January 20, 2017

January 20, 2017

Today we are on the move to learn about more recent Cambodian history.  We fly to the current capital, Phnom Penh.  To save time we stop at a bakery for a snack.  And then on to the Killing Fields Memorial. During the Vietnam War, Ho Chi Minh supported the Khmer Rouge (Socialist Cambodia) movement. Aided by the US decision to extend bombing into Cambodia, this minority group was able to seize power in 1975. They immediately drove everyone from the cities into the country, and started killing anyone with an education. It was only stopped when the Vietnam Army, fearing UN intervention, invaded. It was a moving story made more so by the fact our local guide’s father was taken away when he was 2 years old, never to be seen again.

The memorial is one of several execution sites discovered. Some excavation was done to learn the extent of the murders, and these bones were placed in a memorial stupa. The rest are still in situ. As we walk around the small area, we see bones and clothes emerging from the ground as the rain exposes them.  There is one spot where children and women were found, another with decapitated bodies, and a third pit containing 450 skeletons. In all 2-3 million Cambodians were believed to have been killed. The systemized murder seems eerily like an unsophisticated Auschwitz.

Afterwards, we went to the Royal Palace, or at least we tried to.  We got stuck in traffic in an area without traffic lights. The traffic just came to a halt.  I am never going to complain about red lights again. We finally made it through with the assistance of a traffic cop.

We toured the palace following a group of monks in orange robes. The architecture all looks modern Oriental. The current elected king, only a figurehead, still lives here.  A handful of buildings are open to the public, including the Coronation Hall and the Elephant Mounting Room.  There are also several memorial stupas on the grounds. The star attraction is the Pagoda. Its floor is completely covered in silver tiles. Unfortunately the tiles are tarnished, in poor condition and now mostly covered by carpet.
 

Since it is late in the day, we made a one minute dash through the National Museum which houses lots of artifacts recovered from archeological sites throughout Cambodia. Then it was back thru heavy traffic to our hotel.  Unfortunately our farewell dinner is back downtown so it is late by the time we are done.  That turned out okay as we stayed up to watch the Inauguration at midnight.

January 19, 2017

January 19, 2017

Today we are back at Angkor to see more of the temples. To get around this vast city, we hired a Tuk Tuk and driver. This is a motorcycle taxi, ubiquitous in Asia.

Our first stop is Thommanom, just outside the east gate of Angkor Thom.  It was built in the 1100’s when the Khmer were still Hindu.  It is small but seems well preserved for its age.  Across the road we visit Chau Say Tevoda.  It is of the same age and design but doesn’t seem to have been reassembled as well.

Angkor is a land of temples, hundreds, and I am already thinking I am “templed” out. Fortunately our next stop is at Ta Prohm.  This large, relatively flat temple is still mostly in the condition it was found.  After Angkor was abandoned the surrounding hot steamy jungle repossessed it.  You can’t believe the size of the trees that have grown up, through, and around the walls of this temple.  They add a mysterious aura to the scene but are vastly destructive.  Left to nature, the roots will slowly and inexorably topple every stone.  Authorities need to remove the trees to stabilize the structures, to the dismay of tourists like me.  The temple scenery is very cool but for the onslaught of Chinese tourists wanting their photo in front of every vine-covered wall.

Our next stop is across the street at Banteay Kdei. This is a Buddhist temple monastery with lots of towers, that strangely has a hall decorated with dancing girls behind it. Apparently being a monk in those days wasn’t so bad.

We finished our morning at Srah Srang.  Angkorites loved to dig holes. If it wasn’t moats around their temples, it is a reservoir like this one.  They either did it for water storage or drainage control, or possible recreation.  This one has a nice stage on one end with statues of lions and serpents.

After lunch we visit the premier tourist draw of Cambodia, Angkor Wat. The name means Capital (or City) Temple.  Appropriate since it is the largest religious monument in the world. It is almost a mile square and completely surrounded by a moat. It was built in the early 1100’s, almost 100 years before Angkor Thom and Bayon.

We enter crossing a long causeway to the island and then through a temple-like entrance monument.  Past the gate there is a long avenue to the center complex. On either side of the path are reflecting pools.  We are lucky.  Today we have clear skies with no rain and little wind.  So I can take the classic photo of Angkor Wat with blue sky in the background and a perfect reflection in the pond.

The core of Angkor Wat consists of three concentric rectangular galleries.  The central one has four corner towers with a 210-foot central tower.  The gallery walls are decorated with a continuous bas-relief sculpture telling some linear tales.  They are in superb condition probably because they are covered and coated with lacquer.  With the large moat, the destructive vines were also kept at bay.  In one of the inner courtyards, a couple of monks are selling fortunes.

The Bakan or Inner Gallery is only accessible by a set of steep stairs and visitation is limited.  We wait in line almost a half-hour for our turn.  It is anti-climatic but does give us a good view of the surroundings.  Surprisingly, the courtyard looks like it must have been filled with water to represent the ocean.

We exit the backside, walking past more friezes to leave the way we came in.  We take our Tuk Tuks on a very dusty ride back to the bus. It has been a long, muggy, hot, but interesting day.  Unfortunately, our guide is not finished with us.  From Angkor, we drive forty minutes down the Siem Reap River to a dock.  There we load onto a boat that carries us down river till it empties into Tonle Sap Lake.

Tonle is a major river that flows into the Mekong.  Here it passes through a large geologic depression where it spreads out into the largest lake in Southeast Asia.  It expands dramatically during the wet season.  The lake is a major source of fish.  Fisherman live along the shore and in the water on stilts like we have seen in the Mekong and Halong Bay. There is even a floating church. While interesting to see the lake and the sunset, we don’t really need to see another floating slum.
 

Back in Siem Reap, we still are not done to my dismay.  I am not feeling well, maybe allergies, maybe the heat, or likely both.  We stop at a couple markets before we finally make it back to the hotel at 7:30.  I spread out on the bed under the air-conditioning.

January 18, 2017

January 18, 2017

Our tour of Vietnam is over.  Today we are headed west up the Mekong River to explore Cambodia. We have an hour flight northwest to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Surprisingly we fly on a Lithuanian Airline with an Eastern European crew.  It is most definitely a Small World.

Despite the short flight, it is apparent we have transitioned to a different culture. The people are a little darker and look more Indian and less Oriental.  The writing is vastly different, a script of Indian origin. Cambodia is the land of the Khmer people who at one time ruled over a large swath of Southeast Asia.

We board our bus, stop for a quick snack lunch of spring rolls and a beer, and then drive to the nearby Angkor Archeological Park.  Angkor was the capital of the Khmer Empire at its peak. Unfortunately the Khmers had bigger more aggressive neighbors. Vietnam swallowed the Mekong Delta area, and Siam attacked from the west. The town name, Siem Reap, even means Siam Defeat. Angkor lasted as the capital of Khmer until 1431 when it was sacked by the Siamese.  The capital was moved to a safer location at Phnom Penh.

Archeological surveys have revealed Angkor was an immense metropolis, about 20 miles square, and the largest pre-industrial city in the world. It is estimated over a million people lived here. We start our exploration at Angkor Thom (Great City).  This royal “downtown” is a large walled and moated square almost two miles across. It is entered via a gate and long bridge guarded by 54 stone gods and 54 demons.

In the exact center of Angkor Thom is Bayon. This royal temple, built around 1200, is crowded with 54 towers that are supposed to remind us of Himalayan peaks, home of the gods. Each one has four massive faces of Buddha. It is constructed of carved sandstone atop a base of red stone. We climb through crumbling passageways, past lots of reliefs of dancing girls, up around the high center tower with Buddha staring at us everywhere. There are macaque monkeys running around the exterior.  As one stole food out of a garbage can, I was reminded of the shoe-stealing macaques at the Taj Mahal.

A half-mile north is the Royal Palace.  It is fronted by the long Terrace of the Elephants, which the king used as a viewing platform for public ceremonies.  Inside the Palace we visit the Celestial Temple.  This three-tiered moated Temple is Hindu, from before the Khmer conversion to Buddhism. The rest of the palace is gone having been made of wood. Only Gods were allowed to have homes of stone. We exit through the Terrace of the Leper King. It has hundreds of bas-relief figures carved on an unusual double-walled structure.

This evening we have a Cambodian feast in the hotel.  We start with a squid salad served on a banana leaf and finish with Curry Chicken.  Cambodian food resembles Thai without the coconut milk.

January 17, 2017

January 17, 2017

Our goal today is to explore the Mekong Delta.  The Mekong River is the world’s 12th longest river and divides into multiple streams before flowing into the ocean southwest of Saigon.  We drive two hours to the Delta town of Cai Be.

Our first stop is at a temple of the Cao Dai religion.  Cao Dai is a home-grown religion from this region established only in 1926. This monotheistic faith, created as a combination of all world religions, worships the Supreme Being that created the universe. The temple looks like a brightly colored Catholic church. The most striking image on the exterior is a big eye, resembling the one found on the US dollar bill.  The interior is also brightly colored with lots of dragons surrounding the altar.

Afterwards we proceed to the Cai Be dock where we board a river boat.  We cruise a very wide branch of the Mekong full of barge traffic. Enroute we are served a refreshment of tea and fruit. After the snack we disembark and lower ourselves onto a 4-person Sampan, a canoe-like flat-bottomed wooden boat.  An elderly lady oars us a couple miles down a narrow canal, lined with mangroves and tropical fruit trees.

The Mekong Delta is very fertile and is the Rice Bowl of Vietnam capable of yielding three crops yearly.  It is also the breadbasket providing fish, fruit and vegetables. Much of this bounty was exclusively transported and sold on the river.  We transfer back to our main boat and sail by the Cai Be Floating Market, where a flagpole advertises what each vessel is selling.

We disembark at a village market where we learn about traditional crafts of the Delta.  We see how coconut is husked and the meat collected.  We watch the art of puffed rice. Aimee tries her hand at making rice paper. We watch a small assembly line mixing these ingredients together in snacks and candies. We are treated to a nice sample of their production. All very tasty. Walking around the market we are fascinated by some of the stranger Delta goods…. Crocodile Belts, Python purses, and Cobra wine.

We have lunch on an open-air patio outside a house built in 1832.  The food, all fresh from the Delta, came with awesome presentation.  After starters of deep-fried stuffed pumpkin flowers, spring rolls, and lotus seed soup, we had a Mekong delicacy of Elephant Ear fish. Our server took a portion of this very meaty fish, added cucumber and pineapple and wrapped it in rice paper. Our next course was fresh-water prawns. Dessert was JackFruit, something we saw growing along the canal and looks like an over-sized spiky cantaloupe.

Stuffed to the gills we cruised to another dock where we met our bus for the long drive back to Saigon.

January 16, 2017

January 16, 2017

Today we are exploring more Vietnam War history by driving northwest of Saigon, to visit the Cu Chi Tunnel Complex, which has been preserved as a memorial park. During the war, this area was strongly anti-government and supported Viet Cong efforts. Needing a hiding place, the VC dug underground bunkers which expanded as the war dragged on into a network over a hundred miles long. The tunnels were a constant source of irritation to the US and proved so successful, that during the Tet Offensive, VC troops were able to infiltrate Saigon and attack the US Embassy.
 

We are touring the very touristy Ben Dinh section of the park. Our first stop is a lecture detailing the extent of the tunnel system and a diagram of a typical section.  It so resembles an ant’s nest and having battled ants at home, I can attest to the difficulty of removal.

We walk to several stations, where we learn how the entrances were disguised, how the tunnels were booby-trapped, and how fresh air was brought in and cooking fires dissipated.  We even got to crawl through a short stretch of a tunnel.

I found the tour to be utterly fascinating even though it was completely simulated for tourists.  This experience just reinforced for me how unwinnable the war was.  As the US got more desperate they resorted to scorched earth policies, using Agent Orange and carpet bombing, turning all civilian support against the effort.

Back in Saigon, all seventeen of us were invited to lunch at our guide’s tiny 2-bedroom apartment. He and his wife served a delicious home-made meal of Shrimp Spring Rolls, and a noodle soup with pork, chicken, prawns and quail eggs.  He then serenaded us with some guitar music.  Before leaving he gave us a shot of his home-made scorpion wine. Nasty!

On the way back to our hotel we made a quick stop at a craft shop.  This one was making lacquered art wall hangings using the traditional techniques of egg shell and paint. They were beautiful.

We also stopped at the Jade Emperor Pagoda. This is a temple of Taoism, a philosophical religion of Chinese origin.  The incense laden sanctuary is filled with menacing, black mustachioed figures. Interestingly, on the walk in, turtles, fish, and birds are offered for sale.  They are bought and then released as an offering.
 

Back at the hotel, we dropped off our backpack, and then walked to the nearby Ben Thanh market. We only have 40 minutes before closing.  Like in India we are beginning to tire of Asian markets. The need to always bargain is draining and unenjoyable.

From the market we continue on to the Rex Hotel where we find a seat at the rooftop bar. This was a famous hangout of military officers and war correspondents during the War. Our table overlooks City Hall and a small park containing a statue of Ho Chi Minh. The weather is delightful and the view captivating. An hour later several of our travelling companions join us for dinner.

An Australian couple, sitting nearby, regale us about getting hit by a motorcycle while walking, and the horrifying conditions of the local hospital. Aimee and I look at each other and agree to take a cab home instead of walking.

January 15, 2017

January 15, 2017

We are on the road early this morning.  Out of the hotel at 6am we transfer to the airport for our flight to Saigon, or now Ho Chi Minh City.  Arriving safely, and too early for our hotel check-in, we board our bus for a visit to the Museum of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine.  This was mostly a snoozer but it does reinforce that Asians are still incredibly into alternative herbal treatments.  The best part of the experience is the nice artwork on the walls and the collection of ancient artifacts.

Afterwards, we head to lunch at the Propaganda Bistro.  The food was excellent and the restaurant was decorated in colorful kitschy war propaganda themed artwork.  Aimee really liked the pomelo salad.

Our next stop was the Reunification Palace.  This is the renamed Presidential Palace of the South Vietnamese government and where the war ended when NVA tanks crashed the gates in April 1975.  We spent an hour touring it.  It felt like we were in a time-warp with all the 60’s decorations.

We then went to the War Remnants Museum.  This place is packed with people making it hard to read anything and do justice to the exhibits.  Formerly called the American War Crimes Museum, it gives the North Vietnamese perspective on the war with photos about Napalm, Agent Orange, massacres, and carpet bombing.  Obviously one-sided, it does a good reinforcing that war is hell and we should have pulled out long before we did.  An army veteran friend explains it with the phrase, “we got in it for all the right reasons and stayed for all the wrong ones.”

.

After this sobering experience we did a short walking tour to what is left of some of the old French colonial buildings in this now very modern city.  We started at Notre Dame Cathedral (which looks like the Paris version), then across the street to the Post Office designed by Eiffel, and then on to the Opera House.

After a long day we find our nearby hotel and check in to our high-rise accommodations. Aimee and I and another couple from the trip decide to go up to the rooftop bar on the 31st floor to enjoy the view and have a drink.  Finding it very romantic we stay and have dinner on an open-air balcony.  It feels like we have a private room since we are in a small nook and we are the only guests.  We share a half dozen Spanish Tapas dishes washed down with Saigon beer. Great way to end a long travel day.

January 14, 2017

January 14, 2017

In the middle ages, Vietnam fractured into fiefdoms and feudal warfare. In 1802 an emperor emerged that united the whole country for the first time as it exists today. He moved the capital here to Hue in the middle of the country and built a fortified citadel. His subsequent Nguyen Dynasty did extensive construction. This Hue complex of monuments is now a World Heritage Site.

We started the day with a cruise on the local Perfume River in a modern Dragon boat. As with many of our tours, the operators have items for sale on the side. This cruise turned into a shopping spree after I modeled a bright red silk-like robe for our fellow passengers. Despite starting it, Aimee and I didn’t buy anything.

Just west of the city we dock at Thien Mu Pagoda (Heavenly Lady Pagoda) atop a small hill. This Buddhist temple built in 1601 is the oldest in Hue. Its most visible structure is a 7-story stupa. This temple was also a hotbed of activist anti-colonial monks, one of whom famously immolated himself in 1963.

Apparently this temple is also a monk training center as we see many young boys in robes and tonsured haircuts. While one is beating a gong in the temple, the rest have cleaning duty.

Back on the bus, we drive south of Hue to visit two tombs from the Nguyen dynasty. The first, the Tomb of Minh Mang, built around 1826, is a large complex of gardens, Oriental gates, bridges, Koi ponds, and temples. It is very picturesque and serene.

The second tomb, of Khai Dinh, was totally different. It is built on the side of a steep hill. We climb dragon stairs, past a series of terraces with stone guards, to the mausoleum.  It was magnificent, containing several rooms completely covered in brightly colored mosaics. Looking closer we see the mosaic consists of broken ceramics.

Back in Hue we had lunch, another set menu arranged by our guide. This set menu is a good way for us to sample different varieties of the local cuisine. This time we had Banh Khoai, which turned out to be a Viet form of tacos. And Bun Bo, which was some form of rice paste with a topping.  And we had noodle soup, which is a favorite of Asians.

After lunch, we drove to the Citadel of Hue as it begins to mist. While cloudy the whole trip, so far we have managed to avoid any precipitation. It finally caught up to us. Hue has a reputation for having the worst weather in Vietnam.

Hue Citadel is an enormous walled and moated city. Inside, close to the river is the Imperial City, another walled compound based on the Forbidden City of Beijing. Sadly, it was another victim of the Vietnam War. During the Tet Offensive of 1968, the North Vietnam Army occupied Hue Citadel for several weeks. In the ensuing battle to recapture the town, the Imperial City was pummeled in house-to-house fighting.

Our guide gave us a tour of the few remaining structures. It must have been magnificent.

Our group hires some Bicycle Rickshaws to pedal us around some farther reaches of the Citadel. It sure beats walking around this gigantic walled city.

January 13, 2017

January 13, 2017

We have the morning free so we head back to Old Town Hoi An. Aimee wants to shop and I want to visit the historic sights we missed. We start at the Tan Ky Old House.  This is the preserved house of a wealthy merchant. We are served a cup of tea while a girl gives us a rundown on the house’s history and design. The house is owned and occupied by the seventh generation. The back side fronts to the river where goods entered the house and then were lifted by pulley to the second floor for storage.  The main floor is ornately decorated. Before leaving Aimee buys some Chinese Zodiac trinkets from the guide.  

We also stopped at several Chinese meeting halls. These were places where different ethnic groups could meet, socialize, do business, and worship. The Cantonese Hall had a wonderful garden in the rear that we almost missed. We also breezed through a couple of the museums but found them uninteresting. What we liked better was looking at the old merchant homes that housed them.

Between my touring Aimee found lots of time to shop.  She bought sandals, bamboo place-mats, and a top.

Back at the hotel, we checked out and joined our tour group for lunch. It was delicious. The main dish was Cao Lau, a pork noodle dish. The meal finished with coconut ice cream decadently smothered in candied mango.

After lunch we hit the road, driving to Da Nang. Our first stop was another craft shop.  This one sold monumental sculptures. It is but one of at least a dozen we have driven past. Aimee and I are both wondering who is buying this merchandise.  You can’t exactly stick these in your carry-on baggage.

We next put our toes in the water at China Beach. This is where GI's would spend their R&R during the War.

We then spent an hour in the small Museum of Cham Sculpture. This repository holds some of the stone decorations found at My Son and two other temples sites.  These obviously Hindu decorations alert us to the fact that My Son must have been magnificent in its prime.

Before leaving town we stopped for a photo of Da Nang’s iconic Dragon Bridge.

From Da Nang, we drive north through a Four-mile long tunnel under the mountains and along the coast to the city of Hue and our home for the next two days.

January 12, 2017

January 12, 2017

This morning our group took off from our hotel in Hoi An and drove upriver into the mountains to My Son, the religious center of the Cham Empire that lived and ruled in central Vietnam.  My Son, a World Heritage Site is quite extensive, with about seventy temples spread out over a dozen complexes.  Sadly in 1969, the Viet Cong took shelter in the area and US B-52's carpet bombed the area heavily damaging most of the structures. Craters can be seen all around the temples.  Aimee and I were careful to stay on the path because unexploded ordinance is still a problem.

We tour the best preserved temple complex.  Even it is not in good condition. Constant rain and jungle vines play havoc with clay bricks. Surprisingly, the temples are Hindu, evidently because of immigration and frequent contact with Indian traders. Unfortunately for the Cham, after the Nam Viet of Hanoi broke free of the Chinese, they spread south conquering the Cham Empire.  The Viets didn't stop here.  They kept going and eventually took the south and the Mekong Delta away from the Khmer Empire of Cambodia.

My Son has an open-air theater where we watch a performance of Cham Folk Dancing by some colorfully dressed young Vietnamese. It was entertaining.

Back in Hoi An, we had lunch and then toured one of the required craft shops.  This one specialized in demonstrating silk production, wood carving, inlaid wood, embroidery, and tailor-made clothing. Outside the shop, an old lady trying to sell me fruit let me borrow her gear. It weighed a ton!

We then set out on a walking tour of the historic district of Hoi An, another World Heritage Site.  Hoi An (Vietnamese for Peaceful Meeting Place) used to be the major trading port of Vietnam. Everybody had representatives here, including the Portuguese. About 200 years ago, the river mouth silted up and trading moved to nearby Da Nang leaving Hoi An left in a time warp.  Out tour starts at the town’s iconic Japanese Bridge, a wooden covered structure that spans a little stream running through town.  We also visited the town well, and an elaborately decorated Chinese meeting hall and temple.  But mostly the Old Town is one big tourist mall.

We walked back to the hotel to rest up, and drop our packs, and then went back downtown to shop and enjoy the lights and festive atmosphere.  There were many newlyweds getting their photos taken with the historic town as a backdrop. Back at the hotel we were drenched.  We are not used to the humidity anymore.

January 11, 2017

January 11, 2017

We woke this morning on Halong Bay.  After our morning coffee, we had a Tai Chi lesson on the deck.  Tai Chi is like slow motion exercise. Right up my alley in the morning.  Our tour director then showed us some additional Kung Fu exercise moves.

The rest of the day was travel. After breakfast we sailed two hours back to the dock, where we boarded the bus for the four hour ride back to Hanoi. On the way we passed oyster farms and loads of rice paddies.

In Hanoi we caught a flight to DaNang. This is where the US had a big airbase during the war.  We boarded a bus to the nearby town of Hoi An and our hotel for the next two nights.

I got some Vietnamese Dong from an ATM to use to buy beer, food, and souvenirs, but we are finding it very confusing. All the money has Uncle Ho on the face and way too many zeroes. It takes 22,000 Dong to buy a dollar.