Street Scenes in Hanoi

Well, it's a toss-up on which city's streets are more interesting.  Hanoi's population in 2009 was 6.5 million and we saw most of them on motorcycles today!  It's the current capitol of Vietnam & second in size only to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) which is 1090 miles south of Hanoi.  Today's temp was only in the mid-50s, almost 40 degrees cooler than Saigon.

We saw Ho Chi Minh's embalmed body & the Ho Chi Minh complex which included the simple house he lived in as president.  We saw a complex that paid tribute to Confucianism, literature & education next, followed by a quick trip to the single pillar pagoda (to Buddha), the Hanoi Hilton (held US POWs during Vietnam War).  It was a prison built & used by the French when they held Vietnam as a colony.  Next we saw a museum on the history of Vietnam and finally took a walk in the Old Quarter.



Ho Chi Minh's tomb & preserved body



Presidential palace - not used by Ho Chi Minh because it was too large & elegant

Ho Chi Minh's simple home on stilts

One-pillar pagoda

Hanoi Hilton from Vietnam War and earlier French prison for political prisoners = Vietnamese working for independence

The good, the bad and the ugly

Steaming chickens (see next photo)

We believe these are small chickens cleaned & filled with seaweed.  They are steamed in recycled soda cans then added to soup & (get this) consumed!

Street Scenes in Hue

Here are some images from our short walk this morning.  I have succombed to using Colgate toothpaste.  Don said Crest was not worth risking our lives to cross the street.

DT, Another thriving Honda dealership

Engine troubles?

Hue - the Old Imperial City (1800's)

Friday and Saturday we visited Hue (a major battle area in the "American War") - just south of the DMZ.  This is where the Vietnamese declared independence from China and set up an Imperial City in the very early 1800's. There has been some resoration (by UNESCO) in the past decade or so, but much more needs to be done.

Our first Vietnamese pizza

Fishing area in Da Nang; round boats are used to ferry people between the beach & the fishing boats



Entrance to Citadel/Imperial City in Hue, Vietnam; built in very early 1800s



Elephant rides around the Citadel

Two tourists @ Citadel



Altar in front of Holy Buddhist Temple in Citadel



400-year old pagoda now part of Buddhist monastery with 50 monks in residence



Two beers, soda, two great meals for $9 in the DMZ restaurant, Hue; caters to Americans



Video Clips - Cambodian Dance, Cooking Class, Real Estate, Bike Ride & Golf

On our last night in Cambodia we had a dinner/theater with Cambodian folk dance.  The next day we flew to Hoi An, Vietnam (an old world port in the 16th-19th century).

The second video is a brief glimpse of our Vietnamese cooking class.  We made pancakes, spring rolls & egg plant in a clay pot.  They were all good.

The third video shows the mix of new and old buildings along one of the rivers in Hoi An.  It was taken from the boat on the way back from our cooking class.

The fourth is some of the countryside we viewed on our bike tour.

The fifth and sixth are from Don's day on the golf course.  See the picture with his caddie, too.

She's holding up Don's score on a par 5.  Ha Ha

Old City Market, Cooking Class, Bike Ride

Here are a few pictures from today's shopping tour through the old market, our cooking class & the bike ride we took away from the city. It's too bad we can't send the smells, too.

In chatting with people from the cooking class as well as the couple sitting next to us for supper, we realize how much we haven't seen.  These people have been on the road for months if not a year and are just experiencing the different cultures for the sole purpose of learning what the world is like.  They represent South Africa, Serbia, Australia, Hong Kong, Holland, Germany & the UK.  We were quite impressed with each family and look forward to bumping into more who so willingly share their experiences.



Veggies, meat and motorcycles




No more "cluck, ckuck, cluck"




Friday night fish fry on Wednesday morning




Bobbi and Don's new fresh spring rolls




Our Claypot Vietnemese Eggplant - You are All Inivited




"Working on the Rice Field"




Family Vegetable Gardens in the Suburbs




"And a moo moo, here and a moo moo there"




Dragon at the Lantern Festival



Sights in Old City, Hoi An

The first two photos below are actually from Cambodia.  We went to an Apsara dinner show with ethnic dancing.



Cambodian Dancer




Cambodian Cast




Street in Old City Hoi An, Vietnam, during Tet (New Year) Celebration




Entrance to Chinese Community House & Temple



From the December 2010 Miss Earth Pagent Held in Hoi An




A 1590s Covered Bridge Connecting Japanese Section on One End to Chinese Section on the Other End



Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off to Work I Go . . .



Lunch with Tang



Good Night Cambodia and Good Morning Vietnam!!

Yesterday we left Cambodia and arrived in central Vietnam, landing in Danang & driving to Hoi An.  FYI - when we looked into this trip, the books, Internet, etc. said to get  private guides and drivers for visiting these two nations.  We had Kovith in Cambodia and now, Tang in Vietnam.

What has made this trip more interesting is the personal relationship we have been able to quickly have with these two young men. Kovith told us about how he and his family were effected by the Khmer Rouge takeover in Cambodia and Tang told us how his family was effected by the "American" War in Vietnam.

We have also had interesting conversations with people from all over the world.  While at our dinner theater during our last night in Cambodia, we sat next to Koreans, a Chinese woman from Singapore and a "Brit" living in Singapore.   Next to them were some French people.  Our first hotel had many Germans, Russians and Asians.  We can't converse with all of them, but it is interesting none the less.

Our first impressions of Vietnam have been very good.  Hoi An is very interesting, the beach here is very nice and the food has been great.  Lots of people and many horns (from many vehicles) honking aren't the greatest, but it is an interesting apect of life, here.