Vietnam - Day 13 Hue

It was a stinking hot day in Hue today (about 38C and 100% humidity!). We went on a full day tour as we wanted a guide for the historical background to the city and sites.

Hue was an imperial city and home to the Kings of Vietnam (until Ho Chi Minh kicked the last one out just after World War 2). The French, Viet Cong and Americans have all had turns trying their best to bomb and destroy the city. Unfortunately many of the sites have been ruined and are only being rebuilt now.

This is where we went today (here goes):
1. Minh Mang Tomb
2. Khai Dinh Tomb
3. Vietnamese Martial Arts display
4. Tu Duc Tomb
5. Conical Hat and Incence Village
5. Lunch at City Tour Cafe (aka The Museum of Food Poisoning)
6. Citadel
7. Thien Mu Pagado
8. Dragon Boat Cruise on Perfume River

King Minh Mang had hundreds of concubines to attend to his every whim. He sired 142 children. Obviously he was very busy but we think he probably died with a smile on his face.

King Tu Duc had 104 concubines to keep him happy. However he never managed to get one past the goalie and died without an heir.

The vendors at the tombs are getting younger and younger. This girl is saving money to buy some more teeth.

The Vietnamese Martial Arts display was a bit of a waste of time. It was interesting from the point of view that the students were orphans who were saved from the streets by this black belt. After sitting through the show this guy did what most of the audience felt like doing, smashing their head through 10 house tiles.

It was interesting to see how the traditional Conical hats were made. This lady makes 2 hats a day and they sell for 30,000 dong (about A$1.50) each. That's only $3 a day less costs. Makes you think differently when you are bartering with them.

Lunch was included in the tour at an awful restaurant. Jordan and Tia said they would rather eat their own vomit than have to eat there again. Brynley actually thought he was already eating his own vomit.

We also had a flying tour of the Citadel but we will go back there tomorrow to cover it in more depth.

The Dragon Boat cruise down the Perfume River back to the city was very picturesque. More importantly Brynley & Lisa cracked their first beer for the day at 4pm. God - we deserved it given the heat.

The guy driving the boat was not happy when Brynley filmed him with his hands behind his head and steering the boat with his feet. Brynley didn't see the problem. He thinks most of the Vietnamese probably drive their cars like that as well.

By the way did you spot the sophisticated navigation and steering system?

Vietnam - Day 12 Hoi An to Hue

We said goodbye to Hoi An today and traveled up the coast and through the mountains to Hue (pronounced Hway like Home and Away for all you Aussies).

The private car we organised somehow morphed itself from a Mercedes SUV at the time of booking to a Toyota SUV by the time it got to our hotel. Brynley was worried it may be a Fiat Uno by the time we got to Hue.

We were to have a brief stop at Marble Mountain ('Mountain" being the key word here). Not quite what we expected - Marble Mountain turned out to be a tourist factory shop knocking out marble statues. It was impressive though (but too big for carry on hand luggage). Maybe the Mountain was out the back somewhere.

The highlight of the journey was clearly the Hai Van Pass (Sea Cloud Pass) through the mountains. We were going up gradients of nearly 10% for ages. Ear popping. The view from the top was spectacular.

On the way down we stopped in Lang Co which has a turquoise lagoon on one side and 10km of idyllic white beaches on the other. It is easy to see how people fall in love with this country. Mental note to self - sell everything when you return to Perth and retire to Lang Co.

The trip was only just over 100km as the crow flies but took nearly 4 hours (the crow does't fly very straight in the mountains). The constant drone of the engine and driver sniffing the same booga up his nostril the whole trip led to each of us zoning out and having a little snooze at some stage along the way.

Hue looks like it is a beautiful ancient city. We will start to explore the city tomorrow. In the meantime ...

there were more shoes to buy. Jordan "Imelda Marcos" Scott bought a pair of black Converse sneakers for a ridiculous price. The reason they were a ridiculous price was that the Converse badges were stuck on the wrong sides of the shoes. Oh no - how will anybody see them??

We struck it lucky again and found an excellent restaurant, Le Caramel, for dinner. We think the children are turning into foodies. They are ordering Vietnamese food every night and are being adventurous. Tia didn't like the vegetable, Morning Glory before but tried it tonight because it was fried with garlic. She loved it. Jordan and Tia are also asking for chopsticks when the waiter only brings out knives and forks.

And as for Brynley and Lisa, for every new town there is .....

a new beer.

Vietnam - Day 11 Hoi An

Today is Liberation Day in Vietnam and it is 36 years since the North and South were reunified (and they kicked those nasty Americans out).

However it was very low key in Hoi An. The best they could muster was a cluster of the national flags down some of the streets.  They could take a leaf out of Australia's book. We know how to celebrate Australia Day properly - family bbq's, beer, Cold Chisel, beer, fireworks, beer, brawl, beer, lift home in the back of a paddy wagon (or ambulance). Now that's Australia!

It seems our holiday is centering around shopping and food. Brynley found this Vietnam hat. Unfortunately it looked better on Lisa so she has claimed it now.

The only tourist site we took in was the Japanese Covered Bridge. It is a bridge made by the Japanese and is covered. What else did you want to know?

It is a popular spot for wedding photographs.

This groom tried to race his bride down a little alley way for a smooch however Tia was too quick and chased after them to take this photo. It was just as well it was Tia - he would have told us to bugger off if it was Lisa or Brynley.

We had a fantastic lunch at Cargo's which overlooked the river with all the local farmers taking their goods to the market. I know this old lady appreciated our encouragement to "put her back into it" as she looked like she was starting to slow down a bit.

We then de-stressed by the pool at the hotel.
Can you guess which drink is Brynley's? If you said the one with cute umbrella thing you would be right.

Finally we picked up the last of our shopping from the tailors and cobblers (Jordan's 2nd shirt, Lisa's dress, Brynley's 2nd suit with extra pants, Jordan's Vans shoes and Tia's gladiator sandals). Now that our orders have been completed the tailors should be able to get some sleep tonight and why not - it is Liberation Day after all.

Dinner was at Morning Glory Restaurant again. The food was spectacular (but we all agreed it was not as good as what we cooked ourselves in the cooking class).

Vietnam - Day 10 Hoi An

It was one of our best days today.

We did a Vietnamese cooking course run by Ms Vy who owns 4 or 5 restaurants in Hoi An.

First they took us through the market in small groups to buy some of the food. She explained all the Vietnamese fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices. It is a whole new world!!

Much of the produce was new to us. However it wasn't difficult to work out what these were.

If ever you need advice on buying fish head for cooking stock, we are now experts. You never know when it may come in handy!

Upstairs in one of her restaurants, Morning Glory (named after the herb and not crumpet that you may be lucky to have in the morning) she has a full kitchen set up for 20 students.

We made Shrimp in Cabbage Parcel Soup, BBQ Chicken with Lime Leaf, Crispy Hoi An Pancakes and Mango Salad. The titles may not be interesting but the food and the experience was world class. The children did really well (considering Jordan has never graduated beyond cheesy pasta and 2 minute noodles before).

Best of all we got to eat it all for lunch. It has inspired Brynley to do a Vietnamese cooking course when he gets home to Perth. We highly recommend this cooking course to anybody going to Vietnam.


After an afternoon dip in the pool we returned to the tailors from yesterday for our fittings. Everything fitted like a glove except Lisa's dress which needed a slight alteration. Apparently they are waiting for the circus in town to finish with their big top to get some extra material.

Brynley was so impressed with his suit with extra pair of pants and blazer that he decided to order another suit and extra pair of pants. He can go to bed comfortable in the knowledge that some poor local tailor will be burning the midnight oil to have it ready tomorrow while he has a decent night's kip. Jordan also got another flannie so he can become the complete bogan.

This is Jordan and Tia showing off their new clothes on the main bridge with the giant Chinese lanterns in the background.

Vietnam - Day 9 Nha Trang to Hoi An

Today we said goodbye to Nha Trang and made our way further up the coast to Hoi An. This involved about 4 hours sitting in taxis, airports and turbo prop planes.

Hoi An was used as the main central port by the French so it has a lot of French influence. The old town precinct is heritage listed by UNESCO. Traffic in this part is banned. BLISS.

Our first stop was at the Tam Tam Cafe to stock up on some sustenance (coffee and French cake).

We then explored more of the old town. These old biddies look like they are working hard. Their loads are heavy from all the money they were getting from posing with the tourists. However got to give them credit where credit is due.

We also checked out some of the tailors in town. Hoi An is famous for its cheap and quick tailors. We found one tailor and the whole family has been measured up for garments. Lisa and Tia are getting dresses. Jordan is getting a flannie/shirt. Brynley has cut loose and is getting a pin stripe suit with extra pants and a casual jacket.

They should be ready by Saturday night. Good to see communism working so well.

Vietnam - Day 8 Nha Trang

We had a DIRTY day today.

The main attraction was the mud baths at Nha Trang Thap Ba Mud Baths.

First we squeezed into our 4 man bath tub filled with hot creamy mud. There were lots of giggles and laughter as we proceeded to dump each other in the mud and stick toes in certain places. There were some suspicious bubbles coming from Tia's corner of the tub. However Tia said it was merely the naturally occurring sulphur in the mud oxidising and rising to the surface. We had to believe her because it certainly smelt like sulphur!

After 30 minutes we got out and let the mud dry so we resembled baby hippo's baking in the Tanzanian sun.

It took the spray of high pressure showers to get most of the mud off. We then went between the jet spray walls which managed to get out the mud that was still caught in difficult nooks and crannies.

To finish it off we spent 30 minutes in another 4 man tub this time filled with hot (and I mean HOT!!) mineral water. Very refreshing but felt a bit like a prawn in a saucepan. In fact Lisa and Jordan looked like prawns in a saucepan with their sunburn.

It was at this point we realised we had become victims of Vietnam's notorious petty crime. Somebody had stolen one of the towels that we had paid a deposit on. Brynley reported it to a nearby guard who showed diffidence and a little contempt for our distressing position. Outraged by the lack of integrity and widespread corruption ingrained into the system Brynley did what any upright and responsible accountant would do when faced with losing his deposit - he stole somebody else's towel.

The pool at the mud baths was as hot as the boiling mineral baths so we decided to luxuriate at the Louisiane Brew House.

This microbrewery is on the beach with great views and serves tasty Pho and unique beers.

It also has a great pool.

It was difficult to choose somewhere for dinner tonight. All the restaurants on the main street looked the same same but different. Except for this one - it was actually called Same Same But Different.. So we ate there. Good Pad Thai.

Vietnam - Day 7 Nha Trang

CLOSE YOUR EYES. I want you to draw a picture in your mind!

Imagine a beach of white sand and glistening water as far as the eye can see, like Surfers Paradise.
Imagine dark threatening mountains looming behind you, like in New Zealand or South Africa.
Imagine thatched umbrellas and lounge chairs to snooze the day away.
Imagine a personal waiter at your beck and call ready to bring you beers at $1 each.
Imagine coconuts washing up on the sand.
Imagine fat Russians in their thongs, with their bellies and breasts hanging out, bending over in front of you (er ... no scrap that).


You now have beautiful Nha Trang.

This Vietnamese Riviera was founded by the French when they ruled Indochina. The American GI's flocked here on their R&R leave during the Vietnam war. The place has now been conquered by the Russians for some reason. Most signs are in Vietnamese and in Russian. Most towels on the lounge chairs are Russian.

Today we laid out front on the beach all day just chillaxing (and in Lisa and Jordan's case sunburning as well).

After such a stressful day Lisa and Tia had to unwind with a manicure and a pedicure before dinner. Brynley and Jordan unwound with a beer or two (and coke) at a local bar.

Finally, we had dinner at a local authentic Vietnamese restaurant. We knew it was an authentic Vietnamese restaurant because it said so on the sign outside (in English).