Entry 17:
After the fall of Saigon in 1975, the government changed the name of the city to Ho Chi Minh City, as a tribute to the late leader of Northern Vietnam. That being said, many of the people we spoke to still call the city Saigon. Either way, we were on our way to the largest city in Vietnam for our last stop in the country.
Saigon in a massive sprawling city of over 5 million people and what seems like an equal number of motorbikes. According to our tour guide, Vietnam has over 80 million people and 25 million motorbikes. Rather than attempt to go it alone in this metropolis, we signed up for a city tour that would take us around to all the worthwhile sites in town. On our tour we visited a Chinese pagoda, a market in Chinatown, a temple dedicated to a Sea Goddess, the War Remnants Museum, the Reunification Palace, Notre Dam Cathedral, and the Post Office. Needless to say, it was a full day.
That evening, we ventured on our own to a night market filled with local eateries. At first we contemplated eating there, but this idea was quickly eradicated after seeing live dangling frogs. Instead, we opted for a restaurant that was recommended called Quan An Ngon. This restaurant was in a beautiful setting in which various food stations exhibited women cooking before your eyes.
Lots of people had told us many things about Saigon, both good and bad, but we had had enough of the city and its craziness. We decided to book passage to Cambodia for the following day and begin the next chapter of our travels.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Meditation in the Mountains
Entry 16:
Our half-day tour in BMT ended with our tour guide, Mr. Anh, leaving us at a bus stop and telling us to wait at Lak Lake for our bus ride to the popular tourist destination in the mountains, the city of Dalat. Little did we know we were about to go on a very bumpy and very curvy 4-hour ride. We arrived after sunset, but found a nice accommodation and were on our way to find dinner somewhere quiet.
The next day, we again joined a day tour of the city and its surroundings. The first stop was of a Zen Buddist monastery called Truc Lam. We learned that visitors can join the monks for a day's meditation and met briefly with a monk to ensure our visit the next day.
On we went to the Dragon Pagoda, which was beautiful on its own, but was also next door to another pagoda that had a massive and most impressive bell.
The two strangest/cheesiest stops on the tour included the Crazy House, a hotel that has delirious architecture that forces its guests to climb up and down twisted stairs through various buildings and has themed rooms. The other stop that was not worth much mention was entitled the "Valley of Love" by the French. It is a goofy park where objects were placed for tourists' photographs. However, once the camera comes out, an employee approaches to ask for money for the photo. There is a lake you can walk around for some peace and tranquility.
The next morning, we awoke early to cab over to the monastery for a day of guided meditation. On the previous morning, the monk asked us to be present at 6:30am. Despite the rain, we made it in time, but a different monk enformed us that the abbott was not at the monastery that day and therefore he would be unable to allow us to spend the day without getting the abbott's permission. Our hope to spend the day with the brothers and sisters in meditation was not to be. Instead, we sat with this particular monk for about 30 minutes drinking tea and talking about the lifestyle of a buddhist monk. He did not want us to leave empty handed, and therefore gave us several books on Zen Buddhism. We were bummed out that we could not stay for the day, but high-tailed it back to Dalat to try to catch the next bus to Saigon.
Our half-day tour in BMT ended with our tour guide, Mr. Anh, leaving us at a bus stop and telling us to wait at Lak Lake for our bus ride to the popular tourist destination in the mountains, the city of Dalat. Little did we know we were about to go on a very bumpy and very curvy 4-hour ride. We arrived after sunset, but found a nice accommodation and were on our way to find dinner somewhere quiet.
The next day, we again joined a day tour of the city and its surroundings. The first stop was of a Zen Buddist monastery called Truc Lam. We learned that visitors can join the monks for a day's meditation and met briefly with a monk to ensure our visit the next day.
On we went to the Dragon Pagoda, which was beautiful on its own, but was also next door to another pagoda that had a massive and most impressive bell.
The two strangest/cheesiest stops on the tour included the Crazy House, a hotel that has delirious architecture that forces its guests to climb up and down twisted stairs through various buildings and has themed rooms. The other stop that was not worth much mention was entitled the "Valley of Love" by the French. It is a goofy park where objects were placed for tourists' photographs. However, once the camera comes out, an employee approaches to ask for money for the photo. There is a lake you can walk around for some peace and tranquility.
The next morning, we awoke early to cab over to the monastery for a day of guided meditation. On the previous morning, the monk asked us to be present at 6:30am. Despite the rain, we made it in time, but a different monk enformed us that the abbott was not at the monastery that day and therefore he would be unable to allow us to spend the day without getting the abbott's permission. Our hope to spend the day with the brothers and sisters in meditation was not to be. Instead, we sat with this particular monk for about 30 minutes drinking tea and talking about the lifestyle of a buddhist monk. He did not want us to leave empty handed, and therefore gave us several books on Zen Buddhism. We were bummed out that we could not stay for the day, but high-tailed it back to Dalat to try to catch the next bus to Saigon.
What's In A Name
Entry 15:
Our next destination was in the Central Highlands of the country, an area not well visited by tourists. In fact, it was only in the late '90s that this area was even opened to foreign visitors. Many of the tour companies do not include it on their regular itinerary. But we decided to delve deeper into Vietnam. Moreover, it was also the childhood home of our good friend Mai.
We arranged for bus travel to the region's center, a town called Buon Ma Thuot (BMT). You can imagine all the various double entendre jokes we could come up with for this name. All of them are too unsavory for this family-friendly blog.
BMT as it is known to the locals is the center of the coffee plantations throughout the highlands. Coffee growing was initiated by the French during their colonial rule over Vietnam. We thought it would be exciting to tour the area and even visit a coffee plantation. Unfortunately, since this town is so far removed from most travellers' itineraries, we found it to be difficult to manouver as almost nobody spoke English and restaurant menues were in Vietnamese only. We could not find a tour operator with any group tours. Private tours would cost more than $100 per day. We opted for a private half-day tour that would only take us to visit a couple of ethnic minority villages. The short tour was pretty good and we even got to see some goofy French tourists riding atop elephants. We were eager, though, to get out of town.
Our next destination was in the Central Highlands of the country, an area not well visited by tourists. In fact, it was only in the late '90s that this area was even opened to foreign visitors. Many of the tour companies do not include it on their regular itinerary. But we decided to delve deeper into Vietnam. Moreover, it was also the childhood home of our good friend Mai.
We arranged for bus travel to the region's center, a town called Buon Ma Thuot (BMT). You can imagine all the various double entendre jokes we could come up with for this name. All of them are too unsavory for this family-friendly blog.
BMT as it is known to the locals is the center of the coffee plantations throughout the highlands. Coffee growing was initiated by the French during their colonial rule over Vietnam. We thought it would be exciting to tour the area and even visit a coffee plantation. Unfortunately, since this town is so far removed from most travellers' itineraries, we found it to be difficult to manouver as almost nobody spoke English and restaurant menues were in Vietnamese only. We could not find a tour operator with any group tours. Private tours would cost more than $100 per day. We opted for a private half-day tour that would only take us to visit a couple of ethnic minority villages. The short tour was pretty good and we even got to see some goofy French tourists riding atop elephants. We were eager, though, to get out of town.
Mud Bathing and Beaching
Entry 14:
Despite our not-so-great start to the day, things quickly turned around. We found a wonderful hotel one block from the beach, which true to its name was nice (Nice Hotel). It was also $8 a night, so we decided to stay a while and relax.
Nha Trang in a typical beach town with dozens of hotels, beachside restaurants, and pubs. The only thing not typical are the Buddhist pagodas that overlook the beach from the mountains. While we stayed in a nondescript local hotel, many chain hotels like the Sheraton are planning to open up along the beach. In addition, as we were there on a weekend, we passed by several local weddings taking place in beachside hotels.
On our first day there, we took a taxi over to a center in the mountains where we could soak in mud. This unique resort has a variety of different sized outdoor tubs that once you sit in them, they are filled with muddy mineral water. After 15 or 20 minutes, one is supposed to then go "bake" in the sun to allow the mud to dry on the skin. This is followed by a series of showers and warm/hot clean mineral water bathing. All of this with giggling Vietnamese girls who don't speak any English and fat Russian men and their families. The day was made even better by ice cold coconut water drunk directly from the coconut via a straw.
Another site of interest included the gallery of Nha Trang's most famous photographer, Long Thanh. His photos are all in B&W of locals and are very captivating. Our trip to Long Son pagoda was beautiful, but as our photos are temporarily unavailable, please click on the hyperlink to see photos we found online.
The rest of our days in the city we spent on the beach, in the water, getting massages, or eating wonderful food, including at the very impressive Sailing Club and Relax Club.
We didn't want to leave, but also realized we still had lots to see in Vietnam and beyond.
Despite our not-so-great start to the day, things quickly turned around. We found a wonderful hotel one block from the beach, which true to its name was nice (Nice Hotel). It was also $8 a night, so we decided to stay a while and relax.
Nha Trang in a typical beach town with dozens of hotels, beachside restaurants, and pubs. The only thing not typical are the Buddhist pagodas that overlook the beach from the mountains. While we stayed in a nondescript local hotel, many chain hotels like the Sheraton are planning to open up along the beach. In addition, as we were there on a weekend, we passed by several local weddings taking place in beachside hotels.
On our first day there, we took a taxi over to a center in the mountains where we could soak in mud. This unique resort has a variety of different sized outdoor tubs that once you sit in them, they are filled with muddy mineral water. After 15 or 20 minutes, one is supposed to then go "bake" in the sun to allow the mud to dry on the skin. This is followed by a series of showers and warm/hot clean mineral water bathing. All of this with giggling Vietnamese girls who don't speak any English and fat Russian men and their families. The day was made even better by ice cold coconut water drunk directly from the coconut via a straw.
Another site of interest included the gallery of Nha Trang's most famous photographer, Long Thanh. His photos are all in B&W of locals and are very captivating. Our trip to Long Son pagoda was beautiful, but as our photos are temporarily unavailable, please click on the hyperlink to see photos we found online.
The rest of our days in the city we spent on the beach, in the water, getting massages, or eating wonderful food, including at the very impressive Sailing Club and Relax Club.
We didn't want to leave, but also realized we still had lots to see in Vietnam and beyond.
(Un)Magical Mystery Tour
Entry 13:
The ride on the minibus was no different from other experiences we had had in this part of the world in the sense that the locals fail to inform the tourists about what is about to happen. In our case, we were not explained where they were taking us. However, we finally arrived at the large sleeper bus and headed to our "seats." We thought it was very considerate of the bus company to provide plastic bags to cover our packs due to the rainy weather, but more about this later. We quickly made friends with our bedmates as they would accompany us for the next 12 hours. Besides the fact that we were sharing a bad in the back of the bus with three other adults, our bed also happened to be on top of the motor and lacked A/C vents. This combination of factors ensured that our ride would be hot, hot, hot.
One thing that you need to know about tour buses in Vietnam is that they are driven by total maniacs. There is a compulsion to accelerate, break, and honk the extremely loud airhorn with much enthusiasm. Additionally, this shady company we took also picked up Vietnamese passengers along the way who sat on stools in the aisles or strung hammocks from the upper seats. To add to the maddness, it seemed the driver had brought live birds and other mysterious cargo in the luggage compartment, as we could hear chirping from where we were sleeping.
Needless to say, somehow we arrived in Nha Trang in one piece, drenched in sweat, but happy to be off the bus finally. We had never been so pleased to be greeted by sunshine and fresh air as we were that morning. The nightmare was not over, however. As we ripped open the plastic off our luggage, we found the bags to smell of fish. Some of this unfortunate odorous liquid spilled onto our bags and left a stench that needed to be repeatedly cleaned with soap in our hotel shower. But at least we were in a beach town and ready to have some fun in the sun.
The ride on the minibus was no different from other experiences we had had in this part of the world in the sense that the locals fail to inform the tourists about what is about to happen. In our case, we were not explained where they were taking us. However, we finally arrived at the large sleeper bus and headed to our "seats." We thought it was very considerate of the bus company to provide plastic bags to cover our packs due to the rainy weather, but more about this later. We quickly made friends with our bedmates as they would accompany us for the next 12 hours. Besides the fact that we were sharing a bad in the back of the bus with three other adults, our bed also happened to be on top of the motor and lacked A/C vents. This combination of factors ensured that our ride would be hot, hot, hot.
One thing that you need to know about tour buses in Vietnam is that they are driven by total maniacs. There is a compulsion to accelerate, break, and honk the extremely loud airhorn with much enthusiasm. Additionally, this shady company we took also picked up Vietnamese passengers along the way who sat on stools in the aisles or strung hammocks from the upper seats. To add to the maddness, it seemed the driver had brought live birds and other mysterious cargo in the luggage compartment, as we could hear chirping from where we were sleeping.
Needless to say, somehow we arrived in Nha Trang in one piece, drenched in sweat, but happy to be off the bus finally. We had never been so pleased to be greeted by sunshine and fresh air as we were that morning. The nightmare was not over, however. As we ripped open the plastic off our luggage, we found the bags to smell of fish. Some of this unfortunate odorous liquid spilled onto our bags and left a stench that needed to be repeatedly cleaned with soap in our hotel shower. But at least we were in a beach town and ready to have some fun in the sun.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Vietnamese Gondola
Entry 12:
We were so happy that on the day we left Hue the sun was finally shining. About four hours later, we arrived in Hoi An where it felt like 100 degrees outside. The rest of the day was spent wandering the lanes of this charming small Unesco town known for its tailors that make custom clothing. The next morning Marc was recovering from a cold, so Sharon went out and found a tailor to make her a custom suit. It wasn't long before Marc joined her in the shop for custom made trousers. Miraculously, only a few hours later we were back at the shop trying on the clothing for them to be altered for the next day.
Unfortunately, our streak of two rainless days was about to end. As we departed for a day trip to the Cham ruins at My Son (pronouned Mee Son), the skies opened up and the rain began pouring down. For probably 6 hours it rained and rained and rained. Despite this, the ruins were still impressive and served as a preview of our upcoming trip to Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
While some people on our tour opted for the cheaper bus ride back to town, we spent a few more dollars for the upgraded boat ride back. At the time of booking, we obviously were unaware of the coming rain. So needless to say, it was a not so good investment. However, we had a small adventure on the way. Our boat was approached by another small boat carrying furniture and the Vietnamese woman working on our boat purchased a bed, which was then hauled onto our boat without ever docking. This made for a kodak moment.
When we got back to Hoi An we had to walk through calf high water just to reach our hotel. We had opted out of the gondola rides offered on account of the overflowing waters. At this point we were equipped with the information from our tour guide that the best rain gear is to be found in the market. Off we went to look for Rando gear, which continues to serve us for days later.
The next day was no better except that we decided to walk through town in our flip flops and just accept the fact that we were going to get all wet. Who knows what was lurking in that water! Good thing we both got Hep vaccinations before leaving the States. The clothes came out great and were quickly shipped home. They will arrive next Feb. when we return from our trip.
We had been warned to only travel with two Vietnamese bus lines, as the others were known to have shady reputations. On the morning we had planned to depart, we walked over to purchase our bus tickets, but were told the bus was completely sold out. Seemed like all the tourists wanted to get as far away from the flood as possible. We ran through the rain and flooded streets from travel agency to travel agency, but could only find one unknown bus company. The agent told us that the only seats available were in the back of the bus. Normally on the overnight bus, each person gets an individual bed. The backrow of the bus, however, is comprised of one large space shared by 5 people. Reluctantly, we agreed to spend the night with three other strangers.
We arrived at the travel agency around 6pm in a light rain and were shuttled via a minibus for 30 minutes to the bus that would take us to our next destination. We were told the streets were too flooded for the big bus. Not sure how the minivan is more capable of getting through the flooded streets, but what choice did we have? The night was not getting off to a good start...
To see photos of Hoi An, please go to our Shutterfly page: grossmintblog.shutterfly.com
We were so happy that on the day we left Hue the sun was finally shining. About four hours later, we arrived in Hoi An where it felt like 100 degrees outside. The rest of the day was spent wandering the lanes of this charming small Unesco town known for its tailors that make custom clothing. The next morning Marc was recovering from a cold, so Sharon went out and found a tailor to make her a custom suit. It wasn't long before Marc joined her in the shop for custom made trousers. Miraculously, only a few hours later we were back at the shop trying on the clothing for them to be altered for the next day.
Unfortunately, our streak of two rainless days was about to end. As we departed for a day trip to the Cham ruins at My Son (pronouned Mee Son), the skies opened up and the rain began pouring down. For probably 6 hours it rained and rained and rained. Despite this, the ruins were still impressive and served as a preview of our upcoming trip to Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
While some people on our tour opted for the cheaper bus ride back to town, we spent a few more dollars for the upgraded boat ride back. At the time of booking, we obviously were unaware of the coming rain. So needless to say, it was a not so good investment. However, we had a small adventure on the way. Our boat was approached by another small boat carrying furniture and the Vietnamese woman working on our boat purchased a bed, which was then hauled onto our boat without ever docking. This made for a kodak moment.
When we got back to Hoi An we had to walk through calf high water just to reach our hotel. We had opted out of the gondola rides offered on account of the overflowing waters. At this point we were equipped with the information from our tour guide that the best rain gear is to be found in the market. Off we went to look for Rando gear, which continues to serve us for days later.
The next day was no better except that we decided to walk through town in our flip flops and just accept the fact that we were going to get all wet. Who knows what was lurking in that water! Good thing we both got Hep vaccinations before leaving the States. The clothes came out great and were quickly shipped home. They will arrive next Feb. when we return from our trip.
We had been warned to only travel with two Vietnamese bus lines, as the others were known to have shady reputations. On the morning we had planned to depart, we walked over to purchase our bus tickets, but were told the bus was completely sold out. Seemed like all the tourists wanted to get as far away from the flood as possible. We ran through the rain and flooded streets from travel agency to travel agency, but could only find one unknown bus company. The agent told us that the only seats available were in the back of the bus. Normally on the overnight bus, each person gets an individual bed. The backrow of the bus, however, is comprised of one large space shared by 5 people. Reluctantly, we agreed to spend the night with three other strangers.
We arrived at the travel agency around 6pm in a light rain and were shuttled via a minibus for 30 minutes to the bus that would take us to our next destination. We were told the streets were too flooded for the big bus. Not sure how the minivan is more capable of getting through the flooded streets, but what choice did we have? The night was not getting off to a good start...
To see photos of Hoi An, please go to our Shutterfly page: grossmintblog.shutterfly.com
Monday, October 20, 2008
Yoga and meditation
We are looking to find a yoga and meditation retreat while in SE Asia. We have done plenty of Google searches, but if anyone has any suggestions, we would love to hear from you. Thanks!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
