January 8, 2007 - Further Adventures in Vietnam
by George & Merima

October 18

Wishing to steer clear of a 20-something hour ride on a Vietnamese bus (dangerous, slow and uncomfortable) or train (slow and uncomfortable), we hopped on a Vietnamese Airlines flight to Hue, which is just south of the former Demilitarized Zone near the geographic middle of the country formerly known as South Vietnam. We found Vietnamese Airlines to be very modern and efficient and the one-hour flight was very pleasant. Upon arrival in Hue, we were off the plane, claimed our bags and were sitting in a taxi in less than five minutes.

Citadel Gate - Hue.

We were greeted by a representative from the Phu An Hotel at the airport, who rode with us into town. He was a most pleasant and enthusiastic young man and filled us in on all the things to see and do in Hue, which was once the capital of Vietnam. Arriving at the hotel, one would have thought we were the first, last and only guests they ever had. They literally fell over us with kindness offering coffees, help and advice and of course, TOUR PACKAGES!

By the time we unpacked and had a shower, it was nearly happy hour, so we wandered off to have a look around town and find a place to chill out over a quiet drink. The local cyclo and boat operators must have attended the same school of tourist annoyance as the crafts ladies in Sapa. The more we said "no thanks," the more they followed and hounded us. We still had not cracked the local code words that can make them magically go away. The only thing that seemed to work was to do a "Pinball Wizard" on them and pretend we were deaf, dumb and blind.

At a little corner pub in town, I tried a couple of the local brews, Larue and Huda, both of which were excellent. Dinner at the Tropical Garden Restaurant was a bit bland and overrated in our opinion, but the atmosphere in the outdoor dining area was quite pleasant, in spite of a mouse scampering about looking to make a meal out of a few fallen food scraps. Fortunately, none of the tourists saw it but us. After a year in Asia, not much fazes us anymore. Rats, mice, cockroaches, geckos and other critters that are mostly under abeyance in the first world, all become accepted as part of the local fabric.

October 19

After a light breakfast at the hotel, we set out on foot to check out the Citadel, which is the name given to the old walled city of Hue, situated on the other side of the Perfume River. We were not sure where the river gets its name, as the aromas wafting from its muddy brown waters were anything but. As we hit the street we were immediately accosted by annoyingly persistent cyclo drivers, most of which speak and understand a fair amount of English, with the possible exceptions of the words "no thanks, we prefer to walk." Vietnamese touts seem to incur cases of acute temporary deafness at the sound of any rejective words.

Inside the walls of the Citadel, we then paid a rather steep fee of 55,000 Dong (US$ 3.50) per person to get into the Imperial Enclosure, the part of the city which the Emperor used for his official functions. Many of the original buildings in the Citadel were damaged or destroyed in the American War. The Viet Cong used it as a stronghold, so of course the US responded by bombing it mercilessly. What little remains is being, or has been restored to its original glory. In the center of the Imperial Enclosure is the Forbidden Purple City, which was the emperor's "inner sanctum." This area is more or less a miniature of the Forbidden City in Beijing, China, and in the day was off limits to everyone but the emperor and empress, his concubines, and their trusted servants, who were all eunuchs. We found it enjoyable as it was very quiet, peaceful and there were very few tourists or touts around - unlike the Forbidden City in Beijing. We walked around the area for a few hours exploring the beautiful and ornate buildings and ruins, and visiting the museums and art galleries on the site, getting a flavor of imperial life and comparing and contrasting it to what we experienced in China.

By early afternoon we had seen our fill and walked another mile or so to a little spot called the Y Thao Garden, a private home/restaurant near the far corner of the Citadel. Seated in the garden next to a very authentic temple-like building, we enjoyed a tasty and beautifully presented eight-course meal, which was a sampling of the culinary specialties of Hue. The restaurant was very quiet as they do most of their business at dinner. This set menu was quite good value at US$8 per person.

That evening we enjoyed an excellent local style dinner at a French restaurant called La Carambole. The place was full to the brim with tourists and in contrast to our very serene lunch, the dinner atmosphere was quite lively.

October 20

We were up at 0-dark-hundred and on a bus at 0630 headed north on Highway 1 to the DMZ, the narrow strip of land along the 17th parallel that used to separate North and South Vietnam. After a breakfast stop for a bowl of pho, we turned left on Highway 9 and headed west towards Laos. We passed a number of areas that were significant battlefields during the "American War." There was no evidence of the war to be seen, and if you hadn't been told these were battlefields, you wouldn't have known. The next stop was on a large flat hilltop just outside a small farming village. This was the site of the infamous Kae Sahn Combat Base, where one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the war was waged. When the battle was over, the US realized that it was simply a diversion for the Tet Offensive, and promptly destroyed anything they couldn't pack up and take with them, and abandoned the base. Another example of military intelligence. Today, it is a peaceful coffee plantation, with a small war museum, a couple of old US helicopters and a few other rusty relics of the war.

After lunch, we crossed the Ben Hai River, which once marked the border between North and South Vietnam, and then headed toward the coast to a small seaside village called Vin Moc. Situated under Vin Moc is a network of tunnels, dug by the Viet Cong, that extend for miles. The Viet Cong hid and lived in these tunnels for years, undetected by the Americans, coming out only under cover of darkness to wage their stealth guerilla warfare. Only about four or five feet high and a couple feet wide, they are no place for the claustrophobic. Merima took a quick peek and then made a U-turn. I managed to walk a kilometer or so in the dimly lit and clammy passageways, feeling claustrophobic and struggling not to hyperventilate. Thank God I brought my headlight! It was a very interesting experience, and just another sample of the fortitude and determination of the Vietnamese people who literally built miles of these tunnels and survived in them for years.

We suffered through a long, slow bus ride back to Hue on the hard Vietnamese-sized bus seats and bumpy roads. Vietnam's speed limits vary for different types of vehicles. Cars can do a max speed of about 70 k's or less than 45 mph on the open road. Mini buses must go slower. Large buses and motorbikes even slower still. It's probably a good thing considering the amount of traffic there is on what are mostly two-lane roads, but it makes travel excruciatingly slow, even for those of us who are used to rolling along at 8 knots. Nonetheless, drivers seem to be in a never ending, devil-may-care mission, passing even slower vehicles on blind corners with horn honking. The road toll is quite high, and we were not surprised to hear 13,000 people perish every year on Vietnam's roads, mostly on motorbikes. The mandatory helmet law is largely ignored. Trains are much safer, and probably a bit more comfortable, but because there is only one set of tracks running the length of the country, the resulting logistical nightmare makes train travel even slower than taking the bus. For these reasons, we'd decided to avoid both bus and train and take advantage of relatively cheap taxis or rental cars (driver included), and inexpensive air travel. While some tourists do hire and drive their own cars or motorbikes, I would generally recommend against it, particularly in the big cities, as the driving styles are as different between east and west as the cultures.

October 21

We enjoyed a relaxing morning in Hue, and in the afternoon hired a car and driver to take us to Hoi An. The ride was in a very clean and comfortable car with an excellent driver. The two-and-a-half-hour trip took us through some beautiful farm country along Highway 1, under a mountain range, through the longest tunnel either of us had ever seen, through the city of Da Nang, past the Marble Mountains and then out to the lovely old town of Hoi An.

Fast food in Hoi An.

Hoi An is a historical trading town, reminiscent and from the era of Penang and Malacca in Malaysia, only it is situated up a river a mile or so from the South China Sea. It is protected as a World Heritage site, so the old buildings either have been or are going through careful restoration to their original charm and glory.

Because the streets in the old section of town are so narrow, they are off limits to cars. Upon arrival we had to leave the car and make our way the last few blocks to the hotel on foot. We checked into the Vinh Hung 1 Hotel, a beautiful old Chinese shop house that has been tastefully converted to mid-range accommodation. The lobby was beautifully decorated in the Chinese style and could have passed for a museum. A small, but clean and pleasant room with breakfast cost US$15. The staff was very friendly and helpful, and organized a car to take us to My Son to see the temples, and onward flights from DA Nang to Nha Trang, which at US$40 per person would save us at least 12 hours of bum time on a bus or train.

We enjoyed a beautiful, sunny afternoon wandering the narrow streets and alleyways of Hoi An, and checking out the unique shops, art galleries, spas and cafes which make this charming little town a popular tourist destination.

Lanterns - Hoi An.

That evening we had a great meal of local Hoianese specialties at the Cargo Club Restaurant on the upstairs terrace overlooking the Thu Bon River, and afterwards enjoyed two-for-the-price-of-one happy hour drinks at a cool little bar called the La Long Lounge. Happy hour there runs from 4pm till midnight, making a popular hangout for ex-pats. We met a few and had some interesting conversation till the wee hours.

October 22

After breakfast we spent most of the day on a self-guided walking tour of the city. It was very pleasant studying the Hoianese architecture, which is sort of a blend of French, Chinese and Portuguese styles. There were plenty of shops selling an array of brightly colored, locally made Chinese-style lamps as well as custom-made shoes and clothes, art and artifacts, and of course all sorts of souvenirs. The city's main market was very crowded, lively, noisy, colorful and sometimes a bit too fragrant of an assault on our senses. Just making one's way through can be a challenge as moving hand carts and motorbikes crowd the walkways while vendors vie for the attention of passersby. After a happy hour drink at La Long, we had an excellent seafood meal on the riverfront at a restaurant run by a Swedish ex-pat.

Riverfront - Hoi An.

October 23

We were up early and in a car at 0600 on our way to My Song, a beautiful ancient religious site, with temples and monuments, mostly in ruin, dating back from the fourth to thirteenth centuries.

Our goal was to beat the hoards of tourists flooding in on buses later in the morning. We arrived an hour later, and had time to walk through the entire site as the mist was lifting from an early morning rain. Once again, the Viet Cong used the buildings as a stronghold and tragically, the US responded with heavy bombing. Amongst the remaining temples, there are still numerous bomb craters partially filled with water. What has been restored is quite interesting, and I'm pleased to say there is much more restoration in progress. One of the most notable features of these temples is that they are constructed mostly of bricks of varying sizes and shapes, yet perfectly fitted together without the use of any mortar.

We were away before the convoy of tourist buses arrived to disgorge their crowds of people on this extraordinary place. We had My Son almost entirely to ourselves for a couple hours and there were no pesky vendors on our heels. Our driver returned us to the hotel in time for breakfast at 0930 and we had the remainder of the day to wander around in Hoi An.

Hoi An seems to have an almost endless array of shops that sell made-to-order clothing. If you have a photo or sample of what you want, they can make it - hats, shoes, suits, shirts, and dresses - anything wearable. If not, you can pour through their fashion magazines or pattern catalogs till you find just what you're after. They make it fast, the quality is surprisingly good, and the prices are incredibly inexpensive. Merima had a pair of sandals that she paid NZ$100 in Auckland copied very convincingly for US$12. She also had a pair of nice linen shorts done for $6. I was so impressed with the quality of hers that I went to the shop and had a pair of excellent linen slacks made for myself for $8, finished the same day. All over town we encountered tourists walking around town with what appeared to be entire wardrobes draped over their arms in plastic garment bags. Given that Vietnam has become one of the garment capitals of the world, it appears that we just cut out a few middle people.

Hotel lobby in Hoi An.

October 24

We probably stayed a day too long in Hoi An. The charm of this town was beginning to wear a bit thin as the annoyance of the pesky hawkers began to overshadow it. We spent the last day chilling out, catching up on email and planning our next moves. The cuisine on offer in Hoi An is varied, and we enjoyed that variety. Everything from Hoianese pho which, according to custom, must be made from water from one particular well, to fine French, Italian, Chinese and Japanese is on offer. The last night, we dined in Japanese teppan style at a large and lovely restaurant overlooking the river.

October 25

After breakfast we hired a car for the short ride from Hoi An back to DA Nang. We had intended to spend a couple of days On China Beach, which was a popular R&R spot for the American soldiers during the war and made world famous by a TV series of the same name. We checked into the My Khe Beach Hotel, across the street from the beach with an ocean view and balcony. The site was lovely, but the area resembled a Gulf Coast town that had just been evacuated in advance of a hurricane. We hopped a cab into downtown DA Nang and had a stroll around the city and through one of the two local markets. After a good walk, we kicked up our heels at a little café overlooking the Han River and enjoyed a strong Vietnamese coffee before we headed back to the hotel. We showed the cab driver the hotel's card and he acknowledged that he knew where it was, but proceed to start to take us on a very long "scenic route." Merima told him twice that our hotel was located across the bridge, pointing in the direction. He nodded yes, giving us a big smile and kept on going the wrong way. I finally insisted that he stop the car and we would get out unless he started heading to our hotel instead of away from it. He apologized and took us there, but got a bit surly because he couldn't understand why I wouldn't pay the full meter price of 49500 Dong when trip into town cost just 28500 Dong. I gave him $2 US, or 32,000 Dong and walked away. Arrrgh!

We had sundowners on our balcony overlooking the ocean and then walked about a half mile up the beach to the Phuoc My Seafood Restaurant. They specialize in seafood and put on an excellent meal. They had dozens of tanks with a plethora of live fish on offer. This place could have easily charged admission and passed itself off as a small aquarium. If they were long on seafood, they were short on side dishes. We couldn't find a plate of veggies or rice anywhere on the menu, but the grilled prawns were large, meaty and very tasty, and the beers icy cold.

October 26

In the very early hours of the morning, a huge squall blew in, waking us up with thunder and lightning, gale force winds and torrential downpours which continued till well after sunrise. As I laid snug in my bed, I thought about the people out on the South China Sea, racing from Hong Kong to Nha Trang. I'm sure it would be a gear buster. After breakfast we reassessed our situation. There was no Internet nearby, the hotel restaurant was closed for renovation, the weather sucked and there was nothing to do here. We shifted to a tidy and cute little hotel in downtown DA Nang called the Dai A. At least we could get do a bit of correspondence, take a walk and have the freedom to stroll to nearby restaurants and cafes.

We enjoyed a nice light lunch down the street at a local Pho restaurant for less than $4 for two including a Saigon beer. After a long walk around town we had dinner at a local restaurant called Viet. This was a very large and nicely appointed place that, for some reason, didn't show up in the tourist guides. The menu had as many items as a small dictionary, including thit cay (dog meat), whole frog (deep fried, roasted, steamed or in a garlic pepper sauté) and an assortment of exotic and unidentifiable items. We played it safe and ordered a roasted chicken. It was very tasty, but one must understand when you order a whole chicken in Viet Nam, you get pretty much the whole chicken, minus the feathers. This would include the feet, neck and other bits and pieces that you won't usually find in a box of KFC.

After dinner we stopped into an expat bar for a drink. It was rather smoky and dingy, so we wandered on down the road to what was called a "piano bar." This place was very classy but there was no piano that we could see. We were ushered upstairs to a large ballroom with a dance floor and a live band playing mostly what sounded to us like Vietnamese music. The well dressed patrons were taking turns singing songs on stage while others took the floor and quite impressively danced the cha-cha and tango. It was sort of like a cross between American Idol and Dancing With the Stars. All the participants were surprisingly talented. Although we couldn't fully appreciate the lyrics, the whole scene was quite entertaining and interesting for a drink or two. We returned to the hotel and were mistakenly handed the key to the room next to us. After hiking up four floors and 12 flights of stairs, we realized the error, but decided to try the key in our room, and to our relief, it worked! We decided to sort it out in the morning.

October 27

We woke up again to more rain showers. The front desk staff came around wondering how we had gotten into our room with the wrong key. Perhaps one key fits all? The Dai A is the first hotel that we'd stayed in in Vietnam that didn't come with breakfast, but at $15 US, it was still a good value as our room was very cute, immaculately clean, spacious, had satellite TV, fridge and WiFi Internet. That said, what westerners shouldn't take for granted in Viet Nam is that a hotel will have an elevator, windows in the rooms, or hot water, as many don't. What was interesting is that virtually every place we stayed in had slippers in the room as well as a comb, toothbrushes and toothpaste for each guest.

After a breakfast of bagels at a western style bakery/café nearby, we packed our bags and caught a taxi for the short ride to the DA Nang airport. We boarded a Vietnam Airlines commuter plane for the one-hour flight to Nha Trang, a lovely beach town further south down the coast.

Nha Trang's own airport, located on the edge of town, had recently been closed, so nowadays, the old American airstrip at Cam Ranh Bay, 35 kilometers further south, is now the local airport. I remembered Cam Ranh Bay from Bob Hope and company who made many holiday trips there to entertain the troops back in the war years. We were met by a hotel car and headed for Nha Trang, about a half an hour's drive up the coast to the north. The area around Cam Ranh looks to be slated for massive development in Vietnam's quest to capitalize on foreign tourism.

Nha Trang seafood.

We decided to splash out in Nha Trang. We booked a sea view suite in the Hai Yen Hotel that cost US $33 a night. After we checked in, we headed out for a walk to check out the beach and the town. The beach at Nga Trang is a long but narrow strip of sand. There is a rather attractive strip of park/garden between the beach and the wide boulevard paralleling the beach. Hotels, mostly older in style, line the other side of the street. It's probably not a Conde Nast destination, but then again neither are the prices - yet.

Walking down the street, we were constantly harassed by cyclo and moto drivers offering rides, as well as "easy riders" who are a sort of elite group of motorcycle travel guides. By this point we were getting pretty good at pretending we were either deaf or didn't understand English.

We had an excellent Mexican meal and a couple margaritas at a little restaurant called El Coyote on the main street one block back from the beach strip. After dinner we had a stroll down to the Sailing Club of Vietnam, a large complex containing a dive shop, a beachwear shop, a restaurant and a large and very posh beachfront bar. It was rather quiet when we arrived but by ten or so, it was absolutely pumping. We conveniently arrived in Nha Trang for the first arrivals of the Hong Kong to Nha Trang yacht race, and caught up with a few Kiwi sailing friends. The conditions were fresh trade winds and the fastest boats covered the 665 nautical mile downwind course in about 48 hours. We finally got away from the bar at about 0200 hours.

October 28

We somehow missed the hotel breakfast which finished at 0900. Between rain showers we had a good walk around Nha Trang. After lunch we walked down the beach to look for a French patisserie we'd read about, where we might get a pastry and a coffee. It seems the shop, called Louisianne, had gone through a metamorphosis and had emerged as a very fashionable brew house/beach club, replete with pool, restaurant, bar, billiard area, and private beach area. We shared an excellent mug (or two) of pilsner with the brewmaster Sean, an Aussie who was there helping the local owners get the place dialed in. The Louisianne Brew House is a lovely spot and the beer is world class.

We had an excellent Indian food for dinner at the Sailing Club, where later in the evening they hosted a lively Halloween Party. Once again the bar was pumping.

October 29

We stretched our legs a bit with a nice walk on the beach in the morning after breakfast and then fell into Louisianne where we hung out by the pool and relaxed. After lunch and a couple of their excellent beers, the rains returned so we made our way back to the hotel. We went back to the Sailing Club early for happy hour and to catch the prize giving for the yacht race.

After a couple of sundowners and just before we were ready to order dinner, our waitress came by our table with the check and said "you pay now." I told her that we weren't ready to leave just yet and, in fact that we wanted to keep the table for dinner. She told us that her shift was ending and that we must pay now. I told her that if we paid now, we would have dinner somewhere else. She said that was OK. Clearly she was more concerned about her tip than the welfare of the customer or the establishment. This didn't quite pass through my bullshit filter, so I told her that I wished to speak with the manager. She told us there was no manager on duty and insisted that we pay now. Hmmm? Huge bar/restaurant catering to western tourists, busy night, 200 persons coming for a prize giving party and no manager on duty?? This triggered my bullshit alarm, so I dug my heels in further and told her "no manager, no pay." Happily, we never saw her again. We enjoyed an excellent dinner on the terrace overlooking the beach, and yes, I did actually find the manager and had a word with her later in the evening. The only tip I have for that waitress is to find another career.

October 30

After breakfast we took a private car on the four-hour ride from Nga Trang to Dalat. The road was generally pretty rough and narrow, with dizzying hairpin turns as it ascended steeply from the lowlands into the mountains. The temperature cooled off as we gained altitude and the landscape changed dramatically from palm trees to rolling farmland to pine trees. The area around Dalat was in full bloom with wild sunflowers, wild poinsettias and a palette of other colorful flowers. Dalat is a lovely city in the south-central highlands set on the hillsides surrounding a small lake. Vietnam's last emperor chose Dalat as the site for his "summer home." The surrounding area is rich farming land where a variety of fruits, vegetables, flowers and coffee are grown. We checked into the Dreams hotel, which was highly recommended by friends. Madam Dung (pronounced Yeung), the proprietor, was most helpful, and our room was immaculately clean, with a large private veranda and a lush garden of potted plants. It was an excellent value at US $15 per night including the best breakfasts we had in Vietnam.

Lake in Dalat.

We checked in early in the afternoon and immediately went up the road for lunch at the Art Café. The food was excellent and the nicely decorated café had paintings done by the owner adorning the walls. Walking around afterwards, the first thing we noticed (and loved) about Dalat was that the terrain was way too hilly for cyclos. Yes! Local vendors were polite and didn't hound us. We had a walk through the local market and particularly enjoyed the fresh flower and fruit stalls, bursting with color. The fresh produce was some of the finest we had seen in all of Asia. We had an excellent "hot pot" dinner, which is sort of a local variation of fondue, up the road at a little place called the Wild Sunflower Café.

October 31

After our excellent breakfast at the hotel, we struck out on foot to explore Dalat. We made our way across town to a hotel known locally as the "Crazy House." I think bizarre would have been a more appropriate adjective. This place makes the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo look rather ordinary. The structure is mainly freeform concrete and all the rooms resemble caves. Each room has a particular theme and they are, of course, all different. All of the beds and other furnishings are custom built into the rooms. One room had a large kangaroo sculpture with red lights in its eyes, another a bear, still another a crocodile. Every wall is free form and none of the beds are even remotely symmetrical or rectangular. Climbing through the four story structural maze, we felt like children in a giant psychedelic amusement center.

We continued on wandering around the city and fell into a little restaurant called V's for lunch. There was plenty of western food on the menu including tacos, hamburgers, lemon meringue and chocolate cream pies. While the décor was cute and service good, we felt that food was average and not worth a redux.

Wandering through the city that afternoon we noticed that the vendors were noticeably less aggressive than anywhere else in Vietnam - a pleasure and relief. Also, there was much less traffic, fewer horns blasting and on the odd occasion drivers would actually slow down or even stop to allow us to cross the street. Shocking!

We went to a cool little pub called Larry's Bar in the basement of a big posh hotel for happy hour. It was a great place with some interesting old-world ambiance, but unfortunately devoid of customers. For dinner we wandered next door to the Café de la Poste, a French style restaurant occupying an old post office with great atmosphere and excellent food.

November 1

We were up early and hired a private car with a driver and English speaking guide for the day for US $40. This was the same as two "Easy Riders" (motorcycle guides) would have cost, but we felt much safer on these narrow roads with a bit of steel between us and the oncoming traffic. The first stop was Bao Dai's Summer Palace. Bao Dai was the last of Vietnam's emperors and his home stands much as it did when it was completed in the early 1940's. The architectural style and furnishings are art deco, and it looks as if it was quite the elegant second home in its day, fit for a Hollywood movie star.

After that we wandered through the countryside, visiting some greenhouses where they were growing various flowers and a coffee plantation. Vietnam is the second largest exporter of coffee in the world, and after tasting it, it's no surprise as the flavor is excellent and the cost is very reasonable. The Vietnamese make coffee for their own consumption in quite a unique style, roasting the beans in butter and sugar. They drink it strong, so we usually had to cut it with equal parts of hot water. It also has a hint of chocolate, so if one adds sweetened condensed milk, which is quite typical, the flavor is reminiscent of very strong café mocha. Colombia's Juan Valdez had things a lot easier than these growers. The Vietnamese coffee bushes are apparently habitat to a deadly poisonous species of snake. The pickers work in tandem so if one gets bitten the other can get him to emergency treatment.

We then visited a "minority" village where the local industry is hand weaving intricate fabrics from cotton and silk. The women labor for an entire day to produce just one linear meter of fabric, but I must say, it is quite beautiful. Silk tablecloths and napkins are not exactly practical on board a boat, so we were just lookers.

Back in the car and we were off to the local reservoir. The lake is off limits to any water sport activities, as it is the drinking water source for the area, but there is a rather kitschy garden garden/park area where one can have a walk, chill out or have a picnic. Since Dalat is the Vietnamese honeymoon capital, this park is popular for outdoor weddings and wedding photos.

Then it was back to town for a quick lunch of pho at a local restaurant. After that, we headed back into the mountains in the other direction to view one of the many beautiful waterfalls in the area. Our guide, Hoang, who had previously worked for an adventure travel outfit, wanted to give us the real treatment, so after viewing the waterfall from the tourist vista, he led us down a secluded, seldom used side trail to view yet another even larger waterfall. We didn't expect that our tour would include a bit of canyoning and rock climbing, but we enjoyed the additional exercise and excitement. On our way back to the car, we ran into a group of Vietnamese college students who were visiting Dalat. They were extremely friendly and wanted to speak English with us. We were happy to accommodate them and found them to be lots of fun, not to mention their English skills were quite good.

Students on holiday.

The last stop of the day was at a Buddhist monastery on a hilltop outside of town. The gardens were spectacular and there were some bonsai plants that were reported to be around 300 years old, if you believe the placards. In 300 years, even a bonsai plant grows to be pretty large. Is that an oxymoron? Apparently, westerners come to this particular monastery to learn the art of meditation. Our guide told us that a two-month program including full room and board will costs about US$100 and they accept both men and women. Yes, everyone's head gets shaved and they all wear the same ubiquitous saffron robes. How do you tell the difference??

For dinner we hopped across the street to a nice little place called the HNL Café. We had an incredible meal there, certainly the best in Dalat, and quite possibly one of the top two or three in Vietnam. It's a small family-run restaurant so the service was very warm and personal. They even had a private, soundproof karaoke room upstairs for those wannabe singers who are a bit shy about crooning in public. Apparently they had quite a do that night as they literally carried one customer out and propped him up on the back of a motorbike.

November 2

For our last full day in Dalat, the weather was beautiful so we decided to take a long walk around the lake. The lake itself it about 7 kilometers around, with a wide footpath on its park-like perimeter. Along the south side are some very impressive old villas, leftovers of Vietnam's glory days. Clearly, this was the playground of Vietnam's rich and famous in its day. It was an easy walk once we reached lake level, on mostly flat ground. We made it around in time for lunch at a lovely little lakefront restaurant called Bluewater. The menu was so extensive that we reckoned they couldn't have done anything particularly well, but we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food. I had rabbit which was to die for. A bit more walking after lunch and we fell into a neighborhood café for a coffee. There were lots of travelers there so we enjoyed some good conversations before heading back to the hotel.

That evening, not wanting to push our luck, we returned to HNL and had an equally delicious dinner there that evening. The frog legs were to die for!

November 3

US $38 per person bought us a one-hour direct flight from Dalat to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) on Vietnamese Airlines, saving us a 7-hour bus ride. After a leisurely morning stroll and lunch in Dalat, we headed for the airport. The flight though a minefield of towering cumulonimbus clouds (thunderheads) was a bit bumpy, and the landing was slightly more than a controlled crash, but we and the airplane survived. We were picked up by the hotel's car and found ourselves in the middle of the biggest city in Vietnam in the middle of its hellatious rush hour. The traffic here made Hanoi seem pretty calm, and New York seem like a small town.

We arrived at Madame Cuc (pronounced Cook) Hotel in District 1 where we were immediately seated in the lobby, offered hot drinks, and deluged with tour brochures. Their sales techniques were about as subtle as a 500-pound bomb. With rooms costing just $10-$15, these midrange hotels must derive a lot of revenue from commissions for selling tours, flights and onward hotel bookings. Fine, but all we wanted was to get to our room and have a shower and a bit of solitude. We quickly gulped down the coffees, told them we'd have a think and finally got to the peace and not-so-quiet of our room. It was clean, simple, roomy, but noisy as it was right above the lobby. After a much needed shower, we wandered down the street for a happy hour drink and a very average dinner at one of the local cafes recommended in the Lonely Planet.

November 4

After a simple breakfast of coffee and baguettes we struck out on foot to have a look at Saigon. It had been given mostly negative press by those we'd spoken to - crowded, smoggy and noisy. All this was somewhat true, but with wide streets and sidewalks, we found it relatively easy for the pedestrian to navigate - until you reach a corner. Crossing the street on foot in Saigon is Asia's version of the running of the bulls - it's guaranteed to get your adrenaline flowing and you never quite know if you'll survive.

Central market - Saigon.

A few blocks from our hotel was the Ben Thanh Market, the central "local" market for the city. Housed in a nicely maintained art deco style building, this was by far the cleanest and nicest market we had encountered in all of Asia. Every stall was tidy and products were nicely presented, and nearly everything to sustain modern life was on offer. After a cursory pass through, we vowed to come back and do some real shopping.

We wandered through some back streets towards the Dong Khoi district. One small lane was lined with antique shops. Much of what was on offer appeared to be the very latest in antiques, if you get the drift, but there were also some very interesting old items like lamps, appliances, books and watches - lots of watches. Some were certainly antique but many were quite obviously clever reproductions.

We stopped for a coffee break at a cool little café on the ground floor of the Saigon Center and then headed down La Loi Street where we found a massive, modern and very stylish department store. We had a good look around inside this slice of the first world and then headed to the rooftop of the Hotel Rex for lunch. During the Vietnam War, the Hotel Rex was a favored hangout for journalists, foreign correspondents and servicemen.

After lunch we visited the Reunification Palace, a fine example of 1960's architecture, replete with many of its original furnishings including the last president's Mercedes, personal Huey helicopter and other memorabilia from the so-called "puppet regime". From there we made a dash to the nearby War Crimes Museum where we managed to see most of the exhibits before they shut down and kicked us out. The War Crimes Museum, even if a bit one-sided, is grim reminder of the horrible realities of the "American War" including the My Lai Massacre, the long term effects of Dioxin (Agent Orange) and the continuing carnage as a result of land mines and undetonated ordinance. I hope some of our world leaders pay this place a visit during the APEC conference!

We enjoyed an excellent Vietnamese dinner at Indochine, a colonial villa converted to a restaurant, and then enjoyed a leisurely stroll down Dong Khoi Street afterwards.

November 5

We were up early and boarded a bus for a tour of the Cu Chi tunnels. Cu Chi was a quiet farming village infamous for its subterranean network of tunnels, some that actually reached inside the perimeter of a nearby American Military base. The Cu Chi tunnels were a command post, communication link, munitions and supplies factory, a hiding place and a bomb shelter. They allowed the Viet Cong to make stealth attacks on the American forces and then literally vanish into the ground. Touring Cu Chi we learned a bit about how the Viet Cong used their very limited resources, and extreme cunning to outwit their enemy. The Cu Chi tunnels are even smaller than those at Vin Moc, and to get through I had to fully crouch and balance on my hands. Dimly lit, constricted and stuffy, this place will bring out the claustrophobia hiding in almost anyone.

Cu Chi tunnels.

The tour burnt up the better part of the day. In retrospect, we wish we'd opted for a taxi or private car to Cu Chi and saved a few hours of time that the tour bus wasted on long potty breaks, shopping stops, etc.

We had happy hour drinks at a groovy place called Q-bar located under an old theatre in the Dong Khoi district and moved on to an excellent dinner at Camargue, another lovely converted villa.

November 6

Our last day in Saigon, we slept in a bit, then headed out to do some shopping. We had a good, thorough look through the Ben Thanh Market, where you can buy everything from soup to nuts, designer clothes, pirated CDs and DVDs, Lolex watches, Vietnamese handicrafts, beautiful silk fabrics, snake wine and flavorful Vietnamese coffee. I picked up a kilogram of robusta and arabica beans, roasted in butter and sugar, to take home. We spent the afternoon browsing the chi-chi shops on Dong Khoi Road and returned to the hotel neighborhood to have a nice Indian dinner in one of the little alleys of District 1.

November 7

Our Vietnamese visas were expiring in two days, so it was time to make our way to Cambodia. We had hoped and planned to travel to Phnom Penh by boat up the Mekong River. After exploring all the reasonable options, we settled (and I do mean settled) for a three day combination bus/boat tour offered by a local outfit called Delta Tours. Actually it was more like a bus/boat/boat/boat/bus/bus/boat/boat/bus tour.

Life on the Mekong Delta.

We thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to get face-to-face with life on the Mekong River Delta. The river is the life blood for these people, providing their drinking water, irrigation for their crops, a transportation artery, fishing grounds, and unfortunately a washbasin, refuse dump and toilet. How someone can guzzle down a glass of muddy water the color of a cappuccino containing who-knows-what sort of chemicals and microorganisms is beyond me. We had the opportunity to wander and cycle a bit through some of the countryside and take in the local culture. The best part of our tour was being taken by a local lady in a small boat though a floating fishing village. She rowed this primitive looking canoe from the back while facing forward. Along the way, another boat came by, and a local boy hopped on our boat and gave both Merima and I excellent neck and shoulder massages. We were amazed at the powerful hands of this boy who couldn't have been more than 8 or 9 years old.

The Mekong River is virtually lined with stilted shacks, and the waters are buzzing with boat traffic. The craft come in all shapes, sizes, colors and styles from small single-person paddle canoes, to huge barges carrying sand, rice and other bulk cargo, so chock full that it appears that just one more kilo would surely send them to the bottom.

Sand barge - Mekong Delta.

As for the tour itself, were underwhelmed by the organization, or lack of, and the poor quality, i.e. discomfort, of the transportation vehicles/vessels. I think that the Vietnamese treat their water buffalo better! Nothing ran on time. One bus broke down. An overnight hotel we were shown photos of and supposed to stay in was full, so we were herded off (on foot) to another of much lesser quality. Another bloody bait and switch!!!
I hope this name shows up in a web search - DELTA TOURS. Avoid them at all costs!

Tour guides - we had four in three days - consistently gave us misinformation about travel times and kept us waiting for hours from the appointed departure time. And for the grand finale, we arrived at the Vietnam/Cambodia border, our boat was boarded by at least a half dozen boys - probably pirates in training - who attempted to grab our bags. It wasn't clear if they were going to rifle through them for valuables or just carry them ashore for us. The captain tried to shoo them away, physically striking a few of them, without much success. The tour guide completely ignored the situation. All the passengers were confused if not frightened and concerned for their possessions. I had just about enough of wrangling for my bag so I piped up and asked the tour guide if these boys worked for him. Ignoring my question, I asked again, much more forcefully and with an obvious tone of irritation, and he said "no." I assured him that none of us were going to get off the boat till these boys did, without our luggage of course, and that for him to condone this activity was complete bullshit. He reluctantly told them to leave. It wasn't exactly the best last impression of Vietnam for us, but it I'm sure it will fade long before all the great memories.