Definitely the Final Chapter!
This is the final chapter! It has been a long time coming but I have been busy with, well…. travelling, relaxing and settling back into life in Australia.
I have to confess that I will be cheating a little bit with this chapter. You see, while we were travelling in China and Vietnam, Dad sent 3 or 4 emails home to family and friends with stories about our travels. So, I will be cutting and pasting from his emails, while also adding my own little tit bits to the story.
Let me start at the beginning:
Leaving Huaian
My contract ended on Friday, 30 June. The students were still sitting exams for the next week or so, but I had already given all my exams and completed my reports, so I was not obliged to hang around. Given that all my foreign friends had already departed for greener pastures, I was not keen to hang around any longer than necessary.
I had said my goodbyes to all who mattered, except for Betty who was coming on the first leg of the trip with me. There were no big parties or send-offs. As I said, most of the foreigners had already left, the students were still taking exams and the school, which had never taken much interest in me from the start, continued that trend until the end. Actually, they did give Change and me a “leaving” banquet, but it was a very lack lustre affair to which Change did not even turn up! I only went because I had no food left in the apartment and I was trying to save money for my travels!
At some point in the last week it had started to rain… and it rained, and rained and then rained some more. I woke up early Saturday morning to do some last minute packing. I was due to meet the foreign affairs representative for breakfast at the hotel next door at 8. She arrived at 7 with a van full of Japanese guests who she was taking to Shanghai after dropping me at Nanjing airport. It was still raining hard and the roads into and out of the school were completely flooded. I rang Betty and told her to meet us at the hotel after breakfast. The main road outside the school and the hotel driveway were also flooded.
It continued to rain heavily on the 3 hour trip to Nanjing and I was concerned that the plane would be delayed due to bad weather. Betty had never been on a plane before and she was looking very concerned. As Dad was due to arrive in Chengdu not long before our plane, we had arranged for him to wait at the airport to meet us. Consequently, I had no way of contacting him and he had no idea where we were staying or how to get there. When we arrived at Nanjing airport, no flights were coming in or going out due to bad weather and it looked like we were in for a long wait. So, I contacted my Uncle’s wife, Rose, who is Chinese and has family in Chengdu. (Rose is now living in Sydney). She gave me the mobile phone number for her brother-in-law, Dong Ming, and I had Betty call him and arrange to meet Dad at the airport and take him to the hotel.
Our plane finally took off about 4 hours late so, instead of arriving at Chengdu airport at 4:30pm, we arrived at 8:30pm. Betty and I caught the airport bus into downtown Chengdu and Dong Ming was kind enough to come and pick us up and take us to the hostel to meet Dad.
China - Sichuan & Yunan Provinces
We were in for a bit of a shock when we arrived at the hostel. It was down a small lane with a badly cut up, narrow dirt road and many old style buildings in various states of disrepair, some of which were in the process of being renovated. There were a number of small bars and restaurants all of which had chairs and tables out on the road and TVs and screens set up for the world cup football. The local area certainly had a lot of atmosphere and character.
So it was around 9:30pm by the time we met Dad. He had been sitting at the hostel for 5 hours or so wondering what was going on. Apparently, when he arrived at Chengdu airport, Dong Ming was waiting for him with a sign with his name on it. Whilst Dong Ming can speak some English, apparently it was not enough for him to be able to explain that our plane was delayed due to bad weather, so Dad was not sure what was going on. He was probably not only wondering where we were, but also who the strange Chinese man was who was holding a sign with his name and chauffeuring him to the hostel located down a shady laneway!
After settling in at the hostel (which did not take long given that the room consisted of 3 beds almost on top of each other…. and that was it…), we went for a short walk to a nearby restaurant for a hot pot dinner. Now hot pot is a specialty of Sichuan province and the main reason for Betty wanting to come to Chengdu was to partake in the Sichuan cuisine. Unfortunately though, the standard of this particular hot pot restaurant was well under par, particularly at that time of night. After dinner, we walked back to the hostel. The England vs Portugal quarter-final had started at 11pm so the alfresco bar scene on our street had really come alive.
The next 3 days were spent in and around Chengdu. We spent the next morning visiting the Panda Bear breeding and environmental complex, which was an enlightening experience - we could have cuddled a young panda (for a price!), but decided to leave that privilege to others. The breeding centre is set in quite extensive, hilly parkland. The enclosures are large and shady with plenty of bamboo. The centre is set up to facilitate breeding of this endangered animal. I had seen pandas previously at the Beijing Zoo but the enclosures there left a lot to be desired. The breeding centre is also home to the red panda; this is a small raccoon looking thing with browny, red fur. It is actually related to the raccoon and is not related to the panda at all. (It is a bit like the koala being called a bear, when it isn’t!). Anyway, the photos are on my blog: www.meganddadchina.blogspot.com
The afternoon was spent visiting the "100 flowers" park, where Betty had her first ride (at 27 years of age) on a merry-go-round, and exploring a street area which contained many restored buildings from a bygone era. We were a bit hungry in the afternoon, so Betty rustled up some Sichuan BBQ – loads of spicy, barbecued pork, beef, lamb, cauliflower and eggplant and cold beer for the princely sum of about $3 all up.
In the evening we joined Henry (Dong Ming) and his wife, Wei Wei, for dinner at an up- market restaurant in the new part of the city. As is the usual Chinese custom, we were not allowed to pay as this was our first time to Chengdu and they were the “hosts”. The banquet was made up entirely of Sichuan specialty dishes, each one spicier than the next. I loved it; I think Dad enjoyed it and Betty was in 7th heaven!
On our second day we went with Henry by bus to Le Shan - a city about 1 ½ hours drive from Chengdu, principally to visit an historical site on the side of the river which includes the "highest sitting Buddha" in the world (71 metres high) - it was carved out of the rock face on the cliffs overlooking the convergence of two rivers. We firstly went by river boat to get the best view of the Buddha from the river, then Henry insisted on taking us to another eating house to try some more authentic local Sichuan dishes (this area is famous for its many different styles of tofu), after which we crossed the river (by taxi) to enter the reserve which included the Buddha and a number of Buddhist temples and sites. Along with thousands of other visitors (mainly Chinese), we lined up to descend down the cliff walls to the base of the Buddha and then ascend to other parts of the former Buddhist retreat. That evening we dined in the street outside our hostel along with many of the local people. The food was very cheap and very tasty and the atmosphere was great.
On our last day in Chengdu we took a leisurely stroll through "Peoples Park" then went to an eating place in downtown Chengdu to sample some Sichuan local snack foods; after all, the first of three reasons to visit Chengdu was for the food! We then headed back to our hostel to collect our luggage and then by bus to the airport where we parted company with Betty - a tearful parting for both of us, as Betty had been my closest Chinese friend for the 2 years I had been in China. When Dad had asked us earlier whether we would cry, Betty answered “no” and I said “yes”. In fact, Betty started bawling just saying goodbye to Dad, so you can imagine that it was quite an emotional parting. I saw her onto the airport bus back to the city, where she then boarded a train for the 36 hour train ride back to Huai’an.
Dad I boarded the plane for our flight to Lijiang in Yunan province. The airport in Lijiang is about 40 minutes from the old city and quite small. Apart from one other European couple, we were the only foreigners on a plane of Chinese. During my 2 years in China, I have observed that Chinese people, as a general rule, pack very lightly and what bags they do take, they generally carry with them. Consequently, when we arrived at Lijiang airport, the only people at the baggage carousel were me, Dad and the European couple!
We stayed at the Red Lantern Inn in Lijiang - a quaint 8 room "hotel" in the very centre of the old town - a simply amazing place which was the first town in China to be included for world heritage listing. Due to its isolation from "east coast China", it has a different way of life and has 22 different ethnic groups which seem to get along in reasonable harmony and provide an amazing cultural experience, particularly at night when the cobble stone streets and alleyways light up. There is an amazing array of restaurants, bars, eating places and, of course, every conceivable type of merchandise sold from quaint shops and stalls. Unlike many other tourist meccas, the local people in the main do not pester you to buy their wares.
Arriving in Lijiang at night was a magical experience. The old city is pedestrian only access and we had to walk through the cobblestone streets to the inn. The old city is built on one side of the hill and the town was alight with thousands of red lamps and lanterns. The hotels and inns in Lijiang are all very small but quaint. Our inn was located behind a small shop selling bamboo etchings and it was necessary to walk through the shop then up the narrow stone staircase at the back to reach our inn.
On our first full day in Lijiang we took a trip to Tiger Leaping Gorge, which is about 100kms away. (3 hours by road) The gorge is quite spectacular, but due to recent rains and river levels, we were only able to descend the staircase to the landings of the upper gorge - a little disappointing in view of the amount of travel, but nevertheless worthwhile.
We spent a more leisurely time on the second day, walking through the various alleyways (no vehicles, including bicycles allowed), and visited the Lion Hill pagoda, which gives a commanding view over the entire city, and also went through "Mu's Residence", which is a fully restored complex over a fairly substantial area occupied by the ruling family of Lijiang for over 400 years. On the following morning we walked the alleyways again and spent a couple of hours at the Black Dragon Lake ornamental park, which is upstream from the old town and a very pleasant place to visit. We returned around 1.30pm to prepare for our move to Dali.
The only down side to our stay in Lijiang was the, by now expected, bout of “travel cold” that I managed to pick up in Chengdu.
On the 31/2 hour mini-bus journey from Lijiang to Dali, Dad said he experienced the "thrill of a lifetime”. He thinks the driver was hell bent on getting to Dali faster than any other vehicle, and was surprised at the constant tooting of the horn and over taking while approaching turns in the road and going up hills - we made it in one piece, but only with “the grace of God", according to Dad. It was all a bit ho hum for me, having experienced the erratic and chaotic Chinese driving for 2 years! I was sitting directly behind Dad, not feeling very well because of my head cold and recurrent stomach bug, but still managed to be amused by Dad shaking his head and making small exclamations of fear or surprise for the entire 3 ½ hours!
We arrived in Dali at 6.30pm, so did not have time to explore Dali that night, except for dinner at the restaurant attached to the "Old Dali Youth Hostel" where we stayed. (3 Chinese dishes plus 2 bowls of rice, apple pie and ice-cream (for Dad) and two 640 ml bottles of beer for the princely sum of Y 57, which equates to approximately $A11.00 - not a bad deal!)
Unfortunately it rained quite heavily on our first full day in Dali, so our exploration of Dali old town was on hold waiting for the rain to clear. We were able to venture out in the afternoon, spending a couple of hours walking the streets of old Dali town - again the shops and market stalls were stocked with all sorts of items appealing to tourists, and there were different styles of traditional clothing as the dominant ethnic group are the Bai people.
That night we ate at a café style restaurant catering for the tourist trade and spoke at length with the owner of the business, a guy named "George", and made arrangements with him for the following day to hire a car and driver, with George as our interpreter, to spend a full day encircling lake Erhai, visiting a number of towns and villages surrounding the lake - a drive of approx 140kms. With traffic, visits to temples and other tourist traps as well as the state of the roads, it took the best part of 8 hours. We stopped in a small village for lunch, eating the local spicy noodles from a road side stall with some of the locals. There are many fishing villages located around the lake so there was a pervasive “fish” smell at many of our stops. At one small village, we took a small row boat with the locals out to a temple on a tiny island about 75 metres from the shore. The island was only big enough for the temple and about 50 “BBQs” at which the locals tried to sell BBQ shrimp, etc, to unsuspecting tourists who arrived on the boats. It is beyond me how any of the locals make money from this when they are all selling the same thing. The last place we visited included an 8 storey pagoda, with views across the lake to Dali old town. Unfortunately, in most places in China, which has been a recurring theme with me, the lack of clear visibility means it is difficult to get good distance photos - a real pity as some of the scenery is well worth a photo. We completed our Dali travels by arranging with George to take us directly to the airport for our flight to Kunming, arriving there about 8pm.
We visited two very interesting places over the two full days we spent in Kumning - the Dragon Gate in the Western Hills and the Stone Forest - the first place approx 20kms from the hotel where we stayed and the second about 130kms away. The mathematician in Dad was still not able to count the number of steps we ascended or descended over those two days! On the first day we travelled by public buses for a total cost of Y7.00 (approx $1.25) and mixed with the locals, whereas on the second day we went by chartered mini-bus with other hotel guests for a cost of Y70.
On the first day, at the Western Hills, we decided to walk the 8kms uphill from the bus terminus to the entry to the Dragon Gate, not realising that the climb from this point was essentially up the side of a mountain cliff, one step after another! However, it was really an invigorating and worthwhile climb to the top, with many delightful viewing points, passing at least 4 Buddhist temples (they do get a bit monotonous after awhile) and yes, you guessed it, many locals attempting to sell their wares. Having climbed the equivalent of Mt Everest, we decided to take a cable car down the mountain - ostensibly so we could see more of the surrounding scenery, but possibly because we could not face the same number of steps on the downward leg!
The visit to the Stone Forest was no less invigorating. Unfortunately it is a tourist mecca and we were a very small minority when it comes to the number of Chinese tour groups that were at this site. For the first hour and a half we stayed mainly on the recommended path through the forest and took in most of the rock formations that the Chinese come to see. For the second hour and a half we decided to be more adventurous and explored some of the minor tracks and paths through the various rock formations, ascending a somewhat precarious track to the summit of the Lotus View Peak and descending into almost below ground level grottoes, including "the deep and narrow valley" and the "rock prison". Can't say that we knew where we were going at times, and almost felt lost, but eventually found our way out of the forest at around 2pm to an outdoor performance area where we watched some local national minority dancing and singing before we returned to the minibus for the 2 hour journey back to Kunming.
On our last day in Kunming, we took the public bus to another local market area where we were anticipating seeing many unusual pets and animals, but it seems that some of the market had been closed down since the Lonely Planet guide was published. It was raining on and off during our stay, so it was a little unpleasant. We also attempted to see (apparently) the last remaining street of old style architecture in the Muslim quarter, but it seems that we were too late as that street had also disappeared to make way for more modern buildings and shops.
Our overall impression of Kunming is that it is a very liveable city, particularly the inner city area which is well laid out with many modern shops and tall buildings - it also has a temperate climate most of the year and apparently people from the East Coast of China who have experienced Kunming have, in the past, decided to settle there. It is also a relatively clean city, despite the ever present air pollution marring most Chinese cities.
Over the 4 places we stayed in China, the standard of the hotels improved; from Chengdu which had just a basic room with 3 beds, no hanging space and communal showers and toilets; to the boutique hotel in Lijiang which had little space but included a private bathroom (and central location); to a larger room with private bathroom in Dali old town, even though part of a hostel; to a hotel type suite with private bathroom and ample space in Kunming.
Vietnam
We arrived in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, at about 9.30pm via a 2 hour flight from Kunming to Bangkok, then a 1 ½ hour wait in Bangkok, before catching another flight to Hanoi. We spent the first day organising Vietnamese Dong, then walking around the lake in the centre of town and through the old town area of Hanoi.
The local Vietnamese appear to have forgotten how to walk - liberalisation of their country has meant that almost every one has purchased either a motorbike or motor scooter. When you walk the city streets you are faced with a "sea" of motor bikes and scooters coming towards you, behind you and sometimes directly at you! Unlike in Oz, pedestrian crossings do not provide any safety - the local rules are that you walk slowly and do not appear frightened (and do not make any sudden movements) and hopefully the bikes and scooters will miss you. It is almost impossible to walk on the footpaths (not all streets have them) as they are cluttered with parked motor bikes and merchandise spewing out from many of the shops and stalls. I was somewhat used to this traffic chaos from my 2 years in China, but even I was in awe at the sheer number of motorbikes and scooters on the road. In China, whilst there were many motorbikes and scooters, the roads were also cluttered with a much wider variety of small vehicles, pedestrians, and electric and pedal power bicycles. What made Hanoi unique for me was the absence of bicycles and the prolific number of motorbikes.
And whilst I should now be an old hand at crossing roads in Asian cities, I still managed to get collected by a motorbike on our first venture out on the streets of Hanoi. Well, “collected” might be a slight exaggeration … a lady was rolling her motorbike back from off the footpath onto the road and the rear wheel mud flap, which was very sharp, ran into my right leg, ripping the material of my shorts and making a small cut on the side of my lower leg near the knee.
In Vietnam, Dad and I had arranged to join a 15 day Intrepid tour from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. Our Intrepid tour group consisted of 12 people (3 males and 9 females) and a male group leader from Omeo in Victoria, who has spent the last 9 years with Intrepid, almost entirely in Vietnam, with some tours into Cambodia - he certainly knows a lot about Vietnam, its history and politics, and has a real love for the country. Our group included 4 Brits, 1 Kiwi, 2 Germans and 5 from Oz, and the ages ranged from 24 to 64, Dad being the eldest, with an average age of 38.
On the first night we had a rather lengthy and drawn out meeting about what to expect on the tour and to complete all the necessary paperwork. We then accepted the suggestion of Bruce (our tour leader, who is also known as "lemon juice") to join him for dinner at a restaurant of his choosing where we had a tasty Vietnamese shared meal with drinks which cost each of us the outrageous amount of 50000 VD (Vietnamese Dong), which is equivalent to $A4.50!
Next morning we had a 7.30am start to visit the Blue Dragon Children's Care Centre, where we had breakfast with the staff and 5 of the boys (aged 12 to 14) currently under their care - a somewhat humbling, but nevertheless enlightening experience. At 9am we left by bus for our 4 hour journey to Halong Bay, stopping on the way at a centre for disabled people who were involved in producing an amazing array of quality goods.
At Halong Bay we boarded a boat, which was exclusive to our group with 6 two berth cabins, and sat down to a Vietnamese style seafood lunch, which was delightful. We travelled for approx 2 hours through the myriad of islands (over 3000 in total) which make up this world heritage area to visit a huge cave on one of the islands, which has only been open to the tourist trade for the last 10 years. We then travelled a relatively short distance to a protected bay, where we anchored for the night, along with at least 25 other boats - a truly magical place as dusk approached and the other boats came alive with their twinkling lights We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening swimming in the Bay, relaxing over a couple of drinks, another meal equally as good as the seafood lunch, and then sitting around on the top deck talking and reminiscing over the travels in which we had all been involved. (Naturally one of the subjects discussed was our arrest at the hands of the Zimbabwe police whist in Harare!). We had a reasonably early night and woke about 6.15am for an early morning swim, breakfast and return to port for our bus journey back to Hanoi; on the way we visited a ceramics factory - again many items were available for sale!
Lunch this day was at cafe 225 - a Vietnamese/French patisserie, where we enjoyed real home made sandwiches, hamburgers (Vietnamese style), milkshakes and a great array of cakes - a rare treat in Vietnam! We then visited the "Hanoi Hilton", the jail established by the French whilst occupying (controlling) Vietnam and where the American pilots shot down over North Vietnam were housed during the American invasion between 1965 and 1973. From all accounts, it would appear the Americans were treated reasonably humanely, although the conditions were rather rudimentary.
From here a couple of us travelled to the Army Museum, which gave a history of the wars in which the Vietnamese had participated since the 12th century from the Vietnamese perspective - perhaps a little biased, but it would appear they have fought many wars over the years, both internal conflict and external aggression, particularly from China, Japan, France, Cambodia and America/Australia.
Then back to the hotel for another shower and we were taken on a cyclo tour of the old town. Rickshaws are no longer used in Vietnam as they are seen as a sign of colonialism. However, cyclos are still used. These are 3 wheeled bicycles where the passenger sits in an armchair style seat which is pushed along by the rider at the back. This was a marvelous experience as the old town comes alive at this time of night - we dodged pedestrians, motor scooters and cycles and cars and buses on our way to the Water Puppet show and then to dinner at a typical street cafe (again recommended by Bruce), where we had another great meal and drinks, also for 50000 VD ($A4.50). Bruce then took us through some of the back alleys to view the city from a couple of elevated positions and to give us a feel for the Vietnamese nightlife on the streets - most of the shops and stalls stay open until 10.30 to 11.30, so there is still plenty of activity, with many of the families not eating until this time!
On the next day we walked to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Presidential house and Museum. Uncle Ho, as he is affectionately known in Vietnam, is very revered, and thousands of Vietnamese and visitors file past him each day to pay their respects to the father of the now re-united Vietnam. From all accounts, he was a very learned man, having spent about 30 years out of the country studying, making strategic contacts and establishing the Vietnamese Communist Party, before returning to Vietnam in 1941 to oversee the struggle to give power to the communist party and to remove the French from Vietnam and Indo-China, only to then face the aggression from the American war until peace was finally achieved in 1975. Unfortunatley, Uncle Ho died before the end of the war and did not live to see a reunified Vietnam.
We returned to Cafe 225 for another round of Australiana meals (Vietnamese style) but I had earlier experienced an unsavoury return of the dreaded stomach bug and so took it easy at the hotel for the afternoon. Dad hired a cyclo to visit the French colonial quarter of Hanoi then returned to the hotel in the late afternoon to prepare for our overnight train trip on the "Reunification Express" to Hue (pronounced "Whey").
The train trip to Hue took about 13 ½ hours - the train travels at an average speed of approx 50kms/hour, hardly what you might regard as an express! We were allocated 4 berth "soft" bed cabins, which consisted of 2 beds on either side of a small cabin and a folding table attached to the side wall, which could be used for playing a card game if so inclined. We retired for the night about 10.30pm, and had a reasonable night's sleep although it did take some time to get used to the train's motion. We arrived at the Hue station about 8.30 am for transfer to our hotel by pre-arranged mini-bus.
After taking a shower, a group of us wandered into town to have a look around. The hotel was offering breakfast in its roof garden restaurant, but Dad was the only taker. Instead the rest of us had a walk and a light lunch at a café. At 3pm the group left by cyclo convoy to visit the Citadel , the former palace of the kings of Vietnam from the early 19th century until the final king of the dynasty handed over power to Ho Chi Minh and his communist party in 1945. The complex is set on the northern banks of the Perfume river, and covers a substantial area of land which the first king of the last dynasty obtained by removing a number of villages and relocating the inhabitants to outlying areas. A fair portion of the original complex has been destroyed through ongoing warfare, neglect and pilfering (particularly by the French), but there are plans to completely reconstruct the complex (using grants from UNESCO), but the cost will be enormous. We learned some fascinating facts about the various kings, the second of which had over 500 wives as well as numerous concubines! We returned to the hotel by cyclo convoy to prepare for dinner at a slightly up-market restaurant within reasonable walking distance of the hotel. After dinner we had a drink at a nearby bar before walking back to the hotel. On the way, we managed to lose Dad. Back at the hotel, I walked out the back to the outdoor bar but could not find him. It was dark in the hall way on the way back in and I managed to trip up the stairs and fall over, slamming my 1 litre water bottle into the ground and slamming my mouth on the top of the water bottle, driving my teeth into my lip and splitting it open on both sides. There was a lot of blood, but fortunately no damage to my teeth; just a swollen lip and ulcerated gum for a week!
On Day 2 we started our journey at 8am for a trip up the Perfume River by boat to another Pagoda, following which we spent the rest of the day travelling on the back of motorbikes all around the countryside along main roads and many side tracks and village paths. Some of the group were at first nervous, but soon got the hang of things and it turned out to be a memorable day for all of us. Over the day we visited the only coliseum built in Asia, where elephants and tigers were pitted against each other (It was rigged for the elephant to win; they cut the tigers’ claws and removed their incisor teeth and if that wasn’t enough, sometimes they would bring out a 2nd elephant!); then to a bronze works casting "factory" - a rather rudimentary establishment which nevertheless produced some works of high quality; from there to an incense manufacturing place, and then to the American Bunker Hill - a strategic spot originally built by the French which became of vital importance in the conflict between America and North Vietnam. On a clear day it is the only place in Vietnam where you can see from the coast to the range of hills forming the boundary with Laos and where the Ho Chi Minh trail was formed, which was the trail the North Vietnamese used to infiltrate Saigon. Lunch consisted of a vegetarian meal prepared by nuns at the Dieu Tranh Nunnery.
We then travelled to the alternative palace and burial ground of King Tutuc - the 4th king of the last Dynasty who, by comparison, had only 104 wives (plus numerous concubines) but no children as the guide said he was "firing blanks". He apparently appointed 3 nephews as his successors following his death, and all 3 either died or were killed within 7 months of Tutuc's death! The grounds and buildings are enormous; again the money spent and labour involved in providing a burial ground for one person defies all reason! We then visited the house of Phan Boi Chan, a prominent person assisting Uncle Ho in his earlier campaigns; then to a small private home of a lady named Thuy who was born with only one hand but is still able to make beautiful conical (coolie) hats. We then visited a rather ornate communal house (a temple for the dead family relatives) and then to one of the only 2 roofed bridges in Vietnam, where most of the group had their fortunes told by a 71 year old fortune teller who was once married to an American GI – apparently 1 marriage and 2 children are still on the cards for me! On the way back to the hotel we came across a family funeral ceremony. We were invited to join the relatives and give our blessing to the departed 90 year old - apparently this is a good omen for whatever lies ahead in the next life! Home at last after a great day which we all thoroughly enjoyed.
Dinner that night was at the “deaf mute” café. Of course, that was not its real name, but Bruce was very excited to take us to this famous local restaurant which was, apparently, either run or staffed, or perhaps both, by deaf mutes. Unfortunately, there did not appear to be any deaf mutes working that night, although from the poor service provided, you could be forgiven for thinking the opposite, and the dinner was greasy and tasteless; probably the worst meal on the whole trip.
The next morning we left Hue by bus to travel to Hoi An; on the way we called in at a beach town called Lang Co where we had an early lunch and a swim. The water was warm and there was no surf so Dad was not impressed. For me, however, clear blue water and blue skies, after 2 years of no swimming in China, was very inviting. From there we climbed up to the Hai Van Pass, by bus, which gave a commanding view over Da Nang - this city had a very strategic position in the war with America. The bomb shelters and observation towers at the pass were originally built by the French during their occupation of Vietnam and partly expanded by the Americans - although a strategic position, and one where it would be almost impossible to pass without detection, apparently the North Vietnamese effectively by-passed this area by using the Ho Chi Minh trail further inland and also by transporting supplies to the Viet Cong in the south by ship, presumably undetected from this position.
We then visited a museum in Da Nang (the 3rd largest city in Vietnam), which is dedicated to the Cham people who occupied this area for many centuries - the Cham people were aligned to Hinduism (unlike the Buddhist majorities that surrounded them) and their art works consisted of many sculptures to the various gods which they worshipped. From there we passed what remains of the American base in Da Nang, before visiting Marble Mountain (as the name suggests, the mountain is synonymous with the many marble carvings from this area) and then onto our hotel in Hoi An, which came with a swimming pool!
Hoi An is a small but very pleasant city. It is a shopping mecca for clothing and shoes - there are literally hundreds of tailors who all profess to be able to make suits, slacks, shirts, dresses and whatever one may require within 24 hours of ordering. Similarly, shoes can be supplied off the shelf or by ordering one day and ready by the following morning, all made to your exact measurements. In the past, Hoi An was a major river port, but as ships became larger (and perhaps the river silted up), the port activities were transferred to Da Nang.
Hoi An was more a time for relaxing (and, of course, eating, drinking and shopping for made to order clothes and shoes)! We arrived in Hoi An in the afternoon but I cannot remember what we got up to. That evening we went to the “White Rose” restaurant, a small family run restaurant famous for the local snack called “White Rose”, a prawn dumpling made from rice noodle, and fried wonton. As we were sitting in the restaurant finishing dinner, the heavens opened and the rain poured down. We had intended to go to a bar for a few drinks. We called taxis to collect us but we did not know that the old town is closed off to cars, so the taxi only took us around the corner and then we had to get out and run the rest of the way in the rain anyway!
On the morning of the first full day in Hoi An, Dad & I walked around the old town and visited a tailor where we both invested heavily in some tailored clothing. I ordered a skirt and pants suit (with jacket), 2 dress shirts, 2 pairs of shorts and 2 casual shirts, all for US$110. After ordering the clothes, we had a fresh baguette sandwich for lunch at a lovely café then wandered back to the hotel, stopping at a shoe store for me to order two pairs of custom-made court shoes for $US34. That afternoon, we took a 2 ½ hour bicycle tour around the back lanes of the villages, along the river bank and through some of the rice paddy fields; then back to the hotel for a swim. We had to go back to the tailors for a fitting at 6:30pm before meeting the others in town and choosing a slightly more "up-market" restaurant for dinner.
On the following day, Cass and I hired a bike and rode the 3 kilometres to the beach for a swim and relax in the sun. I had asked Dad if he wanted to come and told him several times what I was doing, but apparently he took no notice of me because he maintains that he did not know where I had gone. So he hired a bike for the day and went bike riding by himself, apparently covering approx 45kms. We were supposed to meet in the afternoon to pick up our clothes, but Dad was MIA so I went with one of the ladies from the Intrepid Group. That evening we went to a Vietnamese cooking class and banquet dinner at one of the local restaurants. Dad was also supposed to go to this, but was still MIA at this stage. The cooking lesson was great and the food divine. We made spring rolls - some fried, some steamed; fish with lemon grass wrapped in banana leaf; and papaya salad. Dad eventually turned up with a Vietnamese haircut and took himself off for a meal at another restaurant. We finished the evening at the Tam Tam Bar where Dad entertained some of the waiting staff from the restaurant he ended up at, who then escorted him home by motorbike.
The following morning we were transported by bus to Da Nang Station, where we waited for approximately 2 hours before the "running late" express arrived. The train journey to Nha Trang takes about 9 1/2 hours if the train is running on time - we were again in soft sleeper cabins, so most of the group took the opportunity to catch up on some sleep. On this leg we were provided with a "railway meal", which consisted of rice, vegetable, fish and some type of soup - some of us were prepared to try the rice and vegetable, but gave the fish and soup a miss! We eventually got to our hotel in Nha Trang about 11pm - too late for a meal, but not too late for a nightcap at the bar opposite the hotel.
Nha Trang is regarded as a beachside resort, although not quite what Aussies would regard as a resort. There has been a significant amount of new development, particularly in the area within 2 street blocks of the esplanade.
Next morning, we were taken by bus to the port for a full day boat trip on the harbour, which again included a seafood lunch and the opportunity for a massage and pedicure. Dad had a massage and we both had a pedicure, although the pedicure turned out to be a nail trim only and you had to pay extra for nail painting. (Dad finished up with blue toenails with palm trees and a red sun!). In the morning we visited an island fishing village (transported from the boat to the shore by basket boats - literally a round basket-shaped boat made from palm fronds, coated on the outside with manure and then finished with some type of varnish to make them waterproof. We then walked around the village to the other side of the island where we visited an aquarium. On re-boarding the boat, we were taken to another island and given the opportunity for a swim off the side of the boat before lunch; then onto the island for relaxing in deck chairs and swimming. After returning to the hotel, we met again for another cyclo convoy to a restaurant recommended by “Lemon Juice” Bruce - great local atmosphere with great food barbequed at the table on small "BBQ coal fires". After dinner, the under 40’s went to the very swanky sailing club for drinks, while the over 40’s went back to the hotel.
Next morning we went shopping for DVD's - a somewhat time consuming process, as you have to select the DVD's you require from thousands of covers in no set order with many duplicated, and then wait while the staff try to match the selected covers with the actual disk from another room or shop. With 3 of us all buying DVDs at the same time, it became very confusing and somewhat frustrating, so much so that I eventually walked off leaving Dad to his own devices. In the afternoon, six of us arranged to travel by motorbike convoy to see a couple of the city attractions (a fishing village and temple) and then on the open road for a 40kms+ ride to a waterfall in the mountains surrounding Nha Trang. By the time we reached the waterfall area we all had aching bums, as the last few kilometres were on a dirt road; we then had to walk and climb over rocks for about 30 minutes before reaching the first of the falls where there was a swimming hole at the base of the falls. The return was no less eventful, particularly when we reached the outskirts of the city in peak hour traffic - however we all arrived home in one piece. On the way we passed a motor cycle carrying 6 people - 4 adults, 1 toddler and a baby – the photo is on my blog: www.meganddadvietnam.blogspot.com
We departed the hotel in the evening for our return to the Reunification Express and our final journey to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) - again the train was late arriving at Nha Trang and lost a further hour while repairing a fault to the carriage. Probably just as well as we would have arrived in Saigon at 5.15am had the train been on time! Instead, we arrived around 7.20am and were then bussed to our hotel, where we were given 2 dayrooms until we could access our rooms at 12:00 noon.
While we were waiting, we headed out on our final cyclo convoy for a tour of Saigon, with stops at the sobering War Crimes museum, the architecturally brilliant Post Office building and Saigon’s Notre Dame Cathedral. We also whizzed past the Reunification Palace and various parks and famous hotels while dodging in and out of the Saigon traffic. As Dad & I had another 3 days in Saigon after the end of the tour, we took it easy in the afternoon, having a rest and catching up on sleep before another lovely dinner at a restaurant of Bruce’s choice that evening, then some drinks at a bar in the backpacker district.
The next morning we took a bus to the Cu Chi tunnels. These are a series of tunnels built by the Vietcong during the war with America. The tunnel system was quite elaborate and extensive. We also saw the remains of various booby traps, most of which were intended to wound rather than kill, so that the VC could pick off the soldiers who went to the aid of their wounded mate. The original entrances to the tunnels were very narrow and small. Only the smallest and thinnest of people could manage to manipulate their body sufficiently to descend into the tunnels. There are a series of photos on my blog; our female German group member, Friedi, was able to get in, Alan, from WA just managed it with difficulty, but Dad could get no further than his hips. I did not even try!
There is a 90 metre stretch of tunnel to which the entrance has been widened. The stretch is broken into 3 x 30 metre sections so you can come up for air if you need it. Despite a slight case of claustrophobia, I decided to give it a try. I was the last in our group to go into the tunnel and, whilst I could hear people in front of me, I could not see anyone. There was some light in the tunnel but you would go around a corner and be cast into blackness. The tunnel had been widened (luckily, or I would not have been able to get through) but the height had not been lifted, so you basically had to duck walk or shuffle in a very bent over position. I think I must have made it about 25 metres before I started panicking. Friedi was in front of me and could hear me breathing heavily and unevenly so she came back to make sure I was ok, which I wasn’t. I didn’t want to go on but did not think I could turn back either. Luckily, the guide was just in front, he told me that the steps out were literally just around the bend. I was able to make it that far, although my whole body, and my hands in particular, were shaking like crazy.
We got back into the city late afternoon with not much time to spare to shower and change for our farewell dinner. Again Bruce took us to a great restaurant with authentic local atmosphere. This restaurant was known for its “exotic delicacies” – rabbit, snake, frog, rat, scorpion, testicles …. Shall I go on?? I took photos of the menu board so you can check out some of the other delicacies at your leisure. Unfortunately, there was no snake available that night, but we did order BBQ field rat. Yes, that’s right, rat! Whilst the presentation was a bit disconcerting (it pretty much looked like a little rat), the taste was not bad – it tasted just like chicken! No, only joking, it tasted a bit like beef really.
After dinner, one of the waiters bought over a live scorpion. It was pretty huge. I took a photo of him holding it above his open mouth. It was pretty fascinating until the guy started to torture the poor thing with a pair of chopsticks. Eventually, when he realized we were not interested anymore, he put the poor thing back in the tank.
After dinner, we walked to a famous hotel, the name of which currently escapes me. It was home to many of the US army officers during the war. The hotel has a lovely roof garden with views of the city at night. We went to take a look at the view but the prices of the drinks were too expensive to stay. Finally, we went to a bar near the hotel for our final drinks together and said our goodbyes.
On first arriving in Saigon, Dad & I had booked ourselves on a 2 day Mekong Delta tour. The tour company’s promotional slogan was “more boat, less bus”. We were picked up at our hotel early the next morning and taken to the river where we boarded a speed boat for the 2 ½ hour boat trip down river to the first town on the Mekong Delta. The banks of the river near the city are crowded with shanty homes and, unfortunately, the river here is very polluted. The closer we got to the Delta, the less the water pollution became, although I was not at all tempted to swim at any time.
We arrived at the first town and swapped our speed boat for a putt-putt tourist motor boat then headed into the winding waterways of the Delta proper. I actually lost count of the times we changed boats, even on that first day; suffice to say that the tour company’s slogan proved true. Our first stop was a small island on which we tasted honey wine, assorted nuts and sweets, ate Delta fruit while being entertained in song by locals and Dad had a giant snake wrapped around his neck. At our next stop we observed the process of making the local candy and then purchased some. We stopped for lunch at another island, then rested in the hammocks or took a short bike ride. In the afternoon, we had to take 2 hour bus ride to get to the town in which we would stay the night. The journey included a chaotic ferry crossing. The Mekong Delta is not what I expected. There are some quite large towns set on the myriad of waterways and canals which make up the Delta. It is quite a contrast to the Okavango Delta in Botswana, Africa, where there are no towns and no people but many wild animals!
The hotel we stayed in was pretty basic, but I don’t think we could complain given that the whole 2 day trip (excluding food) cost us about US$25 each. We went out to dinner with others in our group which was quite diverse – Scottish, Finnish, Danish, American and Australian.
The next morning we set out quite early to go to the floating markets. However, on the way, the heavens opened and rained on our plans. It was quite a vicious little storm, though relatively short lived. Instead we made our way to another island and visited a rice bagging factory and rice paper factory. Once the skies cleared we made our way back to the floating markets. You don’t have to have much imagination to work out what the floating markets are – fresh produce markets aboard boats. The sellers have a large bamboo pole on the front of their boat and hang an example of their produce from the pole. For example, if there is a pineapple hanging from the bamboo pole, then you know that boat sells pineapples. So you take your boat up to the market boats and buy your produce. We floated around from boat to boat for awhile, mostly taking photographs and not purchasing, although the pineapple was very ripe and sweet. Finally, we took yet another boat to yet another island and took a walk around the island, observing the local life. The picture of the outdoor toilet suspended over the waterway is a cracker!
After a short rest, we headed back to the town where we had stayed the night for lunch. Then we boarded our boat for the final journey upstream before transferring to a bus for the 4 hour drive back to Saigon.
On our last full day in Saigon, Dad and I visited the Reunification Palace. The Palace was originally built for the French Governor and was a lavish and ornate building of French colonial architecture. At the time of independence from France, it was renamed Independence Palace and housed the last President of South Vietnam. At some point it was destroyed and rebuilt in its current style, which is vastly different from French colonial architecture. My first impressions of the Palace from the outside were not good. I thought the building looked distinctly communist in style despite the fact that it was built before the communists reunified Vietnam. However, it is built on lavish grounds (with many tennis courts) and you get a different perspective once you are inside. There are huge open rooms and quite ornate furnishings. It contains a music room, a games room with gambling tables, a rooftop dance hall and its own cinema with ancient projection room. It has a flat roof top with helicopter pad and at one point during the war with America the helipad was used as target practice and 2 bombs were dropped on the palace, although neither caused significant damage. The basement contains a bunker and the war rooms from where the President of South Vietnam conducted the war. Apparently the south had 4 Presidents in the space of 10 days, the last one only lasting a matter of hours before the tanks of the North Vietnamese army crashed through the gates and demanded his surrender.
Our final day in Vietnam was spent finishing off the last minute shopping before meeting our transfer to the airport and our overnight flight with Singapore airlines to Brisbane.
And that, my friends, ends the final chapter of my adventures in China and Vietnam. Photos can be found on the following blog pages:
www.meganddadchina.blospot.com
www.meganddadvietnam.blogspot.com
Australia
I have now been back in Australia for about 6 weeks. For those of you who do not know, I am currently working as a boarding supervisor at a girls’ high school in Ipswich. This requires me to “live in” at the school 4 nights a week. It is a long way from practicing law or teaching English in China, but may just create another interesting chapter in my life! I don’t plan to be doing this job indefinitely though. I am hoping to get into a graduate trainee program with the department of immigration in Canberra next year. I have had an interview and I am waiting to hear if I have been accepted. I should find out within the next few weeks. If so, I will continue to work at the boarding house until the end of the year and then move to Canberra for the traineeship. If not, I will have to reassess my future before embarking on my next adventure.
Thanks for being loyal readers. All of the photos to illustrate my stories are contained on my photo blogs. If you want to see them all, make sure you click on the archives in each blog. To get from one photo blog to another, click on “View complete profile” and you will find the links to the other blogs at the bottom of my profile.
This is the final chapter! It has been a long time coming but I have been busy with, well…. travelling, relaxing and settling back into life in Australia.
I have to confess that I will be cheating a little bit with this chapter. You see, while we were travelling in China and Vietnam, Dad sent 3 or 4 emails home to family and friends with stories about our travels. So, I will be cutting and pasting from his emails, while also adding my own little tit bits to the story.
Let me start at the beginning:
Leaving Huaian
My contract ended on Friday, 30 June. The students were still sitting exams for the next week or so, but I had already given all my exams and completed my reports, so I was not obliged to hang around. Given that all my foreign friends had already departed for greener pastures, I was not keen to hang around any longer than necessary.
I had said my goodbyes to all who mattered, except for Betty who was coming on the first leg of the trip with me. There were no big parties or send-offs. As I said, most of the foreigners had already left, the students were still taking exams and the school, which had never taken much interest in me from the start, continued that trend until the end. Actually, they did give Change and me a “leaving” banquet, but it was a very lack lustre affair to which Change did not even turn up! I only went because I had no food left in the apartment and I was trying to save money for my travels!
At some point in the last week it had started to rain… and it rained, and rained and then rained some more. I woke up early Saturday morning to do some last minute packing. I was due to meet the foreign affairs representative for breakfast at the hotel next door at 8. She arrived at 7 with a van full of Japanese guests who she was taking to Shanghai after dropping me at Nanjing airport. It was still raining hard and the roads into and out of the school were completely flooded. I rang Betty and told her to meet us at the hotel after breakfast. The main road outside the school and the hotel driveway were also flooded.
It continued to rain heavily on the 3 hour trip to Nanjing and I was concerned that the plane would be delayed due to bad weather. Betty had never been on a plane before and she was looking very concerned. As Dad was due to arrive in Chengdu not long before our plane, we had arranged for him to wait at the airport to meet us. Consequently, I had no way of contacting him and he had no idea where we were staying or how to get there. When we arrived at Nanjing airport, no flights were coming in or going out due to bad weather and it looked like we were in for a long wait. So, I contacted my Uncle’s wife, Rose, who is Chinese and has family in Chengdu. (Rose is now living in Sydney). She gave me the mobile phone number for her brother-in-law, Dong Ming, and I had Betty call him and arrange to meet Dad at the airport and take him to the hotel.
Our plane finally took off about 4 hours late so, instead of arriving at Chengdu airport at 4:30pm, we arrived at 8:30pm. Betty and I caught the airport bus into downtown Chengdu and Dong Ming was kind enough to come and pick us up and take us to the hostel to meet Dad.
China - Sichuan & Yunan Provinces
We were in for a bit of a shock when we arrived at the hostel. It was down a small lane with a badly cut up, narrow dirt road and many old style buildings in various states of disrepair, some of which were in the process of being renovated. There were a number of small bars and restaurants all of which had chairs and tables out on the road and TVs and screens set up for the world cup football. The local area certainly had a lot of atmosphere and character.
So it was around 9:30pm by the time we met Dad. He had been sitting at the hostel for 5 hours or so wondering what was going on. Apparently, when he arrived at Chengdu airport, Dong Ming was waiting for him with a sign with his name on it. Whilst Dong Ming can speak some English, apparently it was not enough for him to be able to explain that our plane was delayed due to bad weather, so Dad was not sure what was going on. He was probably not only wondering where we were, but also who the strange Chinese man was who was holding a sign with his name and chauffeuring him to the hostel located down a shady laneway!
After settling in at the hostel (which did not take long given that the room consisted of 3 beds almost on top of each other…. and that was it…), we went for a short walk to a nearby restaurant for a hot pot dinner. Now hot pot is a specialty of Sichuan province and the main reason for Betty wanting to come to Chengdu was to partake in the Sichuan cuisine. Unfortunately though, the standard of this particular hot pot restaurant was well under par, particularly at that time of night. After dinner, we walked back to the hostel. The England vs Portugal quarter-final had started at 11pm so the alfresco bar scene on our street had really come alive.
The next 3 days were spent in and around Chengdu. We spent the next morning visiting the Panda Bear breeding and environmental complex, which was an enlightening experience - we could have cuddled a young panda (for a price!), but decided to leave that privilege to others. The breeding centre is set in quite extensive, hilly parkland. The enclosures are large and shady with plenty of bamboo. The centre is set up to facilitate breeding of this endangered animal. I had seen pandas previously at the Beijing Zoo but the enclosures there left a lot to be desired. The breeding centre is also home to the red panda; this is a small raccoon looking thing with browny, red fur. It is actually related to the raccoon and is not related to the panda at all. (It is a bit like the koala being called a bear, when it isn’t!). Anyway, the photos are on my blog: www.meganddadchina.blogspot.com
The afternoon was spent visiting the "100 flowers" park, where Betty had her first ride (at 27 years of age) on a merry-go-round, and exploring a street area which contained many restored buildings from a bygone era. We were a bit hungry in the afternoon, so Betty rustled up some Sichuan BBQ – loads of spicy, barbecued pork, beef, lamb, cauliflower and eggplant and cold beer for the princely sum of about $3 all up.
In the evening we joined Henry (Dong Ming) and his wife, Wei Wei, for dinner at an up- market restaurant in the new part of the city. As is the usual Chinese custom, we were not allowed to pay as this was our first time to Chengdu and they were the “hosts”. The banquet was made up entirely of Sichuan specialty dishes, each one spicier than the next. I loved it; I think Dad enjoyed it and Betty was in 7th heaven!
On our second day we went with Henry by bus to Le Shan - a city about 1 ½ hours drive from Chengdu, principally to visit an historical site on the side of the river which includes the "highest sitting Buddha" in the world (71 metres high) - it was carved out of the rock face on the cliffs overlooking the convergence of two rivers. We firstly went by river boat to get the best view of the Buddha from the river, then Henry insisted on taking us to another eating house to try some more authentic local Sichuan dishes (this area is famous for its many different styles of tofu), after which we crossed the river (by taxi) to enter the reserve which included the Buddha and a number of Buddhist temples and sites. Along with thousands of other visitors (mainly Chinese), we lined up to descend down the cliff walls to the base of the Buddha and then ascend to other parts of the former Buddhist retreat. That evening we dined in the street outside our hostel along with many of the local people. The food was very cheap and very tasty and the atmosphere was great.
On our last day in Chengdu we took a leisurely stroll through "Peoples Park" then went to an eating place in downtown Chengdu to sample some Sichuan local snack foods; after all, the first of three reasons to visit Chengdu was for the food! We then headed back to our hostel to collect our luggage and then by bus to the airport where we parted company with Betty - a tearful parting for both of us, as Betty had been my closest Chinese friend for the 2 years I had been in China. When Dad had asked us earlier whether we would cry, Betty answered “no” and I said “yes”. In fact, Betty started bawling just saying goodbye to Dad, so you can imagine that it was quite an emotional parting. I saw her onto the airport bus back to the city, where she then boarded a train for the 36 hour train ride back to Huai’an.
Dad I boarded the plane for our flight to Lijiang in Yunan province. The airport in Lijiang is about 40 minutes from the old city and quite small. Apart from one other European couple, we were the only foreigners on a plane of Chinese. During my 2 years in China, I have observed that Chinese people, as a general rule, pack very lightly and what bags they do take, they generally carry with them. Consequently, when we arrived at Lijiang airport, the only people at the baggage carousel were me, Dad and the European couple!
We stayed at the Red Lantern Inn in Lijiang - a quaint 8 room "hotel" in the very centre of the old town - a simply amazing place which was the first town in China to be included for world heritage listing. Due to its isolation from "east coast China", it has a different way of life and has 22 different ethnic groups which seem to get along in reasonable harmony and provide an amazing cultural experience, particularly at night when the cobble stone streets and alleyways light up. There is an amazing array of restaurants, bars, eating places and, of course, every conceivable type of merchandise sold from quaint shops and stalls. Unlike many other tourist meccas, the local people in the main do not pester you to buy their wares.
Arriving in Lijiang at night was a magical experience. The old city is pedestrian only access and we had to walk through the cobblestone streets to the inn. The old city is built on one side of the hill and the town was alight with thousands of red lamps and lanterns. The hotels and inns in Lijiang are all very small but quaint. Our inn was located behind a small shop selling bamboo etchings and it was necessary to walk through the shop then up the narrow stone staircase at the back to reach our inn.
On our first full day in Lijiang we took a trip to Tiger Leaping Gorge, which is about 100kms away. (3 hours by road) The gorge is quite spectacular, but due to recent rains and river levels, we were only able to descend the staircase to the landings of the upper gorge - a little disappointing in view of the amount of travel, but nevertheless worthwhile.
We spent a more leisurely time on the second day, walking through the various alleyways (no vehicles, including bicycles allowed), and visited the Lion Hill pagoda, which gives a commanding view over the entire city, and also went through "Mu's Residence", which is a fully restored complex over a fairly substantial area occupied by the ruling family of Lijiang for over 400 years. On the following morning we walked the alleyways again and spent a couple of hours at the Black Dragon Lake ornamental park, which is upstream from the old town and a very pleasant place to visit. We returned around 1.30pm to prepare for our move to Dali.
The only down side to our stay in Lijiang was the, by now expected, bout of “travel cold” that I managed to pick up in Chengdu.
On the 31/2 hour mini-bus journey from Lijiang to Dali, Dad said he experienced the "thrill of a lifetime”. He thinks the driver was hell bent on getting to Dali faster than any other vehicle, and was surprised at the constant tooting of the horn and over taking while approaching turns in the road and going up hills - we made it in one piece, but only with “the grace of God", according to Dad. It was all a bit ho hum for me, having experienced the erratic and chaotic Chinese driving for 2 years! I was sitting directly behind Dad, not feeling very well because of my head cold and recurrent stomach bug, but still managed to be amused by Dad shaking his head and making small exclamations of fear or surprise for the entire 3 ½ hours!
We arrived in Dali at 6.30pm, so did not have time to explore Dali that night, except for dinner at the restaurant attached to the "Old Dali Youth Hostel" where we stayed. (3 Chinese dishes plus 2 bowls of rice, apple pie and ice-cream (for Dad) and two 640 ml bottles of beer for the princely sum of Y 57, which equates to approximately $A11.00 - not a bad deal!)
Unfortunately it rained quite heavily on our first full day in Dali, so our exploration of Dali old town was on hold waiting for the rain to clear. We were able to venture out in the afternoon, spending a couple of hours walking the streets of old Dali town - again the shops and market stalls were stocked with all sorts of items appealing to tourists, and there were different styles of traditional clothing as the dominant ethnic group are the Bai people.
That night we ate at a café style restaurant catering for the tourist trade and spoke at length with the owner of the business, a guy named "George", and made arrangements with him for the following day to hire a car and driver, with George as our interpreter, to spend a full day encircling lake Erhai, visiting a number of towns and villages surrounding the lake - a drive of approx 140kms. With traffic, visits to temples and other tourist traps as well as the state of the roads, it took the best part of 8 hours. We stopped in a small village for lunch, eating the local spicy noodles from a road side stall with some of the locals. There are many fishing villages located around the lake so there was a pervasive “fish” smell at many of our stops. At one small village, we took a small row boat with the locals out to a temple on a tiny island about 75 metres from the shore. The island was only big enough for the temple and about 50 “BBQs” at which the locals tried to sell BBQ shrimp, etc, to unsuspecting tourists who arrived on the boats. It is beyond me how any of the locals make money from this when they are all selling the same thing. The last place we visited included an 8 storey pagoda, with views across the lake to Dali old town. Unfortunately, in most places in China, which has been a recurring theme with me, the lack of clear visibility means it is difficult to get good distance photos - a real pity as some of the scenery is well worth a photo. We completed our Dali travels by arranging with George to take us directly to the airport for our flight to Kunming, arriving there about 8pm.
We visited two very interesting places over the two full days we spent in Kumning - the Dragon Gate in the Western Hills and the Stone Forest - the first place approx 20kms from the hotel where we stayed and the second about 130kms away. The mathematician in Dad was still not able to count the number of steps we ascended or descended over those two days! On the first day we travelled by public buses for a total cost of Y7.00 (approx $1.25) and mixed with the locals, whereas on the second day we went by chartered mini-bus with other hotel guests for a cost of Y70.
On the first day, at the Western Hills, we decided to walk the 8kms uphill from the bus terminus to the entry to the Dragon Gate, not realising that the climb from this point was essentially up the side of a mountain cliff, one step after another! However, it was really an invigorating and worthwhile climb to the top, with many delightful viewing points, passing at least 4 Buddhist temples (they do get a bit monotonous after awhile) and yes, you guessed it, many locals attempting to sell their wares. Having climbed the equivalent of Mt Everest, we decided to take a cable car down the mountain - ostensibly so we could see more of the surrounding scenery, but possibly because we could not face the same number of steps on the downward leg!
The visit to the Stone Forest was no less invigorating. Unfortunately it is a tourist mecca and we were a very small minority when it comes to the number of Chinese tour groups that were at this site. For the first hour and a half we stayed mainly on the recommended path through the forest and took in most of the rock formations that the Chinese come to see. For the second hour and a half we decided to be more adventurous and explored some of the minor tracks and paths through the various rock formations, ascending a somewhat precarious track to the summit of the Lotus View Peak and descending into almost below ground level grottoes, including "the deep and narrow valley" and the "rock prison". Can't say that we knew where we were going at times, and almost felt lost, but eventually found our way out of the forest at around 2pm to an outdoor performance area where we watched some local national minority dancing and singing before we returned to the minibus for the 2 hour journey back to Kunming.
On our last day in Kunming, we took the public bus to another local market area where we were anticipating seeing many unusual pets and animals, but it seems that some of the market had been closed down since the Lonely Planet guide was published. It was raining on and off during our stay, so it was a little unpleasant. We also attempted to see (apparently) the last remaining street of old style architecture in the Muslim quarter, but it seems that we were too late as that street had also disappeared to make way for more modern buildings and shops.
Our overall impression of Kunming is that it is a very liveable city, particularly the inner city area which is well laid out with many modern shops and tall buildings - it also has a temperate climate most of the year and apparently people from the East Coast of China who have experienced Kunming have, in the past, decided to settle there. It is also a relatively clean city, despite the ever present air pollution marring most Chinese cities.
Over the 4 places we stayed in China, the standard of the hotels improved; from Chengdu which had just a basic room with 3 beds, no hanging space and communal showers and toilets; to the boutique hotel in Lijiang which had little space but included a private bathroom (and central location); to a larger room with private bathroom in Dali old town, even though part of a hostel; to a hotel type suite with private bathroom and ample space in Kunming.
Vietnam
We arrived in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, at about 9.30pm via a 2 hour flight from Kunming to Bangkok, then a 1 ½ hour wait in Bangkok, before catching another flight to Hanoi. We spent the first day organising Vietnamese Dong, then walking around the lake in the centre of town and through the old town area of Hanoi.
The local Vietnamese appear to have forgotten how to walk - liberalisation of their country has meant that almost every one has purchased either a motorbike or motor scooter. When you walk the city streets you are faced with a "sea" of motor bikes and scooters coming towards you, behind you and sometimes directly at you! Unlike in Oz, pedestrian crossings do not provide any safety - the local rules are that you walk slowly and do not appear frightened (and do not make any sudden movements) and hopefully the bikes and scooters will miss you. It is almost impossible to walk on the footpaths (not all streets have them) as they are cluttered with parked motor bikes and merchandise spewing out from many of the shops and stalls. I was somewhat used to this traffic chaos from my 2 years in China, but even I was in awe at the sheer number of motorbikes and scooters on the road. In China, whilst there were many motorbikes and scooters, the roads were also cluttered with a much wider variety of small vehicles, pedestrians, and electric and pedal power bicycles. What made Hanoi unique for me was the absence of bicycles and the prolific number of motorbikes.
And whilst I should now be an old hand at crossing roads in Asian cities, I still managed to get collected by a motorbike on our first venture out on the streets of Hanoi. Well, “collected” might be a slight exaggeration … a lady was rolling her motorbike back from off the footpath onto the road and the rear wheel mud flap, which was very sharp, ran into my right leg, ripping the material of my shorts and making a small cut on the side of my lower leg near the knee.
In Vietnam, Dad and I had arranged to join a 15 day Intrepid tour from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. Our Intrepid tour group consisted of 12 people (3 males and 9 females) and a male group leader from Omeo in Victoria, who has spent the last 9 years with Intrepid, almost entirely in Vietnam, with some tours into Cambodia - he certainly knows a lot about Vietnam, its history and politics, and has a real love for the country. Our group included 4 Brits, 1 Kiwi, 2 Germans and 5 from Oz, and the ages ranged from 24 to 64, Dad being the eldest, with an average age of 38.
On the first night we had a rather lengthy and drawn out meeting about what to expect on the tour and to complete all the necessary paperwork. We then accepted the suggestion of Bruce (our tour leader, who is also known as "lemon juice") to join him for dinner at a restaurant of his choosing where we had a tasty Vietnamese shared meal with drinks which cost each of us the outrageous amount of 50000 VD (Vietnamese Dong), which is equivalent to $A4.50!
Next morning we had a 7.30am start to visit the Blue Dragon Children's Care Centre, where we had breakfast with the staff and 5 of the boys (aged 12 to 14) currently under their care - a somewhat humbling, but nevertheless enlightening experience. At 9am we left by bus for our 4 hour journey to Halong Bay, stopping on the way at a centre for disabled people who were involved in producing an amazing array of quality goods.
At Halong Bay we boarded a boat, which was exclusive to our group with 6 two berth cabins, and sat down to a Vietnamese style seafood lunch, which was delightful. We travelled for approx 2 hours through the myriad of islands (over 3000 in total) which make up this world heritage area to visit a huge cave on one of the islands, which has only been open to the tourist trade for the last 10 years. We then travelled a relatively short distance to a protected bay, where we anchored for the night, along with at least 25 other boats - a truly magical place as dusk approached and the other boats came alive with their twinkling lights We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening swimming in the Bay, relaxing over a couple of drinks, another meal equally as good as the seafood lunch, and then sitting around on the top deck talking and reminiscing over the travels in which we had all been involved. (Naturally one of the subjects discussed was our arrest at the hands of the Zimbabwe police whist in Harare!). We had a reasonably early night and woke about 6.15am for an early morning swim, breakfast and return to port for our bus journey back to Hanoi; on the way we visited a ceramics factory - again many items were available for sale!
Lunch this day was at cafe 225 - a Vietnamese/French patisserie, where we enjoyed real home made sandwiches, hamburgers (Vietnamese style), milkshakes and a great array of cakes - a rare treat in Vietnam! We then visited the "Hanoi Hilton", the jail established by the French whilst occupying (controlling) Vietnam and where the American pilots shot down over North Vietnam were housed during the American invasion between 1965 and 1973. From all accounts, it would appear the Americans were treated reasonably humanely, although the conditions were rather rudimentary.
From here a couple of us travelled to the Army Museum, which gave a history of the wars in which the Vietnamese had participated since the 12th century from the Vietnamese perspective - perhaps a little biased, but it would appear they have fought many wars over the years, both internal conflict and external aggression, particularly from China, Japan, France, Cambodia and America/Australia.
Then back to the hotel for another shower and we were taken on a cyclo tour of the old town. Rickshaws are no longer used in Vietnam as they are seen as a sign of colonialism. However, cyclos are still used. These are 3 wheeled bicycles where the passenger sits in an armchair style seat which is pushed along by the rider at the back. This was a marvelous experience as the old town comes alive at this time of night - we dodged pedestrians, motor scooters and cycles and cars and buses on our way to the Water Puppet show and then to dinner at a typical street cafe (again recommended by Bruce), where we had another great meal and drinks, also for 50000 VD ($A4.50). Bruce then took us through some of the back alleys to view the city from a couple of elevated positions and to give us a feel for the Vietnamese nightlife on the streets - most of the shops and stalls stay open until 10.30 to 11.30, so there is still plenty of activity, with many of the families not eating until this time!
On the next day we walked to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Presidential house and Museum. Uncle Ho, as he is affectionately known in Vietnam, is very revered, and thousands of Vietnamese and visitors file past him each day to pay their respects to the father of the now re-united Vietnam. From all accounts, he was a very learned man, having spent about 30 years out of the country studying, making strategic contacts and establishing the Vietnamese Communist Party, before returning to Vietnam in 1941 to oversee the struggle to give power to the communist party and to remove the French from Vietnam and Indo-China, only to then face the aggression from the American war until peace was finally achieved in 1975. Unfortunatley, Uncle Ho died before the end of the war and did not live to see a reunified Vietnam.
We returned to Cafe 225 for another round of Australiana meals (Vietnamese style) but I had earlier experienced an unsavoury return of the dreaded stomach bug and so took it easy at the hotel for the afternoon. Dad hired a cyclo to visit the French colonial quarter of Hanoi then returned to the hotel in the late afternoon to prepare for our overnight train trip on the "Reunification Express" to Hue (pronounced "Whey").
The train trip to Hue took about 13 ½ hours - the train travels at an average speed of approx 50kms/hour, hardly what you might regard as an express! We were allocated 4 berth "soft" bed cabins, which consisted of 2 beds on either side of a small cabin and a folding table attached to the side wall, which could be used for playing a card game if so inclined. We retired for the night about 10.30pm, and had a reasonable night's sleep although it did take some time to get used to the train's motion. We arrived at the Hue station about 8.30 am for transfer to our hotel by pre-arranged mini-bus.
After taking a shower, a group of us wandered into town to have a look around. The hotel was offering breakfast in its roof garden restaurant, but Dad was the only taker. Instead the rest of us had a walk and a light lunch at a café. At 3pm the group left by cyclo convoy to visit the Citadel , the former palace of the kings of Vietnam from the early 19th century until the final king of the dynasty handed over power to Ho Chi Minh and his communist party in 1945. The complex is set on the northern banks of the Perfume river, and covers a substantial area of land which the first king of the last dynasty obtained by removing a number of villages and relocating the inhabitants to outlying areas. A fair portion of the original complex has been destroyed through ongoing warfare, neglect and pilfering (particularly by the French), but there are plans to completely reconstruct the complex (using grants from UNESCO), but the cost will be enormous. We learned some fascinating facts about the various kings, the second of which had over 500 wives as well as numerous concubines! We returned to the hotel by cyclo convoy to prepare for dinner at a slightly up-market restaurant within reasonable walking distance of the hotel. After dinner we had a drink at a nearby bar before walking back to the hotel. On the way, we managed to lose Dad. Back at the hotel, I walked out the back to the outdoor bar but could not find him. It was dark in the hall way on the way back in and I managed to trip up the stairs and fall over, slamming my 1 litre water bottle into the ground and slamming my mouth on the top of the water bottle, driving my teeth into my lip and splitting it open on both sides. There was a lot of blood, but fortunately no damage to my teeth; just a swollen lip and ulcerated gum for a week!
On Day 2 we started our journey at 8am for a trip up the Perfume River by boat to another Pagoda, following which we spent the rest of the day travelling on the back of motorbikes all around the countryside along main roads and many side tracks and village paths. Some of the group were at first nervous, but soon got the hang of things and it turned out to be a memorable day for all of us. Over the day we visited the only coliseum built in Asia, where elephants and tigers were pitted against each other (It was rigged for the elephant to win; they cut the tigers’ claws and removed their incisor teeth and if that wasn’t enough, sometimes they would bring out a 2nd elephant!); then to a bronze works casting "factory" - a rather rudimentary establishment which nevertheless produced some works of high quality; from there to an incense manufacturing place, and then to the American Bunker Hill - a strategic spot originally built by the French which became of vital importance in the conflict between America and North Vietnam. On a clear day it is the only place in Vietnam where you can see from the coast to the range of hills forming the boundary with Laos and where the Ho Chi Minh trail was formed, which was the trail the North Vietnamese used to infiltrate Saigon. Lunch consisted of a vegetarian meal prepared by nuns at the Dieu Tranh Nunnery.
We then travelled to the alternative palace and burial ground of King Tutuc - the 4th king of the last Dynasty who, by comparison, had only 104 wives (plus numerous concubines) but no children as the guide said he was "firing blanks". He apparently appointed 3 nephews as his successors following his death, and all 3 either died or were killed within 7 months of Tutuc's death! The grounds and buildings are enormous; again the money spent and labour involved in providing a burial ground for one person defies all reason! We then visited the house of Phan Boi Chan, a prominent person assisting Uncle Ho in his earlier campaigns; then to a small private home of a lady named Thuy who was born with only one hand but is still able to make beautiful conical (coolie) hats. We then visited a rather ornate communal house (a temple for the dead family relatives) and then to one of the only 2 roofed bridges in Vietnam, where most of the group had their fortunes told by a 71 year old fortune teller who was once married to an American GI – apparently 1 marriage and 2 children are still on the cards for me! On the way back to the hotel we came across a family funeral ceremony. We were invited to join the relatives and give our blessing to the departed 90 year old - apparently this is a good omen for whatever lies ahead in the next life! Home at last after a great day which we all thoroughly enjoyed.
Dinner that night was at the “deaf mute” café. Of course, that was not its real name, but Bruce was very excited to take us to this famous local restaurant which was, apparently, either run or staffed, or perhaps both, by deaf mutes. Unfortunately, there did not appear to be any deaf mutes working that night, although from the poor service provided, you could be forgiven for thinking the opposite, and the dinner was greasy and tasteless; probably the worst meal on the whole trip.
The next morning we left Hue by bus to travel to Hoi An; on the way we called in at a beach town called Lang Co where we had an early lunch and a swim. The water was warm and there was no surf so Dad was not impressed. For me, however, clear blue water and blue skies, after 2 years of no swimming in China, was very inviting. From there we climbed up to the Hai Van Pass, by bus, which gave a commanding view over Da Nang - this city had a very strategic position in the war with America. The bomb shelters and observation towers at the pass were originally built by the French during their occupation of Vietnam and partly expanded by the Americans - although a strategic position, and one where it would be almost impossible to pass without detection, apparently the North Vietnamese effectively by-passed this area by using the Ho Chi Minh trail further inland and also by transporting supplies to the Viet Cong in the south by ship, presumably undetected from this position.
We then visited a museum in Da Nang (the 3rd largest city in Vietnam), which is dedicated to the Cham people who occupied this area for many centuries - the Cham people were aligned to Hinduism (unlike the Buddhist majorities that surrounded them) and their art works consisted of many sculptures to the various gods which they worshipped. From there we passed what remains of the American base in Da Nang, before visiting Marble Mountain (as the name suggests, the mountain is synonymous with the many marble carvings from this area) and then onto our hotel in Hoi An, which came with a swimming pool!
Hoi An is a small but very pleasant city. It is a shopping mecca for clothing and shoes - there are literally hundreds of tailors who all profess to be able to make suits, slacks, shirts, dresses and whatever one may require within 24 hours of ordering. Similarly, shoes can be supplied off the shelf or by ordering one day and ready by the following morning, all made to your exact measurements. In the past, Hoi An was a major river port, but as ships became larger (and perhaps the river silted up), the port activities were transferred to Da Nang.
Hoi An was more a time for relaxing (and, of course, eating, drinking and shopping for made to order clothes and shoes)! We arrived in Hoi An in the afternoon but I cannot remember what we got up to. That evening we went to the “White Rose” restaurant, a small family run restaurant famous for the local snack called “White Rose”, a prawn dumpling made from rice noodle, and fried wonton. As we were sitting in the restaurant finishing dinner, the heavens opened and the rain poured down. We had intended to go to a bar for a few drinks. We called taxis to collect us but we did not know that the old town is closed off to cars, so the taxi only took us around the corner and then we had to get out and run the rest of the way in the rain anyway!
On the morning of the first full day in Hoi An, Dad & I walked around the old town and visited a tailor where we both invested heavily in some tailored clothing. I ordered a skirt and pants suit (with jacket), 2 dress shirts, 2 pairs of shorts and 2 casual shirts, all for US$110. After ordering the clothes, we had a fresh baguette sandwich for lunch at a lovely café then wandered back to the hotel, stopping at a shoe store for me to order two pairs of custom-made court shoes for $US34. That afternoon, we took a 2 ½ hour bicycle tour around the back lanes of the villages, along the river bank and through some of the rice paddy fields; then back to the hotel for a swim. We had to go back to the tailors for a fitting at 6:30pm before meeting the others in town and choosing a slightly more "up-market" restaurant for dinner.
On the following day, Cass and I hired a bike and rode the 3 kilometres to the beach for a swim and relax in the sun. I had asked Dad if he wanted to come and told him several times what I was doing, but apparently he took no notice of me because he maintains that he did not know where I had gone. So he hired a bike for the day and went bike riding by himself, apparently covering approx 45kms. We were supposed to meet in the afternoon to pick up our clothes, but Dad was MIA so I went with one of the ladies from the Intrepid Group. That evening we went to a Vietnamese cooking class and banquet dinner at one of the local restaurants. Dad was also supposed to go to this, but was still MIA at this stage. The cooking lesson was great and the food divine. We made spring rolls - some fried, some steamed; fish with lemon grass wrapped in banana leaf; and papaya salad. Dad eventually turned up with a Vietnamese haircut and took himself off for a meal at another restaurant. We finished the evening at the Tam Tam Bar where Dad entertained some of the waiting staff from the restaurant he ended up at, who then escorted him home by motorbike.
The following morning we were transported by bus to Da Nang Station, where we waited for approximately 2 hours before the "running late" express arrived. The train journey to Nha Trang takes about 9 1/2 hours if the train is running on time - we were again in soft sleeper cabins, so most of the group took the opportunity to catch up on some sleep. On this leg we were provided with a "railway meal", which consisted of rice, vegetable, fish and some type of soup - some of us were prepared to try the rice and vegetable, but gave the fish and soup a miss! We eventually got to our hotel in Nha Trang about 11pm - too late for a meal, but not too late for a nightcap at the bar opposite the hotel.
Nha Trang is regarded as a beachside resort, although not quite what Aussies would regard as a resort. There has been a significant amount of new development, particularly in the area within 2 street blocks of the esplanade.
Next morning, we were taken by bus to the port for a full day boat trip on the harbour, which again included a seafood lunch and the opportunity for a massage and pedicure. Dad had a massage and we both had a pedicure, although the pedicure turned out to be a nail trim only and you had to pay extra for nail painting. (Dad finished up with blue toenails with palm trees and a red sun!). In the morning we visited an island fishing village (transported from the boat to the shore by basket boats - literally a round basket-shaped boat made from palm fronds, coated on the outside with manure and then finished with some type of varnish to make them waterproof. We then walked around the village to the other side of the island where we visited an aquarium. On re-boarding the boat, we were taken to another island and given the opportunity for a swim off the side of the boat before lunch; then onto the island for relaxing in deck chairs and swimming. After returning to the hotel, we met again for another cyclo convoy to a restaurant recommended by “Lemon Juice” Bruce - great local atmosphere with great food barbequed at the table on small "BBQ coal fires". After dinner, the under 40’s went to the very swanky sailing club for drinks, while the over 40’s went back to the hotel.
Next morning we went shopping for DVD's - a somewhat time consuming process, as you have to select the DVD's you require from thousands of covers in no set order with many duplicated, and then wait while the staff try to match the selected covers with the actual disk from another room or shop. With 3 of us all buying DVDs at the same time, it became very confusing and somewhat frustrating, so much so that I eventually walked off leaving Dad to his own devices. In the afternoon, six of us arranged to travel by motorbike convoy to see a couple of the city attractions (a fishing village and temple) and then on the open road for a 40kms+ ride to a waterfall in the mountains surrounding Nha Trang. By the time we reached the waterfall area we all had aching bums, as the last few kilometres were on a dirt road; we then had to walk and climb over rocks for about 30 minutes before reaching the first of the falls where there was a swimming hole at the base of the falls. The return was no less eventful, particularly when we reached the outskirts of the city in peak hour traffic - however we all arrived home in one piece. On the way we passed a motor cycle carrying 6 people - 4 adults, 1 toddler and a baby – the photo is on my blog: www.meganddadvietnam.blogspot.com
We departed the hotel in the evening for our return to the Reunification Express and our final journey to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) - again the train was late arriving at Nha Trang and lost a further hour while repairing a fault to the carriage. Probably just as well as we would have arrived in Saigon at 5.15am had the train been on time! Instead, we arrived around 7.20am and were then bussed to our hotel, where we were given 2 dayrooms until we could access our rooms at 12:00 noon.
While we were waiting, we headed out on our final cyclo convoy for a tour of Saigon, with stops at the sobering War Crimes museum, the architecturally brilliant Post Office building and Saigon’s Notre Dame Cathedral. We also whizzed past the Reunification Palace and various parks and famous hotels while dodging in and out of the Saigon traffic. As Dad & I had another 3 days in Saigon after the end of the tour, we took it easy in the afternoon, having a rest and catching up on sleep before another lovely dinner at a restaurant of Bruce’s choice that evening, then some drinks at a bar in the backpacker district.
The next morning we took a bus to the Cu Chi tunnels. These are a series of tunnels built by the Vietcong during the war with America. The tunnel system was quite elaborate and extensive. We also saw the remains of various booby traps, most of which were intended to wound rather than kill, so that the VC could pick off the soldiers who went to the aid of their wounded mate. The original entrances to the tunnels were very narrow and small. Only the smallest and thinnest of people could manage to manipulate their body sufficiently to descend into the tunnels. There are a series of photos on my blog; our female German group member, Friedi, was able to get in, Alan, from WA just managed it with difficulty, but Dad could get no further than his hips. I did not even try!
There is a 90 metre stretch of tunnel to which the entrance has been widened. The stretch is broken into 3 x 30 metre sections so you can come up for air if you need it. Despite a slight case of claustrophobia, I decided to give it a try. I was the last in our group to go into the tunnel and, whilst I could hear people in front of me, I could not see anyone. There was some light in the tunnel but you would go around a corner and be cast into blackness. The tunnel had been widened (luckily, or I would not have been able to get through) but the height had not been lifted, so you basically had to duck walk or shuffle in a very bent over position. I think I must have made it about 25 metres before I started panicking. Friedi was in front of me and could hear me breathing heavily and unevenly so she came back to make sure I was ok, which I wasn’t. I didn’t want to go on but did not think I could turn back either. Luckily, the guide was just in front, he told me that the steps out were literally just around the bend. I was able to make it that far, although my whole body, and my hands in particular, were shaking like crazy.
We got back into the city late afternoon with not much time to spare to shower and change for our farewell dinner. Again Bruce took us to a great restaurant with authentic local atmosphere. This restaurant was known for its “exotic delicacies” – rabbit, snake, frog, rat, scorpion, testicles …. Shall I go on?? I took photos of the menu board so you can check out some of the other delicacies at your leisure. Unfortunately, there was no snake available that night, but we did order BBQ field rat. Yes, that’s right, rat! Whilst the presentation was a bit disconcerting (it pretty much looked like a little rat), the taste was not bad – it tasted just like chicken! No, only joking, it tasted a bit like beef really.
After dinner, one of the waiters bought over a live scorpion. It was pretty huge. I took a photo of him holding it above his open mouth. It was pretty fascinating until the guy started to torture the poor thing with a pair of chopsticks. Eventually, when he realized we were not interested anymore, he put the poor thing back in the tank.
After dinner, we walked to a famous hotel, the name of which currently escapes me. It was home to many of the US army officers during the war. The hotel has a lovely roof garden with views of the city at night. We went to take a look at the view but the prices of the drinks were too expensive to stay. Finally, we went to a bar near the hotel for our final drinks together and said our goodbyes.
On first arriving in Saigon, Dad & I had booked ourselves on a 2 day Mekong Delta tour. The tour company’s promotional slogan was “more boat, less bus”. We were picked up at our hotel early the next morning and taken to the river where we boarded a speed boat for the 2 ½ hour boat trip down river to the first town on the Mekong Delta. The banks of the river near the city are crowded with shanty homes and, unfortunately, the river here is very polluted. The closer we got to the Delta, the less the water pollution became, although I was not at all tempted to swim at any time.
We arrived at the first town and swapped our speed boat for a putt-putt tourist motor boat then headed into the winding waterways of the Delta proper. I actually lost count of the times we changed boats, even on that first day; suffice to say that the tour company’s slogan proved true. Our first stop was a small island on which we tasted honey wine, assorted nuts and sweets, ate Delta fruit while being entertained in song by locals and Dad had a giant snake wrapped around his neck. At our next stop we observed the process of making the local candy and then purchased some. We stopped for lunch at another island, then rested in the hammocks or took a short bike ride. In the afternoon, we had to take 2 hour bus ride to get to the town in which we would stay the night. The journey included a chaotic ferry crossing. The Mekong Delta is not what I expected. There are some quite large towns set on the myriad of waterways and canals which make up the Delta. It is quite a contrast to the Okavango Delta in Botswana, Africa, where there are no towns and no people but many wild animals!
The hotel we stayed in was pretty basic, but I don’t think we could complain given that the whole 2 day trip (excluding food) cost us about US$25 each. We went out to dinner with others in our group which was quite diverse – Scottish, Finnish, Danish, American and Australian.
The next morning we set out quite early to go to the floating markets. However, on the way, the heavens opened and rained on our plans. It was quite a vicious little storm, though relatively short lived. Instead we made our way to another island and visited a rice bagging factory and rice paper factory. Once the skies cleared we made our way back to the floating markets. You don’t have to have much imagination to work out what the floating markets are – fresh produce markets aboard boats. The sellers have a large bamboo pole on the front of their boat and hang an example of their produce from the pole. For example, if there is a pineapple hanging from the bamboo pole, then you know that boat sells pineapples. So you take your boat up to the market boats and buy your produce. We floated around from boat to boat for awhile, mostly taking photographs and not purchasing, although the pineapple was very ripe and sweet. Finally, we took yet another boat to yet another island and took a walk around the island, observing the local life. The picture of the outdoor toilet suspended over the waterway is a cracker!
After a short rest, we headed back to the town where we had stayed the night for lunch. Then we boarded our boat for the final journey upstream before transferring to a bus for the 4 hour drive back to Saigon.
On our last full day in Saigon, Dad and I visited the Reunification Palace. The Palace was originally built for the French Governor and was a lavish and ornate building of French colonial architecture. At the time of independence from France, it was renamed Independence Palace and housed the last President of South Vietnam. At some point it was destroyed and rebuilt in its current style, which is vastly different from French colonial architecture. My first impressions of the Palace from the outside were not good. I thought the building looked distinctly communist in style despite the fact that it was built before the communists reunified Vietnam. However, it is built on lavish grounds (with many tennis courts) and you get a different perspective once you are inside. There are huge open rooms and quite ornate furnishings. It contains a music room, a games room with gambling tables, a rooftop dance hall and its own cinema with ancient projection room. It has a flat roof top with helicopter pad and at one point during the war with America the helipad was used as target practice and 2 bombs were dropped on the palace, although neither caused significant damage. The basement contains a bunker and the war rooms from where the President of South Vietnam conducted the war. Apparently the south had 4 Presidents in the space of 10 days, the last one only lasting a matter of hours before the tanks of the North Vietnamese army crashed through the gates and demanded his surrender.
Our final day in Vietnam was spent finishing off the last minute shopping before meeting our transfer to the airport and our overnight flight with Singapore airlines to Brisbane.
And that, my friends, ends the final chapter of my adventures in China and Vietnam. Photos can be found on the following blog pages:
www.meganddadchina.blospot.com
www.meganddadvietnam.blogspot.com
Australia
I have now been back in Australia for about 6 weeks. For those of you who do not know, I am currently working as a boarding supervisor at a girls’ high school in Ipswich. This requires me to “live in” at the school 4 nights a week. It is a long way from practicing law or teaching English in China, but may just create another interesting chapter in my life! I don’t plan to be doing this job indefinitely though. I am hoping to get into a graduate trainee program with the department of immigration in Canberra next year. I have had an interview and I am waiting to hear if I have been accepted. I should find out within the next few weeks. If so, I will continue to work at the boarding house until the end of the year and then move to Canberra for the traineeship. If not, I will have to reassess my future before embarking on my next adventure.
Thanks for being loyal readers. All of the photos to illustrate my stories are contained on my photo blogs. If you want to see them all, make sure you click on the archives in each blog. To get from one photo blog to another, click on “View complete profile” and you will find the links to the other blogs at the bottom of my profile.
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