VIET NAM

1999
 I first went to Viet Nam in July, 1999 - possibly the hottest time of year. I flew into Ha Noi from Guangzhou, China, and as we made our descent the wet rice paddies reflected the sun so brightly I couldn't make out the airport. The narrow strip of tarmac is right in the middle of a rice field about an hour by taxi from downtown Ha Noi. On the ride into town there were no suburbs - only farm shacks. We were one of the few automobiles on the road - dodging bicycles, motorcycles and water buffalo. On entering the city the foot traffic became thick in the crowd of 2-3 story houses, all with shops on the first floor. I felt embarrassingly posh just to be in a car. Shopping in the Viet Nam, I began to realize that the haggling I have learned to do so well in Hong Kong was now over 50 cents rather than USD10. How easy is it to change habits?

I held on to this feeling throughout Viet Nam - that there was strange mix of poverty as it has been for hundreds of years and wealth as the Chinese and French have seen fit to demonstrate it. It was an amazing trip but not what I was expecting - I am so glad that not everything is predictable yet!

I went to Viet Nam again in 2002 - Click here to see pictures from that trip.



ASIA
Taiwan
Thailand
Malaysia
Japan
Philippines
China
Hong Kong
Macau
Viet Nam
  Viet Nam Previous
Singapore
Myanmar

EUROPE
London
Amsterdam
Paris
Roma

OTHER
Friends
Links
Map of Asia

Viet Nam Links >

Destination Vietnam
PM Geiser's Guide
Sailing Club - Mui Ne
Viettouch
VNA News


Published
August 1999
Along the road into Ha Noi, and everywhere in Viet Nam, there are gorgeous lotus flowers growing naturally. These happen to be at the base of Ho Chi Minh's Stilt House.
Built in 1911 this is Ha Noi's beautiful butter yellow Opera House. It is also the site where the Viet Minh announced they were taking over the city in 1945.
The Temple of Literature was founded in 1070 and until 1778 it was a training ground for men hoping to become Confucian Mandarins within the government - the highest post an educated man could hope to have. It also honors scholars and writers from Viet Namese history.
From Ha Noi I took a trip to Cat Ba Island outside of Ha Long Bay. The five hour boat ride to the island was fantastic - the limestone mountains rise straight out of the green sea and the water is that perfect swimming temperature. Cat Ba is a fishing village and here you can see the shrimp boats waiting for dark before they head out.
Propaganda and public health campaigns are everywhere in Viet Nam - even on Cat Ba. Throughout Viet Nam I saw red, white, and yellow banners suspended over nearly every street - I only wish I could read them all! This one says "Drugs - they burn you and your family" (Ghien Hut - Dot Chay Ban Than Thieu Ca Gia Dinh). Thank you Anh Dang for the translation.
My next stop was Da Nang in central Viet Nam. This is Ong Chon Gate on one of the five Marble Mountains. Through it you can see Cham Island in the distance and the famous China Beach is just hidden by trees. By the way, the mountains really are marble and where peoples' hands have passed many times you can see white marble veined with black.
Da Nang is also home to the world's best collection of Cham sculpture. It was founded in 1915 by the French and the open air facility houses items from the 7th to the 15th centuries. The sculptures are outstandingly beautiful and reflect the Cham peoples' Hindu (and later Buddhist) beliefs.
Half an hour south of Da Nang is Hoi An. From there it was a quick ride to the compound of My Son (the original site of most of the Cham sculpture you see in Da Nang). I highly recommend seeing both the site and the museum so that you have a better idea of what My Son was really meant to be like. It was the capitol of Champa and the longest populated religious site in Southeast Asia (4th-13th centuries). The Cham had strong contacts with Java and the connections are seen in the architecture. Despite remaining well preserved for a thousand years, the American War destroyed most of the buildings here. The Viet Cong used My Son as a base and were bombed repeatedly by American planes. Many of the remaining structures were marred by bullets - a sight that I couldn't get comfortable with.
Hoi An is a very sweet little town along the Bon river. It was a major port from the 17th to the 19th century and was popular with Dutch, Portuguese, Chinese, and Japanese traders. It has managed to stay very much as it always has and I really enjoyed my time there - maybe finding a hotel with a swimming pool had something to do with that! Here on the river I was watching the ice boats collect ice. Workers on shore shove huge blocks of ice down a slide onto the boats for transport to communities further up the river. Think about this when you buy iced drinks in Viet Nam!
The Japanese Covered Bridge was originally built in 1593 in order to link up Hoi An's Chinese and Japanese quarters that are on opposite sides of the stream.
Each house in Hoi An, even the smallest, has a metal grate on their window like this one in my hotel room. Art deco motifs and musical instruments seem to be especially popular.
From Hoi An I flew to Sai Gon, my last stop in Viet Nam. Unfortunately I didn't take many pictures as I was very busy shopping. This was taken on a Sunday morning in front of the Municipal Theatre where a band was playing. I have to say the music was not top rate, but everyone was interested enough to stop in the street to listen.