We shifted to our AirB&B today. Getting into the building took a bit of figuring out but eventually we got into our 4 story skinny house. There is a living area on the main floor, a bedroom & bathroom on the first floor that had a very low ceiling. There were three further floors with a bedroom, bathroom & balcony on each floor. All in all – a lot of stairs. The great news is that it is across the street from a bakery that also serves coffee.

Our first stop was for a snack by the Lake of the Returned Sword. According to legend, an Emperor had been given a magical sword by A golden turtle god to defeat a Chinese enemy. After he defeated the Chinese, the emperor was boating on the lake and the Golden turtle god asked for his magic sword back. The Emperor Lợi renamed the lake to commemorate this event, The Turtle Tower (Tháp Rùa) standing on a small island near the center of the lake is linked to the legend. The legend is a little confusing so please don’t take my word for it that I got this correct.

We set out to find bespoke clothing manufacturing for the guys. Dale & Brian ordered bamboo fibre shirts that they will try on tomorrow for a fitting and they will be finished on Sunday. We wandered by the Catholic Cathedral and a lovely park dedicated to a historical hero.

We then went out to explore Hanoi on our own. We made our way to the Metropole Hotel for Charlie Chaplin martinis. Apparently Charlie Chaplin spent his honeymoon with Claudette Goddard at this hotel and he created this martini. We had two. They were delicious and somewhat of a show to pour. The martini was served with a glass of lime sorbet that could be added to the drink for a little more sourness or sampled on the side. I did both. I strongly encourage you to try one at some point in your life!

Charlie Chaplin Martini.
Metropole Hotel Hanoi Vietnam

60 mL Gin. 30 mL apricot brandy. 20 mL lime juice. 10 mL simple syrup. Served with a lemon twist.

60ml is 4 tablespoonfuls, 2 ounces – gin
30ml is 2 tablespoonfuls, 1 ounce- apricot brandy
20ml is 4 teaspoonful – lime juice
10ml is 2 teaspoonful – simple syrup
Lime sorbet on the sode

We left the hotel to find dinner people shared pizza for a bit of a change. On our way back to our residence we realized that the main streets were closed to traffic and we were free to wander without the fear of being picked off by a wayward scooter. There were side shows on the street, people line dancing and during Zoomba in the park and live music. It was so much fun. We are now looking forward to another fairy unscripted day tomorrow. This was a nice change of pace today. Looking forward to what tomorrow brings.

The last day of our tour was entirely in Hanoi. We started off with a visit to the Temple of Literature, the first university in Vietnam. It was founded in 1070 and dedicated to Confucius, scholars and education in general. Initially the focus was on educating the elite. The gates entering the temple were wonderfully named. It was clear that education was important in this space.

Those who passed their exams had their accomplishments and names written in stone steles that were mounted on the backs of stone turtles. Turtle were thought to represent longevity and luck. Some of these monuments of accomplishment date back to the 14th Century.

Confucius and his best students are commemorated in the inner buildings. Confucius’s teachings form one of the three founding philosophies of Vietnamese culture, the other two are Taoism and Buddhism. Confucius influences can be seen in the deep respect the Vietnamese have for their parents and ancestors and education. Confucius promoted the “5 contestant virtues” of benevolence, righteousness, ritual/propriety, wisdom and trust.

While we were there, a group of high school aged youth arrived for teachings and a tour of the facility. Of course, many wanted to practice their English and take pictures with Dale.

There was an extraordinary sculpture garden at the temple reflecting the New Year of the Horse.

Our next stop after the Temple was the Women’s museum, a tribute to the contributions of women to Vietnamese society. The 4-story museum told the story of women’s roles and leadership during the wars of the 20th century. It also described and displayed the daily lives of families and in particular the cultural clothing of women from the 54 ethnic minorities in Vietnam.

At this point we were ready for lunch and were once again whisked off for a delicious meal of local food. Sated we returned to the hotel for rest before our farewell dinner. Jane and I took the opportunity to get a pedicure.

Our tour ended after dinner. It was sad to part with this lovely group of folk. We were so lucky to have such a compatible group of companions. Everyone was game for whatever was thrown at us. People showed up on time and were respectful to each other. We had a lot of fun and many laughs along the way. Our group guide was phenomenal and we felt lucky to get led by someone who was so knowledgeable about cultures, faith practices, and politics of the 4 countries we explored.

We shift to our airB&B on Friday at noon. We have 4 more days in Hanoi to explore more of the city and what Dale experienced on his trips to Hanoi almost 10 years ago.

We had an early start to the day with a pre-breakfast visit to the Sung Sot caves. These caves have formed in the karsts (limestone rock formations scattered throughout the bay). The Karsts are made of soluble stone (I.e., limestone) that are slowly dissolving over millennia. The caves we saw yesterday and today are a product of that process. The Sung Sat caves were “discovered” by the French in 1901 who named them the surprise caves because of their size and the shapes within. The caves have stalagmites (grow from the ground) and stalactites (growing from the ceiling) formations in the three large caverns. The government developed the caves for tourism after the 1990’s.

We returned to the boat to check out and have brunch. We then headed back to shore and a return trip to Hanoi. On the way back we stopped for a water puppet show at one of the villages. It was fantastic! The puppeteers stayed behind the curtain in chest high water and manipulated the puppets through long poles under water.

We returned to Hanoi for our next stop – the Hanoi Hilton. This prison was initially designed to house, torture and kill Vietnamese dissidents, including women, during the French Indochina war. It later housed American pilots captured during the Vietnam/American war, including John McCain. The exhibits were from a Vietnamese perspective and highlighted the resiliency of their people. Much like the visit we had to the Chu Chi Tunnels, this was an important and educational stop that depicted the horrors of war. I found it difficult to take pictures so you will just have to imagine dark, dank cells with horrible lighting and conditions.

We ended our day back at the hotel. After a brief relaxation followed by our ritual of happy hour, we headed off for supper. Our destination of choice was a 1 star Michelin restaurant (my first ever). The food was great but we had difficulty understanding the difference between quality of this restaurant compared to the others we have eaten in (the food here is fantastic in general and our tour company has made sure we eat well). We were amazed at the total bill which, for the two of us came to a whopping $60 cdn.

Tomorrow starts the end of our last day of our tour.

We left our hotel at 8:15 for our 2 hour drive to Ha Long Bay. We stopped for coffee along the way at a very busy highway stop. It was massive and included a snack shop, bathrooms, temple area and bonsai and grapefruit trees.

Our second stop was at an oyster farm. OK, it was a pearl sales opportunity, but they did a great job of describing how cultured pearls are made.

We made it to our boat. We are on the largest wooden boat on the bay. Our group has the boat to ourselves and it has been really fun. We cruised the bay and took in the amazing views.

It was somewhat overcast today so the colours didn’t come through as much as we’d have liked them too.

We took the tender off the boat to explore Ti Top Island where we had the option to climb 400+ steps to a look out or go swimming. I did neither as I am nursing my knee injury from November. While the climb was manageable, the 400+ uneven stairs that didn’t have a handrail seemed a bit too much. Dale was aware of how much Ha Long Bay has changed in the 10 years since his visit. The bay is much busier with both boats and people.

We then went for a cruise into a lagoon through Luon Cave.

We ended our day with happy hour (2 for 1 drinks are never dangerous) and supper. However, before supper the men in our group were challenged in a spring rolls making contest. The good news was that Greg was declared Master Chef in charge of spring rolls with a certificate to prove it.

Once again we ate well and are now crashing in readiness for another busy day tomorrow. I hope we sleep well tonight. It is really quiet on the Bay but we are also at anchor and the boat has been turning slowly for the past few hours. Not dizzy yet!

We got into travel mode again as we made our last plane trip before heading home. The two hour flight to Hanoi from Saigon was largely uneventful.

The name Hanoi means “inside the bend in the red river” and was established in 1010 AD. It’s original name was Hung Luang or Soaring Dragon. This image remains an important one in the community.

We immediately went for lunch at a local restaurant. It was our first opportunity to deal with crossing roads in Hanoi. Our guides encouraged us to be like “sticky rice” as we waited for a lull in oncoming traffic. The idea is to find the gap, walk slowly and confidently across traffic and expect people on scooters or in cars to go around you. So far so good!

After lunch we headed into the downtown area and toured Ho Chi Min’s mausoleum. Ho Chi Min had originally wanted to be cremated and have his ashes divided between the three parts of Vietnam (north, central and south). The government decided to ignore his wishes and arrange for him to be embalmed and enshrined in the capital. The building itself was designed by Russian architects. People can see his body in the mausoleum on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings. The site is closed for a few months every year when they re-embalm the body. They used to take him to the Soviet Union for this task but are now able to perform it locally.

We also saw the single pillar pagoda. An 11th century king of the area prayed to the lady Buddha to help him have a son. His wife became pregnant soon after and he built the shrine in her honour. The original shrine was rebuilt in its current form after the French left. It was initially built on a wooden pillar and was somewhat larger. The current pagoda rests on a concrete base. It is an active shrine.

Our next adventure was an electric car tour of the old city. This warren of market stalls was incredible. The chaos was overwhelming. Historically the markets were organized by streets dedicated to selling specific goods (e.g., shoe street or metal working street, etc.).

We then checked into our hotel and, after happy hour, went to find dinner. We have yet to find the method of ordering the right amount of food. We ate family style and still had too much! However, it was too much of a good thing and we retired for the night comfortably sated.

Tomorrow we are off for a cruise to Ha Long Bay on a Junk ship. The ship will likely be filled entirely by our tour. It should be exciting.

Our day was fairly laid back compared to the last week. We had breakfast, boarded the bus and headed for the Mekong Delta. We stopped at an interesting religious site called Cao Dai. This is a new religion developed in 1926 after the leader consulted with a Ouija board. Our guide explained that Caodaism is a merger of  Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism and Christianity. They believe in one god, that all religions come from the same source and that people can access spiritual connections through seances. Their main symbol is the left eye – a sign of god’s omnipresence, spiritual awareness and universal truth. This faith has become popular and has millions of followers around the world.

Our next stop was the river. Our tour took us to several villages where we had the opportunity to see the crafts and culture of those living in the Delta. The cruise was laid back and interesting. The villagers get around by canoes, either motor or hand powered. The eyes painted on the boats are protection from the river monsters and to see the way home. There are no eyes on the fishing boats so that they don’t scare the fish away.

At one of our stops we watched the women turn water hyacinth stems into baskets. When fresh, the stems break easily. When dried they make strong fibres for baskets of all kinds.

We were served at least 10 different fruits on the cruise, including coconut water (still in the coconut). Drinking coconut water is the natural and Local way of getting electrolytes into your system. Given the heat, this was welcome.

We stopped at one site where the locals demonstrated folk music in song and dance accompanied by interesting instruments.

We also stopped at a shop that made popped rice, rice paper for food and coconut candy. The gift shop allowed us to purchase the snacks (and taste the rice wine they also made) and local handicrafts.

Lunch was at an historic wooden house built in 1886. More food was provided than we could possibly eat (as usual) but it was so good we tried our best. The most unique dish was the grilled tilapia fresh rolls prepared at our table.

The 10 minute walk back to the bus was helpful for our digestion. The journey back into Saigon was mellow. We called it a night after a drink on the rooftop bar. Tomorrow we head to Hanoi.

We started our day with a visit to the Fulbright University of Vietnam for a lecture from Dr. Nguyen Thanh Trung entitled “Vietnam’s Culture, History & Economy: From ancient roots to modernity.” He provided us with a huge amount of context for understanding Vietnam. He covered a lot of ground and was candid about the strengths and challenges facing this country. We also had the opportunity to speak with university students from the International Student Club. They shared about their lives and allowed us to ask questions about all sorts of topics. They got to practice their English – it was a great exchange.

We then boarded our bus and headed to Cu Chi tunnels. We stopped for lunch and were fed incredible food in a beautiful environment.

The Cu Chi Tunnels are a connecting network of tunnels in the Cu Chi district near Saigon. These tunnels were used by the Viet Cong during the war in resistance to American and the South Vietnamese. The Viet Cong used this network as their base to engage in gorilla warfare. Viet Cong soldiers lived and worked from this sophisticated series of underground living quarters, meeting rooms, ammunition supply rooms and medical centres. They were designed to be well hidden so that the Viet Cong could surprise and ambush their enemies. We viewed traps, entrances and different bunkers that remain in the area.

Visiting this site reinforced all the stories I’ve heard about how horrible the war was for everyone. While the Viet Cong were ambushing, setting traps and doing what they could to resist, they were being bombed by B52 bombers, set on fire with Napalm and devastated by horrible living conditions. The land has still not recovered. While the jungle has grown back, the soil is still poisoned and fruit growing in the area can’t be eaten.

The reality of the site also emphasized how horrible it was for the American soldiers trying to survive in hot, humid, dense jungle conditions. They did not know the environment and didn’t know their enemy well. Terror must have been a daily condition for everyone.

It was a draining day and the bus ride back to our hotel was subdued. We went to the rooftop bar in our hotel for a drink before heading out for food. The Main Street was closed to vehicles Saturday night and we felt comfortable walking around. We only had to cross one street (twice) and we survived both times.

We were off just after the crack of dawn to catch our flight to Ho Chi Min City (AKA Saigon). The trip was uneventful until we landed. What a crush of people all trying to get through customs. We had to have visas for each of the countries we have visited on this tour and we were warned that Vietnam was uniquely specific about having all data consistent and accurate for all visas. One of our tour mates had a glitch that made us anxious about his ability to continue with us, but all was well and we were able to start our exploration of Saigon.

It was a long bus ride to our hotel in the city centre . We stopped for lunch at a local restaurant and experienced delicious spring rolls and Pho.

We checked into the Grand Hotel Saigon, built in the 1930’s with a definite European flavour.

Without much of a break, we went off on a walking tour of Saigon. We noticed the opera house, post office, city hall and other sites before heading to the roof top bar of the Rex Hotel. This was the watering hole for American journalists during the Vietnam war. Correspondents would meet daily for the “5 o’clock follies” when the allies broadcast the news of the day. They were called the follies because the official statements were often too optimistic and didn’t match the reality of the war.

We wandered through the city until we found food (which was delicious) and finally found our way to bed. More exploration of Saigon and area tomorrow.

Our alarm rang at 4 am so that we could be on the bus by 5:15 am. The goal for this morning was to first see the sun rise over Angkor Wat and then tour the site.

Angkor Wat is the largest religious complex in the world. It was built between 1113 – 1150 CE and covers over 400 acres. This was slightly before Notre Dame in Paris was built (1163). The temples were dedicated to Vishnu and a lot of the carvings reflect Hindu deities and teachings. There are 5 towers in the inner complex which are meant to reflect the 5 central peaks of Mt. Meru (the Hindu dwelling place of the gods) and the 4 directions. The moat around the temple is meant to represent the ocean at the edge of the world. Over time, the temple was rededicated and became a Buddhist temple and by the 15th C it was largely abandoned. However, Theravda Buddhist monks maintained the temple and it remained a pilgrimage site. Europeans “rediscovered” the temple in 1863 and restoration work began. Restoration work stopped during the Khmer Rouge years but has continued since. Angkor Wat was declared a UNESCO Heritage site in 1992. It is now one of the most visited sites in South East Asia.

We walked around and into the temple, climbing the steep steps to the central tower. It was worth the effort.

We left Angkor Wat for Angkor Thom, a temple built by the same king. It was smaller but still interesting.

The gate to Angkor Thom (which means big city) was powerful. 80% of the city is still jungle. Inside it were many buildings that have been identified by LiDAR but not recovered yet. One of the temples that has been discovered is Bayon. It had many depictions of everyday life carved into its walls.

We left this site for something very different. Our next stop was the Angkor Wildlife Aquarium project. This facility is focused on protecting and preserving the the fish and wildlife in the Tonle Sap lake and Mekong river. They also had a mandate to educate Cambodians about the resources in their environment. It was great to look at the fish and see all the species they are trying to save. The lake and river system are under pressure due to upstream activities such as damns and demands on water.

After a delicious lunch at the aquarium we headed out for a boat tour of the lake.

People live on the water year-round. They form a floating community of fisherfolk whose lifestyle revolves around the rivers and lakes. There is significant poverty here but a resiliency to survive and maintain a water-based lifestyle.

This was a jam-packed day and we all piled into the bus for a quiet ride back to the hotel. It was an early night as we were leaving the next morning for Vietnam.

We spent two full days in Cambodia and were kept so busy that I haven’t had time or energy to update the blog. We just arrived in Vietnam and have an hour bus from the airport to lunch, so I am going to try to catch up.

One of the most striking aspects of our time in Cambodia was recognizing the resiliency of the people. Our local guide shared freely about his life. He was a child during the Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979). Pol Pot, the leader of the Khmer Rouge, initiated a genocide that killed over 1/4 of the population (estimated 1.5 – 3 million people died) of Cambodia at that time. That people survived the starvation, disease, forced labour, and the social destruction of the times is amazing. Cambodian society was deeply damaged and recovery is ongoing. After the fall of the Khmer Rouge, physical recovery from the devastation of war and the remnants of war, such as landmines was needed. The country was poor and few professionals of any kind remained. The entire country needed to reboot. Our guides focused specifically on how far Cambodia has come in the almost 50 years since the defeat of the Khmer Rouge. Little information was provided to us about how reconciliation efforts have occurred.

We started our journey into Cambodia by stopping at the Angkor Ticket Centre. Each 3-day pass cost $62USD with $2 from each ticket going to fund a children’s hospital in the area. We then checked into our hotel, had lunch by the pool, went for a swim and then watched a documentary on Cambodia before dinner. This prepped us for what we would see over the next two days.

On our first stop was Ta Prohm temple, also known as the jungle temple was built in the 1100’s and later abandoned and left as ruins, allowing the giant kapok trees and strangler figs to take over. It was overgrown by the jungle until it was “rediscovered” by Europeans in the late 1800’s. Archeologists decided it was best to leave the temple “as is” and only cleared trees from a portion of the site. The film Laura Croft:Tomb Raider was filmed here.

Despite the overgrowth, the carvings on some of the ruins were fantastic.

Our next stop of the day was Banteay Srei. It was built in the 10th century and originally dedicated to a Hindu god. It is also called the “woman’s temple” because it is so beautiful.

92% of Cambodians follow Theravada Buddhism, a form that arose in the 13th century and emphasizes monastic life, Pali scripture and meditation. The temples, such as this one were originally inspired by Hindu teachings and beliefs, shifting over time to reflect Buddhist beliefs. For example, the our guide showed us this carving and told us the story it depicted.

The Hindu god Brahma (god of creation) and the demon king were at odds. The demon king wanted revenge on Vishnu so he pretended that he wanted to follow Vishnu. Initially Brahma didn’t believe the demon king and kept denying him the opportunity. The demon king persisted and eventually Brahma relented and blessed the demon king with 5 gifts: that he couldn’t be killed by a man or animal or killed in a building or killed during the day or at night or killed in heaven or on earth or killed with a metal weapon. Once these blessings were received the demon turned on Brahma as was his original plan. Brahma seeing he had been tricked, got help from Shiva (the destroyer) and they figured out that to kill the demon they needed someone who was 1/2 human and 1/2 animal (I.e. as above/ man & lion) doing the deed at dawn, in a doorway space with a claw. The moral of the story is don’t mess with the gods (I may have gotten some of this story wrong (i.e., names, spelling, etc), but you get the gist.)

I took a million pictures at this site. The carvings were well preserved and beautiful in their detail.

Our next stop on this busy day was the Spitler School. This school was started by an American tourist who saw the need for the village to have their own school. This school has been operating since 2005 and currently has 1200 students in either primary or middle school (grade 1-9). It was fun to interact with the kids.

Our day ended with a dinner and cultural performances. We ate incredible food while watching a puppet play and traditional dancing.

The puppets were shadow puppets telling the epic story of Ramayana. We had heard the story before at one of the temples. It was fun to figure out what was happening. The puppets were made out of tooled leather and operated behind a large screen so we saw the shadow in action.

You may now understand why I am delayed in posting. We were exhausted in a good way by the end of this day. We crashed with the reality that we had a 4 am wake up call for the morning. Stay tuned for Cambodia Day 2.