A trip to South East Asia ...
... Vietnam
Hello again, I am back home after a thrilling month travelling through Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. Here a few remembrances from my trip, and I start this week with Vietnam.
Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)
Our first stop was this buzzing city with two names. Saigon is the old name that was before the war and Ho Chi Minh City is the new name. Ho Chi Minh was a Vietnamese revolutionary and politician. Ideologically close to the Marxist-Leninist line, he founded the Indochine Communist Party in 1930 (it later became the Communist Party of Vietnam). He served as the chairman of the party until his death. He was the first president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam from 1945 until his death in 1969. From 1945-55 he was also the first prime minister. A statue has been raised in honour of him. It is situated in the center of Saigon, close to the Opera house. The statue is 7.2 meters long, made of bronze and symbolising the affection and respect the Vietnamese have for their founding father.
What we did not know when we arrived in Vietnam, was that it was their biggest holiday, the Lunar New Year. Due to the number of people travelling for the feast, we spent six days, instead of three, in the city, due to fully booked trains and flights. We could therefore enjoy a very relaxed stay and did a few excursions, and for the rest we walked around the city.
One day we booked a trip to the Mekong river. The trip was quite a disappointment, aiming mostly on visiting tourist areas where they wanted to sell various things. We did take a short trip on the river, but it was nothin really. Martin took another trip to the tunnels of Cú Chi, that is part of an immense network of connecting tunnels. The tunnels were used in military campaigns during the Vietnam War, and was the base of operations for the Viet Cong during the Tét Offensive in 1968. I did not join since I am quite claustrophobic.
We spent the rest of the time walking around the city, visiting the market and other interesting areas. We had a lot of wonderful dinners as well.
Hoi An
We finally found an air fair to Na Dang airport, from where we took a taxi to Hoi An. It is a city north of Saigon with around 120,000 people. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1999. We managed to book a room in a small villa/hotel in the historic district, close to the river. The city is a well-preserved example of a SE Asian trading port from the 15th to the 19th century. The buildings and street plan are reflection the indigenous and foreign influence. One of the prominent places in the old town is the covered Japanese Bridge dating from the 16th-17th century.
This is the area where we took our evening walk to have a look around. Being the Lunar New Year holiday the whole city was beautifully decorated with flowers, plants and lamps in the colours of red and yellow. Small narrow alleys surrounded by small shops, cafés and restaurants. We had dinner on a roof terrace overlooking the river with all its boats lit up by lamps.
The second day we rented a taxi to take us to the My Son Sanctuary situated around an hour from the city. It is a temple area from a unique culture with origins to the Hinduism of India. It was built during the 4th to 13th centuries and situated in a valley surround by mountains. It is also the source of the Thu Bon river passing by the area. It is a really beautiful and peaceful place.
The area was part of the Champa Kingdom, and the temples were constructed over ten centuries of continuous development for the ruling Dua Clan. The established the kingdom of Champapura in 192 CE. We started at the Museum to get some background information, and then took an electric shuttle bus into the valley where you walk around a rather large area, visiting the various temples. Quite a magic place.
This was the first part of our trip in Vietnam, but there is more to come.