Saturday 21 February 2015

My Son

We were feeling pretty Hoi An'ed out after three days of site seeing, so we took a day trip out to My Son - a collection of ancient temple ruins from the Cham people, hidden in a wooded area not far outside of Hoi An. We got a tour through the trusty Sinh Tourist, because of their reputation, and their promises that their tour consisted of a limited amount of guests (no more than 25). Needless to say, just like most 'service' industry workers in Vietnam, they lied.

The bus picked us up outside our hotel just after breakfast. It was fairly empty, which was promising, however, as we continued meandering our way around Hoi An and collecting tourists from their various hotels, the tour group grew significantly.

The bus trip out to My Son was a pleasant one, and there were loads of rice paddies flanking the road as we drove past. We were lucky enough to see loads of farmers tending to their paddies, and some even ploughing with their water buffalos. The rain was coming and going in longish downpours, and we felt sorry for the farm workers who were knee deep in cold, squelchy mud and being slowly soaked through from above.

When we got nearer to My Son, the farms ended abruptly, and the landscape changed somewhat. There were clumps of trees, and as we drove on, walls containing different traditional gods/symbolic figures from various cultures around the world (e.g. the Sphinx's head from Egypt and some Hindu gods).

The bus stopped at a few little buildings which appeared to be the administrative entrance to the larger My Son area. We were all asked to climb off the bus, were pointed in the direction of the toilets and were asked to walk across a bridge up ahead in the road to meet the bus on the other side. We did so, trying to keep the steady rain at bay with our rain jackets and ponchos.

On the other side, we climbed back on the bus and were driven to a large parking area, where our (already bigger than promised) group joined a number of other tour groups, to form one bigger group, to be led around by one tour guide.

Off we set, making the short walk from the parking area to the temples. The group was now uncomfortably big, and we came to terms with the fact that we weren't going to hear much in terms of the information that the tour guide was going to share with us. So our (new) plan of attack - venture to the parts of the temples where the tour guide isn't talking about, and get some great shots with no other tourists in them. It was a solid plan, and (while we sadly missed almost all of the interesting history behind the temples) we managed to have a pleasant self tour of the temples and surrounding areas. We managed to get some nice pictures in peace, and possibly even explored areas which we may not have technically been allowed into (there wasn't a tour guide around to tell us otherwise).

The rain was relentless, and turned the already uneven ground around the temples into a slippery obstacle course which closely resembled the TV show 'Wipe Out'. It claimed a few victims, with some poor tourists getting muddy from falls, as well as wet from the rain.

The temples are really beautiful, and were a fantastic sight to see. The bits-and-pieces of stories that we heard about them were also very interesting, and we are really glad that we went to see them (good call Graeme!).








On the return leg of our tour, we decided to take a boat for part of the way. Fortunately the rain let off, and our clothes were able to even dry off a little in the wind on the boat. We chugged along, taking in the happenings around us - fishermen tending to their nets and other boats cruising the river - and enjoying the fresh air and lack of rain.



After a while, the river banks began to fill up with houses and other colourful buildings. There were a number of weddings on the go, and we could intermittently hear the talentless and obtrusive shrieks of 'singing' blaring from the marquees set up for the occasions.

The traffic on the river had increased significantly by this point, and we were clearly getting close to town once again. But before we made our final approach, the boat veered off course and took us to a little mystery island. On this island, we were told by the tour guide, was where various wooden crafts and furniture were made. As well as traditional, wooden boats. We were invited to walk around, and must say that we were very impressed by the workmanship of the men who were creating the pieces. Armed with chisels, hammers and sandpaper (at times connected to a drill for some turbo-sanding), these guys work individually and in small teams to create works of art.



The boat took us back to The Old Town, where we were taken to a little riverside restaurant and treated to a traditional dish from the area - mi quang noodles with quails egg and pork.

The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing (by most; Ross and Mike went for a little run). We then decided to just eat food from the hotel bar for dinner. Over dinner, it was decided that Hoi An had been comprehensively covered by the Goldstone/Dibben crew, so we would go to Hue the next day, to see what the old imperial capital had to offer.


The bus to Hue only left at 12:30, so we thought that we would walk the already over-walked streets of Hoi An and The Old Town one last time. The sun was intermittently peering its welcome face through the rain clouds throughout the morning. This, however, only gave us a false sense of hope that we might actually have a morning in beautiful Hoi An without the depressing rain dampening our mood.


We watched a cultural show consisting of stories told through traditional music and dances. It was very well done, and the sounds which the musicians were able to create with their instruments were truly incredible!




We also went into the Tran Family Chapel - a place in which the ancestors can be honoured. There were some interesting facts, and some really weird ones too - like all of the umbilical cords of the children from this family are buried in the back garden, to keep the children close in life.








We read about a really famous ice-cream shop in town, so we decided to find it (despite the cold and wet weather). Enjoy Restaurant & Ice Cream Bar didn't disappoint! They have a wide range of delicious flavours, and you get to dish your own - you pay per weight at the end. We all did a few laps around the room, scanning the freezers for the flavours which got us salivating the most. We then sat and demolished the contents of our cups in half the time it took us to fill them. We also had some panini's for lunch, before we needed to head off to the bus stop.

We had enjoyed our stay in beautiful Hoi An, but were ready to leave when it came time to. The lanterns are beautiful to see, and The Old Town is very interesting to explore. However, the amount of people hassling you at every turn is very tiring, as are the reckless motorbike drivers who should technically not be within the limits of The Old Town. Overall, Hoi An is definitely a town to have on your list if you are visiting Vietnam!

Thursday 19 February 2015

Hoi An

The first stop on our travels was Hoi An. This is a beautiful town about half way up the country. We booked a flight for 9am which meant we would get there at lunch time and at a perfect time to check in. Unfortunately, the airline had other plans and cancelled our flight! Luckily we were told about it before the day so our options were to either fly the night before, very early that day, or late in the afternoon. We decided to take the EARLY flight so that we wouldn't waste our first day of holiday with the family. We had to leave home at 4.30am and luckily, we all managed to fit (with all of our bags) into one taxi! This proved to be great throughout the trip as we managed to save loads by all sharing one cab.

After a non-eventful flight, we landed in Da Nang. The first thing we noticed when we walked outside the terminal was how cold it was compared to HCMC! We knew it would be a bit cooler but, wow, we were in for a shock. We haven't experienced cold weather since winter 2013 in South Africa. Luckily, we had arranged transport to Hoi An before we left and our driver was there waiting for us. We hopped (well got in slowly as the tiredness from the early morning started to set in) into the van and off we went. Hoi An is known for its marble statues and so our driver stopped at a factory / marble shop for us to browse through the sculptures. They were really impressive and the detail is amazing! Unfortunately none of us had the space (or the money) for a giant statue, so we left empty handed.




A short drive later, we arrived at our hotel. We decided to book into quite a nice resort for the first two nights of our trip, as these days fell over Christmas. We were too early to check in, but we were told that we could go and eat breakfast and, by the time we had done that, our rooms would be ready. So off we went to eat a giant buffet of delicious foods. There were loads of pastries, fruit, hot dishes, and eggs made to order. When we were sufficiently stuffed, we went to our rooms to settle in (and for us, to layer up!).



The resort has a shuttle that runs into the town every few hours, so we caught the bus in to do a bit of exploring. We were charmed by Hoi An with its old buildings and beautiful lanterns everywhere. We did a bit of shopping (of course!) and we visited some tailors to get some quotes for some pants for one of Mel's, Mom's friends. Everywhere you go in Hoi An you see signs for "Bia Hoi" (fresh beer). This is home brewed beer and it's ridiculously cheap. We decided to try some and, well, we learnt why it's so cheap... it's gross! We all somehow managed to finish our drinks through long teeth, did a bit more wondering around, had another (non-alcoholic) drink and then it was time to head back to our resort.

The Japanese bridge







Mot, hai, ba, yo! (One, two, three, cheers!)


Christmas isn't celebrated in Vietnam. Some restaurants offer Christmas dinners, but it's business as usual for most places. We opted to go to an Indian restaurant called Ganesh for our Christmas eve dinner. There are a few in HCMC and the food is AMAZING! The lamb samoosas are incredible, so we had to educate everyone about their goodness. No one was disappointed, as our food was so awesome. The restaurant was absolutely packed so we were lucky that we had thought to phone ahead and make a reservation!

The next day was Christmas day. Unfortunately, Ross woke up feeling awful. He managed to make it to breakfast, where more delicious food awaited us. After we had eaten our full, we went back to our rooms to exchange gifts and celebrate Christmas! We were extremely spoilt and reminded once again how blessed we were to have our family with us over this special time. Mel and her parents went into town for a little bit to get some pants (and a dress for Mel) made. The rest of Christmas was spent relaxing and doing nothing! We went for a walk on the beach and then went to the hotel restaurant for dinner. It was a very low-key Christmas but it was wonderful to be surrounded by loved ones and to relax after a busy term.

After our two nights at the resort, we headed into town to slightly cheaper and more central accommodation. Our rooms weren't ready for us when we arrived, so we went for a wander around town again. We stopped off at a temple first, and to be honest, once you've seen one temple you've kind of seen them all. Obviously they are all slightly different, but if you don't have someone explaining everything to you then a lot of the meaning and subtleties are lost. We were walking along the streets trying to decide where to go next, when we saw a house that had grass growing on its roof. It turned out to be one of the oldest houses in the town, so we went in to see it. There wasn't much to see, but it was still interesting to visit such an old building.

The creative towels in our hotel





Three rather bored men waiting.




Beautiful hand-painted lanterns.


The oldest house in town.





Marks to show the water level during floods.

Next, we walked to go and see the sculpture park. Again, without someone explaining what is happening, the beauty and meaning of many of the sculptures was lost on us. We did have fun trying to take photos of a huge turtle statue that was in the lake though. Jo was trying to make like she was pinching its tail which, unfortunately, didn't work - but it did leave us with some entertainment!


Need a haircut or shave?


Jo and Kelly trying to get the shot!

Kelly and Mel were greatly amused by this motorbike being 'towed' by a bicycle. Ross pointed out that they
could have been stealing it and used the bicycle because the ignition on the bike was locked. We're going to
keep thinking that they were just taking it to the garage though!




A window looking out from the Japanese bridge.


A monkey guarding the entrance to the bridge.

Beautiful details on the bridge.




For dinner, we decided that we were over making decisions, and we put the moms in charge. They did such a good job and they chose a lovely restaurant by the river. It had beautiful lanterns and delicious food! When we had finished our dinner, we carried on walking along the river and Ross and Kelly put candles into the water with a wish.