Vietnam

Several years ago when my eldest, L, finished her law degree, she had the whole summer to play with before starting her Bar course. Not having taken a Gap Year before university, she decided to spend it travelling. Her first port of call was Vietnam, and she had a wonderful time staying in hostels and exploring on a tight budget. I can remember collecting her from Heathrow on her return and hearing all about her adventure; it sounded amazing.

Forward 10 years and, having previously visited Thailand and Cambodia and loved both, R and I decided that Vietnam might be a good place for our next holiday. Encouraged by L, R bought me a guide book for my birthday in December and set about planning a 2 week trip. Apparently, the recommended way to see the country is to start in the south and head north, the scenery becoming more spectacular that way. True to form, we did it the other way round! Our itinerary involved flying into Hanoi, driving to Halong Bay to do a mini cruise, travelling back to Hanoi to pick up a sleeper train to Hue, driving to Hoi An, taking a domestic flight to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), and then flying home from there. It was a busy 2 weeks. We arrived home 2 days ago and if I tell you that I am writing this at 3.30am, you will realise that I am still being beaten by the jet lag stick!

We had a wonderful time. The Vietnamese people were lovely, the scenery spectacular, the history fascinating and the food divine. My poor old gluten sensitive tum had a much easier time than it did in Japan. Apart from the flight out (probably owing more to pre-flight nerves) and one occasion near the end, it was miraculously trouble free for the entire trip.

Here then is part one of our Vietnamese adventure. Apologies in advance for some of the dodgy photos - no doubt I will forget to rotate some as usual but, more importantly, I failed to notice that my camera lens needed cleaning, resulting in visible dark patches on some of the shots. Annoying but Hey ho!

Wednesday April 8th

Not being one of nature's natural travellers, I had spent months worrying about our upcoming trip. I enjoy holidays when they actually start and love having visited places, but the run up is always torture. I detest heights, and consequently flying, and spent the night before our departure listening to meditations to calm flight nerves and boning up on the Tapping Technique, which supposedly reduces anxiety by combining focus on emotions with acupressure stimulation. 

Needless to say, the UK was experiencing unprecedented high temperatures. The few days before our departure were glorious. The garden, having been given a pre-2 week neglect spruce up, was looking lovely. I had ordered some capillary matting for the greenhouse and that, plus a watchful eye by our wonderful neighbours, would hopefully be enough to protect my precious seedlings during our absence. Despite that, I didn't want to leave home.

The war in Iran and consequent fuel shortages and price rises was an extra worry. Would the already long flight have to divert around the area involved, thereby being longer still? Would there be enough fuel to get us home? My overactive, catastrophising brain kept me open eyed and worrying into the wee small hours. Self indulgent, over-privileged claptrap, all of it. There was a war on, people's lives were in danger, and there was I, worrying about how it would affect a holiday on which I was extremely lucky to be going. A holiday for goodness sake! Add self loathing to the mix, and very little sleep was had that night.

Our flight to Noi Bai International in Hanoi departed from Heathrow at 19.35. I was in 2 minds about our seats. According to R, there was little choice remaining when he initially booked them. I tend to prefer an aisle seat - I feel less claustrophobic, it's easier to access the loo without disturbing anybody else, and I'm far away from the window so I can pretend that I'm on a train and not 30,000 feet in the air. This time, we had a window seat and a middle seat. I actually chose the window one, because I could close the blind (actually, it was a clever button that darkened the window instead) and rest my head on my travel cushion against the side of the plane. It was actually very comfortable and, if it wasn't for the loo access, would be my seat of choice in the future. Apart from the length (11.5 hours), the flight wasn't too bad. There was little turbulence, the food was actually quite good (although I didn't fancy any breakfast when it appeared as my stomach was playing up), and the selection of films was okay. One slight issue was that 1 of the toilets was out of order, resulting in more queueing than usual.

Arriving at Hanoi, we immediately bought a local Sim at the airport. It was relatively cheap and lasted for 15 days, so covered the duration of our stay. Mr. Tho the driver was waiting for us, and we were soon heading for our first hotel. Incidentally, the driver had an obvious cold and coughed and sneezed all the way. R and I exchanged anxious looks as we tried to breathe through our ears! A cold was not what we wanted on holiday. This proved to be quite an issue for the entire 2 weeks - we were exposed to more coughing etc. than was ideal. At one point, a man actually sprayed my arm and we had to scuttle to the nearest cafe so I could give it a good wash! I commented to R that it would be a miracle if we didn't come down with something - luckily, we had returned home before R succumbed. He is now suffering from a real stinker. My immune system is still holding out, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time!

The Hotel Du Lac was very nice. The staff were very welcoming, greeting us with a lemongrass and ginger cocktail and some dried apricots whilst we checked in. Their English was excellent and they were very informative. Despite being an internal room with no view, our room was clean and comfortable. The shower and loo, however, were on display and some fiddling with a tricky blind was necessary to maintain decency! 

After a quick nap, we headed off to Train Street for dinner. I first heard about this particular street on 'Bill Bailey's Vietnam' - a programme that, with excellent timing, aired in the few weeks before our holiday. Cafes and restaurants cluster alongside ( and I mean RIGHT alongside) the tracks. For safety reasons, pedestrians are limited and we were escorted by a very nice lady to one of the cafes. Here, we enjoyed vegetable fried rice while waiting for the 2 scheduled trains to appear - 1 from either direction, 10 minutes apart. R ordered a beer, and the waiter showed us how to place the bottle cap on the track to make a souvenir as the train trundled over it. 5 minutes before the train appeared, a whistle blew and the waiters folded the tables and ensured that the customers were safely back from the track. It was quite an experience - the train whizzed through, close enough to touch (some brave people actually did stroke it as it passed by). After both trains had gone through, the tables were reinstated and dinner continued!

Loki the cafe cat. He had a little harness to keep him off the tracks but liked to come and sit on a seat to see the trains go through. Maybe, with all that fur, he enjoyed the cool draught?

Our souvenir Tiger beer bottle cap

We returned to the hotel as I needed the loo, but then wandered out again to explore the old quarter further. R was still hungry, so we used the Happy Cow app to find a vegan restaurant and shared some stir-fried veg with rice crackers:

The thing that struck us most about the area was the traffic - there were motorcycles galore and crossing the roads was quite an experience. In our naivety, we found a crossing and waited for the lights to change and the green man to appear. Appear he did, but it made not one jot of difference as everyone continued to surge by. In the end, after watching the locals, we got the hang of it. Take a deep breath, raise your hand and step bravely out into the oncoming traffic. Keep a steady and predictable pace and the bikes simply separate and drive round you as you cross. It was initially terrifying but after 2 weeks were old pros. 

Friday 10th

After a good night's sleep, we enjoyed a very nice buffet breakfast at the hotel, with pho and vegetable fried rice. 

As it was quite a small hotel, the staff remembered everyone's name (Mr. B!). All seemed to have Anglicised names on their badges - I didn't manage to work out if they were their actual names, or if it was just to make it easier for the guests. Aiden was particularly helpful, giving us recommendations of places to visit during our stay.

If Japan was the holiday of Google Translate, Vietnam was the holiday of the Grab car. Their equivalent of Uber, it was quick and very cheap. We used it frequently and in every place we visited. Never having needed the Uber App in the UK, I don't know if they have the same safeguards. Grab gives you the opportunity to do an audible recording of the trip, asks if you are okay or need them to notify the police if you stop for too long (we discovered this feature on our drive to another city, when the electric car had to stop to charge), and allows you to share your car details and journey with a friend/relative. If Uber doesn't have these features, it really should. It was as if the whole thing had been designed with women's safety in mind.

After breakfast, we took a Grab car to Hoan Kiem Lake, which links the Old Quarter with the French Quarter. Legend has it that, in the 15th century, heaven sent Emperor Le Loi a magical sword, which he used to drive the Chinese from Vietnam. After the war, a giant, golden turtle grabbed the sword and disappeared into the lake to return it to its divine owners. This inspired the name Hoan Kiem Lake - Lake of the Returned Sword. 

NgocSon Temple (Temple of the Jade Mountain) sits on a small island in the middle of the lake, connected to the shore by an elegant scarlet bridge - Cau The Huc. This is constructed in classical Vietnamese style and is illuminated in the evening.

Inside the temple, you could buy examples of writing on banners. I'm not sure what it said, but it was very pretty and great fun to watch!

We sat for a while in the shade, looking out over the lake and listening to the birdsong. It was very peaceful.

Returning to the shore, we decided to take a cycle rickshaw ride around the old quarter. It was really fun, if a little bumpy, but quite expensive.

Next stop was Hoa Lo Prison, ironically named 'The Hanoi Hilton' by US prisoners of war during the American (Vietnam) War. Most of the exhibits, including a gruesome guillotine, date back to the 1950s,  and concentrate on the Vietnamese struggle for independence from France. It also shows displays focusing on the American pilots who were incarcerated there. The late Senator John McCain (The Republican nominee for the US presidency in 2008) was shot down in 1967. The locals rescued him from Truc Bach Lake and he was imprisoned there. The complex, built by the French in 1896, was intended to house 450 inmates. By the 1930s, there were close to 2000. Security was poor, with many escapes - some through the sewers in Shawshank Redemption style!

MC stands for Maison Centrale - the official name of the prison:

Models showing cramped conditions:

Lunchtime and a very nice cheap lunch with a delicious (and the first of many) mango smoothie:

Aiden had recommended the Temple of Literature. which honours Vietnam's finest scholars. Founded in 1070, the Temple is dedicated to the philosopher Confucius, and was the site of Vietnam's first university. It is depicted on the 100,000 Dong note. in 1484, the Emperor ordered stones to be erected recording the names, place of birth and achievements of exceptional scholars. These remain, standing on top of turtle statues, denoting longevity.

After returning briefly to the hotel to apply more insect repellent, we headed off to the Water Puppet Theatre. Dating back 1000 years, water puppetry was born in the rice growing regions of Vietnam. Accompanied by traditional folk music, the puppeteers are submerged waist deep in water behind a screen as they manipulate the puppets on the watery stage. I didn't take photos during the show, but it was excellent. My favourites being the ducks being chased by a wily fox, and a boy playing the flute on the back of a water buffalo. 

After the show, we headed out of the theatre, past the now illuminated bridge over the lake, to the night market. Here we bought our first drinky coconut of the holiday, along with some very cheap pop up cards - birthdays are now covered for the rest of the year. The cards are unusual and much cheaper than those from W H Smith (or whatever it's called these days!).

Then it was back to the hotel for a good night's sleep. More Vietnam posts will follow shortly. In the meantime, I am off to play Florence Nightingale and make R a hot cup of tea to ease his sore throat.

Toodle pip for now. x