army guy got wind of this and lunged at the young NZ guy who nearly shat himself. The army officer's head was totally battered with scars/war wounds and was up for a fight. Not who you really want to square up with at 1am on a Vietnamese highway. Driver saw sense and threw the vodka out the door and sent the army bloke to bed. And so to sleep....

Hue was actually the capital before Hanoi - it is a more laid back place, lots of lakes, canals and has 5 universities, it is viewed as 'highbrow' by the rest of the country. It was the scene of the famous 'Tet Offensive' (Northern Vietnam Army - Communist fought against the southen troops. Killing any intellectuals, foreign, sympathisers of the southern regime, another bloody encounter) in 1968 when Hue was more or less destroyed. It has since been rebuilt, and along with a lot of Vietnamese cities, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nice place.
We explored the city and the surrounds with 2 top blokes (Huey and Quy) from 'Hue Riders', basically you get a lift on the back of a motorbike as the driver takes you to the sights and tells you all about the history. As we drove around the city and the outskirts, Huey and Quy kept shouting"THE BEST WAY TO SEE THE REAL VIETNAM!!! IF YOU DON'T GO, YOU WON'T KNOW!!!!"
We went to a few pagodas, spoke with some monks, visited the Imperial City drove along the Perfume River. Also went to the Thien Mu Pagoda - famous as one of the monks (Venerable Thich Quang Duc) who lived here drove to Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) in 1963 and promptly set himself alight to protest against the regime at the time. His blue Austin car is on display at the Pagoda.
We had a great time with our two drivers and decided to book a 3 day trip to our next destination - Hoi An.
These 3 days with our drivers Huey and Quy were possibly the best days of our trip so far??!!
The experience of sitting on the back of a motorbike, sun blazing, amazing, green mountain scenery, your driver singing Vietnamese songs (out of tune) as you tank down the Ho Chi Minh Trail is something else. Easy Riders!!!!
They stopped at places we would never have found. Their knowledge of their country - combined with their mad humour meant we laughed the whole way. We visited waterfalls, whole villages who make incense burners for the pagodas, local women making the traditional Vietnamese 'pointed' hat, a lovely family who showed us how to make sheets of rice paper, who also housed a small farm in their living room (pigs, ducks, rabbits, goats) all to be sold at the local market. Highlight was the trip to a minority village in the mountains. A remote collection of huts, although the village had recently been rehoused, their 'town' was basic - wooden shacks, thatched roofs, one water pump for all. Huey and Quy advised us to take some sweets for the children.....before we had even stepped off the bikes about 20 kids started running at us shouting 'Heeeeeeeeeeelllo!!' It was overwhelming, the kids were amazing, all gathered round waiting for just a few sweets. This was apparently the highlight of the kids week/month - a few of the Hue Drivers bringing a few Westerners to chat/bring sweets/play football etc. It was a happy yet really sad experience that this was their 'lot' - no schools, no hospital/doctor for miles, few toys...yet the kids seemed so happy. They loved having their photo taken and were fascinated seeing themselves on a digital camera! Lots of laughing and hugs, it was hard to leave. Great, great kids.

HOI AN

After 4 days of exploring 'REAL VIETNAM' Huey and Quy deposited us at Hoi An - was a sad farewell. Top blokes.
Hoi An is yet another interesting, pretty Vietnamese town. It is mainly famous for the volume of bespoke tailors it boasts - something like 700! Plus another 300 shoemakers! We decided to get a couple of suits made up...however actually choosing a tailor was a nightmare. You got hollered at from every shop "Laaaady you waaant nice suit?? Mister you waaaant new shoes?" They all also claim that their mothers/aunties/cousins all make the suits in the back shop......right.
After several days we decided on 'Kimmys' with her top of the range Sony Vaoi laptops showing endless photos of suits from: Hugo Boss, Burberry, Gucci etc etc. Anyway, we ended up buying alot more than planned as a) handmade, tailormade cashmere suits were cheap as chips and b) they package it all up and ship it home for you. One-stop-shop! Hopefully we'll see our suits/coats again and they haven't sunk somewhere in the Pacific.
Hoi An also has a beautiful beach. We cycled there for a day and had a dip in the South China Sea. However we realised that the phrase 'Mad Dogs and Englishman (Scotsman)' was indeed true. The Vietnamese only head to the beach at either sunrise or sunset. As the sun dips, the beach becomes PACKED with familes - kids learning to swim, flying kites, adults doing Thai Chi, having picnics. All v civilised!

NHA TRANG

A great beach resort - we needed a break after standing in Kimmys Tailors for 5 days in 40c sweltering heat getting measured in our thick wool coats/suits. We watched the World Cup final here - not the greatest game.

HO CHI MINH (SAIGON)

Another interesting city, steeped in history. We visited the War Remnants Museum which was particularly disturbing. Horrific, graphic accounts/evidence of what the US Army did to locals - women, children. We spent an afternoon here and it still wasn't enough time to really get your head around it all.

Unbelievably it seemed like Ho Chi Minh actually had more scooters than Hanoi! Rows and rows and rows of them. Scooters carrying animals (dead and alive) to market, scooters carrying familes of 5/6, scooters carrying fridges (?) and we saw a scooter actually carrying another scooter on the back?! Anything goes.

We also took a trip to the famous Cu Chi Tunnels, about 3h from the town centre. Created by the Vietnamese and used by the Viet Cong during both the French-Indochina War (1946-1954) and the Vietnam War (1955-1975). The tunnels took around 25 years to construct and were finished in the 1960s. They stretch over 124 miles and connecting numerous villages in the provinces, the tunnels once housed mini-hospitals, store rooms and factories, and were used as living quarters by both Vietnamese fighters and local villagers.
The tunnel network itself totally frustrated the Americans with B52 carpet bombings and US Army 'tunnel rats' both unable to flush out the Vietnamese.
We also saw a range of the grim booby traps the Vietnamese used against the Americans. There was also a firing range available of site if you wished to buy a couple of bullets and fire an old AK47...

RANDOM THINGS WE SAW/HEARD IN VIETNAM
1. An ancient, weighing/BMI (Body Mass Index) machine on wheels being pulled along by this old guy on the beach in Nha Trang - asking if you wanted 'a go' whilst the machine itself blasted out 'Auld Langs Syne'
2. A guy in Hoi An selling sweet pork dumplings from his very old ice-cream cart playing Texas 'Say What you Want' VERY loud and on repeat. You could hear him coming streets away.
3. The Vietnamese love Westlife, Five (remember them?!) and Blue but haven't heard of Take That?!
4. Young Vietnamese girls wearing long-sleeved tops, full length trousers, socks, woolen gloves, hats, sunglasses and Hello Kitty face masks to protect them from the sun - in 40c heat! To be a tanned S.E Asian girl is not really the 'done thing'. They are OBSESSED with becoming white. All the big brands: L'Oreal, Nivea, Olay etc all sell skin whitening products - for women and men!
5. Babies/toddlers carried on mopeds all wearing facemasks but no helmet - would appear parents more bothered about lung pollution than a cracked skull?!
6. During a large flood (which are common when the rivers burst their banks in rainy season) Darren's driver Quey was stranded on the roof of his mother's house for 4 days - the army dropped noodles to the family to keep them going.
7. Everyone is a taxi driver in Vietnam - complete randoms offering you a lift in the back of their cyclos/vans/cars/bikes etc.
8. Drugs (of every class) are very easy to come by - we were offered them regularly in Nha Trang by blokes on cyclos/mopeds. We of course politely declined.



Vietnam is a fantastic country - so much to see and do, three weeks was just not enough to do it all ...however our time in S.E Asia was over for a while....Next stop Australia!!!

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Photos

Guillotine at Hanoi Prison
Darren refused to be in this photo.

Caged chicken on street
Say what you see!