Luang Prabang, Laos

Luang Prabang is very quiet if you arrive from a major city like Hanoi in Vietnam. The best transportation is private guide and car but the local Tuk Tuk's are also great transportation options. We arrived late at the airport and it was great to have someone waiting to pick you up in the dark. The flight from Vietnam is often late.

Elephant Training

If you stay in the old town most sights are easy walk except for the Elephant camps and waterfalls.  There are a lot of places to book tours so check out what is offered if you have not made arrangements before arriving.  We booked through Indochina Odyssey Tours and had private guide with driver which allowed us to maximize our time.

Restaurants are numerous and there is a great variety available. If you want to learn how to cook local delicacies there are several cooking schools. Cultural performances are also available so check out where you can go to see a performance either with dinner or in the theater.

                                                                                                                           






Remember there are a lot of temples so be selective.

Halong Bay Vietnam

With nothing to do but enjoy the fantastic views this is a great way to relax. This is truly an exceptional experience. Our driver from Hanoi took the wrong road and we were stuck on the freeway to Ho Ann in the central Vietnam. So trip was very long and out of our way. But we did arrive safely and on time.

When we arrived at check-in we were told that the good news was that our room on the cruise was upgraded but the boat was filled with Chinese tourists. Bill thought that would be fine and l told him he would not have anyone to talk too!!!! To our surprise we were transported to a higher level boat and given the luxury cabin and were the only passenger's. Another couple joined us at the floating fishing village. For lunch we had jellyfish salad, squid cakes, grilled chicken, fried tofu with tomatoes, clam soup, broccoli and cauliflower steamed, rice then cream caramel and fruit. The meal was very good.

Our second day in Halong Bay we transferred to a day cruise that had three other passengers. We cruised around the same islands and stopped at Ti Top island for two hours. This island is the only island that you are allowed to swim. The beach is a natural golden sand beach. On the top of the limestone mountain is a small gazebo, there are 423 stairs to get to the top for the view. This a very busy place as the Chinese come on the weekend and take a day trip. Everyone goes to this island.



Lunch and more food. I am not sure if they think that we need to eat constantly. Every set menu has 8 or 9 dishes with soup and rice. Then off to another cave and kayaking around one of the limestone mountains. Bill decided that he was just going to sleep on the upper deck. He is definitely not himself today I think the heat is getting to him. He decided to have a Jacuzzi and he got stuck in the tub again! Now he is having another nap as we are moving to our overnight location were we will have cocktail hour and learn to make deep fried spring rolls. Then more food.

Floating into Lagoon

The cruise in Halong Bay is just circling around the same group of mountains over and over but it appears that you are in a different location. You really do not see very many of the 1000 karsts peaks but it is still very beautiful. On the third day in the bay we will visit the biggest cave which has 600 stairs to complete the trip. This area is also packed with tourists. Then we return to Halong City harbour before driving back to Hanoi to catch our plane to Laos.



If you are going to do a cruise spend the money for a decent boat so you will be happy. There are a lot of boats that do not look very good. You can choose from day trips, two day or three day trips. Spending the night on the boat anchored is very relaxing and you even get a chance to squid fish.

Cave Interior

Ha Noi Vietnam

Old Quarter Ha Noi

Ha Noi is a wonderful city to visit. We stayed in the Old Quarter in the Essence Hotel and Spa and were pleasantly surprised about the quality of the room and how the staff tried to make your stay very pleasant. With a small hotel they know who your are and you are greeted very warmly.  There are a lot of these smaller hotels to choose from.  If you normally stay in a large chain hotel be a little adventurous and choose a smaller hotel in the heart of the Old Quarter.

In the middle of the Old Quarter there are several streets on Friday, Saturday and Sunday night that are only for pedestrians and the street vendors move their colourful foot high plastic stools  the on to street. A variety of musicians set up in the middle of the street and play for donations. This is a wonderful experience, just stroll the streets and visit the night market.  You can buy a variety of house hold items and clothing. The whole area does not get really busy until around 8 pm.  Try the sugarcane drink.  They will wring out the sugar cane with a hand crank press to create the drink.

Ethnology Museum

Military Museum

Presidents Palace

Besides the traffic and pollution Ha Noi has a lot of museums that you can visit. Every corner seem so have a military museum and if that is not your interest they you can learn about the 54 cultural groups in Vietnam at the Ethnology Museum. Water Puppet Theatre is from Northern Vietnam and consists of puppets on bamboo poles that present a story in a pool of water. The performers stand in the water behind reed screens and move the puppets in and out as the traditions music and singing is performed at the right of the stage.

Ha Noi University Grounds

An evening or daytime walk around Hoan Kiem Lake is a nice break from the street traffic. In the evening the building are lite up with colored lights. You might also be lucky enough to see a bride and groom having wedding pictures taken. The make an album and share it with there guest on their wedding day.

Hoan Kiem Lake

Hoan Kiem Lake at Night

　

　

Day Trip to Ninh Binh and Bai Dinh Pagoda

If you are looking to see the country side outside of the city of Hanoi there are several trips that you can take.  We chose to go to see the largest Bronze Budda statue in Vietnam a Bai Dinh Pagoda.  The statue is 10 meters tall and 100 tones.  To get the Budda to the top of the hill they used a helicopter.

Bai Dihn Pagoda is the biggest pagoda in Vietnam with 500 La Han statues and has a conference centre.  We went to the top of the hill and then walked down through a variety of buildings.

This is a statue of a female Budda which is influenced by the Hindu religion.











Then off to see Ninh Binh which is the Ha Long on land.

Local farmers row the boats down the river and you are able to travel through several caves depending on the water level.  There are two tours either to see 3 caves or 7 caves depending on the tour you are taking.








 This tour is a long day.  We were picked up at our hotel at 8:30 and did not arrive back until 18:30 hours.

Demilitarized Zone

If you have not heard of the Demilitarized Zone  it is probably because in the western world we did not really understand what was happening in Vietnam during the 60's.
The DMZ was the area between North and South Vietnam.  Communism controlled North Vietnam and 5 km on either side of the river was set up to keep the Vietnamese separated.  When the boarder was closed families were split up if they were on opposite sides of the river.  Family members were not allowed to have contact with each other.   If the father was working on the other side of the river when the boarder was closed they were not allowed to join their family.

 The bridge represents the turmoil that existed between the two sides with the north painted blue and the south side painted yellow even thought the country is now unified.

The Vinh Muh tunnels are located north of the river along the coast. Here military and local farmers lived under ground for two years while the US B52's dropped bombs on the area.  The tunnels were used as shelters and hiding areas.  The top level was used by the military the remaining levels were used as a hospital, school, food preparation area, meeting area and nursery as several children were born in the tunnels. Families had their own sleeping areas.  The tunnels actually go all the way down to the beach area so that rice and produce could be loaded onto supply boats and taken out to the islands off shore.

Above the tunnels there was an elaborate systems of trenches that allow people to move around without being seen. Farmers could go out to work the fields and injured people could be removed to the hospital without being easily seen.

Trench

When the US pulled out of Vietnam this area had to be cleared of thousands of bombs and landmines. The fields and roads were repaired so life could start again as a unified country started to take shape with Ho Chi Ming as their president under communist rule.  At the time the Vietnamese did feel that there best option for a peaceful society was to choose communism.  Now they have what they call a democratic communism.  This was explained that private citizens can now own businesses.  There are a lot of problems with a one party system through bribes and payoffs necessary within the government run departments.  We were told that the Police will stop motorists and demand money without any cause.

Danang, Ho Ann and Hue Vietnam

Dragon Bridge

A short flight from Ho Chin Minh  City and you arrive at the Danang airport.  Flights within Vietnam are inexpensive if you book online.  The seem to have specials with online booking.  There is no airport at Hoi An so you need to fly to Danang.  Danang is an International Airport so you can start you trip here instead of Ho Chin Minh City.

Cham Museum

Driving from the airport we stop to see the Dragon Bridge and the Cham Museum.  The Cham Museum has excellent statues from the ruins of My Son-Holy Land.  This is a very small museum and is a great representation of the Hindu influence in Vietnam.

Japanese Bridge

Hoi An is a wonderful quiet town.  The old quarter in Hoi An is a UNESCO heritage site and has several traditional building worth investigating.  Because this is a heritage site you will need to purchase a ticket to investigate the area.  Check out the Japanese Bridge.  The covered bridge is not very long but did have an important function of linking the town.

Street View from Merchants  House

Hoi  An has great restaurants,good  shopping for specialty items and cooking schools.  Take time to relax, learn to cook Vietnamese food and explore the many options available in the restaurants.  If you happen to be in Hoi An during a lunar full moon the old town is lite with paper lanterns that makes the whole experience very magical.  You can purchase a candle to float down the river.  I wish we had planned to spend more time in Hoi An.

My Son is another UNESCO World Heritage Site. My Son became a religious center in the 4th century.

While at the site be sure to take in the traditional dance performances.

The drive up the coast from Hoi An gives you a taste of the country side and great view when you travel over the Hai Pass.

View from Hai Van Pass

In Hue you can visit the Imperial Citadel located on the Perfume River.  There are several sites you can visit in Hue.

Ho Chi Ming (Saigon) Vietnam

Arriving in Ho Chi Ming City can be a shock to the system.  Asia is quiet different from Canada and the weather in November is still warm and humid.  Some days the humidity is in the 90's.  The name changed in this city after the American war as communism became the unification power in the country. 

Ho Chin Ming City has over 20 million people and about 10 million scooters.  The road system is organized chaos.  There do not have many accidents because people are very patient and not aggressive drivers.

Shopping - Markets

Market areas are plentiful.  The Chinese market sells in bulk and the store in the city buy from them.  The Scooter market sells parts and you can get you scooter repaired.  Then there is the flower market and flowers are not expensive since they are grown in Vietnam.  When in the market there is an area for kitchen supplies, fabrics, hats, clothes, shoes, food anything that you need.  Markets are popular because you can bargain what you will pay.

Socializing

In the morning men will bring their birds to the park and have coffee.  This is a social gathering for the men and the birds who learn to sing from each other.  There are vendors selling crickets that have had their wings and legs clipped.  The men feed their birds the crickets.  We enjoyed a traditional Vietnamese coffee which is strong dripped coffee with sweetened condensed milk.  Followed by a cup of hot green tea.

 Burning Buda

In June 1963 to bring attention to South Vietnam and what was happening within the country a Buddhist Monk Thich Quang Duc burned himself to death at this corner.  This was a strong political message that was directed at the US who supported the current government.

 Time for homework. School is very important for all children.

Homework among the Scooters

Lunch on the Street

 This traditional mung bean pancake is cooked outside in a wok and filled with beansprouts.  It is served with basal, mint, lettuce and mustard greens.  To eat this pancake you tear off a piece of pancake and wrap with the greens then dip into the fish sauce with chili. Delicious and very filling.

Traditional Pancake