Hue-Good Morning Vietnam!

Mausoleum for Emperor Tu Duc.  The statues represent some of his guards.  They all had to be shorter than him......he was around 5 feet tall!

One thing that I would say is an absolute must if you come to Vietnam is that you get up and get out early.  This probably won't be much of an issue since there is a 13 hour time difference between here and the east coast of the US.  Your sleep patterns will be out of whack!  Being the party animals that we are, we've been going to bed around 8:30-9:00 local time.  This means we're up and at it early.  One thing that we've learned is that the Vietnamese get up early.  They're out walking, stretching, doing aerobics, tai chi and various other forms of exercise.  It's really quite a sight to see and one I'm sure you wouldn't want to miss.
We are now in Hue.  It's a city of around 350,000 people, located in central Vietnam on the Perfume River.  The river got its name because in the fall the orchids fall into the river giving it a perfume like aroma.  As we drove into the city and looked around Beth and I agreed that it looked like a very livable city.  Not too big.  Not too small.  Plenty to see and do for an extended period of time.

A "tourist boat" going down the Perfume River.  This photo was taken from our hotel room.

Hue is located about 60 miles south of the Demilitarized Zone during the Vietnam/American war, which was the dividing line between North and South Vietnam.  It was the sight of one of the most fierce battles of the Tet Offensive (a series of well orchestrated attacks by the North Vietnamese military).  There were heavy casualties on both sides including 216 Americans killed and 1,584 wounded.  In addition to the military casualties, thousands of citizens (estimates are as high as 10,000) were captured by the North Vietnamese army.  Sadly most of them were executed.
Many of the historical sites in and around Hue were heavily damaged by bombing and ground combat.  They remained in ruins for many years but thankfully they have been restored over the past twenty years or so.  Although the South Vietnamese & American troops eventually won the battle, most experts see the Tet Offensive and Battle for Hue as a turning point.  Support for the war in the United States began to fade at this point, leading to significant protests and turmoil.  Can you imagine if there had been 24 hour news in the 60's and early 70's (assassinations of leaders, anti-war protests, race issues, etc.)?
Yesterday after arriving (we flew from Hanoi on Vietnam Airlines) and visited a couple of the most significant sites in the city before checking into our hotel.  First up was the royal mausoleum of Emperor Tu Duc.  He was the ruler in the mid-1800's.  Interestingly, he designed the mausoleum early in his reign so he could enjoy the beauty and serenity of it before he died.  Now that's thinking ahead.  He had a harem of wives but no children.  He had an adopted son who was made Emperor after his death, but his reign was a little shorter.  He only lasted three days before he was arrested and there doesn't seem to be much information on what happened to him after that...…….I'll bet it wasn't pretty!  One other interesting fact, Emperor Tu Duc is not actually buried in the tomb inside the mausoleum.  Because he was buried with many treasures, to keep graver robbers away the location of his actual tomb is a secret.  How you may ask did they keep it a secret?  The 200 servants who were responsible for digging the actual grave were all beheaded after he was buried!  Not very nice, but I guess it was effective.

Inside the entrance to the mausoleum grounds

Mausoleum grounds

We then visited the Citadel that was built in the 1700's.  Although it's on a much smaller scale, it is designed very similar to the Forbidden City in China.  There is a surrounding outer wall, followed by an inner wall and gate that leads to temples, palaces, a library and theater that were for the exclusive use of the emperor, his family and inner circle.

Outside the Citadel

Walkway through the Citadel

Archway above the entrance to the library

Inside the Citadel Theater.  When it was used by the emperor the stage was up front (where the photo was taken) and the emperor sat in the area on the second floor center (rear of the picture)

After checking into the hotel (Moonlight Hue) and walking around the area for a bit it was time for a little indulgence...…...again!  The hotel spa was offering a 50% discount on the first treatment and a 60% discount for any additional treatments.  We both went for the one hour Swedish Massage.  This was our fifth massage this trip and we both agreed it was the best.  Beth then had two additional treatments, a manicure and a pedicure.  As for me,  according to some app on the phone that I checked, I've been roaming this earth for 22,214 days.  I did something that I had never previously done, I got a pedicure.  Was it fun?  Heck yeah!  Did it feel great?  Absolutely!  Do my gnarly feet look a bit better?  You'd better believe it!  As I laid back enjoying it I couldn't help thinking.  This young lady is probably really questioning her career choice right now!
Keeping true to form, we were up early this morning and enjoyed a walk along the banks of the Perfume River.  We left the hotel a little after 5:00 am, thinking there wouldn't be much action yet.  As we approached the boardwalk we were surprised to see everything was already in full swing.  There were walkers, runners, individuals and groups practicing tai chi everywhere...……...Good Morning Vietnam!

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights the street in front of the hotel and several surrounding streets are closed to motorized vehicles.  Makes for a fun and safe street scene.

     
  

Sapa revealed...........at least for a few minutes!

Yesterday afternoon, while sitting downstairs in the restaurant enjoying a slice of cake and some Vietnamese coffee, we noticed it had stopped raining.  We decided to take advantage of the situation and do a little stroll around the city center.  From looking at a map we knew there was a park and a lake nearby so we headed in that direction.  As we walked it was as if a small miracle was taking place right before our eyes.  Not only was it not raining, the fog lifted and there was even a tiny sliver of blue sky.

When I said a tiny sliver of blue sky, I really meant tiny!

What we saw was a small park with lots of flowers and trees as well as a fairly large lake with a walking path all the way around.  We also saw that Sapa really was surrounded by mountains on all sides.  As advertised, Sapa really is a mountain village!   Strolling around the lake we noticed that about as quickly as the surroundings were revealed, the fog was rolling back in and the scenery was disappearing.  Within just a couple of minutes the brightly lit buildings across the lake had completely disappeared!  A few minutes later it began to drizzle again.  Oh well, it was nice while it lasted!

One thing that I left out of yesterdays blog was about education.  As we walked through the villages we passed several schools.  Lo May shared with us that government funded education in this region covers elementary through lower secondary (1st - 9th grade).  There are no high schools here so children wishing to continue their education must go to boarding schools in larger cities like Hanoi.  The boarding schools are expensive so very few children continue their education.  It is Lo May's goal to give her two children the opportunity to go not only to high school but college.  It's a wish we both hope comes true for her and her family.

The City Center Park

Along the lakefront

A couple of minutes later the buildings on the other side of the lake had completely disappeared


The two pictures below were taken at sunrise this morning...……….10 minutes apart!

This afternoon it's back to Hanoi.  We then start heading south.  Up next: Hue

Hue

Sapa-A day you definitely can't judge by the weather!

The view from our balcony this morning!

I'm not sure if it rained all night last night.  I do know that every time I stirred I could hear the rain coming down.  When we woke up and opened the curtains we were greeted with drizzle and fog.  Actually the fog was so thick that it would have made a foggy day in San Francisco seem clear.  When we FaceTimed with Sarah we showed her the fog and she was impressed.  So when you can impress someone from the Bay area with images of fog, it must be pretty thick.
We knew yesterday that we were going to have to make some slight alterations to our days activities.  The rainy weather that Sapa has been experiencing made one of the trails we were going to take too slippery and muddy.  The overnight rain, that continued on and off throughout the morning along with the fog caused us to make even more changes.
In spite of the conditions, onward through the elements we trekked.
Our driver took us out of town once again.  This time a little further and in a different direction.  We slowly hiked about four miles, being joined occasionally by pigs and piglets, chickens and baby chicks as well as ducks and ducklings.  We passed through Lao Chai village.  This village was comprised of around 2500 members of the Hmong ethnic group.  The walk was downhill into a valley.  Occasionally Lo May would smile and say something like "if you could see right now you would be overlooking beautiful terraced rice patties".  Of course, for the most part we could barely see beyond the noses on our faces.  We did enjoy seeing some more of the colorful handmade clothes with their very detailed stitching.  We also enjoyed seeing a rice grinder.  It uses a fairly primitive but somewhat ingenious set up to separate the rice kernels from the husks (there is a picture below).

Once we were down in the valley the weather cleared...…….a little bit!

Me and Lo May crossing the first of two suspension bridges.  As we walked I told her about Ben, Sarah, Joey and Sweet Baby James.  She enjoyed seeing pictures of all of them (plus Allie).  When I told her how old Ben and Sarah were she shared with us that she was 29.  She's married and has two boys (10 & 4).

The Rice Grinder!  There is rice in the hole on the left side of the picture.  Water would flow into the trough until it was full.  It would tilt backwards dumping the water and raising the grinding stone on the left.  When the water emptied the stone would then pound down into the rice.  This all day process would eventually separate the rice kernels from the husks...…….as the British would say, brilliant!

We continued our walk to the Giang Ta Chai village.  The residents of this village are a small ethnic group known as Red Dzao.  There are subtle changes in the colors of the clothes and the designs for every ethnic group.  The changes are sometimes so subtle that without a keen eye (not me) or a guide you might not notice.  At the end of the walk, we crossed a suspension bridge back to our car and driver.  We bounced our way along a bumpy narrow road that was being rebuilt back to the city center of Sapa.

Recognize this plant?  Yep, that's a marijuana plant!  They use the fibers to make clothes...…….that's their story and they're sticking with it.

Hemp fibers on a weaving loom.  I wonder what happened to the leaves?

Very scenic, even in the fog and rain.  This was in the valley and was as clear as it ever got.

By mutual agreement, because of the weather we called off our afternoon activities.  A little down time won't be a bad thing.  There were some killer looking desserts downstairs and at least a dozen places to get a massage within about a three minute walk of our hotel.
YOU CAN'T JUDGE THE DAY BY THE WEATHER!

Extreme pleasure and excruciating agony all rolled together!

Beth and our local guide Lo May.  Terraced rice patties that were recently harvested in the background

It was a very pleasant five and a half hour trip from Hanoi to Sapa.  With the exception of the last 25 miles or so the road was a very modern highway with minimal traffic.  It was mostly through rural rolling hills that were covered with tropical trees and plants.  The valleys were rice patties, about half of which had already been harvested while the remainder will be harvested in the next few weeks.  The last 25 miles were on a narrow winding road that steadily climbed higher into the mountains until we reached our destination of Sapa.
Sapa is a small market town of around 9,000 that is located in Northwest Vietnam. The province in which it is located borders China.  Before the 1990's Sapa was primarily an agricultural village.  Since that time it's seen a steady increase in tourism, mainly due to it's mountain scenery along with numerous hiking trails that have been developed in the area.  It's altitude and northern position in the country make it the only area in Vietnam that gets snow during the winter.
Sapa

We checked into the hotel around 12:30.  After a few minutes in the room I realized that my phone was missing.  I quickly realized that I had left it in the seven passenger van that had brought us and five others from Hanoi.  After a few panicked minutes we were able to get ahold of the good people at Tonkin Travel.  They, in turn, were able to contact the driver who was still in Sapa.  He brought the phone back to the hotel where we were reunited!  I have quite a track record of forgetting or losing things as we have traveled about.  A camera in South Africa, clothes on two different occasions in Spain and now a phone in Vietnam.  Amazingly in every case everything has been retrieved fully in tact.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record already, we had another delicious lunch at a restaurant attached to our hotel.  We then headed out with Lo May (my spelling may not be correct) for an afternoon walking tour of the area.  We were taken by van just a few miles out of town and dropped off for a walk through the village of Suoi Ho.  As we walked along Lo May shared a little bit about the village as well as the different ethnic groups that live in the Sapa area.  According to her there are six main groups (Kinh 35%, Hmong 22%, Dao 13%, Tay 14% Thai 9% & Nung 4%)    Interestingly, although they all speak Vietnamese as a common language they each have their own unique dialect. The dialect is used when they are speaking with others of the same ethnic group.

A house in the Hmong village of Suoi Ho

Lo May is from the Tay ethnic group.  The people of the village we were walking through were from the Hmong ethnic group.  Both groups migrated from different regions of China more than 300 years ago.  The religious following of the Hmong group is mostly Catholic, while the Tay group are Buddhist.
She shared a bit about marriage in both groups which was quite interesting.  The way she explained it, in the Hmong group the women marry very young, around 14-16.  There really isn't  a courtship, but there is what she called a "kidnapping".  The young girl is abducted by a boy.  He tells his parents that "this is the girl I want to marry".  The boys parents then get in touch with the girls parents to work out the details of the marriage.  It involves the exchange of money (around $1,000 US dollars, which is a very significant amount of money for them) and food.  The young girl can say no and leave but there is often times pressure put on her to say yes because of the windfall of money and food her family receives .  From what I've read, thankfully this practice isn't as common these days!
In the Tay group the marriage is arranged between the two families in a manner that is similar to what is commonly practiced in countries such as India.  First, the astrological charts are consulted using the young man and the young ladies birthday to assure compatibility.  There is then a negotiation process between the families, again involving money and food.  If everything is worked out the young girl then takes up to a year to make not only her wedding dress but the grooms clothes!  Making the grooms clothes will give her at least an indication of his size.  Traditional customs were that the two would not see each other until the wedding ceremony.  She did tell us that is now changing and the couples do usually at least talk by phone to one another before the wedding.

In addition to all the wedding talk she told us a great deal about the clothes that they wear.  They are all hand made.  Although the women's clothes are far more detailed, the men and boys have some elaborate stitching on their clothes as well.  It all starts with a white fabric that is purchased and then dyed (using leaves from indigo plants) multiple times until it is a navy blue/black color.  Then the hard work really begins.  The art work is all hand stitched into the fabric.  She said it took her 7 months to make the outfit that she was wearing.  The garment is worn for about a year before they are replaced, so there is constant work being done on making new clothes.  She even pulled out a small piece of fabric from her bag that she carried with her and worked on during the day as time permitted.

I'm holding the leaf of an Indigo Plant.  These leaves are gathered and boiled to make a blue dye.  Fabric is purchased and then dyed multiple times until it turns navy blue/black.  That is fabric that has been dyed hanging in the background.  Lo May said it will be dyed several more times, getting darker each time.

This was all hand stitched and took seven months

The front of her pants.  Again, all hand stitched and everything has symbolic meaning

Showing off the sleeve of her jacket

The sleeve of a new jacket she is working on for herself

This young lady, from another ethnic group, was walking and stitching at the same time.  She was proud to show off her work.

Lo May asked a nice older lady along the way if we could go inside her house.  The lady smiled and happily opened her home to us. Because of the cold weather, the houses here have no windows, whereas the houses in Puluong had numerous windows to allow in cool air and natural light.
We've done a lot of walking in our time.  Today's walk was as enlightening as any that we can remember.
But the day wasn't over yet!  After we returned to our hotel we decided to explore around the city a little bit.  As we made our way down the narrow streets lined with shops and restaurants it started to sprinkle.  Within a few minutes it started to come down harder and even with umbrellas we were looking for shelter.  Low and behold we found ourselves standing next to a large sign that said "MASSAGE"!  For a mere $7 we could indulge in a one hour foot and lower leg massage!  I immediately thought to myself, "I wouldn't dare touch those gnarly feet of mine for $7", but if someone wanted to risk their life massaging them I was happy to fork over the cash.  For the next hour Beth and I laid back while our feet and lower legs were rubbed, pulled, pushed, twisted, turned, slapped and punched.  We marveled at these two young ladies abilities to find trigger points in the bottoms of our feet as well as our legs that in a flash would change extreme pleasure to excruciating agony over and over again.
Afterwards we made our way back to the hotel through streets that were now filled with water from what turned into a heavy rain.  Our feet and our faces smiling the whole way!
    

Bai Tu Long Bay..........is it ever going to stop?

Incredible views in every direction.  This picture was taken by Beth from outside Thien Canh Son Cave

We're back in Hanoi now.  Actually we're back at the same hotel (Golden Rice Hotel) and in the same room where we spent our first two nights in Vietnam.  We really like the location, which is in the "Old Town" section and the hotel staff are very friendly.  When we checked in the front desk clerk recognized us.  She told us we didn't need to present our passports and that there was a plate of fruit waiting for us in the room.  Our stay this time is only for one night.  Tomorrow morning we'll be on our way to Sapa, which is located about five hours northwest of Hanoi.
If you looked at a map of Vietnam, what we have done so far looks a little bit like a counterclockwise loop.  It started in Hanoi.  We then went to the Puluong Nature Reserve.  From there to Ninh Binh then on to Bai Tu Long Bay before returning to Hanoi today.
The past two nights were on a small boat cruising through the scenic waters of Bai Tu Long Bay.  This bay looks very similar to Halong Bay, which sits just to the east.  There are hundreds of limestone islets (small mountain tops formed from volcanic activity thousands of years ago) of all shapes and sizes throughout the bay, making it a surreal sitting.  The main difference between the two bays is that Halong Bay is much busier and unfortunately we have heard it has gotten somewhat polluted.  From what we understand, there are about 40 boats operating in Bai Tu Long Bay and about 10 times that many in Halong Bay.  So if you find yourself wanting to spend a night or two on calm waters, surrounded by incredible scenery, Bai Tu Long Bay is your place.

Meet Luna, our on board guide for the first night of the cruise.  She had more energy than a squirrel after drinking a Red Bull.  She couldn't say "Kent" so we quickly became Ken and Barbie!  Along with being energetic she was cute, funny and very informative.  She told us we could come live with her and her family anytime!

The boat we were on was the "Renea".  These boats are often called "Junks", because they are built to look similar to early Chinese sailing vessels with that name.  It had a total of 11 rooms, so it's passenger capacity was around 22.  We saw several slightly larger boats and well as some that were smaller, but I think in terms of size it was pretty close to the average.  It was listed as a "four star" (out of five stars), which is plenty for us.  The first night there were a total of 6 passengers on board.  The second night there were eighteen of us.  They offer one and two night cruises, so if you do a two night cruise you'll most likely get to meet some new folks the second night.

 Renea

The crew was extremely friendly and the food was as amazing as the views.  Breakfast was pretty standard fare.  Breads, fruits, eggs, etc. but lunch and dinner were sites to behold.  I don't think I've ever had a nine course lunch, followed a few hours later by a nine course dinner.  As we were eating, we happily tried to keep up with the pace with which it was being served, while our brains were actually wondering, is it ever going to stop!
From the boat we did a couple of activities.  The first afternoon we were taken by a tender boat to a small floating dock where we kayaked around several of the islets to a small beach.  We were able to enjoy a swim in the slightly chilly but refreshing water before kayaking back to the starting point.  Beth is quite talented at many things.  Me, not so much!  I'm still searching for my talents.  I can tell you one thing that we unequivocally are not talented at, kayaking!  We've done it a few times over the years and while we generally get to where we want to go, we don't take the shortest, straightest route.  Give me a paddleboard or give us a canoe and we're fine.  Give us a kayak and for some reason we're all over the place.

Zig Zagging around Bai Tu Long Bay...…….maybe I should have been paddling?

They don't look hard to control!

 Pulling in the net

The second day of the cruise started with Tai Chi on the boat (nope, not one of my talents either but it was fun)  After breakfast it quickly became like a scene from the Bachelor or Bachelorette.  Not that I would ever watch such a ridiculous show, but you know how they often end up on a date on a private boat in some exotic location?  Well that was us.  Of the six passengers the first night we were the only ones that had booked it as a two night cruise.  So the morning of Day 2 we said goodbye to the other two couples and were transferred to another boat that was only slightly smaller than the Renea.  We thought there might be other people joining us from other boats, but no, we had the boat to ourselves (along with a crew of around 5-6).  We enjoyed more kayaking and a swim off a small but  private beach. In the afternoon we were taken to a small floating fishing village that until recently housed not only fishermen but entire families.  It even had it's own elementary school.  Due to cost and environmental factors the village was closed to families but fishermen still occupy many of the small floating  houses.

One's a Tai Chi master...……...the other not so much.

In between the beach and visit to the floating village was lunch.  Once again, it was a nine course lunch.  But this time either the chef didn't get the memo that there were only two passengers or he didn't know how to cut the recipe down to size.  There was easily enough food to feed 6-8 hungry people!

Lunch on our private boat

Chicken Stir Fry

Pork Spring Rolls

There were numerous garnishments made of cut fruits and vegetables at every meal.

Part of the fishing village has been turned into a pearl farm.  Peral producing oysters are being grown on all the bouys.  The boat on the far left was our "private boat" for the day!

Being rowed around the floating fishing village

There were three ladies from Australia on the small row boat with us.  They, along with the hole in the islet in front of us made for a good picture.

One of the many small houses of the floating village

If by chance you do find Vietnam on your itinerary sometime in the future, you're going to love it! By all means try to include a night or two on a small boat in Bai Tu Long Bay...……..you'll be glad you did!

Making Spring Rolls!

Not bad for the first one!

Here's a few more pictures...…………….