Saturday, April 14, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
DMZ
Spent today exploring the DMZ - demilitarized zone - about 100km north of Hue. The DMZ runs from east to west along the Ben Hai River and during the war was the battleground demarcation between north and south Vietnam (the 17th parallel). We chose to stick to the well-beaten paths as there are still several warnings about UXOs (unexploded ordinances) in this area. Approximately 7 million tons of bombs were dropped by the US over this part of Vietnam during the war - but only one third actually exploded. Each year, many local civilians still feel the effects.
The Rockpile can be seen from the main road. It looks like any other mountain, but between 1966 and 1968 it was a very important observation post and artillery base for the US army. At 240m, it could only be reached by helicopter.
Next stop was the Khe Sanh Combat Base (less than 20km from the Laos border) - site of the battle of Khe Sanh which took place between 21 January and 9 July 1968. Approximately 500 American and 10,000 North Vietnamese troops died here. You will see from the photos that the airfield is very sparse - to this day, nothing will grow in the soil.
From Khe Sanh we travelled to the Hien Luong Bridge which spans the Ben Hai River. We walked across the bridge, a luxury not afforded to locals during the war. Photos at a nearby museum show the surrounding land resembling the moon's crater-ridden surface at the height of the battles - such was the severity of bombing 40 years ago.
Finished our day with a visit to Vinh Moc tunnels - a subterranean village which local people created to escape the US bombs. The village consists of 2km of hand-dug rabbit warren tunnels (23m deep at the deepest points) containing bedrooms, meeting rooms and even a maternity ward. Those born in the tunnels are around 43 - 45 years old today...
Back for a final night in Hue before heading to Hoi An tomorrow. Feeling very satisfied - another bucket list item officially ticked today...
The Rockpile can be seen from the main road. It looks like any other mountain, but between 1966 and 1968 it was a very important observation post and artillery base for the US army. At 240m, it could only be reached by helicopter.
Next stop was the Khe Sanh Combat Base (less than 20km from the Laos border) - site of the battle of Khe Sanh which took place between 21 January and 9 July 1968. Approximately 500 American and 10,000 North Vietnamese troops died here. You will see from the photos that the airfield is very sparse - to this day, nothing will grow in the soil.
From Khe Sanh we travelled to the Hien Luong Bridge which spans the Ben Hai River. We walked across the bridge, a luxury not afforded to locals during the war. Photos at a nearby museum show the surrounding land resembling the moon's crater-ridden surface at the height of the battles - such was the severity of bombing 40 years ago.
Finished our day with a visit to Vinh Moc tunnels - a subterranean village which local people created to escape the US bombs. The village consists of 2km of hand-dug rabbit warren tunnels (23m deep at the deepest points) containing bedrooms, meeting rooms and even a maternity ward. Those born in the tunnels are around 43 - 45 years old today...
Back for a final night in Hue before heading to Hoi An tomorrow. Feeling very satisfied - another bucket list item officially ticked today...
Monday, April 9, 2012
Sapa to Hue
Spent our second day in Sapa exploring more of the villages in the north west of Vietnam plus some of the surrounding scenery. Particularly enjoyed Ta Phan village - home of the Red Dao people. These people spend their days trying to sell vegetables and handicrafts, yet the road through the village is made of pure, natural marble! Perhaps they'll be discovered by the next Michelangelo and will go the same way as Carrara...
Up early the next morning for our day train back to Hanoi. Most people opt for the night train between Hanoi and Sapa in both directions (a great idea if time is of the essence), but we chose to do the night train up and the day train back - to maximize the sightseeing opportunity. As opposed to the night train, the day train is not full of tourists, but instead is very much a local experience. We had a great time (for 11 hours!!!) sitting with the Vietnamese people, sharing food and trying ever so hard to understand each other...
Arrived in Hanoi quite late in the evening and so spent the next day exploring our immediate surroundings (the Old Quarter). This is the Vietnam everyone dreams of - conical hats everywhere - cyclos, ladies with baskets of vegetables, stall after stall of pig, chicken, and every other kind of meat one could imagine...
Spent the next day at Halong Bay - absolutely beautiful. Despite being on the tourist trail, we found the bay very peaceful and certainly something to see. We were lucky enough to have the huge junk to ourselves which added to the solitude.
The following day was a little different - two destinations (Tam Coc and Van Long) both featuring the same sort of limestone karsts which jut out above Halong Bay - however these karsts rise majestically above rice paddies. Transport in both places is a small canoe, rowed through the paddies by a local woman. In Tam Coc, the lady rows with her feet! In Van Long the waterways through the rice paddies are so shallow, the rower shifts between rowing and punting. Relatively undiscovered, these destinations make for rewarding days out of the city. The weather was a little drizzly (the first rain we've encountered so far), but nothing a couple of $1 conical hats and 50cent ponchos from the local market couldn't fix!
Spent our final day in Hanoi exploring local sights - Ho Chi Minh mausoleum (Uncle Ho lying there for all to see), the Temple of Literature (dedicated to Confucius) and the Hoa Loa Prison (also known as the Hanoi Hilton by American POWs) - quite confronting. Found a street lined with optometrists who can read your prescription from your current glasses and make up new specs within an hour! We both had new pairs made for around $40 each - and they're perfect! Attended an Easter Sunday service at the Catholic cathedral in Hanoi - a very different experience. The Mass was sung in Vietnamese. Standing room only with people spilling out onto the plaza in front of the cathedral. Tiny plastic stools are provided where possible to facilitate comfort...
Left Hanoi mid morning the next day and flew to Hue - our 'jumping off' point for the DMZ.
Spent our first afternoon in Hue exploring the Citadel. Built in the eart 1800s, this complex has known much destruction (particularly during the American/Vietnam War). Slowly, it is being rebuilt, but is certainly something to see in the meantime.
Tomorrow we had out of Hue to the DMZ - the Vinh Moc Tunnels and Khe Sanh. Can't wait!
Up early the next morning for our day train back to Hanoi. Most people opt for the night train between Hanoi and Sapa in both directions (a great idea if time is of the essence), but we chose to do the night train up and the day train back - to maximize the sightseeing opportunity. As opposed to the night train, the day train is not full of tourists, but instead is very much a local experience. We had a great time (for 11 hours!!!) sitting with the Vietnamese people, sharing food and trying ever so hard to understand each other...
Arrived in Hanoi quite late in the evening and so spent the next day exploring our immediate surroundings (the Old Quarter). This is the Vietnam everyone dreams of - conical hats everywhere - cyclos, ladies with baskets of vegetables, stall after stall of pig, chicken, and every other kind of meat one could imagine...
Spent the next day at Halong Bay - absolutely beautiful. Despite being on the tourist trail, we found the bay very peaceful and certainly something to see. We were lucky enough to have the huge junk to ourselves which added to the solitude.
The following day was a little different - two destinations (Tam Coc and Van Long) both featuring the same sort of limestone karsts which jut out above Halong Bay - however these karsts rise majestically above rice paddies. Transport in both places is a small canoe, rowed through the paddies by a local woman. In Tam Coc, the lady rows with her feet! In Van Long the waterways through the rice paddies are so shallow, the rower shifts between rowing and punting. Relatively undiscovered, these destinations make for rewarding days out of the city. The weather was a little drizzly (the first rain we've encountered so far), but nothing a couple of $1 conical hats and 50cent ponchos from the local market couldn't fix!
Spent our final day in Hanoi exploring local sights - Ho Chi Minh mausoleum (Uncle Ho lying there for all to see), the Temple of Literature (dedicated to Confucius) and the Hoa Loa Prison (also known as the Hanoi Hilton by American POWs) - quite confronting. Found a street lined with optometrists who can read your prescription from your current glasses and make up new specs within an hour! We both had new pairs made for around $40 each - and they're perfect! Attended an Easter Sunday service at the Catholic cathedral in Hanoi - a very different experience. The Mass was sung in Vietnamese. Standing room only with people spilling out onto the plaza in front of the cathedral. Tiny plastic stools are provided where possible to facilitate comfort...
Left Hanoi mid morning the next day and flew to Hue - our 'jumping off' point for the DMZ.
Spent our first afternoon in Hue exploring the Citadel. Built in the eart 1800s, this complex has known much destruction (particularly during the American/Vietnam War). Slowly, it is being rebuilt, but is certainly something to see in the meantime.
Tomorrow we had out of Hue to the DMZ - the Vinh Moc Tunnels and Khe Sanh. Can't wait!
Friday, April 6, 2012
Monday, April 2, 2012
Phnom Penh to Siem Reap and on to Sapa
Arranged with a friend of Nin's to drive us from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap (6 hour journey) in the north of Cambodia. On the way we passed through many interesting villages and towns - and had some interesting 'traffic related' moments. Being in a car which passes a truck, while it's passing a motorbike which is passing a bullock train when there's another oncoming truck is not something we're used to! All this - and on a two lane road... But we made it...!
Spent our first afternoon in Siem Reap visiting (via tuk-tuk) Angkor Wat at sunset - beautiful.
Arranged with our tuk-tuk driver to meet us at 5am the next day for a sunrise visit to Angkor Wat. What an experience.
Continued on and spent the next 10 hours visiting the temples immediately around Siem Reap. We climbed to the top of temples wherever possible, explored dark, beautifully carved corridors, walked around walls overgrown with vines and trees, burned incense with Buddhists and generally drank in the atmosphere. A wonderful day.
The next day we arranged with a tuk-tuk driver we met on the street to help us achieve a few goals:
1. Visit a village school
2. Visit a monastery
3. Visit the floating village on the Tonle Sap lake.
We achieved all three and weren't disappointed.
The school visit was really enlightening. So many poor students ride their bikes (often a very long way) from surrounding villages to attend. Yet for every one of those there are many more who do not attend. Instead, they wait outside the temples to sell trinkets, postcards, books, food and drinks to tourists. And so it goes on...
The floating village was an eye-opener. Entire families live on floating houses on the Tonle Sap (a huge inland lake) because they can't afford to build on land. There is a floating police station, floating school, and a new floating hospital is being built. On the edge of the lake are houses which are made for dry land, but when the rains come and the lake rises the owners have to move the houses to even drier land... All in all, Siem Reap was a real experience.
The next day we flew from Siem Reap, via Laos, and back into Vietnam (Hanoi). We had just enought time to cross Hanoi in a taxi and make it to the train station for our overnight train to Lao Cai - in the north-west of Vietnam 2km from the Chinese border. We had booked a very comfortable sleeping cabin, so we were quite refreshed by the time we arrive in Lao Cai (5.30am next morning).
Took a mini-bus the remaining 40km to our next destination - the hill town of Sapa.
Spent the day trekking from the heights of Sapa down into the valley, with a fantastic guide (Su) visiting the H'mong hill tribe people. We slid down mountains, walked across many corn terraces - beautifully carved into the hillside - and across rice paddies. We walked through villages, sharing the road with pigs, water buffalo, chickens and ducks. We had lunch with the locals in a H'mong village. Vietnam is such a diverse country - around every corner there's an adventure. We're really enjoying our time in the north-west!
Spent our first afternoon in Siem Reap visiting (via tuk-tuk) Angkor Wat at sunset - beautiful.
Arranged with our tuk-tuk driver to meet us at 5am the next day for a sunrise visit to Angkor Wat. What an experience.
Continued on and spent the next 10 hours visiting the temples immediately around Siem Reap. We climbed to the top of temples wherever possible, explored dark, beautifully carved corridors, walked around walls overgrown with vines and trees, burned incense with Buddhists and generally drank in the atmosphere. A wonderful day.
The next day we arranged with a tuk-tuk driver we met on the street to help us achieve a few goals:
1. Visit a village school
2. Visit a monastery
3. Visit the floating village on the Tonle Sap lake.
We achieved all three and weren't disappointed.
The school visit was really enlightening. So many poor students ride their bikes (often a very long way) from surrounding villages to attend. Yet for every one of those there are many more who do not attend. Instead, they wait outside the temples to sell trinkets, postcards, books, food and drinks to tourists. And so it goes on...
The floating village was an eye-opener. Entire families live on floating houses on the Tonle Sap (a huge inland lake) because they can't afford to build on land. There is a floating police station, floating school, and a new floating hospital is being built. On the edge of the lake are houses which are made for dry land, but when the rains come and the lake rises the owners have to move the houses to even drier land... All in all, Siem Reap was a real experience.
The next day we flew from Siem Reap, via Laos, and back into Vietnam (Hanoi). We had just enought time to cross Hanoi in a taxi and make it to the train station for our overnight train to Lao Cai - in the north-west of Vietnam 2km from the Chinese border. We had booked a very comfortable sleeping cabin, so we were quite refreshed by the time we arrive in Lao Cai (5.30am next morning).
Took a mini-bus the remaining 40km to our next destination - the hill town of Sapa.
Spent the day trekking from the heights of Sapa down into the valley, with a fantastic guide (Su) visiting the H'mong hill tribe people. We slid down mountains, walked across many corn terraces - beautifully carved into the hillside - and across rice paddies. We walked through villages, sharing the road with pigs, water buffalo, chickens and ducks. We had lunch with the locals in a H'mong village. Vietnam is such a diverse country - around every corner there's an adventure. We're really enjoying our time in the north-west!
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