Christmas at Nha Trang Beach, Vietnam

Rich & Jamie, Nha Trang Beach, Vietnam, originally uploaded by Nice Logo.

We arrived in Nha Trang early, after a night bus from Hoi An. Jamie and I heroically offered to look after the bags, sitting at a roadside café, whilst the girls found us a place to stay. We had some great Vietnamese Coffee and Cheese baguettes. The girls took their time. We looked at the clock, not even 9am yet, ‘Is is too early for a beer?’, which wasn’t too much of a difficult question, it was the day before Christmas Eve, So we got some beers in, and the tunes on the go with our portable speakers n’ ipod.

The girls found us a great place, in a quiet alley just back from the beach, after a few rounds of beer and the day heating up, we were just about ready for crashing out on the beach. The sea was lovely and the weather great, beautiful blue skies, the beach long and wide. We hadn’t been on the beach for ages and we’d all been longing for it! What a place to spend Christmas!

We met some girls from Lichfield who were handing out flyers for a night at The Sailing Club on the beach.

That night, we went to ___ which served great food, including one of the best Pho, Noodle Soup served with side plates of lime, chilli, green leaves and bamboo shoots, washed down with Vietnamese White Wine from Dalat. We had some Bia Hoi at a bar nearby then headed back to the Hotel. Someone mentioned, something about having a quiet night and saving ourselves for Christmas Eve tomorrow. We had a beer on Jamie and Ellie’s balcony, but Jamie and I had now got our second wind and fancied going out.

We took the tunes and headed to the café we went were at that morning. The guy was pleased to see us again, welcoming us and joining us for beers. With the tunes blasting out we soon attracted a few passers by. We had the ipod covered by Jamie’s Hat, we asked “any requests for ‘The Hat’ ”. The Hat Club was born. A Canadian couple, joined us buying a bottle of local rum for the table, he was a little crazy and was going on about Charles Manson for some reason, his partner/ wife looked a little worried. Some young Ozzie lads joined us along with a gang of Vietnamese girlfriends, the girls asked for Michael Jackson, and ‘dancey funky, disco stuff’, The Hat Club delivered. ‘Be careful I might steal this music, I like it’ one girl said, only half joking.
We headed home sometime after sunrise.

Jamie was quite good at avoiding the Ice that was going into the Rum cocktails, I less so. The ice was crushed from huge blocks which had been driven around the stinky streets of Nha Trang, uncovered on bikes, the water was probably not the best to start with, then could have picked up all sorts en-route. The next evening I felt terrible. I went back to the Hotel around 9pm, and spent Christmas Eve watching ‘Kylie – Showgirl homecoming tour’ on the TV between runs to the loo. Kaz, Jamie and Ellie went to the ‘Sailing Club’ and ‘Why Not Bar’ but weren’t too impressed. They said it also got a bit sketchy on the streets, where groups of girls were preying on pissed up tourists, getting close n flirty then pinching their wallets … Gangs of guys were close at hand to step in, should there be any trouble or fights. Kaz spotted some guys getting tapped and warned them, which didn’t amuse the girl who booted Kaz up the bum.

So perhaps a night in with Kylie wasn’t too bad.

Hoi An, Vietnam

Riverside, Hoi An, Vietnam, originally uploaded by Nice Logo.

Hoi An had a great laid back feel especially by the riverside and still has much of its old architecture intact. It’s famous for it’s tailors and we all had a little something made.

We had some great food in Hoi An, especially Cao Lau, a local speciality, of rice noodles, been sprouts, greens, herbs… which is usually served with Pork, but I managed to get a veggie version. The water used should come from the local Ba Le well, which dates back to Cham times. It is usually topped with seasoned croutons, and tastes great once you’ve added some extra lime and chilli.

Hue

Medicine shop, Hue, Vietnam, originally uploaded by Nice Logo.

We got to Hue later that evening after our tour of the DMZ, and went out for dinner and some drinks with the Ozzie girl, her daughter staying in, chatting to mates on t’internet.

The next day we had a walk around the Old Citadel and Royal Palaces. From 1802 to 1945 Hue was the Capital of Vietnam during Nguyen dynasty.

Later, we took a boat out on the river, although it was getting dark so we didn’t get too far.

Link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Vietnam

DMZ

Bridge from North Vietnam to South, DMZ., originally uploaded by Nice Logo.

We were so glad we did take the tour of the De Militarized Zone (DMZ) from Danang. Our guide was great, he was so enthusiastic about everything. He had grown up here and was conscripted to fight with the South Vietnamese troops when he was 16. He had been through the ‘re-education programme’, when the North Vietnamese took control of the country after 1975. He wanted people to understand what happened here.

We drove along a modern highway towards the DMZ, the road follows one of the many paths of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, which was the major supply route for the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong (VC), during ‘The American War’. Whilst most of the west refers to the war here as ‘The Vietnam war’, the Vietnamese, call it The American War.

We walked, sticking close to the path, through the jungle, past Rubber Plantations and black pepper trees, towards a high strategic point and a former US bunker. On the walls of the bunker, alongside the bullet holes, was the word CALIFORNIA, probably carved by a young conscript, sent to fight a war in a land he knew little of and for what?

Spider, originally uploaded by Nice Logo.

Along the way we passed scraps of missiles and other debris, which still littered the land. We saw two guys searching for booty with a metal detector.

‘For more than three decades four armies expended untold energy and resources mining, booby-trapping, rocketing, strafing, mortaring and bombarding wide areas of Vietnam… It’s estimated that as much as 20% of Vietnam remains uncleared, with more than three million mines and 350,000 to 800,000 tonnes of unexploded ordnance (UXO)… Between 1975 and 2000 it resulted in the deaths of 38,849 people and 65,852 injuries nationwide. Around 1200 to 3000 people are injured every year.’*

We were told that many of the people that are injured or killed each year are collecting debris to sell as scrap. Children are often killed whilst playing in their fields attracted by fatal shining objects.

What’s even more sickening is when you think, people still manufacture and use these ‘weapons’!!! Lady Diana was perhaps one of the most famous ‘activists’ against Landmines, and it is argued that:

‘Due to the amount of influence she had, her death in August 1997 sparked the Government of the United Kingdom and other nations to ratify and sign the Ottawa Treaty.’

Introducing the Second Reading of the Landmines Bill 1998 to the British House of Commons, the Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, paid tribute to Diana's work on landmines:

“ All Honourable Members will be aware from their postbags of the immense contribution made by Diana, Princess of Wales to bringing home to many of our constituents the human costs of landmines. The best way in which to record our appreciation of her work, and the work of NGOs that have campaigned against landmines, is to pass the Bill, and to pave the way towards a global ban on landmines.” —Robin Cook

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A much more fitting tribute than the Elton John Songs, fountains and celebrity concerts.

Thankfully the UK did sign the treaty, however China, India, Russia and the United States are amongst the 37 countries which haven’t. *

Cambodia also has a major problem with landmines today. At Beng Mealea, a major tourist destination near Siem Reap, I saw a sign saying that this area was cleared of mines by CMAC, started 08/06/2006, completed 12/09/2007, funded by The Federal Republic of Germany. Large areas still remain in danger.

Lets not forget about the ‘collateral damage’ in Iraq, Afghanistan... where UXO from cluster bombs are killing and maiming innocents today, funded by us nice British and US taxpayers. Many of these are Uranium enriched mounting to Nuclear Warfare.

Grave of a young female North Vietnamese soldier, originally uploaded by Nice Logo.

We visited a cemetery for North Vietnamese soldiers. Many of the graves were unmarked, some had what information they could figure out from battered documents, whilst others had full details. We stopped at the Grave of a young female North Vietnamese soldier. She 'volunteered' when she was 12 and died tens years later.

We then headed ontoen Luong bridge on the Ben Hai river, which served as the demarcation line between the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; South Vietnam) and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; North Vietnam). On the southern side of the bridge there is a Monument to women and children of Vietnam. The sculpture depicts mother and children looking north over the river from South Vietnam, waiting for their husbands to return, of course many didn't.

Bridge and Monument to women and children of Vietnam, originally uploaded by Nice Logo.

The speaker stacks that blasted out propaganda, from each side, were still standing.

We headed to the Vinh Moc Tunnels.

‘In 1966 the USA began a massive aerial and artillery bombardment of North Vietnam. Just north of the DMZ, the villagers of Vinh Moc found themselves living in one of the most heavily bombed and shelled strips of land on the planet. Small family shelters could not withstand this onslaught and villagers either fled or began tunnelling by hand into the red-clay earth.’*

The Vinh Moc Tunnels are an amazing 2.8km network of tunnels, built on the coast, just north of the Ben Hai River. Whole families lived here and 17 babies were born in the underground delivery room.

‘Later, the civilians and VC were joined by North Vietnamese soldiers, whose mission was to keep communications and supply lines to nearby Con Co Island open.’*

It’s impossible to imagine how people could live and grow up here, underground in the dark and damp with little supplies and under aerial bombardment and gunfire from US naval ships.

For more history and background on 'The American War' Read John Pilger's articles on Vietnam

Links and Sources

Support International Campaign to Ban Landmines http://www.icbl.org/
Read Robert Fisk on Cluster Bombs and US terrorism - http://www.robert-fisk.com/american_terrorism.htm
Mines Advisory Group http://www.mag.org/

Cluster Bombs Petition http://www.minesactioncanada.org/home/index.cfm?fuse=Home.Petition

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_mine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluster_bomb
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War

Read Articles on Vietnam by John Pilger
http://www.johnpilger.com/page.asp?partid=273

* Lonely Planet, Vietnam (2007) pg 476, 203, 204.

Halong Bay, Vietnam

Floating Fruit stall, Halonmg Bay, Vietnam, originally uploaded by Nice Logo.

We went for an amazing boat tour all 'in-coo-ded' around Halong Bay, 3 days 2 nights. It's a beautiful place, made even more atmospheric because of the mist. We Went kayaking and bought some beers from the floating markets. We went trekking on Cat Ba Island, where we stayed the first night and had visited some caves.

After Halong Bay we headed back to Hanoi. We had a sleeper bus booked for our trip from Hanoi to Hue. A mini bus picked us up from our Hotel, it was packed! A German guy huffed and puffed. We squeezed on, managing to pile our bags in, somewhere. We drove around the busy city at rush hour, then stopped at another hotel, an Australian woman and her teenage daughter were waiting with their bags. “This is ridiculous!!!” shouted the German, bursting in a fit of rage. The Aussies somehow squeezed in, with bags on their laps, “Allrrrrright”.

The mini bus took us to the edge of town where we changed onto a big modern sleeper bus. The bus had three strips of beds running down it, top and bottom bunks. Ellie got the front middle bed and was convinced she’d be fired straight out the windscreen come the first sharp brake. The back beds were cosy, four beds all together, romantic. The drivers mate was at the back, the bus was no smoking, he lit up a fag, Kaz asked him to please put it out, he pretended to not understand, Kaz took the cigarette and stubbed it out on the wall, the embers almost setting the day-glo carpeted walls alight. The drivers mate was shocked but said nothing, he looked a little scared.

There was quite a good buzz onboard, we chatted with the Aussies and some Kiwi’s. The German guy was still fuming about something. Listened to some tunes and watched the random collection of videos on the TV, downloads of funny adverts, Internet clips (including that great George Bush & Tony Blair Endless Love song), music… Then got some sleep amongst the crazy driving and non-stop horn blasts.

In the morning we could hear the German guy panicking again. We were supposed to arrive in Hue at 9am, he had booked another bus from there for 10am!??! It was now nearly 9am and we were a long way from Hue. “Why, What’s the problem, it’s a perfectly good bus, why so slow, this is ridiculous!” The driver looked lost, we thought he stopped to ask for directions at least once. We pulled up alongside a café near Danang, “OK 30 minutes, Breakfast stop” announced the driver. The German guy erupted “NO STOPPING !!!!” “NO!!!”, “This is ridiculous!!!!” We couldn’t help pissing ourselves laughing.

We got breakfast, I had Pho – Noodle Soup, a surprisingly great breakfast! The guy serving us asked us where we heading, what were our plans etc. We told him we were heading to Hue, and also wanted to visit the De Militarized Zone (DMZ) and Vinh Moc Tunnels. Excitedly he told us he ran tours from here (never!) and gave us the pitch. It worked out perfect, we could do the tour with him then get a minibus, ‘in-coo-ded’, to Hue after.

The German guy was pacing up and down outside the bus, Jamie went to talk to him, and it looked like he had calmed down a little. After some consolatory ‘you have to go with flow mate, don’t you, can’t plan to much…’ Jamie then added ‘I think they only stop here to get people on tours’, they both laughed, but he didn’t seem too amused.

Hanoi, Vietnam

Hanoi streets, originally uploaded by Nice Logo.

In Hanoi we couldn’t get enough off the Bia Hoi ! Which must be some of the cheapest beer on the planet! from 2,500 Dong (8p) a glass. It is fresh un-pasturised beer, straight from the brewery and should be drunk within 24 hours. Beer Hoi bars are mostly low key affairs with people sitting outside on the street crowd on plastic chairs. Many are on busy road junctions for the full Hanoi bustling atmosphere, with throngs of people, traders and mopeds whizzing by. Some of the larger places, with tables, served great food too.

We also went to see the Water Puppet Theatre which is famous in North Vietnam and generally minced about the atmospheric old town and around Hoan Kiem Lake.

Links

Bia Hoi - http://hanoibiahoi.com/about_bia_hoi.html
Water Puppet - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roi_nuoc

Sapa, Vietnam

Mae and child, originally uploaded by Nice Logo.

We walked over the friendship bridge from The People's Republic of China to The Socialist Republic of Vietnam. We met our friends Jamie and Ellie from home, in nearby Sapa.

Beautiful place, home to many hill tribes. We went trekking and met up with Mae, who was from the Black Mong Tribe. She invited us to her home where we had a lovely meal and too much homemade rice wine. We stopped the night in a Homestay in the next village with a Zao (Dzao/ Dao) family, where we drank more rice wine and Tiger beers whilst learning some Kung Fu moves from an 'old master'.

Links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hmong_people

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapa%2C_Lao_Cai