Deemann

Sapa walk 1st and 2nd May Started off at the hotel around 9.30am. Very hot day already but a different type of heat then what is found in Hanoi. A lot drier. Walked down the mountainside and along getting to see a lot of rice fields and locals. Along the way we had a few local Hmong women who were there to help us negotiate the paths, etc. if needed. One lady was very insistent in helping me - I must have looked in need of help negotiating the potholes etc. We stopped a few times as one of the women had a baby that needed feeding a couple of times. (See picture). Their clothing is really gorgeous and exquisitely embroidered and must also be very hot. It was only when we stopped for lunch you ... read more

HANOI 30thApril Today didn’t get up so early. After breakfast we went to the Women’s Museum. Another great place and it took a few hours to walk around and look at everything. Vietnamese women were very strong and passionate about their country during the wars and quite a few died for the country. We also stopped in at a place called the Hanoi Old Citadel Northern Gate. It was built in 1805 during the Nguyen dynasty reconstruction of the Thang Long Citadel. This is the only one of 5 external gates that survived the French’s military attack and subsequent destruction of the walls in the late 19th century. After this went and had Bun Chau for lunch which is a fantastic dish of pork belly, sweet and sour sauce with some finely chopped vegetables and noodles. ... read more

Hue, Fun, fun, fun today. Got to ride on the back of a motorbike. We rode around who knows where but I am sure that is part of the tour going through all the laneways and alleys. We started off by visiting the Thanh Toan market which is on every day where everyone sells everything including raw meat, fish and live baby ducks. (see pictures) Once we had looked at the markets we were give a demonstration on how rice is made and what type of beds were used in the past. All very physical and this was shown to us by a very elderly lady. At this place they have a bridge that was built in 1776 and is called the Thanh Toan Tiled - Roofed Bridge. We all had our fortune told by the ... read more

Hoi An to Hue Left Hoi An and drove north to Da Nang. Da Nang is Vietnam's third biggest city and has the coolest bridge called the Dragon Bridge. See picture. It is becoming a major tourist and holiday destination due to the beach. Along the way we stopped At China Beach which is a really nice beach. They don't get big waves and it is very clean with lots of deck chairs laid out. From the beach you can see a statue called the Lady Buddha. Took a picture but it looks like she is floating in mid air due to the haze that was around that day. Moving on we continued to travel north over the Hai Van Pass (21km) of winding road. Great views and up the top are the ruins of a ... read more

20th and 21st April 2015 HO Chi Minh City Visit to Cu Chi Tunnels - Boarded a bus for a trip to Cu Chi. This took about 45mins heading north west. Cu Chi is famous for it's tunnels and the fighting spirit of the Cu Chi people against the US and South Vietnamese. Some of the tunnels were created when the vietnamese were fighting The Indochina war back in 1945. When we arrived we had to watch a documentary about the people and how they fought back against the Americans using their network of tunnels. The documentary looks like it was made back in the 60's. The tunnel system was around 250km long and had 3 levels of tunnels in the Cu Chi area. There were areas for a kitchen, living areas and even a hospital ... read more