Posts
Day 10 - 12/10
Pouring with rain first thing but we awoke refreshed and had a good breakfast in the hotel restaurant - all included in the tariff. Had a discussion with the hotel front desk about our onward travel. They can book trains, cars etc. Eventually decided to travel from here to Hue (the old Imperial capital of Vietnam) by private car as by the time one added up the bus fare and taxis at each end, there was very little difference.
Then we walked into the Old Quarter which is only a 5 minute walk away and is a delightfully eclectic collection of original old buildings. Some predate the French period and others are noticeably French in style. Lots of trees in the streets - altogether most attractive and laid back. Very touristy of course and prices to match and all prices are quoted in USD here - not Dong! We have been admiring the traditional female attire of the Ao Dai. This is a long covering dress worn over traditional trousers and slit on both sides up to the waist. Very graceful and alluring. Jean decided she wanted one and she does not make decisions regarding her personal attire easily. So, we found a tailor who impressed us. There must be at least 50 tailors in our immediate vicinity all catering mainly to the tourists of course. She considered silk as opposed to cotton and while silk probably looks the most graceful, well cut good quality cotton will be much more wearable in the hot climates we are living in. So the Ao Dai plus trousers plus 2 dresses all came to USD115 - approx. NZD170. There is to be a fitting tomorrow and they should all be finished then. What a great service.
We had been recommended to 3 restaurants here by Gavin at Life's a Beach and so for lunch we went to The Chef. Great Vietnamese NON MSG food!!! Then for dinner we went to The Cargo Club right on the Hoi An River. We were on an upstairs balcony overlooking the river where lots of traditional Vietnamese bats are moored. Similar to those of Thailand but not as graceful to a nautical eye! All in all a lovely day wandering around a very attractive precinct. If you ever come to Vietnam there is no doubt that Hoi An is a must see.
Day 11 - 13/10
Jean has been having increasing trouble with her left leg. It appears to be a ligament problem but is getting worse. As a result we decided to cancel our planned trip from Hanoi to Sapa near the Chinese border. A pity but we felt the risk of being incapacitated as a result of too much walking was too great. So we will stay in Hanoi and explore as we can. Jim's knees aren't up to much either so, although disappointing, the Sapa cancellation is no doubt for the best.
Jean had a fitting for her clothes during the morning and the we went to the Rice Drum for lunch. There we came across a young NZ couple who had been staying at Life's a Beach. Such a small world. We walked both sides of the Hoi An River and admired the architecture - so full of character as most dates way back even before the French period. Then a final fitting and all was OK. We had another wonderful Vietnamese dinner and then back to the Travelodge for an early night ahead of our departure tomorrow.
Day 12 - 14/10
Another comfortable night and then breakfast which by Asian standards was very good. Eggs, sausages and bacon and plenty of fruit. Great. The breakfast room has large French doors opening onto the street and they are kept open - for ventilation and the street atmosphere with constant motorcycles hurtling past. Not really necessary for air conditioning here as the temperature is in the low 20's.
Our car arrived just after 10 and we left Hoi An with some regret. However, the car trip was great as we had asked to go over a pass over the hills just south and not through a long tunnel. However, before that we passed through Danang and had a close view of seemingly endless great beaches with good surf as we passed along. The development here is immense - we passed building after building in various stages of completion. Industrial parks, hotels and apartment buildings.
It has been suggested that the TPPA is primarily designed by the US to sideline China by encouraging manufacturing in Vietnam which is a signatory. When you see the Danang developments it certainly seems to be an achievable goal, although the downsides for NZ remain as concerning as ever. However, when you understand the endgame being pushed by the US, the energy that has gone into pushing the TPPA is not surprising.
And not far off this coast in the South China Sea are the Spratley Islands which China has illegally appropriated and on which they are building military bases. The US has declared that its naval ships and airforce will operate within 12 miles of the Spratleys as and when they wish and the Chinese have warned against military escalation. Amazing since they started it in the first place but it's another potential flashpoint. America and China certainly appear to be getting more and more aggressive with each other so where that will eventually leave NZ with its FTA with China and as a signatory of the TPPA is anyone's guess. The only certainty is that it won't be pretty.
We stopped at a factory where they make large scale statues and ornaments from solid marble. Reminded Jim of his experiences with importing items of Indian marble back in 2005. Very impressive lions and religious statues. Absolutely amazing. Pictures WILL come!!
Then over the hills just north of here and wonderful views of the coast and Danang in the distance. We stopped for a comfort stop and some delicious Hibiscus Tea. Met a Kiwi couple from Bucklands Beach!
Further north we were back down at sea level and lots of rivers and fresh water lagoons. Picturesque and some beautiful narrow houses in the most unlikely locations. Then we arrived in Hue - the ancient city of the Vietnamese kings. Not sure whether we will have time to visit the old palaces as we fly out to Hanoi tomorrow but we'll see.
We are at the Hotel Thanh Lich in a leafy part of the city. Quite pleasant but nondescript and it seems that we might be the only guests! Very few tourists around - unlike Hoi An. The hotel does not have a working restaurant, except for breakfast so we had lunch at the Park View Hotel just down the road. Not bad so we decided to return for dinner. Big mistake - the soup was ok but the mains were very substandard and it all cost over 700,000 Dong - NZD50. Very expensive for here so if you ever come to Hue, do not stay there!! Walked back to our hotel in pouring rain but fortunately we have good umbrellas!
Watching a very informative Japanese documentary on TV and then soon to bed.
More to come as always.
Cheers and love from us..........
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
Wednesday, 14 October 2015
Sunday, 11 October 2015
Heading north to Quy Nhon and Hoi An
Hi again to all our avid readers.
Day 7 - 09/10
The day dawned fine and clear with a temperature reminiscent of Auckland in summer - but without the humidity. This would be a great place to live were it not for the lack of language and MSG!!
We tried the "breakfast" at the Pink House but all it consisted of was bread and jam. So we walked down the road to the backpacker where we were able to indulge in fried eggs and proper toast. Had a great conversation with the manager (Cong) whose father had had a senior role in the Vietcong. Told him all about the fact that Vietnam was a signatory to this pesky TPPA so-called "deal" and that as a result citizens from all the other signatory countries (incl. the USA) will soon be flocking to Vietnam to buy property courtesy of the property provisions of the agreement that we haven't been allowed to be privy to yet. In that respect, good luck NZ as well. Of course we are already well down the road of being sold - Lochinver was just a blip in the system as Gerry Brownlee no doubt told the Chinese Vice Premier.
Cong was not impressed and complained about the non democratic Vietnamese government which just did what it liked and to hell with whatever the people wanted. This is what a Communist dictatorship does and we said NZ is no different. Welcome to the modern world of globalisation.
We were being picked up at 1300 so after packing and vacating our room we left our bags there and walked to the same restaurant where we ordered 2 lots of their spring rolls to take away which we intended to eat on the bus as the bus stops are infested with MSG. Jim had some squid and another nostalgic glass of strawberry wine and then we returned on foot to await the van to pick us up.
This duly occurred and off we went to the bus station. We paid for our tickets (430,000 Dong) and soon after boarded the bus for the 1400 departure. We knew we were down the back but at the back they have 5 reclining seats under a close overhead ceiling. No-one as usual had explained this. Jean refused point blank to get in there as she suffers from claustrophobia and the environment was cramped and generally unpleasant. So we told the driver we wanted to get off but he ignored us and started backing the bus out. His assistant who looks after seating arrangements initially indicated that there were no other seats but we pointed to 2 empty seats and said we were going there. He just shrugged his shoulders and washed his hands of the whole thing so that's where we stayed for the duration. We certainly were NOT moving.
The road from Dalat down to the coast was steep in parts and quite slow and about halfway down we ran into very thick pea soup fog. Apparently that phenomenon is almost always there, but you couldn't see more than the length of the bus. Anyway, after a time we came out of it and started north up the coast. Through Nga Trang where the bus stopped for food but we didn't have any except for some peeled guava which was good. It poured with rain while we were there and it was dark by then. We had given the driver's assistant written directions for where we wished to be dropped off at the Life's a Beach Resort about 10 kms south of Quy Nhon. We were following the bus's progress on Jean's I-Pad courtesy of GPS but the village of Bai Xep (pronounced bicep) wasn't shown so we were guessing somewhat as to where we needed to get off. However, when we were getting close, we were summoned to the front prior to getting off. The bus crept along looking for the drop off point and actually stopped at another resort but we said that wasn't it and so we carried on a bit further. Then we saw who we presumed was Steve, one of 2 English gay guys who own the resort. We had been ringing and texting him before we arrived and keeping him up to date as to our progress. It proved to be him and so we exited the bus. He carried our small suitcase down a concrete track on his motorbike and we walked alongside until we came to the most delightful, small and totally informal resort right on the beach. Only 4 or 5 units. There is sand outside our front door. By then it was about 2230 and we had a snack dinner which they had prepared for us and then collapsed into bed where we slept like logs.
Day 8 - 10/10
We woke about 5 to see the dawn coming up over the South China Sea - a beautiful sight and although we have seen many dawns at sea, it always impresses. Went back to sleep again and didn't get up until close to 8 when we dressed and went to the restaurant for breakfast - scrambled eggs. Met 2 young couples from NZ - one from Dunedin and the other from Christchurch. Had a series of great conversations with them and then made the big decision to have a swim. First time in the South China Sea. Lovely and refreshing and the beach here is clean with golden sand which you can't walk on in bare feet because it gets too hot.
The resort is great. Very laid back and Gavin and Steve do a fantastic job. So informal and everyone so friendly. Gavin also teaches English to the children of the local village for no charge. We would like to stay longer but we have to stick to our schedule. However, this is one place we would like to come back to. And they don't use MSG! It is about 10 metres from the front door of our cabin to the beach and it is a very picturesque view with a small island just offshore. Started wondering whether we could come in here with Tiare but of course so far there is the very expensive Vietnamese bureaucracy to contend with. Had a nap this afternoon (much needed) and then dinner where we were all at one table with a German couple the NZer's and a pleasant Vietnamese lady. Lots of good conversation and now to bed. It's now almost 2200 (NZDST 0400 the next day)and yours truly is feeling it. We have to be away from here by 1000 tomorrow or our trip to Hoi An which is another 6-8 hour trip. This time we are going in a minibus which should be more comfortable than the so-called sleeper bus. More about that tomorrow. Night night.
Day 9 - 11/10
The day dawned fine and bright over the South China Sea - in spite of a lightening and thunderstorm last night. Once more enjoying the dawn over the South China Sea and a great breakfast, courtesy of Steve and his team in the kitchen. Then sadly it was time to pack and say our goodbyes. The taxi arrived for us promptly at 1000 and there was a 15 minute ride into Quy Nhon where we were to catch our next mode of transport. 200,000 Dong (NZD13.40). There is a tendency for us to compare other taxi fares such as HCMC where a fare covering the best part of an hour was 150-180,000 Dong but of course NZD13 is really quite reasonable for a 15 minute ride - especially as he had to come and get us and helped carry our luggage back up the hill in fairly warm conditions!
The minibus was a long wheelbase Ford Transit - reminded Jim of his stint as a Super Shuttle owner/driver to and from Auckland Airport for those crooks - Super Shuttle. But the bus was good - an older Transit!!
The trip was a bit monotonous - all flat and some fairly indifferent urban ribbon development. And lots of rice paddies. But the bus was a lot faster than the bigger sleeper bus. However, some passing manoeuvers were fairly hairy and we weren't sorry to get to Hoi An. We weren't sure whether we were actually in Hoi An because the I-Pad had been packed in luggage which was jammed in the back and we couldn't see any meaningful signs. So, of course we asked and they looked astonished that we didn't know!! Then because "no Sunday" meant no taxis on Sunday apparently, we had to get on the backs of 2 bikes plus our luggage for the 5 km. (approx.) ride to the Travelodge! Not what we were expecting at all and we weren't happy as bikes are far less safe than cars. However, all was well and we paid the 150,000 Dong fare for the 2 bikes. The Travelodge is wonderful and has an indoor pool. Tariff of less than NZD50 per night and the hotel is near new. Very comfortable and friendly. On the recommendation of Steve at Life's a Beach we went out to dinner at a restaurant called The Chef and had a great MSG free meal. Perhaps we are now getting into Vietnamese life at last! We've certainly had some much better experiences of late in Dalat, at Life's a Beach and now in Hoi An at the Travelodge. The Old Quarter of Hoi An is a UNESCO World Heritage site (like Georgetown on Penang in Malaysia) which probably means prices are higher but there are lovely unspoilt buildings and traffic is banned at certain times of the day which is refreshing after the frenetic pace in HCMC!
More to come and love from us.......
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
Day 7 - 09/10
The day dawned fine and clear with a temperature reminiscent of Auckland in summer - but without the humidity. This would be a great place to live were it not for the lack of language and MSG!!
We tried the "breakfast" at the Pink House but all it consisted of was bread and jam. So we walked down the road to the backpacker where we were able to indulge in fried eggs and proper toast. Had a great conversation with the manager (Cong) whose father had had a senior role in the Vietcong. Told him all about the fact that Vietnam was a signatory to this pesky TPPA so-called "deal" and that as a result citizens from all the other signatory countries (incl. the USA) will soon be flocking to Vietnam to buy property courtesy of the property provisions of the agreement that we haven't been allowed to be privy to yet. In that respect, good luck NZ as well. Of course we are already well down the road of being sold - Lochinver was just a blip in the system as Gerry Brownlee no doubt told the Chinese Vice Premier.
Cong was not impressed and complained about the non democratic Vietnamese government which just did what it liked and to hell with whatever the people wanted. This is what a Communist dictatorship does and we said NZ is no different. Welcome to the modern world of globalisation.
We were being picked up at 1300 so after packing and vacating our room we left our bags there and walked to the same restaurant where we ordered 2 lots of their spring rolls to take away which we intended to eat on the bus as the bus stops are infested with MSG. Jim had some squid and another nostalgic glass of strawberry wine and then we returned on foot to await the van to pick us up.
This duly occurred and off we went to the bus station. We paid for our tickets (430,000 Dong) and soon after boarded the bus for the 1400 departure. We knew we were down the back but at the back they have 5 reclining seats under a close overhead ceiling. No-one as usual had explained this. Jean refused point blank to get in there as she suffers from claustrophobia and the environment was cramped and generally unpleasant. So we told the driver we wanted to get off but he ignored us and started backing the bus out. His assistant who looks after seating arrangements initially indicated that there were no other seats but we pointed to 2 empty seats and said we were going there. He just shrugged his shoulders and washed his hands of the whole thing so that's where we stayed for the duration. We certainly were NOT moving.
The road from Dalat down to the coast was steep in parts and quite slow and about halfway down we ran into very thick pea soup fog. Apparently that phenomenon is almost always there, but you couldn't see more than the length of the bus. Anyway, after a time we came out of it and started north up the coast. Through Nga Trang where the bus stopped for food but we didn't have any except for some peeled guava which was good. It poured with rain while we were there and it was dark by then. We had given the driver's assistant written directions for where we wished to be dropped off at the Life's a Beach Resort about 10 kms south of Quy Nhon. We were following the bus's progress on Jean's I-Pad courtesy of GPS but the village of Bai Xep (pronounced bicep) wasn't shown so we were guessing somewhat as to where we needed to get off. However, when we were getting close, we were summoned to the front prior to getting off. The bus crept along looking for the drop off point and actually stopped at another resort but we said that wasn't it and so we carried on a bit further. Then we saw who we presumed was Steve, one of 2 English gay guys who own the resort. We had been ringing and texting him before we arrived and keeping him up to date as to our progress. It proved to be him and so we exited the bus. He carried our small suitcase down a concrete track on his motorbike and we walked alongside until we came to the most delightful, small and totally informal resort right on the beach. Only 4 or 5 units. There is sand outside our front door. By then it was about 2230 and we had a snack dinner which they had prepared for us and then collapsed into bed where we slept like logs.
Day 8 - 10/10
We woke about 5 to see the dawn coming up over the South China Sea - a beautiful sight and although we have seen many dawns at sea, it always impresses. Went back to sleep again and didn't get up until close to 8 when we dressed and went to the restaurant for breakfast - scrambled eggs. Met 2 young couples from NZ - one from Dunedin and the other from Christchurch. Had a series of great conversations with them and then made the big decision to have a swim. First time in the South China Sea. Lovely and refreshing and the beach here is clean with golden sand which you can't walk on in bare feet because it gets too hot.
The resort is great. Very laid back and Gavin and Steve do a fantastic job. So informal and everyone so friendly. Gavin also teaches English to the children of the local village for no charge. We would like to stay longer but we have to stick to our schedule. However, this is one place we would like to come back to. And they don't use MSG! It is about 10 metres from the front door of our cabin to the beach and it is a very picturesque view with a small island just offshore. Started wondering whether we could come in here with Tiare but of course so far there is the very expensive Vietnamese bureaucracy to contend with. Had a nap this afternoon (much needed) and then dinner where we were all at one table with a German couple the NZer's and a pleasant Vietnamese lady. Lots of good conversation and now to bed. It's now almost 2200 (NZDST 0400 the next day)and yours truly is feeling it. We have to be away from here by 1000 tomorrow or our trip to Hoi An which is another 6-8 hour trip. This time we are going in a minibus which should be more comfortable than the so-called sleeper bus. More about that tomorrow. Night night.
Day 9 - 11/10
The day dawned fine and bright over the South China Sea - in spite of a lightening and thunderstorm last night. Once more enjoying the dawn over the South China Sea and a great breakfast, courtesy of Steve and his team in the kitchen. Then sadly it was time to pack and say our goodbyes. The taxi arrived for us promptly at 1000 and there was a 15 minute ride into Quy Nhon where we were to catch our next mode of transport. 200,000 Dong (NZD13.40). There is a tendency for us to compare other taxi fares such as HCMC where a fare covering the best part of an hour was 150-180,000 Dong but of course NZD13 is really quite reasonable for a 15 minute ride - especially as he had to come and get us and helped carry our luggage back up the hill in fairly warm conditions!
The minibus was a long wheelbase Ford Transit - reminded Jim of his stint as a Super Shuttle owner/driver to and from Auckland Airport for those crooks - Super Shuttle. But the bus was good - an older Transit!!
The trip was a bit monotonous - all flat and some fairly indifferent urban ribbon development. And lots of rice paddies. But the bus was a lot faster than the bigger sleeper bus. However, some passing manoeuvers were fairly hairy and we weren't sorry to get to Hoi An. We weren't sure whether we were actually in Hoi An because the I-Pad had been packed in luggage which was jammed in the back and we couldn't see any meaningful signs. So, of course we asked and they looked astonished that we didn't know!! Then because "no Sunday" meant no taxis on Sunday apparently, we had to get on the backs of 2 bikes plus our luggage for the 5 km. (approx.) ride to the Travelodge! Not what we were expecting at all and we weren't happy as bikes are far less safe than cars. However, all was well and we paid the 150,000 Dong fare for the 2 bikes. The Travelodge is wonderful and has an indoor pool. Tariff of less than NZD50 per night and the hotel is near new. Very comfortable and friendly. On the recommendation of Steve at Life's a Beach we went out to dinner at a restaurant called The Chef and had a great MSG free meal. Perhaps we are now getting into Vietnamese life at last! We've certainly had some much better experiences of late in Dalat, at Life's a Beach and now in Hoi An at the Travelodge. The Old Quarter of Hoi An is a UNESCO World Heritage site (like Georgetown on Penang in Malaysia) which probably means prices are higher but there are lovely unspoilt buildings and traffic is banned at certain times of the day which is refreshing after the frenetic pace in HCMC!
More to come and love from us.......
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
Thursday, 8 October 2015
Vietnam sojourn #2 HCMC to Dalat
Day 5 7/10 -
Today was a long day. We woke at 4 to finish our packing before being picked up by taxi at 7. The bus didn't leave until 9 but such is the rush hour traffic in HCMC that we needed over an hour to get into the city. Then there was time to have breakfast over the road from the bus stop. We'd been there before so the MSG message was well and truly rammed home - again! You meet all sorts of interesting people when travelling. There were 2 Vietnamese sisters aged about 50 who had left Vietnam for the USA with their families when they were 10 - 40 years ago. That would have been about 1975 when the north overran the south. Anyway, one lives in Texas and the other in Florida. They were here to meet some family and to see where they had come from in Vung Tau Province.
The seats on these long distance buses are intriguing indeed. They are semi reclining. One's feet go horizontally into a kind of semi covered pod which isn't long enough for our western bodies! The rest of you leans back on an adjustable back rest. They were ok for the day time but would be diabolical if you were trying to sleep at night. We managed to fit reasonably but they are narrow too. There are some on the bottom deck and some overhead but as it is not a true double decker, the access to the top tier was via the bottom and very small short ladders. We were advised to be on the bottom and good advice it was too. Entering and exiting from a reclining position was not easy and even when standing up the passages were too narrow for us so we had to go sideways. Fortunately we were at the front so didn't have far to go to get out - and we had a good view.
The first part of the trip leaving HCMC was very slow. For the most part there were 2 lanes in each direction but jampacked with trucks and all ambling along. One thing we noticed was that businesses of certain types tended to congregate together so at one point there was a collection of statue makers. The Bhuddha, Jesus and the Virgin Mary were all well represented and in many sizes. No doubt if you could afford it you could have the biggest available and impress the neighbours!! It seems that Christianity (mostly of the Catholic variety) is well represented in this part of Vietnam - obviously a legacy of the French. There were some very grandiose churches in most of the towns we passed through.
Once we were clear of the city and its environs the pace picked up but still not particularly fast which is just as well given the hair raising driving we witnessed. No wonder the road toll here is so high. There are 6 million motorcycles in HCMC alone and 9 million people. Buses generally ignore them and honk their horns and expect them to get out of the way, but if they don't..........
Once we started climbing into the Highlands the scenery became very pretty and the roads steep which again slowed our progress considerably. We stopped for lunch at a large road stop place and with trepidation ordered some things off the menu - once more emphasising NO MSG. However, in spite of their assurances Jean could taste it in hers and refused to eat it. Jim's wasn't great either. 35,000 Dong for each dish and we refused point blank to pay for Jean's. Caused a bit of a furore but when they realised we meant it, they backed down. Only the equivalent of NZD2.40 but it was the principle as if she had eaten all of it she would have been extremely sick and that would not have been good at all - especially on a bus. They obviously tell you the first thing that comes into their heads just so that you'll go away. We are getting more and more concerned because MSG is so prevalent in Vietnam it's almost impossible to avoid 100%. We have discussed more than once aborting the trip and returning to Thailand. We don't want to do this because we came here to see the country but we also can't afford the results of continually ingesting MSG. Much more and Jean would be totally immobilised and very sick and miserable and that would be ridiculous. We'll persevere but very carefully. This is very sad because Vietnam has such delicious food and they absolutely do not need the so-called flavour enhancement of MSG, but as we were subsequently told, if a restaurant here in Vietnam did not put MSG in its food it would be out of business very quickly. So we just have to grin and bear it and try to manage the situation.
Dalat is at 1500 metres (4,500 feet) and so has a very pleasant cooler climate. Usually daytime temperatures in the low to mid 20's C.
Day 6 8/10 -
First job this morning was to try to organise acceptable transport to our next destination, a small beach hotel (Life's a Beach) 10 kms south of Quy Nhon. This is approximately 8 hours (again!) by bus from here and we were also told that the only bus per day left here at 1600. This would have meant an ETA of around midnight to 1300 the next morning and we were definitely very concerned about that. However, this morning it transpired that another bus leaves at 1400 and so we should arrive around 2200 - much more civilised.
With that out of the way we wanted to do a half day tour around Dalat but this hotel (the Pink House) only offered full day tours. So we wandered down the road to an upmarket backpacker who arranged a car and driver/guide for us. We has breakfast there while we waited. Our man (Bay) duly arrived and we set off first to the ATM to get some much needed Dong. 5 million in fact (NZD344!!). Then we headed off to the Dalat Railway station built by the French in the 1920's in the Art Deco style. It is no longer part of the Vietnamese rail network due to war damage to the track but that is slowly being addressed and one day it will be a great tourist attraction. Then we visited a collection of villas built by the French as part of the development of Dalat as a summer hill retreat. Interesting architecture and it was obviously a great life for the top level French in those years. Then the piece de la resistance - the Bao Dai's summer palace. He was Vietnam's last king and lived for the most part in the old imperial capital of Hue. However, the summer palace here in Dalat (also built very much in the Art Deco style) was his summer retreat. He had 6 wives and married at least 2 of them while still married to his queen. He had 5 children to his 1st. wife and some to his subsequent wives and liaisons. Some are still living and the eldest still alive carries the title of head of the Nugyen Dynasty, although that title is largely meaningless. The children who are all still alive live in exile in France. Bao Dai himself died in France in 1997. An interesting aside is that during his time in exile in France he also lived periodically in Monaco and at one time owned the largest yacht in Monaco! So the family must have been fairly well healed. During the Japanese occupation the Japanese allowed the French to continue to rule south Vietnam as they had declared allegiance to the French Vichy regime (an ally of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan) in France. Bao Dai continued as Emperor of Annam as a puppet of the Japanese. When Japan surrendered in 1945 Ho Chi Minh (the founder of present day Vietnam) persuaded him to abdicate - given his collaboration and association with the Japanese occupation. This enhanced Ho's and the Viet Minh's standing with the Vietnamese people more than any other event and laid the foundation for France's ousting by the Viet Minh from Vietnam in 1954. When Japan surrendered in 1945 the surrender was received by the British Army as proxy for France as France had virtually no military capacity at the time. Britain's Winston Churchill was determined that Indochina would be restored to French rule and the British were largely instrumental in ensuring that outcome. A deeply flawed policy - obviously.
The summer palace here in Dalat is impressive in scale and as a largely original example of Art Deco architecture. In Bao Dai's bedroom the furniture all designed for the room is still there although badly in need of restoration. And throughout the palace the furniture and fittings are all still there and original. His office is all original and his huge desk with all the items he used during his time there are all still on the desk.
It was quite a surreal experience seeing all the personal rooms where the royal family of Vietnam lived. Nothing particularly flash about it - just the bare bones of what must have been a very privileged life.
Then we went to the Crazy House. This is a concrete house very cleverly designed much like a Hobbit film set and still a work in progress. The owner is a Vietnamese woman who has a Phd. in Architecture from Moscow. Her father was Truong Chinh who was Ho Chi Minh's successor as President of Vietnam from 1981 until his death in 1988. To plagiarise the Lonely Planet - "The Crazy House defies definition. Joyously designed, outrageously artistic, this private home is a monument to the creative potential of concrete, with sculptured rooms connected by super slim bridges and an excess of cascading lava-flow like shapes. Think Gaudi on acid!" It was an enthralling visit and we have many photos which will find their way onto the website soon. One of the problems with pictures is that these blogs are posted via Sailmail and Sailmail does not allow attachments so they have to be placed separately through our Gmail address.
Jean was absolutely gobsmacked by the house and said she wants one!! It would be great for the grandchildren (they would never want to leave) and she could become the old woman matriarch leaning on a knobbly wooden stick!! She'll kill me when she reads this!
Then it was back to the Pink House and out again to do some exploration of the CBD on foot. Dalat is hilly and is an ordered eclectic collection of shops, restaurants, service industries like motor garages in the most unlikely juxtaposition with other businesses and accommodation businesses - of which there are a few since Dalat is a tourist centre. But all pleasantly laid out and clean with good tiled footpaths. Spoilt a bit by the hundreds of motorcycles parked on them!
We went back to our favourite restaurant (Long Hoa) where they do NOT use MSG and they serve delicious Vietnamese food alongside western dishes. After an early meal and several glasses of homemade strawberry wine (wonderful) we made our way down the hill and then up another back to the Pink House. Jim's knees are giving some grief after all this walking (it was definitely NOT the strawberry wine!) but we made it back and now typing this blog. We leave tomorrow early afternoon for Quy Nhon where we are staying right on the beach - at sea level once more and no doubt a total contrast to this recent experience at Dalat.
More to come that's for sure..........
Lotsaluv from us and hoping this finds you all in the pink.
Cheers,
Jim and Jean
Dalat
Vietnam.
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
Today was a long day. We woke at 4 to finish our packing before being picked up by taxi at 7. The bus didn't leave until 9 but such is the rush hour traffic in HCMC that we needed over an hour to get into the city. Then there was time to have breakfast over the road from the bus stop. We'd been there before so the MSG message was well and truly rammed home - again! You meet all sorts of interesting people when travelling. There were 2 Vietnamese sisters aged about 50 who had left Vietnam for the USA with their families when they were 10 - 40 years ago. That would have been about 1975 when the north overran the south. Anyway, one lives in Texas and the other in Florida. They were here to meet some family and to see where they had come from in Vung Tau Province.
The seats on these long distance buses are intriguing indeed. They are semi reclining. One's feet go horizontally into a kind of semi covered pod which isn't long enough for our western bodies! The rest of you leans back on an adjustable back rest. They were ok for the day time but would be diabolical if you were trying to sleep at night. We managed to fit reasonably but they are narrow too. There are some on the bottom deck and some overhead but as it is not a true double decker, the access to the top tier was via the bottom and very small short ladders. We were advised to be on the bottom and good advice it was too. Entering and exiting from a reclining position was not easy and even when standing up the passages were too narrow for us so we had to go sideways. Fortunately we were at the front so didn't have far to go to get out - and we had a good view.
The first part of the trip leaving HCMC was very slow. For the most part there were 2 lanes in each direction but jampacked with trucks and all ambling along. One thing we noticed was that businesses of certain types tended to congregate together so at one point there was a collection of statue makers. The Bhuddha, Jesus and the Virgin Mary were all well represented and in many sizes. No doubt if you could afford it you could have the biggest available and impress the neighbours!! It seems that Christianity (mostly of the Catholic variety) is well represented in this part of Vietnam - obviously a legacy of the French. There were some very grandiose churches in most of the towns we passed through.
Once we were clear of the city and its environs the pace picked up but still not particularly fast which is just as well given the hair raising driving we witnessed. No wonder the road toll here is so high. There are 6 million motorcycles in HCMC alone and 9 million people. Buses generally ignore them and honk their horns and expect them to get out of the way, but if they don't..........
Once we started climbing into the Highlands the scenery became very pretty and the roads steep which again slowed our progress considerably. We stopped for lunch at a large road stop place and with trepidation ordered some things off the menu - once more emphasising NO MSG. However, in spite of their assurances Jean could taste it in hers and refused to eat it. Jim's wasn't great either. 35,000 Dong for each dish and we refused point blank to pay for Jean's. Caused a bit of a furore but when they realised we meant it, they backed down. Only the equivalent of NZD2.40 but it was the principle as if she had eaten all of it she would have been extremely sick and that would not have been good at all - especially on a bus. They obviously tell you the first thing that comes into their heads just so that you'll go away. We are getting more and more concerned because MSG is so prevalent in Vietnam it's almost impossible to avoid 100%. We have discussed more than once aborting the trip and returning to Thailand. We don't want to do this because we came here to see the country but we also can't afford the results of continually ingesting MSG. Much more and Jean would be totally immobilised and very sick and miserable and that would be ridiculous. We'll persevere but very carefully. This is very sad because Vietnam has such delicious food and they absolutely do not need the so-called flavour enhancement of MSG, but as we were subsequently told, if a restaurant here in Vietnam did not put MSG in its food it would be out of business very quickly. So we just have to grin and bear it and try to manage the situation.
Dalat is at 1500 metres (4,500 feet) and so has a very pleasant cooler climate. Usually daytime temperatures in the low to mid 20's C.
Day 6 8/10 -
First job this morning was to try to organise acceptable transport to our next destination, a small beach hotel (Life's a Beach) 10 kms south of Quy Nhon. This is approximately 8 hours (again!) by bus from here and we were also told that the only bus per day left here at 1600. This would have meant an ETA of around midnight to 1300 the next morning and we were definitely very concerned about that. However, this morning it transpired that another bus leaves at 1400 and so we should arrive around 2200 - much more civilised.
With that out of the way we wanted to do a half day tour around Dalat but this hotel (the Pink House) only offered full day tours. So we wandered down the road to an upmarket backpacker who arranged a car and driver/guide for us. We has breakfast there while we waited. Our man (Bay) duly arrived and we set off first to the ATM to get some much needed Dong. 5 million in fact (NZD344!!). Then we headed off to the Dalat Railway station built by the French in the 1920's in the Art Deco style. It is no longer part of the Vietnamese rail network due to war damage to the track but that is slowly being addressed and one day it will be a great tourist attraction. Then we visited a collection of villas built by the French as part of the development of Dalat as a summer hill retreat. Interesting architecture and it was obviously a great life for the top level French in those years. Then the piece de la resistance - the Bao Dai's summer palace. He was Vietnam's last king and lived for the most part in the old imperial capital of Hue. However, the summer palace here in Dalat (also built very much in the Art Deco style) was his summer retreat. He had 6 wives and married at least 2 of them while still married to his queen. He had 5 children to his 1st. wife and some to his subsequent wives and liaisons. Some are still living and the eldest still alive carries the title of head of the Nugyen Dynasty, although that title is largely meaningless. The children who are all still alive live in exile in France. Bao Dai himself died in France in 1997. An interesting aside is that during his time in exile in France he also lived periodically in Monaco and at one time owned the largest yacht in Monaco! So the family must have been fairly well healed. During the Japanese occupation the Japanese allowed the French to continue to rule south Vietnam as they had declared allegiance to the French Vichy regime (an ally of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan) in France. Bao Dai continued as Emperor of Annam as a puppet of the Japanese. When Japan surrendered in 1945 Ho Chi Minh (the founder of present day Vietnam) persuaded him to abdicate - given his collaboration and association with the Japanese occupation. This enhanced Ho's and the Viet Minh's standing with the Vietnamese people more than any other event and laid the foundation for France's ousting by the Viet Minh from Vietnam in 1954. When Japan surrendered in 1945 the surrender was received by the British Army as proxy for France as France had virtually no military capacity at the time. Britain's Winston Churchill was determined that Indochina would be restored to French rule and the British were largely instrumental in ensuring that outcome. A deeply flawed policy - obviously.
The summer palace here in Dalat is impressive in scale and as a largely original example of Art Deco architecture. In Bao Dai's bedroom the furniture all designed for the room is still there although badly in need of restoration. And throughout the palace the furniture and fittings are all still there and original. His office is all original and his huge desk with all the items he used during his time there are all still on the desk.
It was quite a surreal experience seeing all the personal rooms where the royal family of Vietnam lived. Nothing particularly flash about it - just the bare bones of what must have been a very privileged life.
Then we went to the Crazy House. This is a concrete house very cleverly designed much like a Hobbit film set and still a work in progress. The owner is a Vietnamese woman who has a Phd. in Architecture from Moscow. Her father was Truong Chinh who was Ho Chi Minh's successor as President of Vietnam from 1981 until his death in 1988. To plagiarise the Lonely Planet - "The Crazy House defies definition. Joyously designed, outrageously artistic, this private home is a monument to the creative potential of concrete, with sculptured rooms connected by super slim bridges and an excess of cascading lava-flow like shapes. Think Gaudi on acid!" It was an enthralling visit and we have many photos which will find their way onto the website soon. One of the problems with pictures is that these blogs are posted via Sailmail and Sailmail does not allow attachments so they have to be placed separately through our Gmail address.
Jean was absolutely gobsmacked by the house and said she wants one!! It would be great for the grandchildren (they would never want to leave) and she could become the old woman matriarch leaning on a knobbly wooden stick!! She'll kill me when she reads this!
Then it was back to the Pink House and out again to do some exploration of the CBD on foot. Dalat is hilly and is an ordered eclectic collection of shops, restaurants, service industries like motor garages in the most unlikely juxtaposition with other businesses and accommodation businesses - of which there are a few since Dalat is a tourist centre. But all pleasantly laid out and clean with good tiled footpaths. Spoilt a bit by the hundreds of motorcycles parked on them!
We went back to our favourite restaurant (Long Hoa) where they do NOT use MSG and they serve delicious Vietnamese food alongside western dishes. After an early meal and several glasses of homemade strawberry wine (wonderful) we made our way down the hill and then up another back to the Pink House. Jim's knees are giving some grief after all this walking (it was definitely NOT the strawberry wine!) but we made it back and now typing this blog. We leave tomorrow early afternoon for Quy Nhon where we are staying right on the beach - at sea level once more and no doubt a total contrast to this recent experience at Dalat.
More to come that's for sure..........
Lotsaluv from us and hoping this finds you all in the pink.
Cheers,
Jim and Jean
Dalat
Vietnam.
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
Wednesday, 7 October 2015
Sojourn to Vietnam - Part 1
Day One 3/10 -
We could only get an early morning flight from Krabi to Bangkok in order to allow enough time to connect with the flight to Ho Chi Minh City and so we were up at 0400 closing seacocks (which had to be done at the last minute) and generally doing all the final preparations to the boat and ourselves prior to leaving. We had arranged to meet Garn at 0600 for her to take us to the airport but our neighbour had made a last minute decision to go to Phuket and so he offered to take us to the airport as his route took him right past the entrance.
The flight to Bangkok (1 hr) was devoid of drama and we had no check in luggage so everything was as seamless as possible. However, leaving Thailand at Bangkok was a different story. The usual drama with Thai bureaucracy. First, we had checked into Thailand at Satun on the boat and here we were checking out of Bangkok. Second, our 5 year NZ passports were soon expiring so we had obtained new passports on-line. So, when we rocked up to Thai Immigration they had to check our visas in the old cancelled passports and get their heads around the fact that we had arrived by boat, as well as the fact that we had new passports which for them had to be linked to the old. It was just as well that we had allowed enough time on the ground at Bangkok because the whole exercise took upwards of 2 hours.
We had arranged bulkhead seats for the one and a half hour flight to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) and it was moderately comfortable although Air Asia, being a budget airline, still takes the no frills approach such as eschewing the use of air bridges in favour of steps and buses, which is a pain. Still, we eventually arrived after another non eventful flight. Didn't see much as there was quite a bit of cloud. There was then a complicated process to obtain our Vietnamese visas. We had applied on-line previously, but all that produced was a letter from Vietnamese Immigration to say that we could apply for a 30 day visa on arrival. That seemed simple but the reality was somewhat different. You have to provide 2 passport photos and then fill in another (this time manual) application. Then they issue the visa but the fee was USD90 for the 2 of us. They don't take credit cards and we didn't have any USD!! However, fortunately we still had some Thai Baht and they would accept those but the fee was 4,000 Baht. This equates to around USD110 so it cost us the equivalent of another USD20 for having the wrong currency! The whole process seemed cumbersome and unnecessarily bureaucratic, but Vietnam is still a totalitarian Communist country so that's what happens. Having said that, it's like China and is becoming more and more a benign dictatorship which tolerates an extremely high level of capitalism in its economy.
The next thing to get one's head around is the currency. At present there are approx. 14,500 Vietnamese Dong (VND) to one Kiwi dollar. We were quoted from 200,000 to 800,000 Dong to get to our hotel by taxi - that's a price range of between 14 and 55 NZD, so no prizes for guessing which one we took. The hotel is a resort located on a U-shaped bend of the Saigon River. It was only costing us USD17 per night so we didn't expect anything too grand but the room is clean and the property very pretty and well maintained. The only issue is that it costs around 150,000 - 180,000 Dong to get into the CBD of HCMC. The trip in the taxi is fascinating. They drive on the right (a legacy of the French no doubt) and the traffic is reminiscent of India. Thank goodness we weren't driving. A number 44 bus, on the other hand is only 10,000 Dong for the 2 of us.
The Binh Quoi 2 Resort is very pleasant - not new and rooms a little in need of refurbishment but very clean and comfortable. The bungalows are built over a tidal inlet of the river but that sounds way better than it actually is. The water is murky and there is no real view of the river except from the restaurant. But no mossies or midges so that's all good. There is also quite a good pool but we haven't been swimming yet.
We availed ourselves of a buffet dinner which they put on on weekends and we enjoyed the delicious Vietnamese flavours but we hadn't realised that the Vietnamese often add more MSG to their food than even the Thais do and so we suffered that night with the effects of Monosodium Glutamate (MSG).
Jean is very allergic to MSG and so suffered all night but even Jim was affected too. We have since found out the Vietnamese for "NO MSG" and we flash that under everyone's noses now so hopefully all will be well. But we consider that the MSG issue alone would be enough to prevent us from ever settling permanently in SE Asia.
Day two 4/10 -
Not feeling at all well this morning due to the MSG poisoning. However, we needed to do something about our bus tickets to Dalat in 3 days time so we first of all decided to catch a "44" bus into town. However, it began raining quite heavily and so we abandoned the bus idea and took a taxi instead. Taxis at least are cheap. We were dropped off at Saigontourist where we had been told we could buy bus tickets but that was incorrect. We were then directed to the "bus station" where we were told we could buy tickets. We set off on foot but became lost again so at that point we were approached by two rickshaw operators who appeared knowledgeable as to where the bus station was. Jean was not keen but Jim felt that we needed to be taken as they appeared to be friendly and actually had written testimonials from some New Zealanders which appeared genuine. However, it was a scam and they dropped us at a local bus station. There was then an argument about the fare and Jim made the mistake of pulling out his wallet and pulling a couple of notes out. It's necessary to that because the notes re confusing with all the zeros and the 20,000 and 500,000 Dong notes are the same colour. Anyway, they then snatched the money and vamoosed. We're not sure but we think they grabbed maybe 1,500,000 Dong which is NZD103. A salutary lesson in not displaying money on the street but of course all we wanted to do was pay a fair amount and get rid of them. Never in a rickshaw again - that's for sure. We were lucky they didn't snatch the whole wallet, credit cards and all.
However, we finally found the ticket place for the bus and bought two tickets to Dalat (an 8 hour bus ride apparently) for 440,000 Dong (NZD30) and the buses are quite luxurious so at least that part seems quite cheap. We got a new battery for the camera and then found a reasonable looking restaurant where we had a local beer and an indifferent meal. However, the MSG message was rammed home! We returned to the resort a little chastened by the experience and glad to be back. Had a very pleasant dinner in the riverside restaurant. Jim had squid and Jean had grilled fish which was all delicious. We made sure they fully understood the requirement as to NO MSG as well!!!
Day 3 5/10 -
Woke this morning feeling much better as the effects of the MSG seem to be finally wearing off. Sore eyes, upset stomachs, a general malaise and leg muscle pain are all symptoms which one can well do without at any time and especially when travelling.
We decided we were going to go into town again specifically to see the Reunification Palace and later the War Remnants Museum. We are getting bolder so decided to go in on the bus - no. 44. Apart from a slow leak in the LH front tyre, the trip was uneventful. We met a very helpful young Vietnamese girl on the bus who spoke excellent English and she told us that when we got to the bus station we should change to a no. 35 bus. However, in a completely typical situation it turned out that the bus schedules had been changed a week ago and we should be catching a no. 6! We had no idea where to catch that and with the language difficulties we were unable to find out. Very frustrating. So we found a coffee bar where we had some Tiramisu and coffee and caught our wits. We were given directions and so headed off on foot along Duong Louis Pasteur - amazing they're still using a French name here. There is also a Duong Dien Bien Phu here after the famous battle in 1954 where the French were given a bloody nose - more than playing the All Blacks! They then left Indochine for good.
We found the Palace first after negotiating the street crossings - it gets quite unnerving when walking across even on a pedestrian crossing in front of 3 lanes of charging motorbikes. They have no intention of giving way, but if you just keep walking steadily they seem to go around you and everyone survives to fight another day. Anyway, we found the huge wrought iron gates that North Vietnamese Army tanks smashed their way through on 30th. April 1975. A North Vietnamese officer stormed the building and raised the flag of the VC on top of the building and then made his way to a reception room where the new Head of State (for only 43 hours) of South Vietnam, General Minh was waiting. General Minh said "I have been waiting since early this morning to transfer power to you". The VC officer replied "There is no question of your transferring power. You cannot give up what you do not have". The Palace had been built in the 1960's and was in fact bombed by a dissident South Vietnamese airforce officer in 1963 in a successful attempt to assassinate the then president, Ngo Dinh Diem. That was the catalyst for the USA to invade in a totally misguided attempt to control another country - but they've been doing that for years, usually via the CIA initially. Diem was a hugely corrupt leader doing great damage to his people. But that should have been left for Vietnam and its people to sort out.
Anyway, the rest is history, as we know.
Our next port of call was the War Remnants Museum. This commemorates (if that's the right word) the Vietnamese victory over the US invasion (they call it the American War) and the horrors and atrocities committed during the course of the war. Outside there is an amazing collection of American war materiel - aircraft, tanks, self propelled guns and a host of other equipment - all left behind when the US forces evacuated in 1975.
The bulk of the displays were photographic depicting the horrors of war and dwelling on the American atrocity committed at My Lai - about half way between here and Hanoi. The soldiers on that day took people away from their villages and killed them all - some very brutally. Pregnant women and children included. And the villages themselves were destroyed - all because they believed that everyone was in some way helping the Vietcong. Possibly that was correct but certainly was no excuse for the brutality, and after all the Vietnamese were entirely justified in fighting invaders of their country. The US and its allies may have been "invited" originally but the regime that did so was totally corrupt and its leaders were puppets the US had installed. It is reminiscent of the atrocities committed by the Nazi SS in Europe and by the Japanese in Asia - including Vietnam. There was a court martial for one individual (Lt. Calley) but somehow he only served 3 years.
America of course is still waging illegal wars where they deem it to be in their national interest, but they have done untold harm and left a legacy that will haunt them for a long time to come. Having said that, there doesn't appear from our short time here to be any lingering resentment towards westerners - but you would never really know. It will probably take several generations to die out before the memories really fade. The Vietnamese people are totally admirable - they won the war through sheer tenacity. War materiel was shipped into North Vietnam and carried south over the Ho Chi Minh Trail for 6 months before it reached the fighting units of the North Vietnamese Army near what was then Saigon. The Trail meandered for many miles back and forth across the Lao border and in the wet season was a quagmire. In spite of this and continual USAF bombing by B-52's those tenacious people managed to carry upwards of 35 kgs on their backs. Whatever one's political leanings then or now, this was an amazing feat and ultimately ensured Vietnam's independence.
Day 4 6/10 -
Last day in Ho Chi Minh City. Had a slight touch of MSG poisoning again this morning and even contemplated aborting our trip because we cannot be as sick as this for 3 weeks. We would never make it, especially on 8 hour bus trips! However, we decided to just get on with it and be very diligent about trying to avoid it. The Vietnamese seem to be far more addicted to the stuff than the Thais. We went into town again on the bus and went to the Ben Thanh Market where we bought 2 umbrellas. The tourist publications talk up this market but really it is just a large retail area selling loads of tourist kitsch, although there were some reasonable clothes. We then found a very good Japanese/Vietnamese restaurant where we had a pleasant lunch, and not expensive. 340,000 Dong - NZD23. On arrival both of us were suffering stomach pains again - possibly from breakfast. We are getting really fed up with this MSG related stuff - anyway, we had to pay visits to their loo in quite a hurry!! Let's hope this is the last of it. We also bought some snacks for the bus and Jean now has a Vietnamese ph. no. which is +84 1264020788.
Our impressions of Ho Chi Minh City are mixed. In hindsight it may have been better to have stayed closer in to the city, but the tariff here more than makes up for the taxi costs. The city seems hard to find one's way around in although we are now just starting to get a feel for things. The Vietnamese are generally friendly and helpful and a surprising number speak reasonable English, except taxi drivers it seems although there are exceptions. The buildings are a mix of lovely old French colonial, modern, and scruffy Asian which you see everywhere. The "tube" buildings are fascinating. These are 4-5 story buildings on impossibly narrow footprints. They all seem to lean on each other so they hold each other up but every so often you see one on its own. It wouldn't take too much of a shake to see it falling onto its neighbours. They usually have some type of business on the ground floor and residential above. There are heaps of shops and you wonder how they make a living. Of course they don't - it's just subsistence living.
We leave by bus for Dalat in the Central Highlands tomorrow so the next blog will be from there.
Cheers and love from us.........
Jim and Jean
Ho Chi Minh City
Vietnam.
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
We could only get an early morning flight from Krabi to Bangkok in order to allow enough time to connect with the flight to Ho Chi Minh City and so we were up at 0400 closing seacocks (which had to be done at the last minute) and generally doing all the final preparations to the boat and ourselves prior to leaving. We had arranged to meet Garn at 0600 for her to take us to the airport but our neighbour had made a last minute decision to go to Phuket and so he offered to take us to the airport as his route took him right past the entrance.
The flight to Bangkok (1 hr) was devoid of drama and we had no check in luggage so everything was as seamless as possible. However, leaving Thailand at Bangkok was a different story. The usual drama with Thai bureaucracy. First, we had checked into Thailand at Satun on the boat and here we were checking out of Bangkok. Second, our 5 year NZ passports were soon expiring so we had obtained new passports on-line. So, when we rocked up to Thai Immigration they had to check our visas in the old cancelled passports and get their heads around the fact that we had arrived by boat, as well as the fact that we had new passports which for them had to be linked to the old. It was just as well that we had allowed enough time on the ground at Bangkok because the whole exercise took upwards of 2 hours.
We had arranged bulkhead seats for the one and a half hour flight to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) and it was moderately comfortable although Air Asia, being a budget airline, still takes the no frills approach such as eschewing the use of air bridges in favour of steps and buses, which is a pain. Still, we eventually arrived after another non eventful flight. Didn't see much as there was quite a bit of cloud. There was then a complicated process to obtain our Vietnamese visas. We had applied on-line previously, but all that produced was a letter from Vietnamese Immigration to say that we could apply for a 30 day visa on arrival. That seemed simple but the reality was somewhat different. You have to provide 2 passport photos and then fill in another (this time manual) application. Then they issue the visa but the fee was USD90 for the 2 of us. They don't take credit cards and we didn't have any USD!! However, fortunately we still had some Thai Baht and they would accept those but the fee was 4,000 Baht. This equates to around USD110 so it cost us the equivalent of another USD20 for having the wrong currency! The whole process seemed cumbersome and unnecessarily bureaucratic, but Vietnam is still a totalitarian Communist country so that's what happens. Having said that, it's like China and is becoming more and more a benign dictatorship which tolerates an extremely high level of capitalism in its economy.
The next thing to get one's head around is the currency. At present there are approx. 14,500 Vietnamese Dong (VND) to one Kiwi dollar. We were quoted from 200,000 to 800,000 Dong to get to our hotel by taxi - that's a price range of between 14 and 55 NZD, so no prizes for guessing which one we took. The hotel is a resort located on a U-shaped bend of the Saigon River. It was only costing us USD17 per night so we didn't expect anything too grand but the room is clean and the property very pretty and well maintained. The only issue is that it costs around 150,000 - 180,000 Dong to get into the CBD of HCMC. The trip in the taxi is fascinating. They drive on the right (a legacy of the French no doubt) and the traffic is reminiscent of India. Thank goodness we weren't driving. A number 44 bus, on the other hand is only 10,000 Dong for the 2 of us.
The Binh Quoi 2 Resort is very pleasant - not new and rooms a little in need of refurbishment but very clean and comfortable. The bungalows are built over a tidal inlet of the river but that sounds way better than it actually is. The water is murky and there is no real view of the river except from the restaurant. But no mossies or midges so that's all good. There is also quite a good pool but we haven't been swimming yet.
We availed ourselves of a buffet dinner which they put on on weekends and we enjoyed the delicious Vietnamese flavours but we hadn't realised that the Vietnamese often add more MSG to their food than even the Thais do and so we suffered that night with the effects of Monosodium Glutamate (MSG).
Jean is very allergic to MSG and so suffered all night but even Jim was affected too. We have since found out the Vietnamese for "NO MSG" and we flash that under everyone's noses now so hopefully all will be well. But we consider that the MSG issue alone would be enough to prevent us from ever settling permanently in SE Asia.
Day two 4/10 -
Not feeling at all well this morning due to the MSG poisoning. However, we needed to do something about our bus tickets to Dalat in 3 days time so we first of all decided to catch a "44" bus into town. However, it began raining quite heavily and so we abandoned the bus idea and took a taxi instead. Taxis at least are cheap. We were dropped off at Saigontourist where we had been told we could buy bus tickets but that was incorrect. We were then directed to the "bus station" where we were told we could buy tickets. We set off on foot but became lost again so at that point we were approached by two rickshaw operators who appeared knowledgeable as to where the bus station was. Jean was not keen but Jim felt that we needed to be taken as they appeared to be friendly and actually had written testimonials from some New Zealanders which appeared genuine. However, it was a scam and they dropped us at a local bus station. There was then an argument about the fare and Jim made the mistake of pulling out his wallet and pulling a couple of notes out. It's necessary to that because the notes re confusing with all the zeros and the 20,000 and 500,000 Dong notes are the same colour. Anyway, they then snatched the money and vamoosed. We're not sure but we think they grabbed maybe 1,500,000 Dong which is NZD103. A salutary lesson in not displaying money on the street but of course all we wanted to do was pay a fair amount and get rid of them. Never in a rickshaw again - that's for sure. We were lucky they didn't snatch the whole wallet, credit cards and all.
However, we finally found the ticket place for the bus and bought two tickets to Dalat (an 8 hour bus ride apparently) for 440,000 Dong (NZD30) and the buses are quite luxurious so at least that part seems quite cheap. We got a new battery for the camera and then found a reasonable looking restaurant where we had a local beer and an indifferent meal. However, the MSG message was rammed home! We returned to the resort a little chastened by the experience and glad to be back. Had a very pleasant dinner in the riverside restaurant. Jim had squid and Jean had grilled fish which was all delicious. We made sure they fully understood the requirement as to NO MSG as well!!!
Day 3 5/10 -
Woke this morning feeling much better as the effects of the MSG seem to be finally wearing off. Sore eyes, upset stomachs, a general malaise and leg muscle pain are all symptoms which one can well do without at any time and especially when travelling.
We decided we were going to go into town again specifically to see the Reunification Palace and later the War Remnants Museum. We are getting bolder so decided to go in on the bus - no. 44. Apart from a slow leak in the LH front tyre, the trip was uneventful. We met a very helpful young Vietnamese girl on the bus who spoke excellent English and she told us that when we got to the bus station we should change to a no. 35 bus. However, in a completely typical situation it turned out that the bus schedules had been changed a week ago and we should be catching a no. 6! We had no idea where to catch that and with the language difficulties we were unable to find out. Very frustrating. So we found a coffee bar where we had some Tiramisu and coffee and caught our wits. We were given directions and so headed off on foot along Duong Louis Pasteur - amazing they're still using a French name here. There is also a Duong Dien Bien Phu here after the famous battle in 1954 where the French were given a bloody nose - more than playing the All Blacks! They then left Indochine for good.
We found the Palace first after negotiating the street crossings - it gets quite unnerving when walking across even on a pedestrian crossing in front of 3 lanes of charging motorbikes. They have no intention of giving way, but if you just keep walking steadily they seem to go around you and everyone survives to fight another day. Anyway, we found the huge wrought iron gates that North Vietnamese Army tanks smashed their way through on 30th. April 1975. A North Vietnamese officer stormed the building and raised the flag of the VC on top of the building and then made his way to a reception room where the new Head of State (for only 43 hours) of South Vietnam, General Minh was waiting. General Minh said "I have been waiting since early this morning to transfer power to you". The VC officer replied "There is no question of your transferring power. You cannot give up what you do not have". The Palace had been built in the 1960's and was in fact bombed by a dissident South Vietnamese airforce officer in 1963 in a successful attempt to assassinate the then president, Ngo Dinh Diem. That was the catalyst for the USA to invade in a totally misguided attempt to control another country - but they've been doing that for years, usually via the CIA initially. Diem was a hugely corrupt leader doing great damage to his people. But that should have been left for Vietnam and its people to sort out.
Anyway, the rest is history, as we know.
Our next port of call was the War Remnants Museum. This commemorates (if that's the right word) the Vietnamese victory over the US invasion (they call it the American War) and the horrors and atrocities committed during the course of the war. Outside there is an amazing collection of American war materiel - aircraft, tanks, self propelled guns and a host of other equipment - all left behind when the US forces evacuated in 1975.
The bulk of the displays were photographic depicting the horrors of war and dwelling on the American atrocity committed at My Lai - about half way between here and Hanoi. The soldiers on that day took people away from their villages and killed them all - some very brutally. Pregnant women and children included. And the villages themselves were destroyed - all because they believed that everyone was in some way helping the Vietcong. Possibly that was correct but certainly was no excuse for the brutality, and after all the Vietnamese were entirely justified in fighting invaders of their country. The US and its allies may have been "invited" originally but the regime that did so was totally corrupt and its leaders were puppets the US had installed. It is reminiscent of the atrocities committed by the Nazi SS in Europe and by the Japanese in Asia - including Vietnam. There was a court martial for one individual (Lt. Calley) but somehow he only served 3 years.
America of course is still waging illegal wars where they deem it to be in their national interest, but they have done untold harm and left a legacy that will haunt them for a long time to come. Having said that, there doesn't appear from our short time here to be any lingering resentment towards westerners - but you would never really know. It will probably take several generations to die out before the memories really fade. The Vietnamese people are totally admirable - they won the war through sheer tenacity. War materiel was shipped into North Vietnam and carried south over the Ho Chi Minh Trail for 6 months before it reached the fighting units of the North Vietnamese Army near what was then Saigon. The Trail meandered for many miles back and forth across the Lao border and in the wet season was a quagmire. In spite of this and continual USAF bombing by B-52's those tenacious people managed to carry upwards of 35 kgs on their backs. Whatever one's political leanings then or now, this was an amazing feat and ultimately ensured Vietnam's independence.
Day 4 6/10 -
Last day in Ho Chi Minh City. Had a slight touch of MSG poisoning again this morning and even contemplated aborting our trip because we cannot be as sick as this for 3 weeks. We would never make it, especially on 8 hour bus trips! However, we decided to just get on with it and be very diligent about trying to avoid it. The Vietnamese seem to be far more addicted to the stuff than the Thais. We went into town again on the bus and went to the Ben Thanh Market where we bought 2 umbrellas. The tourist publications talk up this market but really it is just a large retail area selling loads of tourist kitsch, although there were some reasonable clothes. We then found a very good Japanese/Vietnamese restaurant where we had a pleasant lunch, and not expensive. 340,000 Dong - NZD23. On arrival both of us were suffering stomach pains again - possibly from breakfast. We are getting really fed up with this MSG related stuff - anyway, we had to pay visits to their loo in quite a hurry!! Let's hope this is the last of it. We also bought some snacks for the bus and Jean now has a Vietnamese ph. no. which is +84 1264020788.
Our impressions of Ho Chi Minh City are mixed. In hindsight it may have been better to have stayed closer in to the city, but the tariff here more than makes up for the taxi costs. The city seems hard to find one's way around in although we are now just starting to get a feel for things. The Vietnamese are generally friendly and helpful and a surprising number speak reasonable English, except taxi drivers it seems although there are exceptions. The buildings are a mix of lovely old French colonial, modern, and scruffy Asian which you see everywhere. The "tube" buildings are fascinating. These are 4-5 story buildings on impossibly narrow footprints. They all seem to lean on each other so they hold each other up but every so often you see one on its own. It wouldn't take too much of a shake to see it falling onto its neighbours. They usually have some type of business on the ground floor and residential above. There are heaps of shops and you wonder how they make a living. Of course they don't - it's just subsistence living.
We leave by bus for Dalat in the Central Highlands tomorrow so the next blog will be from there.
Cheers and love from us.........
Jim and Jean
Ho Chi Minh City
Vietnam.
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
Tuesday, 6 October 2015
Sojourn to Vietnam - Part 1
Day One 3/10 -
We could only get an early morning flight from Krabi to Bangkok in order to allow enough time to connect with the flight to Ho Chi Minh City and so we were up at 0400 closing seacocks (which had to be done at the last minute) and generally doing all the final preparations to the boat and ourselves prior to leaving. We had arranged to meet Garn at 0600 for her to take us to the airport but our neighbour had made a last minute decision to go to Phuket and so he offered to take us to the airport as his route took him right past the entrance.
The flight to Bangkok (1 hr) was devoid of drama and we had no check in luggage so everything was as seamless as possible. However, leaving Thailand at Bangkok was a different story. The usual drama with Thai bureaucracy. First, we had checked into Thailand at Satun on the boat and here we were checking out of Bangkok. Second, our 5 year NZ passports were soon expiring so we had obtained new passports on-line. So, when we rocked up to Thai Immigration they had to check our visas in the old cancelled passports and get their heads around the fact that we had arrived by boat, as well as the fact that we had new passports which for them had to be linked to the old. It was just as well that we had allowed enough time on the ground at Bangkok because the whole exercise took upwards of 2 hours.
We had arranged bulkhead seats for the one and a half hour flight to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) and it was moderately comfortable although Air Asia, being a budget airline, still takes the no frills approach such as eschewing the use of air bridges in favour of steps and buses, which is a pain. Still, we eventually arrived after another non eventful flight. Didn't see much as there was quite a bit of cloud. There was then a complicated process to obtain our Vietnamese visas. We had applied on-line previously, but all that produced was a letter from Vietnamese Immigration to say that we could apply for a 30 day visa on arrival. That seemed simple but the reality was somewhat different. You have to provide 2 passport photos and then fill in another (this time manual) application. Then they issue the visa but the fee was USD90 for the 2 of us. They don't take credit cards and we didn't have any USD!! However, fortunately we still had some Thai Baht and they would accept those but the fee was 4,000 Baht. This equates to around USD110 so it cost us the equivalent of another USD20 for having the wrong currency! The whole process seemed cumbersome and unnecessarily bureaucratic, but Vietnam is still a totalitarian Communist country so that's what happens. Having said that, it's like China and is becoming more and more a benign dictatorship which tolerates an extremely high level of capitalism in its economy.
The next thing to get one's head around is the currency. At present there are approx. 14,500 Vietnamese Dong (VND) to one Kiwi dollar. We were quoted from 200,000 to 800,000 Dong to get to our hotel by taxi - that's a price range of between 14 and 55 NZD, so no prizes for guessing which one we took. The hotel is a resort located on a U-shaped bend of the Saigon River. It was only costing us USD17 per night so we didn't expect anything too grand but the room is clean and the property very pretty and well maintained. The only issue is that it costs around 150,000 - 180,000 Dong to get into the CBD of HCMC. The trip in the taxi is fascinating. They drive on the right (a legacy of the French no doubt) and the traffic is reminiscent of India. Thank goodness we weren't driving. A number 44 bus, on the other hand is only 10,000 Dong for the 2 of us.
The Binh Quoi 2 Resort is very pleasant - not new and rooms a little in need of refurbishment but very clean and comfortable. The bungalows are built over a tidal inlet of the river but that sounds way better than it actually is. The water is murky and there is no real view of the river except from the restaurant. But no mossies or midges so that's all good. There is also quite a good pool but we haven't been swimming yet.
We availed ourselves of a buffet dinner which they put on on weekends and we enjoyed the delicious Vietnamese flavours but we hadn't realised that the Vietnamese often add more MSG to their food than even the Thais do and so we suffered that night with the effects of Monosodium Glutamate (MSG).
Jean is very allergic to MSG and so suffered all night but even Jim was affected too. We have since found out the Vietnamese for "NO MSG" and we flash that under everyone's noses now so hopefully all will be well. But we consider that the MSG issue alone would be enough to prevent us from ever settling permanently in SE Asia.
Day two 4/10 -
Not feeling at all well this morning due to the MSG poisoning. However, we needed to do something about our bus tickets to Dalat in 3 days time so we first of all decided to catch a "44" bus into town. However, it began raining quite heavily and so we abandoned the bus idea and took a taxi instead. Taxis at least are cheap. We were dropped off at Saigontourist where we had been told we could buy bus tickets but that was incorrect. We were then directed to the "bus station" where we were told we could buy tickets. We set off on foot but became lost again so at that point we were approached by two rickshaw operators who appeared knowledgeable as to where the bus station was. Jean was not keen but Jim felt that we needed to be taken as they appeared to be friendly and actually had written testimonials from some New Zealanders which appeared genuine. However, it was a scam and they dropped us at a local bus station. There was then an argument about the fare and Jim made the mistake of pulling out his wallet and pulling a couple of notes out. It's necessary to that because the notes re confusing with all the zeros and the 20,000 and 500,000 Dong notes are the same colour. Anyway, they then snatched the money and vamoosed. We're not sure but we think they grabbed maybe 1,500,000 Dong which is NZD103. A salutary lesson in not displaying money on the street but of course all we wanted to do was pay a fair amount and get rid of them. Never in a rickshaw again - that's for sure. We were lucky they didn't snatch the whole wallet, credit cards and all.
However, we finally found the ticket place for the bus and bought two tickets to Dalat (an 8 hour bus ride apparently) for 440,000 Dong (NZD30) and the buses are quite luxurious so at least that part seems quite cheap. We got a new battery for the camera and then found a reasonable looking restaurant where we had a local beer and an indifferent meal. However, the MSG message was rammed home! We returned to the resort a little chastened by the experience and glad to be back. Had a very pleasant dinner in the riverside restaurant. Jim had squid and Jean had grilled fish which was all delicious. We made sure they fully understood the requirement as to NO MSG as well!!!
Day 3 5/10 -
Woke this morning feeling much better as the effects of the MSG seem to be finally wearing off. Sore eyes, upset stomachs, a general malaise and leg muscle pain are all symptoms which one can well do without at any time and especially when travelling.
We decided we were going to go into town again specifically to see the Reunification Palace and later the War Remnants Museum. We are getting bolder so decided to go in on the bus - no. 44. Apart from a slow leak in the LH front tyre, the trip was uneventful. We met a very helpful young Vietnamese girl on the bus who spoke excellent English and she told us that when we got to the bus station we should change to a no. 35 bus. However, in a completely typical situation it turned out that the bus schedules had been changed a week ago and we should be catching a no. 6! We had no idea where to catch that and with the language difficulties we were unable to find out. Very frustrating. So we found a coffee bar where we had some Tiramisu and coffee and caught our wits. We were given directions and so headed off on foot along Duong Louis Pasteur - amazing they're still using a French name here. There is also a Duong Dien Bien Phu here after the famous battle in 1954 where the French were given a bloody nose - more than playing the All Blacks! They then left Indochine for good.
We found the Palace first after negotiating the street crossings - it gets quite unnerving when walking across even on a pedestrian crossing in front of 3 lanes of charging motorbikes. They have no intention of giving way, but if you just keep walking steadily they seem to go around you and everyone survives to fight another day. Anyway, we found the huge wrought iron gates that North Vietnamese Army tanks smashed their way through on 30th. April 1975. A North Vietnamese officer stormed the building and raised the flag of the VC on top of the building and then made his way to a reception room where the new Head of State (for only 43 hours) of South Vietnam, General Minh was waiting. General Minh said "I have been waiting since early this morning to transfer power to you". The VC officer replied "There is no question of your transferring power. You cannot give up what you do not have". The Palace had been built in the 1960's and was in fact bombed by a dissident South Vietnamese airforce officer in 1963 in a successful attempt to assassinate the then president, Ngo Dinh Diem. That was the catalyst for the USA to invade in a totally misguided attempt to control another country - but they've been doing that for years, usually via the CIA initially. Diem was a hugely corrupt leader doing great damage to his people. But that should have been left for Vietnam and its people to sort out.
Anyway, the rest is history, as we know.
Our next port of call was the War Remnants Museum. This commemorates (if that's the right word) the Vietnamese victory over the US invasion (they call it the American War) and the horrors and atrocities committed during the course of the war. Outside there is an amazing collection of American war materiel - aircraft, tanks, self propelled guns and a host of other equipment - all left behind when the US forces evacuated in 1975.
The bulk of the displays were photographic depicting the horrors of war and dwelling on the American atrocity committed at My Lai - about half way between here and Hanoi. The soldiers on that day took people away from their villages and killed them all - some very brutally. Pregnant women and children included. And the villages themselves were destroyed - all because they believed that everyone was in some way helping the Vietcong. Possibly that was correct but certainly was no excuse for the brutality, and after all the Vietnamese were entirely justified in fighting invaders of their country. The US and its allies may have been "invited" originally but the regime that did so was totally corrupt and its leaders were puppets the US had installed. It is reminiscent of the atrocities committed by the Nazi SS in Europe and by the Japanese in Asia - including Vietnam. There was a court martial for one individual (Lt. Calley) but somehow he only served 3 years.
America of course is still waging illegal wars where they deem it to be in their national interest, but they have done untold harm and left a legacy that will haunt them for a long time to come. Having said that, there doesn't appear from our short time here to be any lingering resentment towards westerners - but you would never really know. It will probably take several generations to die out before the memories really fade. The Vietnamese people are totally admirable - they won the war through sheer tenacity. War materiel was shipped into North Vietnam and carried south over the Ho Chi Minh Trail for 6 months before it reached the fighting units of the North Vietnamese Army near what was then Saigon. The Trail meandered for many miles back and forth across the Lao border and in the wet season was a quagmire. In spite of this and continual USAF bombing by B-52's those tenacious people managed to carry upwards of 35 kgs on their backs. Whatever one's political leanings then or now, this was an amazing feat and ultimately ensured Vietnam's independence.
Day 4 6/10 -
Last day in Ho Chi Minh City. Had a slight touch of MSG poisoning again this morning and even contemplated aborting our trip because we cannot be as sick as this for 3 weeks. We would never make it, especially on 8 hour bus trips! However, we decided to just get on with it and be very diligent about trying to avoid it. The Vietnamese seem to be far more addicted to the stuff than the Thais. We went into town again on the bus and went to the Ben Thanh Market where we bought 2 umbrellas. The tourist publications talk up this market but really it is just a large retail area selling loads of tourist kitsch, although there were some reasonable clothes. We then found a very good Japanese/Vietnamese restaurant where we had a pleasant lunch, and not expensive. 340,000 Dong - NZD23. On arrival both of us were suffering stomach pains again - possibly from breakfast. We are getting really fed up with this MSG related stuff - anyway, we had to pay visits to their loo in quite a hurry!! Let's hope this is the last of it. We also bought some snacks for the bus and Jean now has a Vietnamese ph. no. which is +84 1264020788.
Our impressions of Ho Chi Minh City are mixed. In hindsight it may have been better to have stayed closer in to the city, but the tariff here more than makes up for the taxi costs. The city seems hard to find one's way around in although we are now just starting to get a feel for things. The Vietnamese are generally friendly and helpful and a surprising number speak reasonable English, except taxi drivers it seems although there are exceptions. The buildings are a mix of lovely old French colonial, modern, and scruffy Asian which you see everywhere. The "tube" buildings are fascinating. These are 4-5 story buildings on impossibly narrow footprints. They all seem to lean on each other so they hold each other up but every so often you see one on its own. It wouldn't take too much of a shake to see it falling onto its neighbours. They usually have some type of business on the ground floor and residential above. There are heaps of shops and you wonder how they make a living. Of course they don't - it's just subsistence living.
We leave by bus for Dalat in the Central Highlands tomorrow so the next blog will be from there.
Cheers and love from us.........
Jim and Jean
Ho Chi Minh City
Vietnam.
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
We could only get an early morning flight from Krabi to Bangkok in order to allow enough time to connect with the flight to Ho Chi Minh City and so we were up at 0400 closing seacocks (which had to be done at the last minute) and generally doing all the final preparations to the boat and ourselves prior to leaving. We had arranged to meet Garn at 0600 for her to take us to the airport but our neighbour had made a last minute decision to go to Phuket and so he offered to take us to the airport as his route took him right past the entrance.
The flight to Bangkok (1 hr) was devoid of drama and we had no check in luggage so everything was as seamless as possible. However, leaving Thailand at Bangkok was a different story. The usual drama with Thai bureaucracy. First, we had checked into Thailand at Satun on the boat and here we were checking out of Bangkok. Second, our 5 year NZ passports were soon expiring so we had obtained new passports on-line. So, when we rocked up to Thai Immigration they had to check our visas in the old cancelled passports and get their heads around the fact that we had arrived by boat, as well as the fact that we had new passports which for them had to be linked to the old. It was just as well that we had allowed enough time on the ground at Bangkok because the whole exercise took upwards of 2 hours.
We had arranged bulkhead seats for the one and a half hour flight to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) and it was moderately comfortable although Air Asia, being a budget airline, still takes the no frills approach such as eschewing the use of air bridges in favour of steps and buses, which is a pain. Still, we eventually arrived after another non eventful flight. Didn't see much as there was quite a bit of cloud. There was then a complicated process to obtain our Vietnamese visas. We had applied on-line previously, but all that produced was a letter from Vietnamese Immigration to say that we could apply for a 30 day visa on arrival. That seemed simple but the reality was somewhat different. You have to provide 2 passport photos and then fill in another (this time manual) application. Then they issue the visa but the fee was USD90 for the 2 of us. They don't take credit cards and we didn't have any USD!! However, fortunately we still had some Thai Baht and they would accept those but the fee was 4,000 Baht. This equates to around USD110 so it cost us the equivalent of another USD20 for having the wrong currency! The whole process seemed cumbersome and unnecessarily bureaucratic, but Vietnam is still a totalitarian Communist country so that's what happens. Having said that, it's like China and is becoming more and more a benign dictatorship which tolerates an extremely high level of capitalism in its economy.
The next thing to get one's head around is the currency. At present there are approx. 14,500 Vietnamese Dong (VND) to one Kiwi dollar. We were quoted from 200,000 to 800,000 Dong to get to our hotel by taxi - that's a price range of between 14 and 55 NZD, so no prizes for guessing which one we took. The hotel is a resort located on a U-shaped bend of the Saigon River. It was only costing us USD17 per night so we didn't expect anything too grand but the room is clean and the property very pretty and well maintained. The only issue is that it costs around 150,000 - 180,000 Dong to get into the CBD of HCMC. The trip in the taxi is fascinating. They drive on the right (a legacy of the French no doubt) and the traffic is reminiscent of India. Thank goodness we weren't driving. A number 44 bus, on the other hand is only 10,000 Dong for the 2 of us.
The Binh Quoi 2 Resort is very pleasant - not new and rooms a little in need of refurbishment but very clean and comfortable. The bungalows are built over a tidal inlet of the river but that sounds way better than it actually is. The water is murky and there is no real view of the river except from the restaurant. But no mossies or midges so that's all good. There is also quite a good pool but we haven't been swimming yet.
We availed ourselves of a buffet dinner which they put on on weekends and we enjoyed the delicious Vietnamese flavours but we hadn't realised that the Vietnamese often add more MSG to their food than even the Thais do and so we suffered that night with the effects of Monosodium Glutamate (MSG).
Jean is very allergic to MSG and so suffered all night but even Jim was affected too. We have since found out the Vietnamese for "NO MSG" and we flash that under everyone's noses now so hopefully all will be well. But we consider that the MSG issue alone would be enough to prevent us from ever settling permanently in SE Asia.
Day two 4/10 -
Not feeling at all well this morning due to the MSG poisoning. However, we needed to do something about our bus tickets to Dalat in 3 days time so we first of all decided to catch a "44" bus into town. However, it began raining quite heavily and so we abandoned the bus idea and took a taxi instead. Taxis at least are cheap. We were dropped off at Saigontourist where we had been told we could buy bus tickets but that was incorrect. We were then directed to the "bus station" where we were told we could buy tickets. We set off on foot but became lost again so at that point we were approached by two rickshaw operators who appeared knowledgeable as to where the bus station was. Jean was not keen but Jim felt that we needed to be taken as they appeared to be friendly and actually had written testimonials from some New Zealanders which appeared genuine. However, it was a scam and they dropped us at a local bus station. There was then an argument about the fare and Jim made the mistake of pulling out his wallet and pulling a couple of notes out. It's necessary to that because the notes re confusing with all the zeros and the 20,000 and 500,000 Dong notes are the same colour. Anyway, they then snatched the money and vamoosed. We're not sure but we think they grabbed maybe 1,500,000 Dong which is NZD103. A salutary lesson in not displaying money on the street but of course all we wanted to do was pay a fair amount and get rid of them. Never in a rickshaw again - that's for sure. We were lucky they didn't snatch the whole wallet, credit cards and all.
However, we finally found the ticket place for the bus and bought two tickets to Dalat (an 8 hour bus ride apparently) for 440,000 Dong (NZD30) and the buses are quite luxurious so at least that part seems quite cheap. We got a new battery for the camera and then found a reasonable looking restaurant where we had a local beer and an indifferent meal. However, the MSG message was rammed home! We returned to the resort a little chastened by the experience and glad to be back. Had a very pleasant dinner in the riverside restaurant. Jim had squid and Jean had grilled fish which was all delicious. We made sure they fully understood the requirement as to NO MSG as well!!!
Day 3 5/10 -
Woke this morning feeling much better as the effects of the MSG seem to be finally wearing off. Sore eyes, upset stomachs, a general malaise and leg muscle pain are all symptoms which one can well do without at any time and especially when travelling.
We decided we were going to go into town again specifically to see the Reunification Palace and later the War Remnants Museum. We are getting bolder so decided to go in on the bus - no. 44. Apart from a slow leak in the LH front tyre, the trip was uneventful. We met a very helpful young Vietnamese girl on the bus who spoke excellent English and she told us that when we got to the bus station we should change to a no. 35 bus. However, in a completely typical situation it turned out that the bus schedules had been changed a week ago and we should be catching a no. 6! We had no idea where to catch that and with the language difficulties we were unable to find out. Very frustrating. So we found a coffee bar where we had some Tiramisu and coffee and caught our wits. We were given directions and so headed off on foot along Duong Louis Pasteur - amazing they're still using a French name here. There is also a Duong Dien Bien Phu here after the famous battle in 1954 where the French were given a bloody nose - more than playing the All Blacks! They then left Indochine for good.
We found the Palace first after negotiating the street crossings - it gets quite unnerving when walking across even on a pedestrian crossing in front of 3 lanes of charging motorbikes. They have no intention of giving way, but if you just keep walking steadily they seem to go around you and everyone survives to fight another day. Anyway, we found the huge wrought iron gates that North Vietnamese Army tanks smashed their way through on 30th. April 1975. A North Vietnamese officer stormed the building and raised the flag of the VC on top of the building and then made his way to a reception room where the new Head of State (for only 43 hours) of South Vietnam, General Minh was waiting. General Minh said "I have been waiting since early this morning to transfer power to you". The VC officer replied "There is no question of your transferring power. You cannot give up what you do not have". The Palace had been built in the 1960's and was in fact bombed by a dissident South Vietnamese airforce officer in 1963 in a successful attempt to assassinate the then president, Ngo Dinh Diem. That was the catalyst for the USA to invade in a totally misguided attempt to control another country - but they've been doing that for years, usually via the CIA initially. Diem was a hugely corrupt leader doing great damage to his people. But that should have been left for Vietnam and its people to sort out.
Anyway, the rest is history, as we know.
Our next port of call was the War Remnants Museum. This commemorates (if that's the right word) the Vietnamese victory over the US invasion (they call it the American War) and the horrors and atrocities committed during the course of the war. Outside there is an amazing collection of American war materiel - aircraft, tanks, self propelled guns and a host of other equipment - all left behind when the US forces evacuated in 1975.
The bulk of the displays were photographic depicting the horrors of war and dwelling on the American atrocity committed at My Lai - about half way between here and Hanoi. The soldiers on that day took people away from their villages and killed them all - some very brutally. Pregnant women and children included. And the villages themselves were destroyed - all because they believed that everyone was in some way helping the Vietcong. Possibly that was correct but certainly was no excuse for the brutality, and after all the Vietnamese were entirely justified in fighting invaders of their country. The US and its allies may have been "invited" originally but the regime that did so was totally corrupt and its leaders were puppets the US had installed. It is reminiscent of the atrocities committed by the Nazi SS in Europe and by the Japanese in Asia - including Vietnam. There was a court martial for one individual (Lt. Calley) but somehow he only served 3 years.
America of course is still waging illegal wars where they deem it to be in their national interest, but they have done untold harm and left a legacy that will haunt them for a long time to come. Having said that, there doesn't appear from our short time here to be any lingering resentment towards westerners - but you would never really know. It will probably take several generations to die out before the memories really fade. The Vietnamese people are totally admirable - they won the war through sheer tenacity. War materiel was shipped into North Vietnam and carried south over the Ho Chi Minh Trail for 6 months before it reached the fighting units of the North Vietnamese Army near what was then Saigon. The Trail meandered for many miles back and forth across the Lao border and in the wet season was a quagmire. In spite of this and continual USAF bombing by B-52's those tenacious people managed to carry upwards of 35 kgs on their backs. Whatever one's political leanings then or now, this was an amazing feat and ultimately ensured Vietnam's independence.
Day 4 6/10 -
Last day in Ho Chi Minh City. Had a slight touch of MSG poisoning again this morning and even contemplated aborting our trip because we cannot be as sick as this for 3 weeks. We would never make it, especially on 8 hour bus trips! However, we decided to just get on with it and be very diligent about trying to avoid it. The Vietnamese seem to be far more addicted to the stuff than the Thais. We went into town again on the bus and went to the Ben Thanh Market where we bought 2 umbrellas. The tourist publications talk up this market but really it is just a large retail area selling loads of tourist kitsch, although there were some reasonable clothes. We then found a very good Japanese/Vietnamese restaurant where we had a pleasant lunch, and not expensive. 340,000 Dong - NZD23. On arrival both of us were suffering stomach pains again - possibly from breakfast. We are getting really fed up with this MSG related stuff - anyway, we had to pay visits to their loo in quite a hurry!! Let's hope this is the last of it. We also bought some snacks for the bus and Jean now has a Vietnamese ph. no. which is +84 1264020788.
Our impressions of Ho Chi Minh City are mixed. In hindsight it may have been better to have stayed closer in to the city, but the tariff here more than makes up for the taxi costs. The city seems hard to find one's way around in although we are now just starting to get a feel for things. The Vietnamese are generally friendly and helpful and a surprising number speak reasonable English, except taxi drivers it seems although there are exceptions. The buildings are a mix of lovely old French colonial, modern, and scruffy Asian which you see everywhere. The "tube" buildings are fascinating. These are 4-5 story buildings on impossibly narrow footprints. They all seem to lean on each other so they hold each other up but every so often you see one on its own. It wouldn't take too much of a shake to see it falling onto its neighbours. They usually have some type of business on the ground floor and residential above. There are heaps of shops and you wonder how they make a living. Of course they don't - it's just subsistence living.
We leave by bus for Dalat in the Central Highlands tomorrow so the next blog will be from there.
Cheers and love from us.........
Jim and Jean
Ho Chi Minh City
Vietnam.
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
Thursday, 24 September 2015
A blog from Krabi Boat Lagoon
We have now been here almost a month. And it's been great, especially to see Des and Ked again, not to mention Kaki - the dog who runs the place. And of course A and all the others of Team Popeye. And Garn the owner of the Galley Restaurant, who produces mouth watering delicacies from the menu.
It's amazing to see just how much the yacht repair business here at Krabi Boat Lagoon has grown. When we were here last year we were almost the only yacht being refitted and now they are struggling to service 37 yachts. The workforce has expanded to 40 people and they now have a fully equipped engineering machine shop. So getting things done, especially on an unbooked basis, is of necessity a little slower.
Popeye Marine is also getting into the 6 metre yacht restoration business. Last year "Selma" (built in Norway in 1926) arrived and she was launched a fortnight ago in all her splendid restored condition. Another arrived yesterday from Port Lincoln (near Seattle) and there are 4 more in the pipeline. It is wonderful to see the resurgence of such a famous Olympic yachting class. They are exquisite to look at - the perfect example of yachting poetry in form and motion. To see "Selma" you can look back on our website - www.tiaretaporo3.blogspot.com
Krabi Boat Lagoon now has a swimming pool and we have been exercising there. 10 lengths swimming, 10 lengths walking in water and sundry other exercises are making us feel better. Also we remember this time last year when we were in Chennai and Pondicherry in India, and Jean had undergone surgery for her 2nd hip replacement. That has had an outcome better than we could have imagined and she is a box of birds, especially with her new eyes done in Penang, Malaysia (minus cataracts) which means she can now spy a dust spot at a 1000 paces! Can be tiresome at times but it's great that she is so much better.
We still have the boat on the market but have not had any realistic overtures. Maybe we should reduce the price a bit more , but also we are considering sailing to Seattle (via Hong Kong, Taiwan, Okinawa, the Aleutians, Alaska and Canada) which is a major wooden boat enthusiast area in north west USA. That's a bit in the future however as it would involve about 2 years. And would be a major ocean passage commitment which we have to examine in light of our present ages of 68! However, there is a broker based in Phuket who is part of a global group and they have an office in Seattle, so that may be a more sensible answer.
In the meantime we have decided to do some land travel while in this part of the world. To that end we are going to Vietnam on October 3rd. for 3 weeks. Not on the boat!! We will be away for 3 weeks and will regale you with all that soon no doubt. Apparently to take a boat into Vietnam would be ruinous as far as bureaucratic cost is concerned (hundreds of USD), to say nothing of the frustration with reams of paperwork - so flying is the only way to go.
We have been going into Krabi Town periodically for provisions and also doing minor maintenance. The chartplotter was taken to Phuket for repair and is now back on the boat. The fridge conversion is underway but we haven't seen anything yet. The new aircooled system is being built in Phuket and it will be good to finally have a working fridge once more. Once again the original NZ built systems haven't stood up and we are having to alter the fridge machinery just the same as we did with the freezer last year. Ditto the watermaker which was completely rebuilt back in Australia.
But Krabi Boat Lagoon is a very pleasant marina to be in and very competitively priced. And friendly, unlike Malaysia. No marine growth to speak of and everything is here in terms of boat maintenance and repair that you could want.
Speaking of Malaysia, we have been following events in MSN Malaysia in terms of the corruption scandal surrounding the Malaysian PM. 700 million USD found its way into his personal accounts and it is now claimed that the payments were political donations from an unnamed Middle Eastern source! Extremely unlikely. There are also many more unanswered questions as regards payments that have vanished into thin air and irregular property purchases for hundreds of millions of Ringgits in the USA by the PM's relatives. There are judicial probes being launched in Switzerland and the US among others as those jurisdictions have been affected by possibly illegal money transfers through banks domiciled there.
A newspaper in Malaysia was shut down by the government because it was deemed to be too critical and subversive but they went to court and a subsequent court order has quashed the original shutdown as having been made illegally. However, a number of journalists have been arrested and detained as well as politicians, some of whom come from the PM's own party. They say it is "disrespectful" and "inciting public disorder" to express opinions contrary to the government's! Imagine the uproar in NZ if the current government tried anything like that!
We had considered settling in Malaysia back in 2010 when we came there on a flying visit, but that notion has long gone. And Thailand as well with the corruption not anywhere near so visible, but it exists just the same. However, the people are lovely as is the food - it leaves Malaysia for dead in those areas. We have often felt that the notion of normal logic and being Thai are oxymorons! But you just roll with it and as long as it doesn't adversely affect you it's OK. And it is normally restricted to local bureaucracy, rather than dealings with private businesses.
So, there you are; it's all just typical of spending time in foreign countries. The only certain thing is that things will be different and done differently from one's own country. And that's one of the interesting and enjoyable aspects of travel, particularly by yacht, even if it can be frustrating at times.
Well, dear readers that is it for now. More to come from Vietnam no doubt.
Lotsaluv from us,
Jim and Jean
Krabi
Thailand
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
It's amazing to see just how much the yacht repair business here at Krabi Boat Lagoon has grown. When we were here last year we were almost the only yacht being refitted and now they are struggling to service 37 yachts. The workforce has expanded to 40 people and they now have a fully equipped engineering machine shop. So getting things done, especially on an unbooked basis, is of necessity a little slower.
Popeye Marine is also getting into the 6 metre yacht restoration business. Last year "Selma" (built in Norway in 1926) arrived and she was launched a fortnight ago in all her splendid restored condition. Another arrived yesterday from Port Lincoln (near Seattle) and there are 4 more in the pipeline. It is wonderful to see the resurgence of such a famous Olympic yachting class. They are exquisite to look at - the perfect example of yachting poetry in form and motion. To see "Selma" you can look back on our website - www.tiaretaporo3.blogspot.com
Krabi Boat Lagoon now has a swimming pool and we have been exercising there. 10 lengths swimming, 10 lengths walking in water and sundry other exercises are making us feel better. Also we remember this time last year when we were in Chennai and Pondicherry in India, and Jean had undergone surgery for her 2nd hip replacement. That has had an outcome better than we could have imagined and she is a box of birds, especially with her new eyes done in Penang, Malaysia (minus cataracts) which means she can now spy a dust spot at a 1000 paces! Can be tiresome at times but it's great that she is so much better.
We still have the boat on the market but have not had any realistic overtures. Maybe we should reduce the price a bit more , but also we are considering sailing to Seattle (via Hong Kong, Taiwan, Okinawa, the Aleutians, Alaska and Canada) which is a major wooden boat enthusiast area in north west USA. That's a bit in the future however as it would involve about 2 years. And would be a major ocean passage commitment which we have to examine in light of our present ages of 68! However, there is a broker based in Phuket who is part of a global group and they have an office in Seattle, so that may be a more sensible answer.
In the meantime we have decided to do some land travel while in this part of the world. To that end we are going to Vietnam on October 3rd. for 3 weeks. Not on the boat!! We will be away for 3 weeks and will regale you with all that soon no doubt. Apparently to take a boat into Vietnam would be ruinous as far as bureaucratic cost is concerned (hundreds of USD), to say nothing of the frustration with reams of paperwork - so flying is the only way to go.
We have been going into Krabi Town periodically for provisions and also doing minor maintenance. The chartplotter was taken to Phuket for repair and is now back on the boat. The fridge conversion is underway but we haven't seen anything yet. The new aircooled system is being built in Phuket and it will be good to finally have a working fridge once more. Once again the original NZ built systems haven't stood up and we are having to alter the fridge machinery just the same as we did with the freezer last year. Ditto the watermaker which was completely rebuilt back in Australia.
But Krabi Boat Lagoon is a very pleasant marina to be in and very competitively priced. And friendly, unlike Malaysia. No marine growth to speak of and everything is here in terms of boat maintenance and repair that you could want.
Speaking of Malaysia, we have been following events in MSN Malaysia in terms of the corruption scandal surrounding the Malaysian PM. 700 million USD found its way into his personal accounts and it is now claimed that the payments were political donations from an unnamed Middle Eastern source! Extremely unlikely. There are also many more unanswered questions as regards payments that have vanished into thin air and irregular property purchases for hundreds of millions of Ringgits in the USA by the PM's relatives. There are judicial probes being launched in Switzerland and the US among others as those jurisdictions have been affected by possibly illegal money transfers through banks domiciled there.
A newspaper in Malaysia was shut down by the government because it was deemed to be too critical and subversive but they went to court and a subsequent court order has quashed the original shutdown as having been made illegally. However, a number of journalists have been arrested and detained as well as politicians, some of whom come from the PM's own party. They say it is "disrespectful" and "inciting public disorder" to express opinions contrary to the government's! Imagine the uproar in NZ if the current government tried anything like that!
We had considered settling in Malaysia back in 2010 when we came there on a flying visit, but that notion has long gone. And Thailand as well with the corruption not anywhere near so visible, but it exists just the same. However, the people are lovely as is the food - it leaves Malaysia for dead in those areas. We have often felt that the notion of normal logic and being Thai are oxymorons! But you just roll with it and as long as it doesn't adversely affect you it's OK. And it is normally restricted to local bureaucracy, rather than dealings with private businesses.
So, there you are; it's all just typical of spending time in foreign countries. The only certain thing is that things will be different and done differently from one's own country. And that's one of the interesting and enjoyable aspects of travel, particularly by yacht, even if it can be frustrating at times.
Well, dear readers that is it for now. More to come from Vietnam no doubt.
Lotsaluv from us,
Jim and Jean
Krabi
Thailand
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
Sunday, 6 September 2015
Photos at last!
The first photos are of traditional Thai fishing boats which comprise the bulk of the boats hauled at PSS Shipyard Satun. They are timber built (carvel construction the same as us) but when they start to leak they just slather epoxy all over the seams on the outside!! Noel would have a fit!!! We would rake out the seam, paint it with red lead and reputty with red lead mixed into the putty. Interestingly, on reading an article recently about epoxy, it seems that epoxy loses much of its strength when temperatures rise and they certainly rise up here! Anyway, epoxy is a bad word around this boat, so don't worry Noel.
The other photos are of a 6 metre yacht ("Selma") which arrived at Krabi from France in June 2014 and she has just been launched in a fully restored condition (by Popeye Marine - Capt. Des Kearns, his wife Ked and the team of skilled maritime artisans). The owner is a Frenchman (Cedric) who lives in Bangkok and he has plans to race her out of Phuket. She was built in Norway in 1926. 6 meters were an Olympic class for many years starting in 1908. It has been wonderful to see an 89 year old wooden boat restored to probably better than her former glory. That's it from us for now -
Lotsaluv
Jim and Jean
s.v. Tiare Taporo III
Krabi Boat Lagoon
Krabi.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)