Here I am, as promised, to tell you about my trip to Vietnam with the usual Tonino and the addition of the legendary Gianni. 22/01/2009: departure with Thai at around 14 and after an excellent and comfortable trip, between reading, films and conversations, we arrive in Bangkok and from there, after about 50 minutes, we set off again for Hanoi where we arrive at 9:45 on…..
….23/01/2009: unfortunately disappointed by the weather that greets us; rain and a biting chill. We couldn't find the guide we had booked from Italy but after a few moments of fear that something had gone wrong, a small group of people arrives and takes us to the agency where the providential Gianni rearranges the tour since, due to a mix-up, they had booked us a different trip from the one agreed upon. After a few hours they take us to the "Palace Hanoi" hotel which I do not recommend because a nightclub next door lets you rest only after 4 in the morning.The guide first takes us (me and Gianni, Tonino prefers to rest a few hours) to see a water puppet show, very original. The puppeteers were truly great. The theater was located right by the "old quarter" where the historic Hoan Kiem lake borders to the south with the French quarter.
We have dinner in a typical little restaurant, with meat, fish and the renowned rice noodles in broth. What shocks you, in Hanoi, is the 3 million motorbikes to 6 million inhabitants, that zip past you from every side and ring their bells constantly. You find them parked even inside shops. A stroll through the old quarter that swarms with stalls until late (we're on the eve of Chinese New Year) and off to bed.
24/01/2009: The alarm is at 7 and after a scant breakfast we board a brand-new Toyota sedan headed for Ha Long Bay. The cold continues unabated and the traffic is more and more characteristic and engaging; all sorts of things are transported on motorbikes, from bamboo poles placed crosswise that occupy a lane and a half like a safety car, to crates set up for transporting pigs and more "bulky" animals. We make a brief stop in a large store where we did some clothing shopping—of excellent quality—in silk and some nice souvenirs. Here, many products are created by young people with disabilities. With great emotion and much cold, we reach Ha Long Bay and providence wanted me to find, on a stall, a padded jacket that I would have paid even 500 euros for but, for just 35$ we also took away a helmet (a reproduction) used by the Viet Minh soldiers.
A few minutes after boarding, what appeared before our eyes was something surreal, perhaps helped by the mist and the greyness of the weather..an infinity of karst islets rich with vegetation emerged from the jade-green bay and hid one behind another, some eagles flying around the peaks completed the magical scenario. The tour continues with a visit to one of the most beautiful caves in the bay (Hang Sung Sot) inside which three chambers, each bigger than the last, preserved stalactites and stalagmites that recalled the most varied figures: turtles, the head of a dragon, etc.. we continue to Titov island and here, after arriving at the top climbing about 450 steps, the wonderful 360° view over the bay rewards us. We have dinner and spend the night on board; the cabins are comfortable.
25/01/2009: at 8: a hearty breakfast on board and one last tour in a very striking place: passing through a passage another 4 meters and about fifty wide, we enter a "lake" surrounded 360° by karst islets and if the high tide had come, we would have been completely isolated. On the way back, one could notice the fishermen's houses (stilt houses); they had decided to live on the water even though the government had offered them houses on the mainland. We return to Hanoi and having half a dozen hours before departure for Hue, we take a stroll in the old quarter for a visit to the old home of Ho Chi Minh in which he wrote the speech he would give in '45 declaring Vietnam's independence.
Along the walk, one notices the typical long and narrow houses since merchants, in the 19th century, were taxed on their frontage, consequently building a narrow facade and a length that could reach up to 60 mt. We continue to the Dong Xuan market, the Quan Chuong gate, the only one remaining of the 16 of the Citadel. Invaded, as always, by the most varied colors and the continuous ringing of motorbikes, we come across the small temple of the White Horse "Bach". Dating back to 1010 it is the oldest structure in the quarter and was one of the 4 temples that protected Hanoi.With a festive air—tomorrow Chinese New Year begins—we head toward Hoan Kiem lake, a medallion of water in the middle of the city's commotion between the Old Quarter and the French Quarter.
We can notice the last preparations to welcome the new year and while a sweet Vietnamese song rises from a stage, we head toward the hotel where a driver awaits us to take us to the station where a train at 23 will take us to HUE. The train's condition was mediocre, the berths fair and the toilets awful.In the morning the berth attendant greets us with new year's wishes and offers us, as is the custom, some dong.
26/01/09: It's 9:00 and we're in the square of the HUE station, imperial capital of 1945, waiting for the guide who will keep us company for the duration of the trip in the central area. First stop, after a refreshment at the hotel, the Thien Mu pagoda, reached via the "River of Perfumes". The pagoda, symbol of the city, rises a good 21 meters and is made up of 7 stories, The visit to the Austin that drove the monk Thich Quang Duc from Thien Mu to Saigon where he set himself on fire to protest against the anti-Buddhist repressive measures is striking. One also notices a period photo of the tragedy.We move on to the Citadel that surrounds the imperial city and the fabulous Forbidden Purple City. This ensemble of palaces, temples, pavilions, ponds, gardens was the capital of the NGUYEN dynasty from 1802 to the last emperor of 1945, BAO DAI.
In 1947, a fire destroyed very many of the 150 royal structures and today some of these are under faithful restoration so much so that they blend with the original. At the entrance we find the cannons of the 9 deities: 4 seasons and the 5 elements. We continue to the tomb of Khai Dinh at the foot of a steep hill; in the honor courtyard a series of stone Mandarins stand eternally at attention while the interior of the building is completely clad in ceramic and glass. Before returning to the hotel, we stop at the guide's house to sip a beer and chat a bit with the rest of his family who welcomed us very warmly; one of the children gives us some dong like our berth attendant.
27/01/09:This morning we are ready heading for HOI AN. We travel the legendary Mandarin Road; the origins of this road date back to the 15th century and to the need for scholars to be able to travel a road that reached the capital to take the Mandarin exams. After 4 centuries the road connects Saigon to Hanoi. The road touches 4 passes from the highest of which one can enjoy a breathtaking view of the Danang bay where the first contingent of American troops landed in '65. Descending into the valley, the splendid beach that can be admired hosts a colony of lepers who, despite the possibilities of recovery, are still subject to quarantine. We continue on the Mandarin Road and after crossing the city of Danang, we reach HOI AN, an important and ancient commercial port.
Characteristic are the merchants' houses along the river like all the restaurants, shops and meeting halls along the grid of streets. Some clothing shops are able to make a suit in less than three hours. Visit to the MY Son sanctuary, positioned in a lush valley, built over 1500 years ago it remained forgotten for centuries until its discovery by the French in 1898. In the evening we dine in Hoi An in a characteristic place, the TAM TAM. Before returning to the hotel a stroll along the alleys and to admire the Tan Ki house, the same one that has always housed the descendants of a Chinese family.
28/01/09: After a flight of just over an hour, we arrive at Ho Chi Min City and waiting for us is NGHIA who will accompany us for the entire duration of the tour in the south. First stop the museum of Vietnamese history, lunch in a typical Viet restaurant based on fish with various sauces and, delicious, the cha gio, which we prepare ourselves with a rice leaf and filled with minced pork, bean sprouts, mint and soy vermicelli. A brief tour of the center and hugging Saigon's Notre Dame, we reach the hotel. Once the luggage is settled and we've refreshed a bit, we plunge back into the chaotic nighttime movement where another 4 million motorbikes await us to make us hear their incessant ringing. We find ourselves in the middle of the flower festival with streets and avenues adorned lavishly and the mix of lights, smells and colors made it all exciting.
Nghia and the driver, nicknamed "Eligio" as he closely resembles a colleague of ours, wait for us at 8:00 outside the hotel. We set off toward the Mekong delta, an almost endless journey; over 5 hours.A boat takes us for a tour on the delta before reaching our Homestay in Can Tho. During the tour we visit an islet/village with many activities including one of the many coconut candy factories. Impressive is the speed with which they are wrapped. The Homestay is practically a little wooden house built on stilts in one of the delta's rivulets.The owners are very hospitable. we spent the night on a sort of canopy bed with mattresses barely thicker than a pack of cigarettes.
We set off for a second tour to the market on the river; the fruit and vegetable traders are many, the spectacle is very striking, the river, among the most polluted in the world, is a military grey color.We take a tour of the "general" market where hundreds of people are busy buying fish and meat, chickens and vegetables, dried fish and various preserves.in the tour we make around Can Tho, we go into a picturesque festival organized by students in honor of Ho Chi Min.Typical music and dances lead us to take videos and photos.
We leave early heading for Cu Chi for the visit to the underground tunnels used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam war in the '60s. We visit them inside and appreciate the ingenuity of the era;this network of tunnels, built up to 9 meters deep was made up of tunnels and a series of rooms necessary for survival underground. We then visit the kitchen, the operating room, the relaxation room, the meeting room and many others..In the area above, a series of objects recall the moments of the sad war; deadly traps, remnants of bombs dropped by the famous B52, some Vietnamese produce sandals made from car tires and inner tubes using the techniques of the era.We fire about ten shots each with rifles used in the '60s.
We return to Ho Chi Min for a visit to the war museum and the military one. A lump in my throat did not leave me until I exited. Many were the testimonies I would not have wanted to see, in particular the marks left by the use of Napalm gas.
It's time to return with a stop/relax in Bangkok of a couple of days. But a kidney colic forces me to stay in bed until the evening before departure. I manage to take advantage of it, however, for a dinner based on fish at the famous Sea Food Market, you buy the fish and have it cooked as you like. A must-try. During the return, we discuss next year's destination…. See you next time....
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