The Cube

Chau Doc is the nearest town to the border to Cambodia. It was rather obvious as our xin lo driver was willing to accept the normal USD or Vietnamese dong, even Cambodian riel. Aside from that, there are more Kh'mer people around this town.

Except for My Tho, one should be prepared to take the ferry crossing from town to town in the delta. Hence a ferry crossing is required from Vinh Long to Chau Doc. It reminds me of the ferry crossing from Butterworth to Penang Island. However this ferry is much smaller.


Cars and motorcycles were placed in the same lower deck. I'm not too sure if it is part of the tour package or that it was due to we were in a bus, we were told to hop down the bus and enter the bus as pedestrian. The bus were transported via another ferry but we did see some vans and there were passengers inside. Pedestrians could opt to stay at the same level as the transports or could go up the narrow stairs to the upper deck. There wasn't any shed at the upper deck so it was a little hot but the journey was rather short and the view was worth it anyway.

taken from ferry

After the ferry crossing, we boarded the bus again. We reached Chau Doc after about 1 hour. It was over 7 pm then. We were transported to a hotel, by far one of the best hotels we stayed over since touched down in Vietnam - with 2 double beds and air con that wasnt too cool or too warm.

We had a good dinner and retired to bed. Unfortunately we can't recall what time to have breakfast before departure the next day. So in order not to be too late, we actually woke up a little too early. Anyway, it wasn't a bad thing as we finished breakfast earlier, we got a little time left to roam the market.


And the view overlooking the delta was great.


Little did we know, in store for us after breakfast was rowing boat ride to the Cham village for the itinery only mentioned boat ride. We thought it was similar to the many rides we had yesterday.


On the way to the Cham Village



Cham girls selling waffles and some tidbits.


We were told Cham people are Muslim but a little different from our Malaysian Muslim. The elderly and the youngs need not to fast and performing the haj is not necessary.

As we travelled together with other tourists who joined the 3 days 2 nights Delta Mekong, we were to wait for the boat to transport us to the border while the rest back to shore, continuing their journey to Can Tho.

Food were shared while waiting under the sun

Chau Doc was our last stop in Vietnam, excluding Vinh Xuong where we stop for lunch while waiting for visas to be processed despite we do not need one.


Side note: So many to do, so little time...

First post Vietnam 2008 Next post Vietnam 2008

We chose to go through Mekong Delta and cross the Kaam Samnor/Vinh Xuong border to enter Cambodia. Of course, there is a shorter route, via a 8 hour bus ride, straight from HCMC to Phnom Penh (PP). Crossing Mekong Delta means we would need to allocate additional day as compared to taking the bus, however that would also mean we would miss the nation's "rice basket" (Mekong Delta is the largest rice producer in Vietnam).

However in fear that we might not secure the right timing from taking the bus from HCMC to Chau Doc (the nearest town to the border crossing) and booking of the boat from Chau Doc over to Cambodia. A local tour is the answer. I suppose quite a number of tourists opt to have a glimpse of the fame Mekong Delta and take the opportunity of not turning back to HCMC. And so, we signed up for a Mekong Delta-Exit to Phnom Penh tour.

We left HCMC at about 8 in the morning by bus and reached Vinh Long about 12 pm. Took this picture from the bus, the little kid was waving to me upon seeing me taking pictures of them. :)


We also saw this super high aerials shooting out from the houses along the road.


Upon reaching Vinh Long, we were transfer to a boat and visited the Cai Be Floating Market.


And there is a Catholic cathedral on the riverside.


and we were brought to a candy-rice paper-rice cracker producing place.


The pandan-coconut candy. The one in blue shirt is the tour guide, explaining on how they make the candy. The lady was cutting the candy using a plastic plate.


The lady is making the rice paper. Longan shells are burn together in the fire when making the rice paper. On her right, was the tour guide again, about to try the rice paper, dipped in soy sauce.

Thereafter we were shipped to lunch. The boat ride was quite a long one, about an hour or so. From there, upon reaching land, we were off to Chau Doc. This time, via bus.


Side note: Set mental note to self, its time to clear that income tax form again...

First post Vietnam 2008 Next post Vietnam 2008

My sister hasn't been sleeping well the 2 weeks we were in Vietnam. But that was not the case with me. I dozed off easily every night even when we were on train, despite waking up every now and then as worried that I forgot to get down from the train, but I got my quality sleep. The only time I dare not sleep (Read: I dare not sleep, not cannot sleep) was on this SE3, hard sleeper from Danang to Saigon.

The journey to Saigon itself was uneventful. It was by far the longest train ride we had, boarding at around 1 pm and reached the next day at 4 am but that was the fastest train available as the rest of the trains had more stops. We shared the 6 beds carriage with another 5 person - 4 adults and a 6 years old looking kid. To keep the story short, the reason I dare not sleep was... a lady (the mother to the kid) let her son peed into this 500 ml mineral water bottle and kept it on her bed. Of course its her side of the bed, I couldnt complain. The problem was this little kid would try to get hold of THAT 500 ml bottle and open it. I didnt want to risk to have ammonia-smell-yellow-liquid sprinkled on myself when I was sleeping. Hence the only time safe to sleep was when the little kid went to bed. = ="

We were relieved to leave the train as soon as it pulled in the HCMC Railway Station. The walking tour in Saigon only started after we left the station and found a place to stay over the night. As the walking tour in Hoi An was good, we decide to follow the walking tour recommended by LP for Saigon as well. We found a room in Duong Co Bac. From there, we walked to Pham Ngu Lao as the starting point.

Unlike Hoi An the cozy old town, Saigon is huge and with the sun shining with all its might, we were sweating in no time. Walking from Pham Ngu Lao to Pho 2000 for a bowl of pho took quite a fair bit of time. Opposite Pho 2000, was the status of Tran Nguyen Hai.

This is a roundabout

At another side of Pho 2000, located the famous Ben Thanh Market.


We had to cross this busy road to get to the statue of Tran Nguyen Hai (read: the roundabout) to get a clearer picture of the statue and from there, a better view of Ben Thanh Market as well.

To avoid we spend too much time in the market and missed the rest of the place, we decided not to go in yet, but to return later.

Next building in line is this Hotel de Ville.


Currently home to the local People's Committee

This picture above is taken from another angle. If you take 90 degrees from the front, Uncle Ho is there greeting you.


Nearby is the Opera House

Notre Dame Cathedral

Reunification Palace

It was 12++ pm, the palace is closed for lunch and will only reopen at 1 pm. Figure the 2 travellers were contemplating if they should wait or go off. Oh well, they took a couple of pictures and left. How I know? We were shooting while sitting in shade under a tree :P

That was our last stop. Of course the original walking tour is much longer and covers more places but some were seriously a little too far to walk especially under the hot sun. If you notice, the pictures are all getting a little nicer colour. Yes, its because of the hot sun.

From there, we retrace our steps back to Ben Thanh Market and got the famous Vietnamese coffee. On the way, we stopped for this superb sinh to (fruit shake). I still miss it now.



Side note: *Yawn... sleepy. Good night :)

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Hoi An Old Town is listed as a Unesco World Heritage site. Several buildings of historical and cultural significance are open for public viewing subject to purchase of a ticket at the cost of 75,000 vnd per person. Hoi An is pedestrian-friendly, I don't recall seeing a car in the Old Town. Only motorcycles and bicycles. The admission fee goes to funding the conservation of the place.

"Hoi An Legendary Night" takes place on the 14th day of every lunar month (full moon) from 5.30 pm to 10 pm. At that day, streets will be lit with lantern. Before leaving for Vietnam, no matter how I count, we cant seem to coincide with the day. Reason being we left for Vietnam on the 29th, 1st month and return on the 12th of the 2nd month according to the lunar calendar. We were not there on 14th of either month. So, can kill the idea.

Hoi An gives me the feeling of cozy. It reminded me of Merbok, which is a small town in Kedah where my grandfather used to stay. The old wooden houses, the few or no cars on the streets...


Back to the ticket to visit certain sights in Hoi An Old Town. One ticket entitles you to visit a museum, an assembly hall, an old houses, Hoi An handicraft workshop and a choice between Quan Cong's Temple or the temple within the Japanese Covered Bridge. Mind you that there are 4 old houses, 4 museums and 3 assembly halls to choose from. Which only translates to, if you want to visit it all, you would need to purchase 4 tickets. Hehe.

Armed with Lonely Planet on Vietnam courtesy from a friend, we decided to follow what was recommended - Musuem of Trading Ceramics, Phuc Kien Assembly Hall, Tan Ky House and Quan Cong's Temple. The Japanese Covered Bridge is free of charge.

Japanese Covered Bridge at night

A view from Museum of Trading Ceramic

The display items in the museum doesn't interest us as much as the building itself.

Phuc Kien Assembly Hall. I don't even recall seeing an assembly hall this grand in KL

Tan Ky House

Backdoor  of Tan Ky Old House overlooks the Hoai River

This is probably also the reason that Tan Ky Old House was affected by floods during rainy seasons. However, this old house is well-preserved.

Quan Cong's Temple

And the final stop - Hoi An Handicraft Workshop. There is folk music performance daily at 10.15 am and 3.15 pm except Monday. After watching the 20 minutes show, we walked around the Handicraft Workshop.



Aside from sightseeing, Hoi An has contributed much to our heavy backpacks. We didnt buy any of the above, but this small old town is where I added to my load a daypack, a blazer and pants, some souvenirs and the most heavy of all, Banh Dau Xanh, a famous cookie from Hoi An. Not only it's weight cannot be disregard, we had to hand carry to ensure that it is not smashed. My sis also added quite a number of things to her load, including a 30 litre backpack. Should I stayed longer in this cozy old town, I fear I might not be able to lift and carry my backpack :P


They have this kind of shops around town, also shoe shops where your order will be ready within one day. All you need to do is pick a design, the one on display or whatever that you have in mind, convey your message and then pick the materials. The measuring will then start and your clothes/shoes will be ready by evening.

Should anyone decides to visit Vietnam and would travel pass Central Vietnam, this is a place that you should make a stop. Be is to shopping, or relax, or for the history and cultural heritage.
:)


Side note: Despite the luxury of travelling via open bus, I have no regrets going to Hoi An by a public bus with our luggage hog every leg space we have and sitting next to the driver who honks at almost every junction and motorcycles. :)


First post Vietnam 2008 Next post Vietnam 2008

Danang was initially not an intended destination. With Hue at its north and Hoi An south, also Danang being a city, there isn't much sights that are tempting for a stay. It was only a stopover to catch a train to HCMC later on. However as our fellow travellers to Halong Bay highly recommended a train ride from Hue to Danang on the way to Hoi An, we decided to give it a shot. After all, it's either a bus from Hue to Hoi An or we do a detour from Hue to Danang, before heading to Hoi An. The train ride came highly recommended as the railway track skims its way along the beaches, where buses will not passed by. With this trip, we have the opportunity of experiencing the soft sleeper, hard sleeper and soft seats via the Reunification Line. Grin.

Our intended brief stopover at Danang didnt begin well. Due to some miscalculation on the conversion rate, we agreed for a taxi ride from Danang Railway Station to Hoi An. The ironic thing was that both of us miscalculate. As I had this nagging thought, I took out my trusty calculator and start counting in the cab. Darn, it was too expensive. The taxi driver said that he would charge us by the meter but maximum payable is 300k VND. We must've missed the last zero or something that we agreed to it. Upon calculation, it would set us back about RM 75!!! The open bus ticket is only around 5 USD and this was a cab, it wasn't any golden carriage. Upon telling the taxi driver that we wanted to get down or go to the bus station, the taxi driver told us there is no bus station in the city, even after we showed him the map! It was a relief after he finally let us off, we paid him for the distance travelled, of course. We were dropped at Duong Le Loi (Read: the street name are similar in so many towns/cities)

Danang City

With us a bit far off the bus station now as from the map the main bus station is a few hundreds meters behind the railway station, we decided to look for guesthouse to buy the open bus ticket to go to Hoi An. Anyway, an incident led to another, we were taught by a receptionist of a hotel, Queen to take public bus. She didn't even once ask us to buy the open bus ticket which was more expensive. Not only that, she allowed us to deposit our backpacks without any charge despite we were not lodging at their hotel. From the bad experience with the cab driver, there is HOPE in Danang. Not only that, when we were crossing the road, a lady even motioned us to follow her. For the past 7 days in Vietnam, 5 stops, not even once someone took care of us when crossing the road (exception to Dr Bui as he's a friend)

Since transportation to Hoi An was settled, we decided to roam a little in Danang after lunch, also to wait for the Cao Dai Temple to allow visitors. We walked to Han River to kill time have a look.

Han River, picture taken under a shade of a big tree. Central Vietnam is already warm

Thereafter, we make our move back to Cao Dai Temple as it is only open after 3.00 pm.

The main building of Cao Dai Temple

Inside the main building

Note the sign on top? Ok, here's an enlarged one.

From Lonely Planet:
Van Giao Nhat Ly means "All religions have the same
reason"
Behind the letters is the picture of the foundres of five of the
world's great religions - (L-R:) Mohammed, Laotse, Jesus, Buddha and Confucius

An interesting temple, worth a stop in Danang for.

From intended to go straight to Hoi An from the train station to wrong calculation for a cab fee, leading to a longer linger in Danang, meeting kind Samaritan and an interesting Cao Dai Temple. Its a nice surprise indeed. :)


Oh yah, I just have to do this... :P
For the coke collectors, here you are, Coke from Vietnam, all the way from Danang City.



Side note: I wrap my shoes in plastic bag to avoid the rain just now. I felt like a big-feet-rabbit somehow. Maybe cos the plastic bag was in white.

First post Vietnam 2008 Next post Vietnam 2008

Hue used to be the capital of Vietnam ages ago. Today, the main attraction is the ancient Forbidden Purple City, Citadel and the tombs of the Nguyen emperors, not to mention the certain Thien Mu Pagoda that we failed to locate.

We reached Hue about 8+ in the morning. After went to get another train ticket to Danang and stepped out of the train station. Xe om and cyclo drivers swarmed to us, trying to bringing to certain guesthouse and budget hotel. We didn't want to accept in case we didn't like the place and would be obliged to pay despite promises of "if you don't like, it is ok." Ironic, we ended up at the hotel where the first xe om driver offered to us. The place is rather ok, 12 USD for a room for 2 inclusive of breakfast, though my sister said the bed makes her itchy. I was sleeping really well. :P The breakfast was very reasonable too, one get to choose 2 food and a drink.

There isn't any lifts, its similar in most budget hotels. Our room was in 4th floor, carrying the heavy backpack, we brought it up to the room, left it there and begin our visit in the ancient city. Walking out from our hotel, we would need to cross the Perfume River via the bridge to get to the sights.

Crossing the Perfume River on foot. Notice the pillion passenger covering her mouth with a mask? It's common in Vietnam but I notice the mask used in Phnom Penh was the surgical one.

As we were rather hungry, my sister especially. I wasn't very eager to eat as I was down with AGE since we left Halong Bay. We thought of stopping by the very first eating place on the way, but somehow there isn't many along the road. Hence, we joined the locals for a drink of Ovaltine before crossing the bridge.

Drinking by the bank of the river

After walking for a distance and stalked by a cyclo driver, we saw the Ngo Mon Gate.

Ngo Mon Gate (Noontime Gate)

At this time, even with the Forbidden Purple City just down the road, we are still being followed by the same cyclo driver. I salute his determination of following us a few roads, going off and came back again, insisting he wanted to show us around the Citadel and other sights despite the numerous, "No, thank you." I suppose rule number should be - Don't look. With only one look, a peddler would think you want to buy something, a cyclo driver would think that you want to have a ride, a food seller would think you want to eat. :P
So no, one cannot be curious.

Forbidden Purple City - most of it was destroyed

The Forbidden Purple City in Hue was rather small. I am very much convinced the one in China is much much bigger. Anyway, when we were visiting, there were a few tour groups making their way inside. I notice, the tours are mostly French speaking, in fact, there isn't any Asian tour. There after, we make our way out and start looking for lunch and walk around the Citadel. And yes, the same cyclo driver is still following us.

The citadel area

This place is quite a distance away from the Forbidden Purple City. We took a xe om back to guesthouse and rent a bike again, to get to the royal tombs.

Tomb of Tu Duc

Reaching the tomb itself is a real achievement. We only have a very simplified map with no road name, some roads and clusters of the tombs. Ironic that with a slightly better map, we can't seem to find the Thien Mu Pagoda. As we had to return the bike by 7 pm, we had to send it back to the guesthouse, had our dinner and call it a day.


Side note: I wonder, how big is the Forbidden Purple City in China

First post Vietnam 2008 Next post Vietnam 2008

Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site. UNESCO has picked out 830 World Heritage sites around the world, chosen for their cultural and historical importance, and also for their geological uniqueness. Halong Bay offers a little of all three.

It's not the cliffs themselves that make Halong Bay unique, but rather their sheer number. A huge bay, dotted with nearly 2,000 mostly uninhabited limestone cliffs.

Created over millions of years, tectonic forces slowly thrust the limestone above the water-line. During this process waves lapping against the stone carved out a number of vast, striking caverns, as well as other geologically interesting formations, such as tunnel caves and uniquely shaped massifs.

There are a few legends on Halong Bay which the name itselfs means "where the dragon descends into the sea." The version I was told was long long time ago when Vietnam was under attack, a heavenly dragon and her children spit pearls into the sea to form forbidding mountains to block an enemy advance.

(Source: Travelfish and Reid on Travel)

Someone said there is no specific season to go to Halong Bay. Be it sunny or misty, morning or evening, Halong Bay is always beautiful. I couldn't agree more. The view is breathtaking, even with the mist, it gives the feeling that as you sail on, there are more to uncover.

Put the blame on my a few years old point and shoot camera, or my amateur photography skills. But Halong Bay is worth a visit, at least an overnight stay.

I like the overlapping feel to it

A view from Hang Sung Sot (Surprising Cave)

And one from Soi Sim Grotto

I would love to see Halong Bay in another season, another time of the year :)


Side note: Someone says always go travel with someone you love, but I think it is equally important that someone who you go travel with also love you.

First post Vietnam 2008 Next post Vietnam 2008