Vietnam - North and Central

Three weeks for the Chinese New Year from 14^th January was an opportunity to get away from the cold, damp, and occasional snow showers of a dismal winter in Nanjing.  (We have had fine sunny days since returning here too.)

More photos can been here.

Landing in Hanoi via a change of planes in Hong Kong we welcomed the much warmer temperatures of around 19°C. Hanoi and the rest of Vietnam is the land of scooters and small motorbikes, like around 25-30 million of them for a population of 90 million! Also it is the land of the street vendors with everything carried on a bamboo pole or a bike.

Hanoi street.

We arrived in Hanoi during a rather wet spell. Underground wiring in not a feature of the infrastructure here nor is it in most of Asia. This was near the mausoleum to Ho Chi Minh.

Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum



Ho Chi Minh's quarters

Ho's living quarters were on the upstairs part of this building. His office was at ground level. 

Uncle Ho’s office

Great throngs of Vietnamese (from the north) pay homage to Ho at the mausoleum and still openly weep when filing past his glass coffin. His office shown here was where he directed the Viet Minh against the French then the Viet Cong. We were to see many reminders of the Vietnam wars during our travels through the country.

No visit to Hanoi would be complete without a visit to "The Hanoi Hilton". During the independence struggle those Vietnamese who opposed the communist regime were held in rather shocking and inhumane conditions here. The so called “tiger cages” are still there for all to see as are the shackles etc.

The term “Hanoi Hilton” was used because this was where American pilots shot down were kept in better conditions than those other prisoners. Among the Americans held prisoner included Bob Kerry and Senator McCain – both Presidential hopefuls during past US elections.



Hoa Lo Prison – “The Hanoi Hilton”



Rebels were shackled here.

Guardians at a nearby shrine.

Gate at the Temple of Literature, Hanoi

These two girls were posing for a professional photographer, at the Temple of Literature, and didn’t mind my taking a pic.

One of Vietnam’s highlights has to be Halong Bay. Although 180km from Hanoi, it was  long way over rather poor roads taking around 4 hours each way. Being winter time, atmospheric conditions were poor with low cloud and a completely washed out sky. Good photos being near impossible under those conditions.



Kiwis in Halong Bay

Hundreds of junks ply the tourist trade around the bay offering from a half day to 3 day trips staying on board. We did the half day trip which was enough. Although it looks great from the brochures and Internet, the amount of rubbish in the water and the sea as open sewers around the floating villages was enough to make us pleased we opted for the day trip from Hanoi. Food hygiene standards on the junks is another issue too as we found out a few hours after lunch – it was the spring rolls!



Limestone cave lit up.

Must see in Hanoi: Ø the War Remnants Museum. This gives a matter of fact view of the Vietnamese side of events; if you are an American you would not be proud of how they conducted themselves with things like Agent Orange, napalm and cluster bombs. The effects of these are still able to be seen on the streets with people who are missing limbs, showing signs of birth defects and the scars left by exposure to chemical warfare. Begging to live is a way of life for many. Ø The water puppets. Ø The Women's museum, History and revolution museums.

Also worth considering is a day trip out to Hou Lu and Tam Coc for a trip on the water through the karsts. (3 hours by bus each way.) A bike ride is included through the villages and well worth it .

On the river at Tam Coc

Our boat lady

One of three limestone arches

An hour’s flight to Danang and 40 minutes by taxi past China Beach saw us at the delightful Nhi Nhi Hotel in Hoi An. Hoi An seemed to escape the war with the old town being the main attraction.

We arrived in Hoi An a few days before Tet, the Vietnamese New Year celebrations. The town came alive at night with all the lights and lanterns along the river. Not too many tourists, as it was winter (around 23°C) around and as a result, plenty of spaces available and restaurants of which there was an excellent selection.

The town was lit up for the Tet New Year.

There seemed to have been a lantern competition for Tet that schools had entered. There were dozens of different designs along the river bank.

Traditional fishing boat at Hoi An

This one is just for show as this part of the river is blocked off between two bridges although the the bridge behind here does have span that can or has been able to be raised.

Hoi An Market

Market vendor

The Japanese Bridge

Temple remains at My Son.

Temple remains at My Son.

A day trip from Hoi An out to the UNESCO World Heritage site at My Son (pronounced “me cern”) to the ruins of some temples. These were built from 200AD and were extensively bombed by B52s because the Viet Cong used this area as a camp as it is close to the mountains and the Ho Chi Minh trail. We could have missed these ruins as we saw dozens of spectacular ruins at Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

From Hoi An it was another short flight down to Ho Chi Minh City – still affectionately known as Saigon. The Vietnam war was all about unification of the country, the south did not want communism, hence everyone calls the city by its former name.

More photos can been here.

Saigon has its own blog entry.