The Way to Hue

On Sunday we left beautiful Hoi An and traveled two hours to Hue (pronounced "Way").  On the way, we passed through the city of Da Nang, now a commercial city but well-known in the U.S. during the Vietnam War for the U.S. military base that was here.  It was also well-known for China Beach, a popular R&R spot for U.S. military personnel during the war.  As you can see, it wasn't exactly beach-going weather; however, China Beach was beautiful even in the approaching storm.

Word on the street is that we were about to catch a taste of monsoon season in this part of the country.  The good news:  The storm dropped the temperature about 20 degrees and made the humidity hardly noticeable.  I actually wore a little sweater for two days.  (I never saw that one coming!)   The bad news:  It rained nonstop for the entire time we were in Hue and kind of put a damper on our time there.  (It's hard to have a lot of fun when you're walking around in a big yellow rain poncho looking like Big Bird and trying to juggle a camera, cell phone, purse, tote bag and umbrella while trying not to get the whole mess soaking wet while taking pictures, trying not to drop anything, trying to follow and listen to your tour guide and trying not to crash into anyone. There's not much in the way of peripheral vision going on with a poncho hood pulled all the way forward.)

As we drove to Hue, the storm started to blow in - literally.

Despite the storm, we covered quite a bit of ground in Hue over the two days we were there. For many years, Hue was the imperial capital of Vietnam.  We got to see the remnants of Vietnam's miniature version of Beijing's Forbidden City.  This was the imperial complex where the kings of Vietnam ruled and lived with their wives, concubines, children and many, many servants.  Sadly, most of this complex was destroyed during the war, as Hue was the site of heavy fighting.  These are some of the structures that remain and that have been restored to their former glory.

While in Hue we also toured the Thien Mu Pagoda.  There is a very famous picture from the Vietnam War period of a monk lighting himself on fire in the middle of the street in Saigon in protest of the North Vietnamese government's harsh treatment of Buddhists.  This was that monk's home pagoda.

Then we toured the tomb of Vietnam's longest-reigning emperor, Emperor Tu Duc.  He was a very sad emperor who was what the Vietnamese call a "paper emperor" (what we would call a puppet emperor).  He ruled when the French were in control of Vietnam, so he had no real power.   He also could not father a child in spite of his many wives and over 100 concubines.  It is thought that having had smallpox as a child made him sterile.  All the Vietnamese emperors built their own elaborate tomb complexes.  The difference with Tu Duc was that this sad emperor decided to live in his tomb complex for the last 16 years of his life.  Yeah, that's not morbid.  

At the end of our two days in Hue, it was something of a relief to fly on to Hanoi in the far north of the country.  From there we traveled on to the amazing Halong Bay.  I'll have details and pictures for you tomorrow - if the incredibly bad wifi in our Hanoi hotel allows me to upload them, that is. 

This is the Vietnam I Came to See

We have been very, very busy the last few days here in Vietnam, and we're finally seeing more of the country than just the big city.  Don't get me wrong.  Saigon was super fun and Hoi An Ancient City was amazing and we absolutely loved it there, but I'd been hankering to see some of the countryside and the people who live and work there because to me, that's where the real beauty of a country lies, and so far, Vietnam hasn't disappointed.  

We took a boat ride on the Thu Bon River in Hoi An where we got to see fishing boats and fishermen at work.

This fisherman was whacking the water with this big paddle to scare the fish over towards the fishing boats.

It is so beautiful here!  We asked why the fishing boats were all painted blue.  Evidently, each province in Vietnam has its own color for its fishing boats, and blue is this province's color.

This gentleman was "digging clams" in the river.  He used that big long pole to scoop them up and then put them in the basket.

We were all surprised to see what our guide was calling clams.  Evidently, these little snails are eaten here.  We all wondered how on earth you get the meat out.  You'd have to eat at least a hundred of these little buggers to even make it worth your while.  Didn't seem worth the effort to us.

This is one of the gigantic fishing nets that you see all along the river.  They lower them at night and shine a bright light into the water to attract fish.  Then they slowly pull the net up to capture the fish.

This is our guide Buffalo.  You may be wondering why he goes by Buffalo.  He told us that he came along in the family after his mother had lost four other babies.  He was born in the year of the buffalo under the Vietnamese zodiac, was strong enough to survive, has tough, dark skin like a water buffalo and he was to grow up to be the leader of his family as the oldest son, so his grandfather called him Buffalo.  His actual name is Truong, but nobody in our group calls him that.  

And here we all are, sailing along on the river.  As you can see, Frank is surviving his first girls' trip just fine. 

After our lovely cruise down the river, we got to see a carpentry village.  The families here have done various types of woodworking for hundreds of years.  For example, one family makes household objects like kitchen utensils, one family makes decorative items like trinket boxes and carved animals and statues, and another family builds and repairs fishing boats.  

These men are carving a statues.

This man is using a saw to create delicate mother of pearl inlays for decorative items.  He cuts them out one by one and then glues them on the wood, creating the design.  Then the whole piece goes through a lacquering process.

Here Buffalo is holding up a raw piece of mother of pearl and a completed bird that the gentleman above had cut out with his saw.  Unbelievable that he can get such fine detail using a saw.

Then we moved on to see the boat builders.  They have been making boats the same way for hundreds of years.

See all the little dots on the ribs of this boat in the picture above?  Those are dowels that are driven by hand from the outside of the boat clear through these ribs.  The ends are then cut off and sanded smooth.  As you can see, this is probably not the easiest of tasks.

This man is at work waterproofing the boat.  They fill in the cracks with wood shavings and then cover the seam with some sort of resin.

We then moved along to an organic village for lunch.  All the crops here are grown using river weeds for fertilizer.  

This is basil.  Does the basil we grow in the states get this pretty purple flower?

Jill and I got a cooking lesson and learned how to make bahn xeo, these little panckes made from rice flour, water, tumeric and green onion with chicken and shrimp added in.  You eat them wrapped in dry rice paper.  Oh, my goodness, to die for!

My completed bahn xeo is in the top left corner.  It was super fun to learn the tecnique of how to make these, complete with flipping it in the air.  Dan and Ashley, get ready.  We are so making these when I get home! They also served us many other dishes for lunch and everything was super delicious.  Above are just a few of the things we were served. 

The following day we were off to Hue.  More about that tomorrow.

The Rules of the Road

Traffic is pretty chaotic here in Vietnam. At first glance it seems like there are no rules, but on closer inspection, I have discovered that there are ten etched-in-stone rules that every Vietnamese driver must follow.

1.  Rules? What rules? Just get there any way you can, bro!

2.  You must drive with one hand planted firmly on the horn at all times. You must blast the horn at least three times every fifteen seconds; otherwise people will think you're asleep at the wheel.   Bonus points if you do this while using your other hand to talk on your cell phone.   Double bonus for texting. 

3.  Pedestrians do not - I repeat, DO NOT have the right of way, not on the streets, not on the sidewalks, not in the crosswalks. You must hurtle towards them as fast as you can, never slowing down. Bonus points if you can manage to take one of them out. 

4.  When riding on a motorbike, safety is secondary to scoring style points. Bonus points are awarded for riding side-saddle and Indian-style. 

5.   If you own a motorbike and you have kids, you must see how many of them you can careen down the street with on the back of your bike. Style points are awarded for doing this without putting helmets on any of them. Bonus points are awarded for sitting your child on the motorbike in front of you and letting them help you steer.  You can score the coveted triple bonus if you have a toddler and let them ride standing on the seat between you and your wife as you weave in and out of traffic. 

6.   At an uncontrolled four-way intersection, EVERYONE has the right of way. Do not stop. Lay on the horn, plow into the fray and hope for the best.  Bonus points are awarded for every American tourist you can make gasp in alarm. Double bonus if you make one of them scream. 

7.  When riding a motorbike, ALWAYS pass a vehicle turning right on their right; then cut them off, nearly clipping their front bumper. Bonus points awarded for actually taking their bumper with you. 

8.  Traffic's not moving and you're on a motorbike? No problem. Just drive down the wrong side of the street against oncoming traffic.  Bonus points are awarded for driving down the sidewalk and weaving in and out of pedestrians. (See rule 1)

9.  Never, ever yield to an emergency vehicle. Ambulance with its siren going and lights flashing? Swarm around that sucker like ants on a used lollipop until it's so surrounded by cars and motorbikes that it can't possibly move. Who cares if someone might be dying? Thin the herd. 

10.  If someone is driving the wrong way down your side of the street, whatever you do, don't slow down, stop or yield the right-of-way. It will only confuse them. Much better to keep going on your same course at your same speed to see who flinches first. Bonus points are awarded if it's the other guy who swerves out of the way at the last possible second. 

So there you have it, ten iron-clad rules for all drivers in Vietnam. Just think. If you ever visit here, you're now equipped to rent that motorbike and join the insanity. 

You're welcome. 

Bushwhacked

Beth, this post is especially for you. 

It's pouring rain here in Hue. Evidently, we've caught the tail end of a monsoon.  Everyone is wearing rain ponchos. I've discovered that the best thing about wearing a rain poncho is that it covers my bushwhacked hair. 

Curly hair and extreme humidity are a bad combo. My hair has been a wreck since we stepped off the plane in Saigon. Add pouring rain and the bushwhack has now doubled in size. Seriously, I didn't even think that was possible. My hair has taken on a life of its own. I think it's eaten three people. Four others are missing and presumed dead. Behold the horror and please protect your small children. 

And there you have it. Bushwhacked hair. Just add water. 

Beautiful Hoi An

We've been in Hoi An for a couple of days now.  We got here yesterday on yet another bumpy flight, this time on Vietnam's very own airline, Vietnam Airlines, aka "We're Sorry Airlines."  They evidently earned this nickname because they are always making announcements like, "We're sorry.  Your flight has been delayed due to technical difficulties."  Yeah, I can't even tell you how many times we heard that one yesterday - and they were talking about our flight!  We were a little disconcerted.  Technical difficulties?  This is Vietnam.  That technical diffuculty could range anywhere from "We're taking off late because this is Vietnam so we take off when we take off," to "The flight crew is running late and we can't take off without a pilot," to "Y'all just sit tight while we bolt on that engine that just fell off."   Fortunately, we finally made it to the center of the country, landing in Da Nang and then traveling on to Hoi An.  And believe me, it was worth all the wait.

If Saigon represents the big city brimming with energy and craziness, Hoi An represents history and calm.  The ancient part of the city here is actually a UNESCO world heritage site, and it is absolutely lovely.  No slick skyscrapers here.  We're talking buildings that are hundreds of years old.  No cars are allowed, although motorbikes can drive down the streets until 3:00.  After 3:00 it's foot traffic, cyclos and bicycles only.  Most of the old buildings in this part of town have been turned into shops and restaurants.  We had a walking tour through the ancient town last night.  Hoi An is known for its silk lanterns and it is absolutely beautiful when the sun goes down and the lanterns light up.

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We really fell in love with Hoi An after our evening tour and couldn't wait to come back to explore the ancient town on our own the following day after our scheduled tour program.  I'll tell you all about that in my next post.  It's midnight here and we've got to be up at 5:30 because we're moving on to Hue (pronounced "Way") tomorrow.  Don't know if we'll have wifi there or not so it's possible that I may not be able to post for the next couple of days.  If we don't have wifi in Hue, I'll still try to keep up on my writing while I'm off line and I'll post a bunch of stuff once we get to Hanoi.