The Long Fish

In the past few days we've travelled from Nha Trang to Dalat and then onwards to Mui Ne. The Central Highland town of Dalat is a busy, unlovely town surrounded by spectacular hills, lakes, forests and mountains. It's popular with honeymooning couples, so there is a profusion of wedding dress shops and you are never far from a horse hitched up to a cute carriage or a pedalo shaped like a swan. Strangely, we didn't feel the need to sample either of these activities, and opted instead for hiking, mountain biking and kayaking, escaping the communist concrete of Dalat for the beauty of the Highlands. Our guides from Phat Tire Adventures were fantastic and we had a couple of brilliant days getting close to nature - actually face first in it at times.

Mui Ne is exactly as we hoped it would be: the most beautiful beach we've seen yet. A one street strip of resorts, restaurants and those little shops selling tat, a characteristic of every seaside town - reminds us of home....

Any readers who've visited Vietnam themselves will agree that the food here is reason enough to visit this country. All those dishes you thought were familiar turn out to be so much better: light and crispy spring rolls; fried wonton pancakes; noodle soup for breakfast. The more no-frills you go, the better it often is. We don't generally worry too much about what's coming our way if language and ingredients are just too complicated - indeed, sometimes it almost appears easier not to ask, especially as we sometimes think that Vietnamese people working in the hotel and restaurant trade have long ago established that the best way to deal with these foreigners is just to agree with them. Tell the tourists what they want to hear, and everybody's happy.

Example: James orders some "Cantonese Rice" for lunch...
James: I'll have the Cantonese Rice please.
Waiter: Yes.
James: Does this contain beef?
Waiter: Yes.
James: And chicken?
Waiter: Yes.
James: Great, that sounds good.
Waiter: Yes.

Rice arrives, I take a few mouthfuls. We agree that the bits of bacon are very tasty and that the prawns are an unexpected extra.

Why we did not reflect further on this experience, I don't know. Later that evening we went to a seafood restaurant - shack on the beach, plastic chairs, totally packed, all good signs - and thought we would go for the day's special...

James: So, the catch of the day, what is it?
Waiter: We have two. We have eel.
(Look of alarm passes between H and J)
Waiter: Or we have fish.
James: (with relief) Great. What kind of fish is it?
Waiter: A long fish.
James: Maybe ... mackerel? (mackerel in Vietnam are huge)
Waiter: Yes.
James: We'll have that then.

At this point, waiter motions us to follow him to the tanks where the live fish and seafood await their end. We look in the middle tank, note the eel and look more closely at the two very cross-looking Long Fish that are moodily swirling about the tank and intimidating all the prawns. They are grey, about two feet long, with blunt heads and two dorsal fins that stick up slightly above the water. We choose the bigger one. As we make our way back to our table, we have realised that our long fish is no mackerel - he's a shark. Barbequed, and served just with chilli and wedges of lime, he was delicious.

Today we go onwards from Mui Ne to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). We have just a night there before we get on a plane to Cambodia, flying to Siem Reap. This is the closest town to the Temples of Angkor: a massive and awe-inspiring complex of ancient monuments. Then we plan to make our way by land and hopefully by the River Mekong back into Vietnam, heading down through the Mekong Delta until we arrive at the tiny island of Phu Quoc - a relaxation stop before three days in Saigon and the end of our trip in Vietnam!

Love H&J

Hue to Hoi An and Nha Trang

In the past couple of weeks, we've travelled down the coast of Vietnam, getting as far as Nha Trang. A flight took us from Hanoi to Hue, the old capital of the country. After having to spend a few days too many in Hanoi, we liked Hue mainly on the basis of its not being Hanoi; our road-crossing skills are now well-honed and we step out into the flow of motorcyles without fear! It was fascinating to wander round the walled Citadel and the inner sanctum of the Forbidden Purple City- this was where the Emperor's wives lived and the only men permitted within these walls were eunuchs. However, quite a lot of mental reconstruction is needed on the part of the visitor: Hue is pretty much in the middle of the country, and as a result was the scene of fierce fighting in the American War (as the Vietnamese refer to 1968-). It was fairly hard to imagine that only four decades ago this peaceful city was a battleground, with the Citadel the sight of the Tet Offensive. It's also difficult to understand the resolute focus the Vietnamese seem to have on the future, with no bitterness or anger evident to us as Western travellers.... Perhaps the youth of the country (half the population is under 39) has something to do with this. Anyway, Hue gave us a taste of a more normal Vietnamese city, and even the city's legendary rainfall meant that afternoons were spent in bars drinking very cheap beer and playing cards (getting the hang of the traveller mindset now!)

It was after a day and a night of the heaviest rain we've ever seen that we boarded a bus for Hoi An, another few hours further south. If there was a "Vietnam" section to Disneyland's EPCOT - where a few square metres represent a country's culture in broad brush strokes- it would look like Hoi An. Yellow washed walls, tailors' shops, twinkling lanterns over the river... And plenty of tourists.... Actually, exclusively tourists. However, we intrepid types ventured out one evening to a real Vietnamese place, just a shop front by the road full of men drinking beer (no women at all... how strange). Taking a seat on the sort of small plastic chair that would be reserved in Britain for a particularly diminutive child of five we enjoyed cold beers from an ice box at 10,000 dong a go - that's about 30p - and plates of spring rolls, stir-fried prawns and morning glory with garlic (stop laughing. It's a kind of spinach). Having ignored James's reluctance to go and his several requests to go back to the old town, I was then pleased when he had to concede that it had been a really good idea and probably one of the best meals yet, and didn't remind him of this at all over the next few days.

The following day an ill-judged walk in the punishing sun led to us discovering the beautiful Vietnamese coast for the first time. The beach out of Hoi An is palm fringed, expansive and near enough deserted if you walk a few paces away from the road. Lunch that day was a whole mackerel, (maybe from the catch of one of the tiny one-man boats that came ashore that morning), sliced down the middle and barbequed, and we spent the day on sun loungers looking at the waves. After a fair few days moving around and sight-seeing (I know, I know, poor us), it was great to really feel 'on holiday'. A cooking class that evening led to more great food and learning some authentic Vietnamese recipes that we hope Adam and Nicki will let us try out on them when we see them!

One more night and it was back on another plane to Nha Trang, and having done quite a bit of culture stuff (James: "Look. I don't want to go and see more temples and shit. I just want to go to the beach"), the last few days have mainly been about where to go for breakfast and drinking the kinds of cocktails that contain blue curacao and come with a fruit garnish. Despite the weather reports of flooding and even typhoons (gah!), brilliant sunshine here all day. As a friendly restaurant proprietor told us, the islands surrounding Nha Trang protect it from really severe weather. He was plying us with fresh coconuts topped up with a dash of Malibu at the time, so we believed everything he said. Our next stop tomorrow is the Central Highland town of Dalat, so we will be well out of the way of any scary weather anyway.

Still trying to figure out a way to put a few more pictures up - hope you like the two at the top. The cocktail on the table is a prime example of what I am mostly drinking at the moment...

Love H&J

Rules of the Road in Vietnam

Really wish I could get some pictures of Vietnamese traffic madness up here to go with this.... To follow, once I get on a PC made after 1990. Meanwhile, snapshot of the country's highways and byways:

1. The Horn. Do not reserve use of the horn for emergencies. Generous sounding of the horn is your way of letting other road users know that your car is bigger, you drive faster and your right to drive straddling several lanes unquestioned. If driving a motorbike, don't be anxious thinking that beeping constantly is going to alarm other road users; no one will pay any attention. However, if you are at the wheel of an industrial truck carrying several tons of sand, anyone in the way of your path is going to get flattened, so they had better take notice.
2. The Horn II. Despite the above, hearing another vehicle's horn sound is not an imperative to get out of the way. Even if you are merely a child on a bicycle, a single placid glance behind you to register the presence of that truck full of sand is sufficient. He is not going to crash into you. He may pass perilously close; he may undertake using the hard shoulder; if he's really in a hurry, he'll just go into the flow of oncoming traffic. Let him do as he may. Carry on talking to your friend who is sat on the rear mudguard.
3. The Horn III. What with all those horns sounding, a plain old beep is just not going to cut it. You need to modify yours to sound a couple of different notes in turn, maybe adding an echo effect- you wouldn't want the constant sounding of your horn to become grating or tedious!
4. Junctions. Simple. Slow down - swerve - weave - but don't stop. Ever.
5. Road rage. Whether it's the child who nearly went under your wheels, the live pig who nearly squirmed off that motorbike, or the elderly woman, heavy trays hanging from her shoulders as she made her stately progress across the road.... no point in getting angry. Buddhist serenity is the only attitude to take - could get dangerous otherwise...

Some pictures of us!

Visual confirmation for our parents that we continue to be in good health... These pictures were taken during our three day trip to lovely Halong Bay, beautiful despite the mist.

Sapa

Arriving at the station to embark on an overnight journey to the town of Hue, we were given a reminder of the slings and arrows that independent travelling can throw at you. The train is delayed, said an earnest young woman from the train company. There are floods in Hue. It cannot travel tonight. Oh, so by delayed you mean....cancelled? Yes, and here is a wad of dong to buy back your ticket. Also in the makeshift waiting room were other passengers waiting to travel to Sapa, in the northern mountainous regions bordering China. Reasoning that there were unlikely to be floods in this area, and that it would be disappointing to wake up in Hanoi when we had hoped to be somewhere else, we decided instead to board the overnight train and go north instead of south.

Our train cabin was shared by a charming young couple who seemed to be on their way to that universal destination for lovers, a minibreak away. We clattered and shunted our way through the night, and then suddenly there was a knock at the door - "Lao Cai!" - and we emerged blinking into the 6am light. A minibus took us up to the town of Sapa, and we started to breathe in the cool, fresh air- a welcome change after Hanoi. After finding our hotel room had panoramic views across the valley, we congratulated ourselves on the way things had turned out.

The following day was spent walking through the valley and down to the villages in the company of a guide, 17 year old Cho, and several of other women from a neighbouring village. These women, dressed in their traditional attire of indigo blue cloth and rich brocade, are the real reason everyone comes to Sapa. They come from the Hmong tribe and proudly define themselves as Hmong rather than Vietnamese. Every day, these women walk the hilly miles into Sapa, descending on tourists with cries of "Buy from me, buy from me!" Tiny and smiling, they are persistent but charming sellers, looking incredibly young to Western eyes- most of the girls we spoke to were 13-15 years old but looked much younger. Cho led us from our hotel down the road and quickly off onto steep and muddy tracks. We chatted away to the girls, their surprisingly fluent English giving us the chance to learn about their lives. Cho lived with her parents, having finished school at 17, but for many children work in the rice fields and selling in the markets becomes more important once they get to about 10. As a single girl, she wore her hair in a pulled back ponytail, rather than winding a braid of her around her head and fastening it with a comb- this would signify she was married. Another girl carried her three-month old baby on her back, rather than the straw basket the others. Aged 24, this was baby number three, aged just three months old. The women were sure-footed every step of the way, unlike me - after a couple of near misses, the Hmong ladies decided it would be much simpler if they just held my hands down the steep bits. Feeling slightly ridiculous, I nevertheless thought it better to accept their help rather than end up in the mud... and with each woman maintaining a vice-like grip on either hand, I didn't really have much choice!

Cool and misty Sapa has been a welcome break from the heat of Hanoi - tonight we are throwing ourselves back into transit with the overnight train back to Hanoi, then an early morning flight taking us to Hue. Early romantic plans about travelling the length of the country by rail may now have fallen by the wayside... we're looking forward to the beaches of Nha Trang and Helen particularly wants to work on that traveller's tan!

Love H&J

Happy 1000th Birthday Hanoi!

One week in to our trip- think an update for the blog is about due... Photos to follow soon.

Our arrival in Hanoi on the 1st October was preceded by a few delays and uncertainties- not least going through visa and immigration- but, as it turned out, our date of arrival was no less than the beginning of ten days of celebrations to mark the 1000th birthday of the city.... Talk about an auspicious day to arrive in the country! After sleeping off the jet lag, we stepped outside to a dizzying scene of street hawkers, ladies bearing hanging baskets from poles across their shoulders, and motorbikes cramming the streets. Like most other western travelers we've seen, we spent the first few hours wandering around in a daze, getting a bit lost and trying to avoid being run over by those motorbikes. A restorative beer gave us the opportunity to take stock and get used to the zeros in a currency where £1 is worth 30 000 Vietnamese dong!

Later that evening, we wandered down to Hoan Kiem lake, very much the centre of Hanoi. It didn't take us long to realize that something was about to happen- the lake was lined with people obviously getting a good spot for e festivities, balloons were floating above the lake and music and dancers were on every corner. Taking a seat ourselves, we were befriended by a young Vietnamese guy. Like everyone around us, he was visibly excited- "this is a once in a lifetime moment!" - and told us a bit about life in Vietnam. Asking us what we did and where we came from, he seemed to pity James, the law student, as lawyers in Vietnam are poorly paid. Whereas, teaching in Vietnam is a highly respected profession. We stopped talking as the fireworks began and people from everywhere rushed to the edge of the lake. Now, we like our fireworks at home, but every new explosion brought screams of total delight from the crowd - we took a video and will try and get it up here when we get the chance- the joy of all these people at the celebrations was really moving. It was quite an incredible evening and as we wove our way back through the crowds, the T shirts, stickers and scarves bearing "I love Hanoi" left us in no doubt as to the affection of these people for the city. 1st October: an amazing start to our travels.

We're going to buy tickets this afternoon for our rail journey to Hue on a sleeper. Will try to add some photos in the next few days.

Love H&J