Photos 2/14

2/14 Vietnam: Da Nang and Hoi An

2/14/2020

I opened the Valentines cards Rebecca had hidden in my bag, and called for an hour tonight, wishing her a Happy Valentines.

This morning I was up again quite early, and had a chance to both work out in the gym at the Cherish, and then run on the Le Loi which is a walk along the Perfume River.  As usual in Vietnam, in the early morning the active folks are out doing Tai Chi and walking and stretching.  The temps were pleasant, and it was nice to be out to experience the real Vietnam.

The buffet on the 11th floor was amazing, and soon after we checked out of Hue for the van ride to Hoi An.  It was along a stretch of the road that used to be the Mandarin Highway, a 56 mile road that was originally built in the 15th century that roughly parallels the coastline tucked between the majestic mountain range and beaches of the South China Sea, passing lagoons, shorelines, passing hamlets and through tunnels.  The most striking part of the drive is a climb up Hoi Van Pass, at 496 meters and 8% grade.  The would be spectacular view was a bit obscured by clouds below, but it was impressive to see cyclists with support vehicles (scooters) climbing the pass.  

On the restroom break, we saw a small table of Vietnamese gamblers playing a card game called “9”. Looked like they had to get 9 cards, and add the 3x3 groups up to 9, confusing.  Kurt tried to jump in, but they wouldn’t let him.

Another interesting point of note was passing an actual leper colony down on the coastline with dozens of families still remaining there.  

On the other side of the Pass, we descended into the area of Da Nang, and stopped at the Marble Mountain, that had a glass elevator up to some tourist cave areas that the Viet Cong  used to use.  

As we were up on the peak of the Marble Mountain, I heard a fighter jet, and looked seaward to observe a Soviet produced MiG that was Vietnamese Air Force.  Quite ironic that it flew over the area of China Beach, so closely held by the Marines in the Vietnam War.  

On the mountain, even though a tourist destination, there were some cool caves, and ponds with some loud croaking frogs, and even a monkey investigating the tourist activities.  

We got to the Lantana Hotel on the river in Hoi An, a pretty touristy town on the coast, and a bustling marketplace.  It was another 15-16 century port town, however, lost its economic viability when the delta of its river silted in.  The buildings remained intact and provide a glimpse of the architecture from that era, though the old buildings are interspersed with modern tourist commercialism.  

The evening was the most striking feature of the day, with lanterns illuminating the whole town from the trees, bridges, boats and even on the river. 

I was disappointed in our dinner at the “Our Restaurant” especially since more strolling through the night market we discovered a couple of BBQ booths of lobster and prawns and other beautiful fresh, inexpensive seafood.  

The jokes about the Vietnamese currency still abound with a group of 6 guys, the “dong” being ever amusing.  

Even though there are less mask wearing Vietnamese than in the bigger cities, the source of amusement never ends when we see someone with a mask pulled down, and smoking, or a baby with a mask on a motor scooter without a helmet, and in this traffic, begs to wonder where the safety priority lies. 

Photos 2/15

2/15/20 Air travel to Saigon

2/15/2020

We are now at an Air b n B in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). Another early morning and a late night.  Our cab picked us up at 6 this morning in Hoi An and drove us through the country side to DaNang airport, which seemed like it was right down town ish.  There were no problems getting checked in, security or boarding the A 321 again from Da Nang to SGN.

In Saigon, our navigation solution was a little trickier since we are at a private residence, and the addresses are a little wonky, and or course we have zero reference to well....anything.

With a little luck, we made it to the home we’re staying at, a 4 story luxury home in a high walled neighborhood on the river.  Clearly, it is a “ high end district”.  There is an elevator in this home.  

We found a local lunch place within walking distance on the river, Restaurant 13, prices seem to be higher at the places we’ve ended up at lately.

After lunch, it was just a short while until we got into another cab and went to the War Remnant Museum.  Interesting interpretation of what happened, and quite biased to the VN opinion of their oppression.  

  

A couple of cool things though:  a T37 (which I flew) on display, and a photojournalist exhibit.  The other exhibits: Agent Orange Effects, War Crimes, and Historical Truths were as one sided as the exhibit on all the nations, seemingly world wide who opposed America’s presence in the VN war, also know as the War of American Oppression.  A lot of grisly pics for effect, but the photo journalist exhibit titled “Requiem” was a little less one sided, and had some spectacular photos from the war.

Next, we walked to the Continental Hotel and went to see the room (214) where Graham Greene wrote the book titled “The Quiet American”. Very cool, and that was right next to the Caravelle Hotel, where we enjoyed a happy hour on the roof top bar looking over Saigon.

On our trek to find a Korean BBQ, we got a Saturday night feel for Saigon, very contemporary, and a much more modern feel than Hanoi.

BBQ was cool, cooked the meat right there, and we used lettuce leaves to roll up and enjoy