More Vietnam

Have had three surprising days in Vietnam. I don't know what I expected, but have very much enjoyed these past few days. On Monday, we drove out of Saigon for about an hour and a half to My Tho, where first we visited the Vinh Trang Pagoda. I loved the huge laughing Buddha!

Like many of the temples in Vietnam, it is not for only one religion so you see a mixture of Buddhist, Daoist, and Hindu statues in the temples, which we found very interesting.

We then headed to the harbour where we boarded a boat to some islands in the Mekong Delta. On one of the islands there are several family-run operations where they make everything from coconuts - candy (which is really good), carvings, etc. The scenery was beautiful, but seeing the industriousness of the people and how they wasted nothing was so interesting. Following a tour of one of the businesses, we were taken across island in a horse cart. Vietnamese horses are quite small - about pony size, but they are full-grown horses. The carts are mostly driven by young women. We went to another family-run place that produces honey and all sort of sweet, honey-based items. We saw a boa constrictor there (ugh) and had a short concert of Vietnamese music by a group of about 8 musicians and singers. The performance was quite good. We then took a small boat navigated by an oar in the back of the boat (sort of like a gondola) up a small canal to another part of the island where we had a wonderful lunch before we got back on the larger boat to head back to the mainland.

Back in Saigon we were taken to Chinatown and the main wholesale market. The place was so crowded and busy - the last time I felt this claustrophobic and overwhelmed by a crowd was in the bazaar district of Istanbul. I had to keep talking to myself so as not to panic! The hustle and bustle of the market was incredible, and the amount and type of merchandise was mind-boggling.

Yesterday we flew to Hue where we were met by a new guide, Thanh, who is a young, very animated and funny man. Since we arrived at about 12:30 our first stop was for lunch. We are never going to starve here in Vietnam - the food has been very plentiful; Pam and I can't believe the quantities of food we have been served - and it has all been so good! Anyway, lunch was in a former French colonial house which was very lovely with lots of shiny woodwork. After lunch we went to the Imperial City which is modelled after the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Pam and me in front of the Imperial City, Hue, Vietnam

The city was built in the 19th century by the last of the dynasties to rule Vietnam, the Nguyen Dynasty. The Imperial City was attacked during the Tet Offensive in 1968 and bears many scars, and was bombed and very badly damaged in 1969. The site is now a UNESCO heritage site and is under restoration. Despite the damage, it is still very beautiful and the restoration will be done in time for our grandchildren to be toured through it by Thanh's daughter - who is 2!

Throne in the theatre of the Imperial City in Hue, Vietnam. The king sat facing the audience and the performers performed to the king; so the performers' backs were to the rest of the audience!

Last night we walked from our lovely art deco hotel to the central business district where there are lots of shops selling silk embroidered pictures, lacquered art works, clothing, leather goods, paintings, etc., etc.We had a not-so-great dinner - badly done western-style food. We will likely stick to Vietnamese food from now on. It was quite dark and very rainy, so the walk back to the hotel was kind of creepy. The creepiness was capped off when I saw a dead rat in the gutter!! Anyone who knows me knows that I have such an aversion to rodents; this really creeped me out!!! Made it back to the hotel and had a great night's sleep!

Today we took a boat trip down the Perfume River for about an hour to the Thien Mu Pagoda. This is a Buddhist monastery and is such a lovely and peaceful setting. Some of the novice monks are orphans who were deposited at the monastery as newborns whose mothers could not care for them; some are sons of families who want their sons to become monks. The pagoda and surrounding buildings are beautiful. This is also the monastery of the monk who drove to Saigon and lit himself on fire to protest the government's anti-Buddhist law in 1963. I remember that event so vividly from the news reports. The car he drove to Saigon and news photos of the event are on display here.

We then went to the Tu Duc Tomb (fourth, I think, emperor of the Nguyen dynasty). Again, the grounds and buildings are lovely, although very much deteriorated through neglect and natural weather damage. It is also now a UNESCO site so funds are available to restore the buildings and grounds. The work is ongoing and what has been restored is beautiful; but the parts that are yet to be restored have their own beauty as well. As with the Imperial City that we visited yesterday, I like to walk around these places and think about what it might have been like to live there during those times. What a different life it would have been!

We stopped on the way to our next visit site to see how they make the Vietnamese bamboo hats and incense. There were several vendors selling fruit as well and we bought a mangosteen which was really delicious - looked like garlic cloves, but tasted like custard, if you can imagine!

Our guide, Thanh, with the woman who sold us the mangosteen.

Our last stop of the day (besides lunch, of course) was Khai Dinh which is the last monument built during the Nguyen dynasty. It has beautiful mosaics and gold work. Since this dynasty went until 1943, there were photos of the last emperor and his family. I always find that photos, unlike painted portraits, help me understand better and to realize these were real people. The monument has some long stairways and some wonderful sculptures. The architecture reflected influences from Europe as well as from Buddhist and Chinese styles.

We then had another fabulous lunch in a beautiful setting. I've been so impressed that we have not had the same dishes over and over again at these lunches that have been included in our tour. Each meal has been unique . . . and delicious!

Tonight we are going to treat our tired feet to a massage at the spa at our hotel. They deserve some pampering after all the walking on brick and stone walkways!