Our final destination in Vietnam was to be it’s largest city, Ho Chi Minh city, formerly known as Saigon. The city centre is situated on the banks of the Saigon River, more than one thousand miles south of Hanoi, where we began our adventure in Vietnam, almost three weeks ago.
Under the name Saigon, the city was the capital of the independent state of South Vietnam from 1955–75. South Vietnam, as an anti-communist state, fought against the communist North Vietnamese and Viet Cong during the Vietnam War (known as the American War here), with aid from the United States of America. Saigon fell when it was captured by the communists on April 30, 1975, thus bringing an end to the War.
The Reunification Palace was the place where tanks crashed through the gates to signal the fall of Saigon in April 1975 and which, curiously, has remained trapped in the time warp of the 1970s ever since.
We then strolled to the very grand Central Post Office which looks much more like a well-preserved Parisienne railway station, near to the Notre Dame cathedral before ascending to the 49th floor of the Bitexco Financial Tower – better known as the Saigon Skydeck.
The following day we took a trip out of the city to the Cao Dai Temple to witness the noon ceremony attended by hundreds of tourists and worshippers alike.
The Cu Chi tunnels provided a fascinating alternative viewpoint of the war in Vietnam as seen through Vietnamese eyes. This immense network (over 200 kilometres) of connecting underground tunnels used by the Viet Cong were of great importance in their resistance of American forces, and helped achieve ultimate military success. A short section of the tunnels has been enlarged to allow tourists to crawl through – and I can tell you that they are cramped, dark, hot, humid, airless and very claustrophobic.
Our final thrill of the day was to play at being Rambo and fire some rounds of an M30 machine gun on the shooting range at the Tunnels before we left. The power and noise were absolutely incredible and Edward proved to be a pretty good shot!
Nha Trang on the south Central coast of Vietnam is known for it’s pristine beaches, so we decided it was exactly the place to chill out for a few days – and Edward could supervise the early morning Tai Chi sessions!
Nha Trang is fast becoming a popular destination for international tourists, attracting large numbers of backpackers as well as more affluent travellers on the Southeast Asia circuit. There is almost ten kilometres of prime beach where the water is warm all year round.
We took a boat trip out into the beautiful bay on Valentine’s Day, visiting four local islands and enjoying a splendid day of food, drink, music and lots of sunshine.
We were delighted when our next stop along the Vietnamese coast, heading south, was Hoi An. It was just the kind of place we were hoping to find – beautiful beaches, picturesque riverside setting, historic buildings and lots of great places to eat. There is a peaceful feel to this place as life goes on just that little bit slower. It was just what we needed after the hustle and bustle of Hanoi.
A stroll through the narrow cobble stone streets of Hoi An offers sixteenth century houses, moss-covered ancient temples and pagodas, silk tailors, shoe-makers and, of course, beautiful hand-made lanterns. It came as no surprise to learn that the town has been recognised as a World Heritage site by UNESCO.
What makes it even more attractive is that the central part of the old town has been designated a walking and cycling area, meaning that the manic motorcyclists are not allowed here!
Pretty enough during the day, Hoi Ann really shines after dark when thousands of multi-coloured, hand-made silk lanterns light up the streets. What a pretty picture!
Hue was the national capital of Vietnam until 1945, when the last Emperor of Vietnam, Bao Dại was forced to abdicate and hand over power to a communist government which was established in Hanoi, in the north.
I won’t profess to knowing much about the war in Vietnam, as it happened not only when I was still a kid (and much before Edward was a cub), but from what I can ascertain, whilst Hue’s central position placed it very near the border between North and South Vietnam, the city was located in South Vietnam. During the Battle of Hue in 1968, the city suffered considerable damage, with great loss of life on both sides. These tremendous losses negatively affected the American public’s perception of the war and, thereafter, political support for the war began to wane.
Nowadays, the city of Hue, set on the fragrantly named Perfume River, is well known for its historic monuments, which have earned it a place in UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.
The grounds of the Imperial City were surrounded by huge walls and a moat, known as The Citadel and, within the Imperial City, was an enclosure reserved for royalty. It must have been quite an impressive complex – sadly now mostly destroyed by the ravages of war.
We visited the house of one of the Mandarins of Imperial Court, and the Thien Mu Pagoda, also known as the Heavenly Lady Pagoda.
Ha Long Bay, in the north-east of Vietnam is the country’s most beautiful natural attraction.
Thousands of limestone islets soar from the turquoise water to create a scene that was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list in 1994. If that isn’t enough, Ha Long Bay has also been listed as one of The New 7 Wonders of The Natural World . Now, that doesn’t happen without good reason.
This weekend, we have been fortunate enough to take a cruise around the many islands on a traditional Vietnamese wooden junk.
We were picked up from our hotel in the Old Quarter of Hanoi and, after a four hour journey, arrived at Ha Long City, where we climbed aboard the junk for an overnight cruise around the bay. There were only 15 people on our cruise, sharing the nine luxurious cabins on board. We were treated to an itinerary of activities including a visit to a floating fishing village, Sung Sot cave (also known as Surprising Cave) and a chance to try out kayaking and Vietnamese cooking. We dined on plates (and plates) of good food, artistically presented, and made new friends with fellow travellers.
As usual, Edward had fun steering the boat and helping the crew by splicing the main brace! He really is such a clever little bear!
We flew into Hanoi in north-west Vietnam yesterday morning with Air Asia – winner of the Best Low-Cost Airline for the past three years. The city is absolutely manic yet, at the same time, good sport. The streets are filled to capacity with motor cycles, with only about thirty per cent of vehicles being cars, and almost no system of control at junctions.
There is the constant sound of horns blaring. It appears at first sight that you have no chance of crossing roads and junctions, but in fact there does seem to be some sort of a system where everyone just pushes forward gently and everyone else goes round you, whether you are on foot or riding. It doesn’t look like it would work, but somehow it does. It’s a bit scary at first, but you just have to hold your nerve, walk steadily across the road looking oncoming drivers in the eye and they move around you – hopefully!
There are often three un-helmeted people or whole families perched on one small motorcycle and anything that is carriable is done so, in vast quanitities, including trees, animals, beer barrels – you name it, we’ve seen it!
We are staying in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, close to Lake Hoan Kiem, where yesterday we visited the Temple of the Jade Mountain (Ngoc Son Temple) by walking over the wooden red-painted bridge.
Oh – and another thing – you have the privilege of knowing a couple of multi-millionaires (at least whilst we are in Vietnam). When travelling around south-east Asia, it helps to be carrying US dollars so that you can take them to money-exchanges in each country you visit – and it just so happens that the Vietnamese Dong changes at the rate of 21,000 per US dollar. This morning we changed $150 US dollars (about £100) for over 3 million Vietnamese Dong – yipee we are rich!
We decided to treat ourselves for a few days before we head off to Vietnam, so we are staying at the beautiful Amari Atrium Hotel, whilst we explore the delights of Bangkok.
Instead of taking a taxi from the hotel into the city centre, we opted to take a khlong boat along one of the canals - OH BOY – what an experience.
First on the list was Wat Phra Kaew, Thailand’s most important and sacred temple and home of the Emerald Buddha, together with the adjoining Grand Palace. Wat Phra Kaew is an architechtural wonder of gleaming and gilded stupas, polished orange and green roof tiles, mosaic-encrusted pillars and rich marble pediments. The revered Emerald Buddha (which is actually made of jade) resides in the temple complex’s main chapel. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed with the Emerald Buddha as it is only just over 60 centimetres tall and sits high above the heads of worshipers in a glass case, making it difficult to see.
Next stop was Wat Pho, home of the spectacular Reclining Buddha. Whereas the Emerald Buddha was smaller than we had imagined, it was hard to take in the sheer scale of the Reclining Buddha at 15 metres highand 46 metres long with his right arm supporting his head. Even his feet are 3 metres high and 4.5 metres long and are inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Wow! It’s SO big!
We strolled around Th Khoa San, the infamous backpacker ghetto mentioned in Alex Garland’s book The Beach, but to be honest, we are very glad to be staying where we are!
Well, we’ve been out and about around Chiang Mai for the past nine days and, the top and bottom of it is – we like it, very much! It’s an easy-going place and definitely somewhere we would consider returning to, maybe as a stop-over on our way out to Australia sometime.
I mentioned before that the city still has some original walls and a moat, which make it very attractive. Over the past few days we’ve explored many of the leafy lanes, trying out different bars and restaurants as well as popping our heads into various guest houses – doing some research for next time!
There are lots of temples around the city, but on our final day we took the twenty minute ride by songthaew to Chiang Mai’s most famous temple – Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, built in the fourteenth century. The temple is on Doi Suthep mountain affording great views over Chiang Mai.
On arrival, you are faced with a 300-step climb to the pagodas and the stunning gold stupa, though the first part of the route is lined with stalls to distract your aching legs.
It’s worth the climb!
There are lots of opportunities to see elephants around Chiang Mai. Many offer what is called an “Elephant Show” – which was definitely not the kind of experience we were looking for. We looked at advertising material on display for various elephant parks and then did some online research before we settled on a visit to the Baanchang Elephant Park, about an hour’s drive from Chiang Mai. We felt that at Baanchang we would be treated to an up-close and personal experience with an elephant – including feeding, bare-back riding and bathing, in as ethical manner as was possible given the size and nature of the creatures.
We were collected from our hotel by air-conditioned minibus and taken to the park where we were first of all handed a set of clothing to change into before being given a safety briefing, as well as being told about the elephants and their background. Most of the 19 elephants at the park have been rescued from logging or from performing in elephant shows.
Soon we were having our first encounter with the elephants by feeding them their morning snack of small bunches of bananas and sugar cane. After we had been taught the various commands we would need to be able to control the elephant during our afternoon ride, three elephants of various size were brought before us and we got our first chance of climbing onto their backs to practice our new-found skills.
All too soon it was time for lunch and a rest on the hammocks before setting out into the nearby countryside for our elephant ride. I was surprised how tough it was to just sit and be taken for a ride – especially when the path took us downhill. I used muscles I never knew I had! The elephants skin is very thick and covered in long coarse bristles which are quite rough when they rub on your hands and legs when you are riding them. You can see the bristles on the top of our elephant’s head in the photo below.
The mahouts walked with us all the way, constantly asking if we were alright and taking photographs with our cameras for us.
When we arrived back at the Elephant Park it was time to bathe the elephants. What a joy it was to see the smallest elephant (which was five years old but still looked like a baby) run into the water and roll around in ecstasy, squirting water at everyone! I opted to take the opportunity to go into the water with the elephants to bathe them but Edward chose to stay ashore to take photos because he didn’t want to get his fur wet.
It was an absolute privilege to spend a day with these amazingly gentle creatures. Fantastic memories.
The Tiger Kingdom is located in Mae Rim, about thirty-five minutes by tuk tuk from Chiang Mai. This was to be not only our first outing in a tuk-tuk, but also our first encounter with a tiger – inside it’s enclosure.
So, what’s a tuk-tuk, you ask. Well, doing a similar job to a taxi, Thailand’s tuk-tuk is so named because of the sound of their engine. They are motorized rickshaws and are popular amongst tourists for their novelty value. They are often faster than taxis in heavy traffic as weaving in and out is easier.
Anyway, back to the stars of the show – the tigers. On arrival at the Tiger Kingdom we had to choose whether we wanted to see the babies, the small, medium or large tigers or a combination of any of these. The baby tiger cubs and the large cats were proving extremely popular, with long queues of people waiting, so we opted for the medium sized tigers. These were both male and female and around fourteen months old. They looked pretty big to us!
We were instructed how to behave once in the enclosure and even though usually groups of 10 people at a time were admitted, initially there was just me and Edward, as well as the handler. The three tigers we interacted with were called Mr Ben, Mimi and Chi Chi – a male and two females, though there were other tigers in the enclosure at the same time. I was so proud of Edward – he was a very brave bear.
Our touching tiger experience lasted fifteen to twenty minutes, but the memory of it will stay with us both for ever. This was absolutely unmissable and the highlight of our trip so far.
All that was left was to race another tuk-tuk back to Chiang Mai. We won!
