Luang Prabang (7/26-7/28)

Luang Prabang was an authentic town steeped in culture and history. The kicker was the amazing cafes/restaurants with tasty iced coffee & fresh croissants. All in all a fantastic place to relax and admire the local craft scene.

For pictures of wats, monks, tapestries, and more city sites, click here.

Daniel

More adjusted to the Lao way of life, we arrived at the one runway airport in Luang Prabang. After gatehring our luggage we hailed a Jumbo - basically a miniature pick-up truck with a canpoy on the back. We soon arrived at our riverside hotel, Auberge Le Calao, near the center of town. Fortunately, Luang Prabang is best enjoyed on foot.

Only a block from our hotel is Wat Xieng Thong, which houses a number of stunning structures. Each wat is surrounded by a cluster of buildings both functional and ceremonial. In this case, most of the buildings were vibrant and colorful. The golden colored Chapel of the Funeral Chariot housed a ceremonial boat used in funerals. There was also a rare version of the reclining Budda where the upper hand does not touch the head. Rumor has it that the Buddha is so famous, it once traveled to Paris for the World's Fair. Also, contained within the Wat is the residence of many young monks who lived there. We later learned that people in the surounding villages send their children to be monks so that they receive a good education. Otherwise many families cannot afford the costs of private education in Laos.

We also visited Wat Mai further down the main street and in the middle of town. During the evening, the monks gather to chant in the main Sim. As non-participants, it was all right for us to join them inside the wat as long as we did not distract them. We knelt and watched mostly young boys no older than 12 rythmically chant their hymns. The unexpected learning was that most of the monks are young boys, getting their education the way the system allows. It was fascinating to watch an ancient ritual peppered with reality. For example, watching one of the younger monks join the chant late with a set of apparently communal keys. He quietly tossed them to an older boy who looked back dissapprovingly, who then shyly tossed them to the more elder monks in the front row who in turn snatched the keys and tucked them into their saffron robes.

Another memorable afternoon was spent walking back to our hotel from the main street. From the end of town to the other, one passes wat after wat after wat. We were lucky enough to be out when all the monks in began their evening chants. As we passed out of ear shot of one wat the chant grew louder as we came closer to another. This continued for most of our walk. The rythmic melody of the chants growing louder and softer was mesmerizing

Our second morning, we spent a half day on a river tour of the nearby Pak Ou Grottoes and a local weaving village (possibly where many of the shops in Luang Prabang buy their goods). Our boat was long and narrow, seating about ~15 people. The man driving the boat had a steering wheel and a bright pink, plastic mirror acting as his rearview mirror. Slowly trawling up the river reminded us of Apacolypse Now or scenes from any Vietnam War footage. Tall misty hills and cliffs were covered in thick jungle and vegetation. The caves we visited were hidden high in the hillside and were adorned with a vast number of Buddha figures filling the cave. The tour ended with a couple brief stops at local river villages. With a mission, we briskly walked in and out of shop/homes displaying whatever souvenirs or textiles they had on hand. We finally came upon a home where a humble and friendly woman showed us a wide range of textiles. She was able to explain which were 100% silk, a mix of cotton and silk, or all cotton. Her honestly won us over since most vendors claim that everything is 100% silk. We found a couple pieces that were colorful and representative of the Lao weaving style we liked best. We bought our first tapestry and scampered back to the waiting boat.

With one feather in our cap, we continued to navigate the many textile shops. Overall, we spent a lot of our time wandering the streets, shops, and wats in Luang Prabang. Having seen the handy work at Lao Textiles in Vientiane, we visited almost every textile shop (some even were blessed by our presence multiple times) in Luang Prabang. You could say we had become obsessed with finding the perfect Lao tapestry. In the end we settled on a unique shop, Caruso Lao. Run by a woman originally from Canada, but who spent most of her (pre-1997) life in Hong Kong. She moved to Laos nine years ago and strives to establish a unique blend of traditional weaving & modern flare. Ironically, during our 2 1/2 day stay in Luang Prabang we ran into her at least twice everyday - at the cafe , massage parlor, restaurant, and even walking her dog along the main street. It was fate that we ended up at her shop.

The other amazing event we witnessed was the giving of alms. Early each morning, the monks file out of their wats, bare foot to collect food (mainly rice) from the people. Laotians practice Theravada Buddhism, which differs from Mahayana Buddhism in many ways, but the main one is how they eat. Theravada Buddhists eat only two meals a day, and nothing after 12:00. And the local people rise early each morning to give their offerings to the monks. Of course, we were slightly misinformed that the alms giving started at 5am instead of 6am. We wandered the streets alone in the rain before anyone else in Luang Prabang. As time passed more people began to stir, and the monks eventually came out. The final scene was beautiful - people (sadly a lot of toursits) kneeling bare foot on the sidewalk with bowls of sticky rice and other offerings. As the monks walked by they would place a handful of rice in each monk's alms bowl. Once a monk had enough food, he would simply keep his bowl covered. At certain points along the road, the monks would discard food into a basket in the street. We learned later that the extra food was given to the poor and/or orphans.

There were some good places to try local cuisine and enjoy just plain tasty food. Tum Tum Cheng, visited by the Naked Chef, offered the most authentic Lao dinner that we had in Luand Prabang. We also enjoyed some fabulous French cuisine at L'Elephant and some fusion Lao cuisine at 3 Nagas. Finally, thanks to our extensive wandering we came across a tiny restaurant, Tamarind, where the hostess taught us about the different foods & how to eat them. A nice cultural treat and a hidden gem.

We also hiked Mount Phousi, taking in the birds-eye-view of Luang Prabang and the many wats scattered throughout the city. It was was enjoyable to see how the Buddist monks integrated with the growing city. As a final treat, we went for yet another $5 massage...yes, that is $5 for a whole hour! This time it was a traditional Lao massage, which is quite similar to Thai massage and not something we were used to. We are going to miss the cheap massages!

We spent our last afternoon bicycling around the Luang Prabang countryside and making our final purchases before setting out to Bangkok.

Vientiane (7/25-7/26)

Below is a quick account of our short time in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. We saw some stunning architecture and many Wats that give Laos a unique flavor. We also got our first taste of Lao textile work, just beautiful.

Click here, for some photos from Vientiane.

Daniel

After our trek through Vietnam we headed to neighboring Laos - from one Communist country to another. However, the Lao People's Democratic Republic was a striking contrast to the busy hustle we found throughout Vietnam. One guide explained that the Vietnamese grow rice while the Laotian listens to the rice grow.

Our first stop in Laos was in the capital, Vientiane - one of the most laid back capital cities we have ever visited. We stayed in a small guesthouse along the banks of the meandering Mekong River. Even the famous river seems to slow down during its journey through Laos.

After clearing customs, we noticed that the airport was shutting down just after 4:30pm. Expecting a mob of taxi drivers fighting over our business, we sought out the official taxi stand & paid for a voucher. Our taxi driver greeted us just outside the terminal when we noticed there were only two or three cars parked outside. The car would be considered antique or vintage by any car aficionado. The only problem was that the speedometer stayed at zero the whole way - luckily we didn't have any problems.

With only two half days in Vientiane, we set out to explore the city sites in the afternoon. The main draw is That Luang built by King Settathirat. Built in the 16th century, this enormous stupa towers into the sky. We took a TukTuk to the stupa and passed Pratuaki Monument, an arch very similar to the Arc de Triumph in Paris. However, this arch commemorates the victory over Colonial France by the Lao People.

The next morning we ventured out to Wat Sisaket, one of the oldest temples in Vientiane. The temple is currently inhabited by a small number of monks. It's most unique characteristic is the massive number of Buddha figures found within its galleries and cloisters. All of the inward facing walls have thousands of small niches, each has a small ceramic Buddha placed inside.

We also visited Lao Textiles run by Carol Cassidy. Many different styles and techniques of Lao weaving are on display in the French villa showroom. Lao Textile is internationally known and produces some of the best quality textiles in the country. Past wars and unrest have threatened the weaving traditions passed down over the years, but people like Carol Cassidy have encouraged a resurgence in the demand for high quality silk textiles. In the end locals are able to make a living by continuing this traditional art. Luckily, we were also able to see the weavers in action. In a courtyard just behind the show room, a handful of women knelt by spindles whirring raw silk into thread. Further back, there was a long row of hand looms worked by more women who were methodically weaving their colorful masterpieces. One handmade piece can take months to complete. Even more impressive is that many of the tapestries are 2-3 meters long. It was here where we were inspired to begin a search for our very own tapestry...tbd in Luang Prabang.

Finally, we paid a short visit to the city market selling everything: jewelry, tapestries, DVD's, souvenirs, fried eggs, etc. Only a few of the vendors tried to get our attention as we wandered through the maze of isles. Again this was an interesting contrast to the tugging and pulling that we had grown accustomed to in Vietnam. Next stop Luang Prabang.

Hanoi (7/18, 20, 23, 24)

We loved Hanoi! It was easily our favorite city in all of Vietnam. The food was wonderful (finally those French/Vietnamese fusion restaurants we had been craving...oh, and we found the most amazing ice cream shop, Fanny's), the sights were really interesting, and the shopping was phenomenal.

For photos, click here.

Kimberly

We actually split our time in Hanoi into three short trips, as we used the city as a home base while we were exploring the North of the country. Rather than write everything in chronological order, we thought it would be best to include all our highlights from our time in Hanoi in one post.

We found the most wonderful boutique hotel in the city, The Church Hotel. The location was perfect-- right near St. Joseph's church, just off the Hoan Kiem Lake, in the heart of a cute shopping neighborhood in the Old Quarter. They took great care of us there and even kept our luggage while we took quick trips into the countryside for a night or two. Best part, it was $45 a night!

The first night we got some last minute seats to watch the Thanh Long Water Puppet Theater. The exact origins of the entertainment are unknown, but it is said to have started in the rice fields of the Red River Delta and used to commemorate the beginning and ending of the agricultural cycle. Puppeteers stand waist deep in water behind the pagoda set and use bamboo poles, strings, and pulleys to extend their puppets up through the surface of a small pond that forms the stage. What goes on under the water is a closely guarded secret--some puppeteers must swim under others! It was surprisingly quite wonderful and very entertaining. Afterwards, we enjoyed what was easily our best meal in all of Vietnam at Bob Chinn's. It was absolutely phenomenal. Expensive (for Vietnam), but just superb.

On several of the mornings, we woke up early to watch the local Vietnamese exercise by the Hoan Kiem Lake. We had heard that it was interesting to see them practicing their Tai Chi in the morning mist, etc. What I did not expect was to find an absolute frenzy of Vietnamese practicing almost any kind of exercise thinkable. In one corner of the park, there were people playing badminton. A little further up, we found them playing some funny game that was like a combination of hacky sack and volleyball. Along the lake front, people were jogging and walking...until we got to the section where the men had brought out an entire weight room (barbells and benches included) to get buff in the open air. And then there's my favorite...first I just spotted a few solo women waving their hands frantically around in the air, jumping up and down, practicing some odd combination of aerobics, dancing, and the "I'm so happy, I just won the lottery" dance. But once we walked further up the lakeside, we came across at least a hundred women waving their hands around in unison. The leader had a megaphone and would announce what part of the body the women should pat next (it started with their heads, then their feet, then their butts)... the whole scene was just amazing...and then, at 7:00am on the dot, everyone scattered and went home to get ready for work.

We took a taxi one morning out to the Museum of Ethnology, so we could learn more about the ethnic minorities in the country before we went to Sa Pa to visit the hilltribes. The museum was really well put together, with great descriptions of the different ethnic groups. They also had a fascinating temporary exhibition on what it was like to live under the Communist rationing system. People stood in line for hours, starting at 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning, just to get their portion of (usually moldy) rice--before the supply ran out. During this time items like a new pair of shoes or a doll were such rarities that those fortunate enough to have one would not use it, but keep it safe in a drawer.

Word of caution: when visiting Hanoi, be on the lookout for taxis with rigged meters. Our taxi ride the full 6 km to the museum cost 50,000 VND. On our taxi ride back, we were less than a kilometer from the museum, when I noticed the meter already read 20,000--and was ticking away, climbing fast. We told the taxi driver something wasn't right and pointed to the meter, but he didn't seem to care. So we made him pull over and just let us out there. We easily found another taxi to take us the rest of the way back to the city--at the correct price! We're not sure how to tell which taxis are ok and which meters have been rigged, but we knew that "CP Taxi" was a company we could trust, so from that experience on, we would ride only in CP taxis...

We also visited the Museum of Fine Arts, which had a collection of reasonably interesting Vietnamese paintings and other works. The museum was unfortunately organized and did not provide hardly any explanations of the works, so we did not appreciate our visit as much as we could have.

We were in the neighborhood, so we decided to visit the Temple of Literature--and we were really glad we did. It was probably our favorite site in all of Hanoi. The Chinese influenced architecture was quite beautiful and the temple very well maintained. It is Vietnam's oldest institution of higher education, dating from the 11th century. The temple is dedicated to Confucius and educated Mandarins (high court officials) for 700 years. I had been reading a wonderful book on a family's history in Vietnam, "Sacred Willow," and the family consisted of a long line of Mandarin officials--so it was especially interesting to visit this site in that light.

We also spent one morning on a "walking tour" of the Old Quarter of Hanoi. The area is still quite well preserved. The houses and shops once operated in a cooperative system, with guilds working together to transport merchandise from outlying villages. While "silver street" and "paper street" don't still specialize in silver and paper respectively, there definitely still are pockets of merchandise. You'll still find entire streets devoted to motorcycle parts, bamboo poles, or even shoes or knock off bags!

On our last morning, we finally made it to visit Mr. Ho Chi Minh (in his mausoleum) & his house & museum. The complex has very odd opening hours, so this was actually our only day in Hanoi when it was even open. Security is really tight--you have to check all camera equipment and cannot bring in any liquids (this was pre-UK bombing threat discovery)--but this doesn't stop hundreds of people from lining up each morning to visit and pay their respects to the former President.

So how did we spend the rest of our time? Shopping of course! But this was a new foray for us--into artwork!! Hanoi is famous for its affordable paintings--and Dan and I were determined to make our first art purchase here. So there are two different kinds of paintings in Hanoi--the real ones (costing from a few hundred to usually a few thousand dollars) and the numerous fake painting, or reproductions as they like to call them. All along the main streets we found galleries and galleries containing copies of Van Gogh's Sunflowers, Monet's Waterlillies, or Picasso's Guernica. In addition, you could find copies of the contemporary Vietnamese artists' work. After much deliberation (and hard bargaining) we bought two Vietnamese paintings, a "reproduction" and one "real" painting (even with the certificate of authenticity!!). It was really exciting to be buying our first real piece of artwork!

By chance, we had two friends from Stanford who also happened to be in Hanoi at the same time. Maren & Thao had been traveling around Southeast Asia for the past few weeks, usually trailing behind us by only a day or two. We were really happy that they finally caught up to us and we could get together. It was fun to compare travel stories and catch up with good friends.

Sapa (7/21-22)

Read below to hear about our favorite place in all of Vietnam, the highlands of Sapa, with its rice terraces, markets, and ethnic hilltribes.

For photos: click here.

Kimberly

We had heard that Sapa was amazing and would give us a peek into a completely different part of Vietnam, so we made a huge effort to come here, for just two days--but it was completely worth it! We booked ourselves on the Victoria Express, the Vietnamese equivalent of the "Orient Express" for the two overnight trains to and from Sapa. We left Hanoi late at night on Friday and really enjoyed the mystique of the sleeper cabins, the wood paneling, the dining car. It was wonderful (until the air conditioning got turned off in the middle of the night, we both woke up sweating, and had to bang on the door of the dining car where our steward was sleeping to have someone turn it back on...) We still arrived feeling (reasonably) refreshed early on Saturday morning and were thrilled to look out our window to see water buffalo working the rice fields.

After settling into our hotel, the Victoria Sapa (you have to stay there if you want to take their train), we decided to explore a bit of the town on our own. We had a wonderful breakfast and bought a picnic lunch from a place called Baguette et Chocolat (yes, we are still in Vietnam, but luckily the French colonial influence means freshly baked croissants are always easy to find!). We then hiked up to somewhat of a tourist trap of a "mountain" for some "amazing gardens" (no flowers were in bloom), but watching the local Vietnamese enjoying their Saturday made the excursion actually rather worthwhile. Dan wanted to take a photo of one of the Hmong girls (from a nearby hilltribe town), but had to buy me a woven bracelet in exchange. It was interesting to see the other girls' reactions, some of them actually hid their faces behind their hands to make sure they wouldn't be photographed. The Hmong hilltribe is not the one who believes that taking a photo is taking a part of your soul, but they are still rather camera shy.

What really makes Sapa unique is a wonderful combination of the landscape and the hilltribe people. There are terraces and terraces of rice fields that were the brightest green that I had ever seen. It was so beautiful, I just cannot describe it. Definitely check out our photos! Northern Vietnam is home to many different hilltribe people, and during our time here, we were able to see four of the different tribes. In many ways, they continue to live their lives according to tradition, dressing the way their ancestors always have, tending to their rice fields, and weaving beautiful clothing. Our time hear made us both think about the tough choices between encouraging a group of people to maintain their culture and way of life or helping them to improve their living conditions by educating and "Westernizing" them.

That afternoon, we took the most amazing hike through the Muong Hoa and Ta Van valleys. All along the way the green rice terraces lined the mountain, all the way down to the Muong Hoa river. We encountered many tribes people walking to and from their villages, often with heavy loads on their backs. We visited two villages along the way. The first was a Black Hmong village of Lao Chai. When we arrived at the village, the people were just returning home from the daily Mass. We stopped in one house, and a woman showed us around. The living conditions were rather bleak: no running water, no electricity, not even a proper floor (just the dirt ground). The kitchen was in the middle of the house, so all the rooms were filled with smoke. And there were chickens and pigs running around the garden, and often into the house. The woman who lived there was very happy though, and her daughter happily posed for a photo after I bought a silver bracelet from her.

As we continued on, our guide explained that the Black Hmong people live in much worse conditions than others in the valley for a number of reasons. The main two were that, as they are Catholic, they believe in large families...therefore having too many children to support and causing the family to live in poverty. Secondly, they do not embrace "new" ways of living and like to keep their traditions. When we visited the second town of Ta Van, our guide showed us how the Giay people had managed to improve thier living conditions by assimilating to the 21st century. This meant their house had a linolieum floor, electricity, some ugly wooden furniture, and (believe it or not) a karaoke machine. We found it rather unsettling that the Giay were rewarded for giving up their culture in this way. Many Giay have even adopted modern Vietnamese dress and live in villages of mixed ethnic groups. However the disease and poverty of the Black Hmong and other tribes is really saddening as well. The whole day made us think about the difficult ethical question at hand (one that I think I am not posing too eloquently, but you understand what I'm saying, right?)

On our second day, we had a guide take us to the Bac Ha market, about a 3 hour drive from Sapa. The market is where all the different tribes in the region come on Sundays, using tiny mangy horses to carry their goods. At the market, they trade livestock, weaving materials, and foodstuffs. The Flower Hmong people stood out most at the market, with their beautiful hemp-cloth costumes woven with colorful floral designs. The costumes are hand-embroidered (and often hand dyed), and it is said that Hmong men size up prospective partners by their embroidery skill. We got some amazing photos at the market because it was the perfect setting capture the people going about their daily life--without feeling so intrusive with a giant camera lens.

After the market, our guide took us to another small village and into a Flower Hmong home. The living conditions were in between the two other homes we had seen the day beforehand. The kitchen was in a separate room, but there was no covering on the ground (and no karaoke machine). After some difficulties communicating with the guide (who was supposed to speak English and didn't), we finally made it down to the river, where we took a boat ride to some magnificent cliffs in the valley. Then, it was back to the train station in Lao Cai, for our overnight journey back to Hanoi.

For anyone visiting Vietnam, I highly encourage you to make the effort to visit Sapa. It was an amazing experience, unlike anything else on our entire trip...and something which may not be around for much longer.

Ha Long Bay (7/19-20)

Read below for our experience sailing, kayaking, and swimming through beautiful Ha Long Bay.

For photos, click here.

Daniel

We had been looking forward to visiting Ha Long Bay ever since we saw photos in a Conde Naste Article on Vietnam...and the pictures were absolutely true to the real thing...it was spectacular! By far, Ha Long Bay was the most beautiful part of Vietnam we have visited up until now. Over 3000 limestone and dolomite karsts jutting out of a shallow and calm ocean, it really is breathtaking.

We had read about the mixed quality of the junks that sail in Ha Long Bay and decided to book on the Jewel of the Bay for a 2 day, one night cruise. It was definitely the right choice. We had the most wonderful travel companions: a family with their 16 year old daughter from outside London, England, another family with two teenage boys from Darwin, Australia, and a young couple from Copenhagen, Denmark.

Ha Long Bay is roughly a 4 hour drive from Hanoi. Once at the port, were shuttled to the main ship on a smaller taxi boat. Once we got settled on the Jewel of the Bay, we were already surrounded by the famous limestone islands. Although we were probably only a few kilometers from the bustling port town - we had been transported to a tranquil setting, truly a natural wonder (and much cooler than steamy Hanoi). Protected by the masses of limestone, the calm water was deep green from all the vegetation on the islands. Most of our time was spent admiring the changing views as our ship navigated through the bay. We were also able to explore lagoons and water caves up close by kayak. One of the other highlights was swimming in the bay. The crew encouraged us to jump off the boat for a dip in the sea - surprisingly the water was very warm. Needless to say the teenage Australians were throwing themselves from the highest points possible.

First, we enjoyed a quite impressive seafood lunch (well everyone else enjoyed the seafood...the chef had prepared me some beef and chicken instead). It was really fresh fish, crabs, and prawns (as in still with heads and everything). The others seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. After our lunch, we visited one of the famous caves in the bay, the "surprise cave." Our guide told us a story of one of the famous battles won by the Vietnamese in these caves where the Vietnamese tricked the Chinese into coming into the cave during high tide, only to have their boats destroyed by large steel tipped bamboo spikes placed under the water.

After our cave exploring, we all hopped in two person kayaks and explored the bay a little more intimately. We landed on another island and went for a sunset swim in the warm water. The next morning we set off for more kayaking, but this time we went into this hidden lagoon by kayaking through a small opening in the circular island. The sunlight reflected off the ocean water onto the limestone rocks and made the most spectacular light patterns. It looked just like the James Bond movie (which was not filmed here, by the way, that was in Thailand, but very similar landscape).

The sights alone made this short trip very memorable, but we've quickly learned how much a travel experience can be affected by travel companions. In this case, everyone we were with a fantastic group. At the end of the trip, we all exchanged contact info and wished each other a safe journey. It was a great trip.

Hoi An and Hue (7/16-7/18)

Yet another 30 minute flight north along the Vietnam coast brings us to the Town of Hoi An, where we spent the majority of our time at fittings in tailor shops. Later we enjoyed a 3 hour drive north to the former capital city of Hue, where we visited tombs and palaces, took a boat along the Perfume River, and Dan got a haircut in a open air barber shop!

Read below for all the details, and view our photos!!
Hoi An, click here.
Hue, click here.

Kimberly

HOI AN

An authentic small town with Chinese and Japanese influenced architecture. Many of the buildings are protected as historical sites--as the city was recently recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site. As the majority of the buildings cannot be renovated due to the building restrictions, local people don't want to live in these old houses, and instead sell them to businesses....who open up shop to th tourists. This explains the plethora of tailor shops waiting to make custom made suits, shirts, dresses, and more. All shops are not created equal and we learned the hard way by buying from multiple stores before realizing that paying a little more guaranteed the quality (material & tailoring).

Shopping summary:

Best experience - Yaly Couture: where all the staff wore matching outfits that changed depending on what day you went. Everything we had made was done perfectly. I wish I had discovered this place earlier because all I could get made was one dress. Dan loved his dress shirts here so much that he got three more made to pick up the next morning. (Cost: $45 for a sundress/cocktail dress, $12-19 for a dress shirt)

Worst experience - Ke Gallery - Dan bought shoes that don't really fit even though they measured his feet on day 1 and re-fit the shoes the next day. The insoles say "Souvenir Hoi An" Should've known better... ($7 for a pair of silk Chinese patterned sandals, $20 for Dan's pleather dress shoes)

We also discovered several other low-end tailor shops where we got a bunch of other clothes made for really cheap ($80 for a suit, $10 for a dress shirt, $15 for a sundress, and $50 for a silk evening gown...)

After our hectic shopping spree, we did manage to squeeze in a morning bike ride to the beautiful Cua Dai beach just outside of town. The sand stretches over 30km to the next major town, Danang.

Throughout our stay in Hoi An we walked through the narrow streets and alley ways. We explored a couple buildings noted for their unique architecture and historical significance. The family Tran house, built in 1808(?) houses the ashes of family ancestors, as well as the placentas of all the babies in the family (supposedly, so that even when people move away from Hoi An, they can never forget where they came from). We also paid a visit to the Museum of Trade Ceramics, which displayed ancient and modern ceramics which put Hoi An on the map as a major trading hub in the 19th century.

HUE

Three hours north by car brought us to the town of Hue significant for its royal history as well as its role in the Vietnam War (aka the American War as it is known here).

Our first night in Hue, we arrived too late to visit any of the sites, so instead we wandered around looking for a place for Dan to get a (desperately needed) haircut. We found a (reasonably) clean looking open-air barber shop (as opposed to the places that are literally barber's chairs on the sidewalk with a mirror attached to a tree). There was one woman there who spoke enough English that we trusted her near Dan's head with the razor and scissors...all in all, I think it actually turned out quite nice--especially for 30,000 Dong ($1.80)!

The next morning, we got an early start, as we had all the sights to visit, and a 3:00pm flight to catch! We walked down to the river, where we negotiated for our very own "Dragon Boat" to take us on a cruise down the Perfume River, but not on the usual 6 hour tour, but just to one tomb and then back. It was a little nerve-wracking, because it was hardly clear if the people understood what we were asking for...and we couldn't afford to take a 6 hour cruise...since our taxi to the airport left in five!

The cruise went smoothly and was really nice. We passed a famous pagoda (Thien Mu) along the way, and saw lots of river activity. People were dregding something up from the river (mainly by using their feet to spin these metal wheels), and then taking it along the river on small boats. (The stacks of dirt were taller than the boats!)

Our boat arrived at the dock to the tomb of Tu Duc, one of Vietnam's most celebrated Emperors. We were a few kilometers from the tomb still, and the protocol is to hire a motorcycle to take you to the tomb and then back to the boat. OK, I've never been on a motorcycle before, so the first few minutes were quite scary (especially as I didn't feel it was entirely appropriate to be hugging the random Vietnamese man responsible for not crashing and killing us both. So, instead, I held into his shoulders...I'm sure that did a lot of good!). After I got comfortable on the bike though, it was a really lovely experience to be wizzing by the Vietnamese countryside, with the wind in my hair...

The Tu Duc tomb complex was really interesting, as it is the ceremonial tomb area for several Vietnamese Emperors and also one of the few tomb complexes that was completed prior to the Emperor's death...so it was where he lived for the last 16 years of his life as well. His reign was rather unfortunate: his kingdom struggled under French colonialism, he fought a coup d'etat by members of his own family, and although he had 104 wives, he left no heir.

After we finished the tomb tour, we were worried we would be running too short on time to spend another 1 1/2 hours relaxing on our river cruise back to Hue. So we decided it made more sense to take a taxi back and just pay off the boat, even though we didn't use him for the full trip. Easier said than done though, especially as the boat was a 3km moto ride away.... We were worried that no one would understand what we wanted to do, so we decided what would be most clear would be if I stayed at the tomb and Dan moto'd back to the boat to pay him off...this way they would understand that we were not taking the boat back and (hopefully) the moto would return Dan to me at the tomb area. It actually worked surprisingly well, though I was relieved when I saw Dan returning on the moto at the tomb. The only catch was that there were no taxis at the tomb, so we had no choice but to take motos all the way back to Hue. I was starting to get comfortable on the motorbikes though, so I thought this would be kind of fun! My moto driver was great and made sure not to take turns too fast as to scare me (maybe it was a giveaway that I was cautiously holding onto his shoulders like an idiot?), but Dan's driver was apparently a bit more aggressive--causing Dan to wince a few times, but no crashes or problems.

We arrived safely in Hue and went straight to the Citadel, the area housing the former Imperial City, the capital from 1802 to 1945. It is also the place where the Viet Cong took over during the infamous Tet Offensive in 1968--and thus the area of the heaviest fighting during the Vietnam War. Viet Cong Guerrillas attacked American and South Vietnamese forces at Hue, and took the city. Americans eventually re-captured Hue, but at terrific cost.

We decided to hire a guide to take us around the former Imperial Palace, and I'm glad we did. She did a wonderful job of describing some of the subtleties of the palace (like, for example the different doorways for different people: one for the Emperor, one for Mandarins or officals, one for other people, and then one for women!) She also explained the layout of the palace before the destruction during the war, and showed where buildings used to stand (which is useful as almost all of the structures were destroyed by American bombings).

After our short tour of the former capital, we negotiated with a cyclo driver to take us back to our hotel. After bargaining hard, we got the price down to 20,000 VND....the driver opened with 80,000....

And then we were off to Hanoi...

Nha Trang (7/13-7/15)

Read below for our account of our three days at the Vietnamese beachside resort of Nha Trang.
And for photos, click here.

Daniel

Welcome to Nha Trang, a beach side respite compared to the hustle and bustle of Saigon. After a short thirty minute flight from Ho Chi Minh, we arrived in the beach town of Nha Trang. This is THE destination for Vietnamese vacationers looking for hot sun and sweeping tracks of sandy beach. We checked into the Ana Mandara Resort for three days of rest and relaxation.

The first couple days in our sea side villa we spent relaxing by the beach side pool reading books and trying our hand at Su Doku (a simple numbers puzzle that has become an addictive game). The resort was very accommodating. Upon checking into our room we learned there was a "pillow menu" where we could each request a special pillow for turn down service. The menu had two pages of sizes, shapes, materials, and scents. Needless to say, we slept very well during our stay here. We also treated ourselves to a nice afternoon massage at the beachside spa. It was the first time both of us ha a Vietnamese massage which includes the use of glass jars that are suctioned to the back and quickly popped off.

On the third and final day we took an half day excursion to the many offshore islands. Our first stop was Mun Island, which has been declared a national marine park. Expecting pristine waters and abundant marine life, I jumped into the chilly China Sea for some snorkeling. Kimberly stayed on the board according to her strict requirement - the seabed must be visible & no one can talk about sharks :) I lasted for roughly only ten minutes before realizing that the "prime" snorkeling spot also acted as the main passage for all the tourist boats circling the small island's coastline. After having a glass bottom boat blare its sea horn in my direction, I had enough marine life for the day. Later we sped over to Hon Mieu Island where a fish hatchery pretends to be an aquarium. The entrance was a giant sized lion fish and the main fish tanks were housed in a pirate ship facade. At the end of the tour we did see some sea turtles in an outdoor pool. Finally, we went to Hon Tre, or Bamboo island for some relaxing and a seafood lunch (yum yum...luckily there was some tofu and pork floating in the soup.) The funny thing here was watching all the Vietnamese women who had come up from Saigon for the weekend...they were all dressed rather inappropriately, attempting to navigate the rocky shoreline to get to the pier in their high heels. It was a rather amusing sight.

After our three days here, we left feeling very well rested...and ready for some serious sightseeing and shopping in Hoi An!