The UNESCO World Heritage town of Hoi An, located on the South China Sea, is a snapshot to another era. It’s location made it an ideal trading port for much of the last millennium, but political changes and changes in river conditions in the late 17th century turned Hoi An into a ghost town.
As a result of its loss in status, it became a forgotten part of Vietnam’s evolution and remained untouched for much of the next two centuries. Thanks to this preservation, the city now draws tourists from all around the globe looking for a glimpse of life in old Vietnam.
We knew our tour group would be making the trip from Hue to Hoi An on a public bus, but we were all surprised when a luxury coach showed up. Complete with reclining lounge seats and a complimentary bottle of water, it was a far cry from the #17 city bus from the airport in Hanoi. Sure enough, we picked up and dropped off passengers all the along the four-plus hour route.
The bus route passed through several small towns, offering a glimpse of the daily workday. Several people were raking out rice on the sidewalks and even into the streets to separate it from the stalks. I’ve read that the rice stalks are placed in the streets to allow passing cars to act as a grain thresher, separating the rice from the stalks.
The non la (conical hats) and carrying poles are still everyday tools for street vendors in Vietnam. Three ladies in Hoi An’s old town were selling fruit and thought I needed to try the gear on for size. I overpaid for some mangos and lychee afterward, figuring the extra amount was for the fun memory.
The Thu Bon River is still an important part of Hoi An. Fish are cleaned and sold at the public market on the rivers edge, but the river is mostly packed with tourist boats. We met an old boatsman named Captain Dan who promised to show us pictures of all of his American friends if we came back for a boat trip the next day.
The Hoi An Market Water Well is among the many tourist sights in the city, but we were more amused by the blatant disregard for the posted rules sign which clearly states both “Please do not sit on the well” and “Please do not park your motorcycle.”
Many of the old buildings have been repurposed for restaurants and shops, but still maintain the original architecture and external wear unique to coastal towns. Like Hanoi’s tube houses, the buildings in Hoi An have layouts unique to the city. The shop fronts the street with living quarters sandwiched between two courtyards behind it. The back of the building has a storage room facing the river, making it easy to load products out of the boats directly into the shops.
When we returned from exploring the old town area, these three little girls were riding their bikes in the parking area of our hotel. When we asked to photograph them, the girl on the left jumped into action. Clearly the ringleader, she got them all into position for the photo. The girl on the right followed along, but the girl in the middle didn’t quite trust us…
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Dong Ba Market, located in Hue on Vietnam’s central coast, has existed in one shape or form since the late 1800s. The indoor portion of the market is packed with crafts and kitchenware, hawked by some very aggressive vendors. Outside, fresh vegetables and fish are sold with a lot less vigor.
Our guide woke us up early on the overnight train from Hanoi to Hue as we approached the Ben Hai River, better known as the demilitarized zone that separated North and South Vietnam. A group of women were already hard at work, repairing the area near the railroad tracks.Women working on the train tracks near the Ben Hai River.Happiness is a cool fan, or two cool fans in this case. A brief reprieve from the humidity at a restaurant near Hue’s Imperial City.For the most part, the locals haven’t paid much attention to us, but these two young Buddhist monks-in-training kept shooting us glances while we ate. They were happy to oblige when we asked to take a photo. We were drawn to their unique haircuts. When the boys enter the monastery, their heads are shaved with the exception of three distinct areas. As they pass different milestone exams, a section is shaven off. The last tuft of hair can grow quite long as they strive toward the final exam.A building inside Hue’s Imperial Palace. The palace was heavily damaged during the Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War. Of the 160 buildings in the complex, only 10 survived the battle. The remaining buildings were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1993 and restoration work continues to this day.A golden dragon statue inside the Purple Forbidden City section of the Imperial Palace. Similar to the Forbidden City in Beijing, the area was restricted to only the imperial family.The Purple Forbidden City’s courtyard. The two round bushes to either side of the garden are trimmed in the shape of turtles.A princess in the Imperial Palace.Only parts of the Imperial Palace have been restored. In a few places, we could see the stark contrast of what was and what will be.Hearing about the other side of the Vietnam War has been one of the more fascinating parts of this experience. Outside the Imperial Palace, a museum displays captured U.S. artillery and aircraft like trophies, listing the dates and locations when they were taken by the Communist-led People’s Army.While I snapped pictures outside the military museum, Viktoria was making friends with some kids playing soccer in the shadow of Thuong Tu gate, one of the entrances to the outer grounds of the Imperial Palace known as the Citadel. One boy acted as the group’s spokesman, telling us they were 14 years old and in the eighth grade at a school down the road.A Mary Poppins moment along the Perfume River.This pretty much sums up pedestrian life in Vietnam.Garlic, ginger, shallots, hot peppers and lime. I hoped whomever bought this lady’s veggies at Dong Ba Market would invite us over for dinner!A typical transaction in Dong Ba Market between a vendor in a nón lá (conical hat) and a scooter rider.
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The homes in Hanoi’s Old Quarter still reflect the family-driven architecture of the late 19th century. Many are three to five stories tall, but very narrow in the front while stretching deep into the lot. Properties were taxed based on width, so buildings were constructed with the narrow faces. The first floor typically contains a shop on the street side with a workshop in the back. The family resides in the upper floors, with as many as three generations living in the same home.
While orienting ourselves in the Old Quarter, this man came up and pointed out our current location on the map. He then gestured several times to our camera, indicating he’d like us to take his photo. We obliged and he said goodbye, heading back into his shop. I guess he wanted us to have something to remember him by… done and done!On Hang Dau (Shoe Street), brand name shoes made in Vietnamese or Cambodian factories spilled out onto the sidewalks. The authenticity may be dubious, but the prices are not. Unfortunately, larger Western-sizes for men are pretty hard to come by.At Ngoc Son (Temple of the Jade Mountain), a visitor left an apple on the tiger’s head as an offering. The tiger is a symbol of stability in feng shui.The Hanoi Opera House was built over the course of 10 years beginning in 1901 during the French colonial era. The opera house still hosts both Vietnamese and Western productions today.Hanoi is teeming with posters and in-construction decorations in preparation for the country’s 70th anniversary of independence on September 2. Should be quite a party!Walking toward Hoa Lo Prison (better known as the Hanoi Hilton where U.S. senator John McCain was held captive with other Americans during the Vietnam War) the skies began to turn a dreadful shade of purple. We managed to grab a taxi before it got too bad and watched the streets of the Old Quarter turn into a river from the dry hotel lobby. It was easily the most amount of rain I’ve ever seen, and that’s saying something coming from a Cascadian!
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When we visited Halong Bay on the second day of Intrepid Travel’s “Explore Vietnam” tour, I didn’t really know what to expect. I have to admit, it was a pleasant surprise.
“Halong” roughly means “descending dragon” in ancient Vietnamese, leading to the mythological story of the creation of the nearly 2,000 limestone peaks rising out of the water. The entire area was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. Archeological findings show humans lived in the area as early as 18,000 BC.
We left for Halong Bay during Hanoi’s morning rush hour. High taxes on automobiles make scooters and motorbikes the preferred mode of transportation among the nearly 3 million Hanoians.Along the way, we stopped for coffee and a quick tour of a small pottery and ceramics manufacturing company. A small area in the shade of the large vases was set aside as a break area. A low, narrow bench provided a place to sit and have tea or a smoke from a điếu cày (farmer’s pipe), basically a giant bong used with very powerful tobacco.Inside, a woman puts the finishing touches on one of the ceramic bowls. She worked quickly and precisely, creating a unique scene on each piece.Immediately upon arriving in Halong City, we boarded a boat and set course for a harbor on Bo Hon Island. The view back to the city over the Gulf of Tonkin was magnificent.Inside the limestone was a surprise… Sung Sot Cave (literally Surprise Cave). After climbing several stairs in Vietnam humidity, we descended a few steps inside the cave, when the area opened up into a theater of geology. Stalactites and stalagmites, natural hot springs and rock formations capturing the imagination (“doesn’t that one look like like a lion?”). In the late 1990s, the Chinese helped to install a pathway and colorful lighting to “enhance” the experience for tourists.From the overlook near the cave exit, many other tour boats joined us at the cave. A older Japanese man asked me in English where I was from. He really got a kick out of it when I answered him in Japanese and told him we lived there. Fortunately he was more interested in practicing his English than testing my Japanese!Fiddling with the nighttime settings on our new camera, I managed to capture the moon over the gulf on a cloudy evening.
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On our first full day in Hanoi, we wandered the Old Quarter. With a history spanning more than 2,000 years, the streets are a living, breathing history lesson. Each street is named for the types of items sold on the ancient streetsーHang Gai (Hemp Street) is now a silk paradise while metal workers now reside in the shops of Lo Ren (Blacksmith Street).
We started the day at the Ho Chi Minh Museum, part of the Communist leader’s mausoleum complex. The museum leans heavily toward Communist propaganda, but with a conceptual art twist. The story of Vietnam during the Uncle Ho (as he’s lovingly referred to by the people) era is told through abstract sculptures and immersive pieces. It’s also full of school children who we were told visit the mausoleum annually.Uncle Ho’s Soviet counterpart, Vladimir Lenin, has his own ominous statue in a park across the street from Hanoi’s Army Museum. Workers are preparing for the 70th anniversary of Vietnam’s post-World War II independence.A woman selling vegetables on a busy street near the Old Quarter.A parked bicycle is transformed into a fruit stand on a sidewalk on the outskirts of the Old Quarter shops.The Vietnam flag flies proudly from many homes. There’s a widely accepted story about the origins of the flag, but we haven’t heard much about the conflicting accounts of that story.Another mobile fruit market attracts customers.A flower vendor sizes up a pair of bouquets for a customer on the ever-present scooterIn the afternoon, we took a street food tour through Hanoi. Our first stop was for Pho Ga Tron, made, a popular summer dish made with cold noodles, veggies and peanuts. For three hours, we ducked into various stalls, apparently-empty shops and even through a garage into the second floor of a shop/home for some of Hanoi’s best eats.Hanoi’s version of green papaya salad, a dish that’s also popular in Thailand. Our guide told us it’s called the “single woman’s snack” in Hanoi because it keeps women slim and also has bust-enhancing superpowers. Who knew?Vietnam is one of the world’s major coffee producers and they do some unique things with it. This artful drink is called egg coffee and is served with whipped egg yolk on top. It was surprisingly good!
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After a week in Hong Kong, we headed west to Hanoi, Vietnam. After an easy flight, we boarded a city bus for a one-hour ride through countryside and small townsーthe only foreigners on board, although nobody seemed to notice. Soon, the roads grew more crowded and motorbikes appeared in droves as we approached Hanoi. We alighted at the final bus stop and walked through Hanoi’s Old Quarter toward our hotel. Along the way, the pace of life at dusk left our photos with blurs representative of the activity on the street.
The facades of the homes throughout northern Vietnam maintain influences from the French colonial era, while the sides of the home are often plain concrete. It’s hard not to stop and photograph each of them.We followed this balloon vendor for a few blocks as he tried to unload one of his many Minions.He finally made a sale of a red rooster!Hungry and in street food heaven, we stopped at the first banh mi stand that looked good. Banh mi is like a Vietnamese submarine sandwich, usually made with a pate spread on a fresh baguette topped with meats, shredded daikon (big white Asian radish), cilantro, jalapeños and mayo. We went with the fried egg and a couple local beers, which were served hot from a crate beside the stand.
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The colorful stalls of the Mong Kok Ladies’ Market in Kowloon, Hong Kong. In addition to the typical tourist finds, there’s also a very large collection of “copy” designer handbags, watches, electronics and clothing. Some fakes are obvious while others don’t even bother changing the brand name. In many cases, the products come from organized crime groups. Hong Kong Police have been working to clean up the markets, but tourist demand continues to drive the supply.
On our last full day in Hong King, we followed Lonely Planet’s walking tour of the Central district. The Old Supreme Court Building was originally built in 1900, designed by the same British architects responsible for the famous eastern front of Buckingham Palace. It served as the home of Hong Kong’s Supreme Court and later it’s Legislative Council. During World War II, the occupying Japanese forces used it as a home for the military police.The iconic Bank of China Tower (left) was designed by famous American architect I.M. Pei and was the first building outside of North America to top 1,000 feet. It also is a featured player in the Symphony of Lights show we saw on our first night in HK.This awesome mural captures the essence of Central, if Central were populated by giant pandas.A lucky shot from Cheung Kong Park goes all the way down to Victoria Harbor, catching a “Ding Ding” (double-decker tram, named for the sound of its bell), the blindfolded Justice statue atop the Old Supreme Court Building and the Hong Kong Observation Wheel along the way.
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Lamma Island is only a short ferry ride from Hong Kong’s bustling Central District, but offers a much more laid-back vibe. There are two main villages on the island; the southern village of Sok Kwu Wan (pictured) is home to Hong Kong’s farm fishing industry and several popular seafood restaurants.
Fishermen greet the ferries in the northern village of Yung Shue Wan. The village is full of tourist shops and restaurants, but also homes and daily-need shops, like hardware stores. While walking through the streets, I thought it must be odd to share space in your daily life with hundreds of tourists every day, but such is life on Lamma.Rapunzel found herself tangled in a tree at a Lamma Island hat shop.The easy-to-follow path around Lamma Island is about four miles (seven kilometers) and passes two beaches. The first one was packed with tourists, but our patience paid off as the second had fewer people, nice shade and great swimming.I’m kind of a nerd for modern windmills, so I was pretty excited that Lamma Winds, Hong King’s first wind turbine, was open to the public. It was a bit like a horror movie standing directly below the blades as they came slashing down. While the logical part of my brain knew they weren’t going to hit me, the personal safety part of my brain got my pulse racing a bit. Also, the name Lamma Winds sounds like it should belong to a casino.Tillamook Cheese, made on the Oregon coast for more than 100 years, is pretty popular across the U.S., but it’s still a surprise to see it abroad. We found a nice selection at one of the many international grocery stores in the downtown area. The little loaves were between $5.50-6.00 U.S.
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The major street markets in Hong Kong are mostly a variation on a theme… fake designer watches and bags, Chinese-style chachkies and miscellaneous electronics. The hawkers are aggressive and more than willing to make a deal.
The market in Stanley, a beach town on the southern part of Hong Kong Island, offers a nice break from the city markets. We expected heavy crowds on a Saturday, but the streets were pretty quiet. The shopkeepers had quite a bit more variety in their shops and were a lot more hands off. For a more laid-back open-air market experience, Stanley Market is a great choice.
St. Stephen’s Beach is just a short walk to the south from Stanley Market. With lots of shade from trees, it was perfect for a long afternoon of lounging. We bought a couple bamboo mats and a couple bottles of beer and whiled away the afternoon.These kids were splashing around in the shallow surf, occasionally coming up with a small fish. The boy was running toward his mother, excited to show off his bag of new pets.On the way back to the city, we tracked down dinner at Happy Veggies. The food was delicious, but the vibe was even better. Happy Veggies actively recruits its employees from the local Deaf community and uses its profits to support local causes. The menu even had a whole page listing different types of special orders and options (“more spicy,” “no oil”) that we could point at. Both the staff and customers seemed to be having a great time.
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Over the past couple years, giant Buddha statues have become a must-see in our travels. The Great Buddha of Kamakura, the massive Reclining Buddha in Bangkok, and now the Tian Tan Buddha of Lantau Island.
I have to admit, I felt a little cheated when I learned that it was built in the 1990s, but the impressive size made up for it. At 112 feet tall, it can be seen from Macau on the Chinese mainland, about 25 miles away.
Within a minute of stepping off the bus in Ngong Ping Village, a group of fellow tourists stopped to take a picture of what appeared to be some average looking trees. We wondered aloudーas we often doー”what is that a picture of?” We took a couple more steps and saw what the fuss was all about.Near the entrance to the village, this lone cow rested in the grass, then took a leisurely stroll down the path for some lunch, seemingly undisturbed by the visitors. Lantau Island has several feral cattle and buffalo who appear to be embroiled in a turf war with residential developers.There are 268 steps leading to the base of the statue, where a museum allegedly houses some of the remains of Buddha himself, Siddhārtha Gautama.Six bronze statues called The Offering of the Six Devas surround the Buddha, symbolizing the Six Perfections required for enlightenment.At first, the Tian Tan Buddha didn’t seem any bigger than the Great Buddha of Kamakura, but apparently it’s three times taller. And, it’s about 20 times taller than Viktoria.We bought some postcards at one of the shops in the village. the shopkeeper was wearing this Columbia t-shirt that read “Oregon Rules.” We explained that we were from Oregon and he got a little sheepish, admitting he’d never visited and just thought the shirt looked cool. He was right!
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