Hoi An

 

Good morning Vietnam. 

We couldn’t resist it, we watched Good Morning Vietnam last night on Amazon Prime. Released in 1988, but still worth watching. The brilliant Robin Williams at his best.

A free day. Just the beach, pool and bar to keep us entertained. It’s winter in Vietnam, The temperature is around 28 degrees Celsius in Hoi An during November. It’s their rainy season, but like many countries globally the weather is not as expected. Only the occasional shower to break up the sunshine, but perfect weather for two tourists to spend a few hours reading books. Amazon Audible for Janice. I’m working through the Neil Stephenson Cryptonomicon, which is a brilliant book, but 900 pages of print which needs a magnifying glass to read, so at my reading pace, I’m unlikely to finish this holiday or even the next. 

Dinner was in down town Hoi An, which required our first taxi journey for a night out this holiday. Hoi An is a port town, which has become well know for lantern’s and river boat journeys. From what we could see this has predominately become a tourist town. The markets, bars and resturants had more europeans than we have seen previously. But it had a good feel to the area and as usual it felt safe and very welcoming.

A fairly uneventful evening. A really nice and spicy Thai meal and then taxi back to the hotel. A full day ahead tomorrow exploring the area, so early to bed. 

Good night Vietnam. 

Home and Hue

We had a day in Hue (pronounced Hway). The ancient Imperial City for the Emperors of Vietnam. The last Emperor resigned in protest [encouraged by Ho Chi Minh] in 1945 as Vietnam attempted to take back control, following the Japanese invasion during the Second World War and a move by the French to reimpose its colonialism when the war ended. Our first stop was the walled Citadel, where the last Emperors resided. This was the scene of one of the most bloodiest battles during the Vietnam War [ The Vietnamese refer to it as the American War]. In 1967 Ho Chi Minh wanted to bring the war to a conclusion before he died. The Tet offensive was a series of coordinated attacks on the South controlled Vietnamese cities (100 cities), which started during the Luna New Year in 1968 when many of the South Vietnamese troops were celebrating. The attack on Hue was one of the most intensive and bloody. As we walked around this ancient city, it seemed difficult to comprehend what had happened. Our guide Ling was born after the war and very philosophical about what had happened. He explained later that his grandfather had fought in the war. He was only 5ft tall, most likely due to his poor diet, and struggled to lift his AK47 which had be designed for larger Russian soldiers. But in their view it was a war of liberation. This was clearly all in the past and Vietnam has a incredibly bright future. This is a country which will only grow stronger and I suspect a great a place to invest over the next 50 years.

From the Citadel we explored a number of the temples, Joss Stick and traditional hat makers, followed by a trip down the Perfume River. 

Khai Dinh Mausoleum 

Our evening re-enforced how much has changed in Vietnam. Whether change is all for the good is hard to say, but this is a country which is developing fast. In the centre of Hue they pedestrianise the roads in the evening. Heineken were launching their new beer in Vietnam, Larue Smooth. A full stage was set up to promote it and some of the biggest regional pop stars were hired to perform. We had no idea who they were, but they were great fun. All the time the rain fell, while everyone danced in shorts and tee shirts. Asian night life was in full swing.

 

We have to thank Heineken for an evening of fun, They handed out beer and merchandise while we watched the evenings entertainment. There were many europeans enjoying the party and we even bumped even into a dutch couple who were on our cruise in Bai Tu Long Bay. We really felt like backpackers 😀

Bai Tu Long Bay Islands

Bai Tu Long  Il

Our journey took us 3 hours drive from Hanio to the port of Ha Long to join our overnight cruise to the area of Bai Tu Long Bay, which is a coastal area made up of hundreds of islands and islets. It is part of the Ha Long Bay islands which is an UNESCO world heritage site and has a total of 1969 islands. An amazing and beautiful place, which is a perfect setting for a James Bond closing scene. It’s difficult to describe in words, so leaving to pictures rather than words: 

Our lead for the journey was the very energetic Sunday (his Nickname), whose objective was to keep us busy and entertained. Our fist adventure was Kayaking, paddling out among the islands to find a secluded beach. Once there we could swim freely in remarkably warm water.

After a good nights sleep, we had another early morning. Our guide, Sunday, offered a 6am Tai Chi for beginners lesson on the top deck as the sun rose. This was followed by breakfast and a tour of an island with a hidden cave called Thiem Cohn Son Cave.

                                                  Our Guide Sunday - who wanted to make it a funday.. 

 

The cruise finished around midday, just in time for us to say goodbye to our new friends and meet our new guide called Leo for the journey to Ninh Binh, which is an inland area of beauty, with Paddy Fields surrounded by amazing scenery. 

Water buffalo enjoying their bath

So ends an an amazing, but whirlwind 24rs. A little sleep is needed as we have a 6am cycle ride in the morning 😏

 

Hanoi Vietnam

 

Our time in India is over. We took an over night flight via a very busy Vietjet flight from New Delhi to Hanoi, arriving at 5am. Before leaving Hanoi airport, we bought two pre paid SIM cards, only £11 each for 30days, offering local calls and 4 Gb data per day, which means we can stay in contact if we loose each other, 

We had a driver organised to meet us at the airport, which was about a 30 minute journey. Hanoi is a large developing city with a population of about 8.3 million. We have flown 3.5 hours east to a much more tropical country, but there are a number of similarities to Delhi. The first is the polution, a thin haze of smog sitting above the city and second is the dependence on motor bikes. Vietnam was controlled by the French from the mid 19th century until the 1950's, which ended after a long war with the French, then came the American Vietnam war. They now have their independence. It’s a communist country, but feels very relaxed. As we drove across Hanoi city at 6 am on a Sunday morning, it was busy with people exercising - Runninng, Cycling, Tai Chi and Badminton. We drove past the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, which was busy with parades and people looking to pay tribute to their great historical leader. It feels like a country which has embrassed communism and not a repressed communist state, which is how the west tends to view communism. Our first guided trip was organised for 9am, which was not the best organisation after a night without sleep. After a quick a snooze and breakfast we met our enthusiastic guide who marched us off around the city. You have to be confident and brave as a pedestrian. There is a constant flow of cars and motorbikes. Pelican type crossings are at all the major junctions, but these seem to be advisory only, so our guide demonstrated the tecnique of gently holding out your arm and then walking into the oncoming traffc. Walk with confidence, don't stop and the traffic will find its way around you. A bit like Moses crossing the Red Sea. A little dsconcerting, but oh well, when in Hanoi.

Our guide could see we were tired and stopped for coffee. At this point she attempted to give us our first lesson in Vietnamese. She soon realised that she would need patience with her new students, but she seemed to be up for the challenge, even though we were showing no enthusiasm and struggling with English through our tiredness. 

For those interested, a few words: Hello : xin chào, Good bye : Tạm biệt and if you need a motorbike : xe máy.

Once our Vietnamese lesson was over we identified a restaurant for the evening for traditional Vietnamese Noddles. Beef Noodles - 130,000 Vietnamese Dong (approx £5 for us both).

As we are in Hanoi - the drink of the day, Cheers

Completing the Triangle

Jaipur to New Delhi

 

Today we completed the last leg of the Golden Triangle. A 250 km drive from Jaipur to New Delhi. Our driver Lallu was early as usual and greeted us with his normal smile. He was always keen to please, The last 2 years have been tough for him, the tourist trade dried up during Covid times and we were his first customer since their lock down ended. I’m sure there was no Furlough from his company, so you can only wonder how his family survived. 

The journey took around 5 hours and relatively uneventful. The oncoming lorries, people strolling across the road and the occasional water buffalo wandering up the highway just seemed like a normal day in India. The surprise of the journey was a car getting pulled over by the Police for jumping a red light. An instant fine via a portable credit card reader and then he was on his way again. We did chuckle, you can happily drive your lorry the wrong way down a road, but if you dare to jump a red light, the police are there to fine you, 

Our driver Lallu and a Lorry travelling the wrong way down the road. 

Reflecting on our 500km car journey we did not see a single road accident. Rarely do we drive on the M25 without seeing an accident, so there something to be said for organised Chaos. 

As we approach New Delhi the blue sky is replaced by the smog haze over this sprawling city, It seems that the story of the smog coming from the field burning seems less probable, It’s an industrial city with millions of carbon burning vehicle’s. With millions of people in poverty, the country needs the industrial base, but it shows the global challenge we face if we are going to reduce carbon emissions. 

Our journey ends at the Le Meridian New Delhi. An American hotel for the night with running hot water, a pool and a gym, just what these two soft westerners needed. We have loved every minute of our journey so far, but it has highlighted how we take our life style for granted and how lucky were are. 

After mentioning being lucky; the drink of the day, Gin and Tonic with a dash of lime. Cheers

  

Jaipur - Ragasthan

It was the day to explore Jaipur. On the plus side we had no long car journey and a later alarm call than the previous days. On the minus side, our alarm still went off at 7am. Lallu, our driver from the prevous day, was again our driver, working with our tourist guide Odu. What Odu does not know about Jaipur, we suspect is not worth knowing. His mind of information was probably wasted on us, but he was a great host. First stop Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds) a pink sandstone facade emulating a Palace, built with numerous windows and stone screens to allow cool air (Hawa) to circulate for the Women of the Royal Palace to remain concealed, but still see the city life beyond the palace. 

Hawa Mahal - Palace of Winds

Then onto the wholesale fruit and flower market of Jaipur. An amazing market that provides for the city and has every ingredient to cure your ailments or alternatively make a curry hot enough to forget about them. We arrived late morning when a lot of the trade was completed, but there was still a wonderful buzz around the whole market. 

Next stop on our whirl wind tour was the Amber Fort, which is close to the amazing Panna Meena Ka Kund Deep Well, which is 200 metres deep, built over 1000 years ago to supply the Town of Amer water.

Up the hill from the Deep Well is Amber Fort, which is both architecturally amazing and contains a number of construction innovations, including a water based cooling system  (an ancient air conditioning system) and Turkish steam baths. 

Then onto the Jaipur  observatory (Jantar Mantar) -  this has some incredible astronomical devices, including the largest Sundail in the world, created in the early 18th century.  It can measure time to the accuracy of two seconds.

After all the sight seeing, we decided to try something a little different. We headed to the Polo bar at Rambagh Palace (thanks Divya). This hotel has Royal connections, providing a very different view of India. It felt like we had just walked into the East India Company during the Colonial occupation. As we left we noticed a vintage S class 1961 Mercedes, which we found out to be owned by the Royal Family. This car was immaculate and clearly had not been driven on the streets of Jaipur. The proud keeper soon offered to take us for a drive around the grounds in this amazing car, which proved to be a great way to end our visit. 

The drink of the day - The Jaipore Martini Rambagh Palace, made with rose syrup to give it the pink colour which Jaipur is famous for - The Pink City. Cheers to Jaipur for your hospitality. 

RecipeGin blended with home made rose syrup, Add Martini Rossi to create a martini that signifies the beauty of the pink city.