CENTRAL VIETNAM - Phong Nha-Ke Bang Nat'l Park, DMZ, Hue, Hoi An

PHONG NHA-KE BANG NATIONAL PARK (May 29-31, 2013)

 

We continued our Vietnam adventure towards the center by catching the train from Hanoi to Dong Hoi. The train is the more expensive but still very affordable transportation option in Vietnam. So in order to save on costs a bit and because we were traveling during the day we opted for soft seats. We would have been better off paying a bit more for soft sleepers. We still weren’t quite caught up on sleep from our northern trips and we left the station at 6:15am. We tried sleeping in our seats but it was too noisy to get much.

So with sleep not being an option our 10 hour train ride entertainment consisted of our iPods, the Lonely Planet guide book, tv programs and movies on the train televisions (although all in Vietnamese), the outside scenery and a local drunk on rice wine. It wasn’t until near the end of our train journey the local got a bit carried away, pulling out a knife and getting a bit violent with train authorities, but it’s all part of the adventure right? We never felt in danger though. We were actually pretty much ignored except for when Adrian was offered but politely refused some of the potent alcohol.

Once we reached Dong Hoi, we were then transferred to a farmstay in a rural area near the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. We read about the place in the Lonely Planet and thought the farmstay and the national park would be a great way to experience the less touristy and more nature side of Vietnam. And it sure was.

The view from our room

We had one full day in this area which we spent doing the farmstay’s “Bicycle, Boat and Cave Tour”. The first part of the tour was riding bicycles towards the entrance of the national park about 8km away. Along the way we got some information about and history of the area and cycled past rice paddies, corn fields and chili farms. We also cycled past many children along the way who were genuinely happy to see us and gave us high fives rather than trying to get money out of us. It was really nice.

The "Hollywood sign" of the National Park

Once we arrived at the national park we transferred to a dragon boat and cruised along the Song Son River to get to the first of the two caves we would visit for the day. Along the way our guide (also a fellow backpacker and an American) gave us an incredibly detailed and intriguing overview of the Vietnam-American War.

 

Half of our group for the day - a couple and two girls from Red Deer, a British girl, an American guy and us!

The first cave we got to explore was Hang Toi or the “Dark Cave”. It has been given this name not because we needed headlamps to see but because of the colour of the rock inside which is black limestone. This means it is older rock compared to light-coloured limestone.  It was awesome to be inside this cave with only our group, no other travelers or tourists but a bit freaky wading through some of the deeper water.

Entrance to the "Dark Cave"

Ready for some caving!

We then took a short boat ride to a place to have lunch and then we were off again to visit the second cave of the day. This cave was the Phong Nha Cave which is much more touristy with, well, more tourists and also different coloured lights lighting up the inside and highlighting different rock formations. It was a massive dry cave which was once used as shelter for the Vietnamese as well as a hospital for the soldiers during the war. At the entrance you can see damage from American rockets trying to penetrate the cave but the limestone was far too dense to get through.  There is also one section of the cave that has 1000 year old Cham graffiti. We also learned about the different rock formations which were pretty impressive!

Entrance to Phong Nha Cave

1000 year old Cham graffiti

Columns formed from stalactites and stalagmites growing into each other.
The Vietnamese believe if you walk through these columns you will find your soulmate!

Some fantastic rock formations

"Rice terraces"

After exiting this cave we took a dragon boat back to the entrance of the national park and returned to the farmstay by our bikes.

It was a short stay at the farmstay but well worth it with all the beauty and history around us! It was also a cool experience to visit the National Park before tourism really takes off there. It's predicted it will do so because the world's largest cave was discovered in the Park only a couple years ago and will open to the public in the next few months.

DMZ (May 31, 2013)

From the farmstay we decided to take a transfer service they provided that took us to Hue by minibus but also included some short tours around the “Demilitarized Zone” or DMZ. The DMZ is situated around the Ben Hai River which served as the dividing border between the North and the South from 1954 to 1975 and is where a lot of historical events took place. 

Our first of the two “tours” was to the Vinh Moc Tunnels. Many villages in the area took cover from the war by building an underground tunnel system which not only provided shelter for the village but also connected to neighbouring villages. The tunnels contained very small living quarters, guard posts, only one deep hole which served as the toilet, a meeting room, a maternity room, a kitchen and some storage rooms. It was incredible to walk through the tunnels (hunched over mind you) and learn how these poor people lived for over six years. 

Outside trenches that linked the villages

An overview of the tunnel system

Heading into the tunnels

This area is one of the living quarters meant for four people to sleep in

The maternity room where 17 babies were born

Our second stop, more of a self-guided tour, was the Ben Hai River Museum which recounted a short summary of the war through plaques, photos and artillery. Not overly compelling but still interesting enough to go through a short while. We found the bridge only a short walk away more captivating because it was built to relink the North to the South after so many years once the war ended. There is a memorial at the end on the South side but we didn’t get a chance to walk across and see it up close, only drove past it.

Ben Hai River Bridge

After these two stops we continued on our way to Hue.

HUE (May 31 – June 2, 2013)

Hue is the old capital of Vietnam and the city still has many of its historic buildings intact despite American bombings. These buildings, ranging from the Citadel (containing the Imperial Enclosure and the Emperor’s Reading Room) to past rulers’ tombs to pagodas, have been deemed part of a yet another World Heritage Site in Vietnam.

Unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to see any of these because I finally and inevitably got sick and Adrian wasn't that interested. We had only planned to stay in Hue for two nights and one full day, enough time to explore the Site, but it was all spent indoors, resting up and trying to feel better. 

We stuck to our plan and took off on the second morning even though I still wasn't feeling that great. During the four hour bus ride to Hoi An Adrian and I didn’t have a chance to sit together because we were the last ones to be picked up. But it worked out alright because I got to meet a guy born and raised in Vietnam but he had moved to Australia for more and better opportunities. He was just here for a few weeks seeing what Vietnam was like now and visiting friends and family. It was fascinating but also saddening to hear a Vietnamese perspective on issues such as the war, the government, the economy, and work and living conditions in Vietnam. He was quite happy to have moved his immediate family to Australia and establish himself there while taking time to visit Vietnam and do other traveling now. 

HOI AN (June 2-6, 2013)

After hearing other travelers’ experiences in Hoi An we were so excited to experience it for ourselves! We were going to take a cooking course on the beach, explore the Unesco World Heritage Site of the Old Town, bum on the beach, maybe take a half day trip to My Son to see some remains of the ancient Cham empire…buuut unfortunately we both ended up getting sick. We went to go see a doctor and were diagnosed with the ol’ bowel infection, lovely…So we started taking our meds and after a day or so we were well enough to walk around town, check out the Japanese Covered Bridge and do some souvenir/gift shopping. 

Japanese Covered Bridge

A stroll through the Old Town

But disappointingly that’s all we felt up to doing. After four days we thought it best just to move on and enjoy the rest of the time we had planned in Vietnam. It’s such a shame and we would like to do Hoi An over again but that will have to be during another trip. 

We did have Mui Ne, a quieter and not too developed beach town, to look forward to after all. And we were sure some fresh ocean air and soaking up the sun would do us some good!

NORTHERN VIETNAM - Hanoi, Sapa, Halong Bay

HANOI (May 21-23, 26, 29, 2013) 

Hanoi was everything we wished and hoped for and is what you would expect of a developing Asian city.

There are motorbikes flying everywhere and in all directions. We later learned each person owns at least one motorbike although two or three is quite common and the city has a population of over seven million people. That means a lot of motorbikes on the roads!

A traffic circle gone bad. Or perfectly fine in the eyes of the Vietnamese.

There is constant honking from all vehicles. But the horns aren’t used like they are in Canada. Here the horn is used to say “hello” or “I’m coming up beside you to pass you” or “can you move out of my way”.

In amongst these vehicles there are ladies carrying around fruit on baskets suspended on a pole they carry over their shoulder to sell to shops and any passerby.

You sure stick out like a sore thumb as a Caucasian person and anyone driving a taxi, tuk tuk or motorbike who sees you walking around will ask you if you want to pay for a ride somewhere. After several “no, thank yous” they eventually give up.

Even worse are the shop owners or street vendors. They will actually follow/walk with you for blocks asking you if you want to buy a fan, or a hat, or a bracelet. They don’t take “no” for answer until at least the tenth the time. We had a bit of this in Thailand but nothing as persistent.

Here some lady selling fruit came up behind Adrian and put her pole on his shoulder before he even knew what happened. We of course took pictures but then had to pay more than normal for the pineapples. Pineapples were tasty though and we got some good photos out of it.

But as long as you are in the right mind set, the city is an exciting challenge walking around, bargaining and finding a decent place to eat.

In terms of eating, we ate a LOT of pho (noodle soup). We love it back in Canada and the real thing over here is just as good. We also tried some nice cakes from local bakeries. These were established as part of the French influence as they once ruled the country. Our favourite dish we tried was called “bun bo nam bo” which is a dry noodle dish with thin strips of beef, bean sprouts, garlic, lemongrass, green mango and peanuts in a tangy sauce.

Bun bo nam bo

Our first two days in Hanoi were spent planning out and budgeting our time in Vietnam as well as the rest of our trip. But we were able to get some sightseeing in as well. We walked around Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple on the Lake. After that we caught a water puppet show nearby that showcased the beginnings of Vietnam and some traditions of the Vietnamese people. We were also hoping to make it to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Complex but we either didn’t wake up in time (the mausoleum anyway is only open from 8-11am with the last entry being 10:15am) or we were too tired after coming back from our trips to Sapa and Halong Bay. We booked these two trips on the second day and allowed ourselves some resting time by coming back to Hanoi for a day before setting off for the next trip.

Our hotel is the green one in the middle. The Vietnamese like to build tall and narrow buildings. Great way to optimize space but can be a pain with no elevator.

Hoan Kiem Lake

Some of the water puppets "off stage"

 

SAPA AND AREA (May 24-26, 2013)

On our third night in Hanoi we got transported to the local train station to catch a night train to Lao Cai and then onto Sapa for a hill tribe trek. We decided to do this one together as the temperature is much cooler compared to Chiang Mai and the trekking was meant to be easy so I thought I would be able to handle it and get the experience of meeting hill tribe people and spend a night at a homestay.

The night train was an enjoyable ride. We shared the cabin with a couple of Asian girls but they were quiet and kept to themselves. The beds were comfortable and long enough for us to lie almost completely straight. We were meant to arrive at 5:30am the next morning so we called it a night by 10pm. Adrian managed to get a pretty decent sleep but I think I must have been a bit anxious because I was constantly waking up. By 4:30am the train staff were knocking on the cabin doors to advise us we would be arriving at Lao Cai station soon.

In our cabin on the night train

After waiting around an extra hour for some people arriving on a later train we all loaded into a minibus and drove the twisty windy 38km to Sapa Town. Once at the hotel in Sapa we checked in for our trip, showered, had breakfast and prepared our packs for the trek and homestay that night. By 9:30am we were off.

We began our trekking by first walking through “downtown” Sapa and following the road out towards the villages and rice terraces. In the first 2kms or so on the road we got to know our guide and the rest of the group. Our guide was from the village we would be homestaying in and was dressed in her traditional “going out/to the market” attire. She spoke very good English which she said she could attribute to her husband who studied English and the many tourists on these trips. The rest of the group consisted of three hilarious Malaysian guys and two friendly English girls. In town we were joined by our guide’s mother who was carrying her daughter on her back and other hill tribe ladies and their babies who would be accompanying us for the rest of the day.

Leaving Sapa

Before long our terrain turned into dirt paths and steeper hills and the landscape of rice terraces completely surrounded us. Such a beautiful setting but a hard way of life. We were told and later saw everything is done by hand including the planting of each individual seed. Along the way we saw water buffalos, pigs, chickens and roosters. We even saw a large snake that had just been caught and killed in a village we passed through. Supper was taken care of for them that night! Our guide was great at stopping every now and then to tell us interesting facts about the area and if we had any questions along the way she was always able to answer them.

Working our way down into the rice terraces

Shosho and Pang

A nice scenic shot of the rice terraces behind us

Rice terraces and corn fields

After about 12km we stopped for a late lunch in a nearby village. It seemed to be the place where most groups would stop because as we made our way into the building we were swarmed by villagers wanting us to buy their handicrafts. We managed to literally get cornered until we bought something. We didn’t appreciate the pushiness but we did want to buy a couple things. And we were able to use our bargaining skills to get the items at a decent price while still helping them out a bit financially. So in a way it worked out alright. Then finally we could eat!

After lunch it was just another 2km or so until we arrived at our homestay for the evening. Even though the air was cool I somehow still managed to get a headache so I went down to try and sleep it off while Adrian continued chatting with the rest of our group.

Unfortunately these trekking trips are quite popular and so our homestay wasn’t nearly as interactive and authentic as we were hoping. In terms of interactive, well it wasn’t at all. Our guide pretty much just dropped us off, said we would be staying here for the night, and she’ll see us tomorrow morning. There were no introductions to the family and I don’t think they spoke English. They made us supper and breakfast but they didn’t eat with us either time. We also got to try some rice wine but they didn’t partake in it with us.  They were nice enough but I would have liked to spend some time with them. As for authentic, technology is everywhere now. In the afternoon and early evening members of the family were watching a movie on their computer. And if we had brought our laptop or smartphones, wifi was available and free to use.

Our homestay for the evening

The next morning we started our trek again with it raining on and off. The rain actually started in the evening sometime and so the paths were pretty slick. We were meant to trek through a nearby bamboo forest but because of the conditions we took a different way and walked to a waterfall. There wasn’t much trekking planned for the second day so we stopped for lunch around 12pm and were then transported back to the hotel.

 

Hard at work in the rain

Group photo before we were transported back to the hotel

At the hotel we were able to shower, have an early supper and chill out. Then we were driven back to the train station for another night train back to Hanoi.

HALONG BAY (May 27-28, 2013)

We spent a day in between our Sapa trip and our Halong Bay trip in Hanoi to catch up on some sleep. The next morning we were picked up at 8am along with three girls from the Philippines to be taken to Halong Bay City, 3.5 hours away. From here we were then transported onto our boat for the next two days and one night.

Our guide for the trip/cruise was great – good English, funny, informative, constantly updating us on our itinerary. The boat was nice. We got our own room and ensuite. And the food was delicious – lots of seafood, rice, steamed vegetables called morning glory, spring rolls, etc. We’d like to think it was worth spending a bit more.

Halong Bay is the one of the three World Heritage Sites in Vietnam and it is gorgeous! The weather wasn’t the greatest but cruising around the ~3,000 limestone islands in turquoise waters was beautiful.

After our lunch on the boat we were taken to Ti Top Island where we climbed a hill for a great view of the Bay and then went for a refreshing swim. From there we got to do some kayaking in amongst the smaller islands and through a floating village. It was fascinating to learn and to get a quick glimpse of how these people live.

At the top of Ti Top

Me feeling like a celebrity getting my photo taken with a bunch of Vietnamese girls

Kayaking around the islands

Floating village

Once back on the boat, Adrian met two Englishmen who would be joining us for the night after being out all day. The three Filipino girls and I took part in a mini cooking class where we learned how to make fresh spring rolls with rice paper, noodles, pork, egg, vegetables and pineapples. Before long it was supper time. And soon after that we tried our hands at squid fishing. No one had any luck but it was fun to give it a go.

Halong Bay sunset

The next morning we woke to clearer skies and a nice Western breakfast of pancakes, bacon, pork sausages, and fresh fruit. This prepped us for our cave exploring through Sung Sot. Once again our guide was very informative and provided us with fun facts about the cave and pointed out all of the different shapes and “animals” people have found over the years.

Once we returned to the boat, it was time to pack our bags and check out while we made our way to the City. And once we arrived in the City we had an early lunch and then made our way back to Hanoi.