3 Day Super Blog

The last three days have been so dull we didn’t have anything to write about... Only mopeding to My Son ancient temples, going to Da Nang, meeting Thomas in Saigon, going to the war museum, bowling, seeing the Cu Chi Tunnels followed by some climbing training.

- The Japanese covered bridge in Hoi An.

Day One

So we left off having an awesome meal at the Happy Buffalo in Hoi An. The next morning we didn’t have a plan, but after some research decided to head to My Son, which was a hour and a half away by moped. After some confused discussion about where to get a moped with Mrs Homestay Owner, I disappeared to pack our bags and came down to find one sitting on the patio!

The first half of the drive was incredibly scenic, passing through paddy fields on narrow roads, before hitting the open road. We arrived with no drama having not gone over 30mph most of the way!

My Son was a breath of fresh air in that it was a well organised Vietnamese tourist attraction! It was nice to get away from the crowds and walk through the forest without the sound of horns and the constant threat of mopeds! The temples themselves were interesting and we later found out the broader role of the Cham people on our Cu Chi tunnels tour today.

- My Son temple complex.

On the way back we had an exciting/absolutely terrifying experience on the moped. Within half an hour of home we were about to cross a large dual carriageway bridge when I noticed some men having some trouble with some cattle they were unloading (in a built up area approaching something like Foyle bridge). Next thing a bull escapes and starts running down the road into the head on traffic! It decided that we were a suitable target and proceeded to charge us! Fortunately we slowed up allowed it to build up some speed then swerved into the outside lane to avoid it, it was a bit dicey and our hearts were in our mouths. We glanced over our shoulders to see it continuing it’s charge leaving it’s pursuers behind!

After returning and saying farewell to our lovely hosts we got the bus to Da Nang, which is the trendy up and coming city in Vietnam. It consists mainly of high rise hotels along a long and very beautiful beach (ignoring the high rises). We didn’t have much time to spend, but had a walk along the beach and back, stopping at a brilliant little restaurant for dinner.

- Da Nang beach.

Day 2

The next day we headed to the airport for the short hop to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City for anyone who doesn’t want to get in trouble with the communist party!). Thomas (my youngest brother who has been living and working in Saigon for nearly a year) met us off the plane and after dropping our bags we went to the War Museum. It was Thomas’ fifth visit (sorry), but it was an interesting view of the war. It was harrowing to see some of the pictures, particularly the after effects of agent orange. It was rather one sided, the South Vietnamese Army referred to as ‘American puppets’, barely any reference to any sort of Viet Cong Army (not even an AK-47) and the consistent denial that anyone in Vietnam might not support the communist party. That said, even with the bias you could get some sense of the awful atrocities in the war. There was a brilliant final photography collection that was sponsored by Canon and shown world wide that gave a more balanced view and was well worth seeing.

- Huey helicopter at the war museum.

Later in the evening, after popping into Thomas’ work we went for a really nice Vietnamese dinner and tried to not embarrass ourselves with our meagre chopstick skills! We then went bowling where Sophie won twice and I finished last both times, the less said the better.

- Dinner with Thomas and Yen.

Day Three

Today after some late night booking we went on a tour of the Cu Chi tunnels, about an hour and a half drive north of Saigon. It was a really good tour and our guide Mr Fa provided an interesting insight into the history of the country and what it was like growing up in communist Vietnam (he is 40 years old, so born after the war, but still before the country had opened up to the outside world). He provided some less that PC views as his Father had been quite high up in the South Vietnam Saigon local government, yet his mothers side of the family had loose links to the Viet Cong side of things. He had gone out of his way to google information (the internet here is completely open, meaning people can educate themselves as much as they please) where he thought the government line was fishy. For example, the claim that the Viet Cong destroyed 5000 tanks, when in fact the number is more like 150. His most interesting insights were probably on the 90 minute bus ride, which flew by as a result.

The tunnels themselves were interesting and a memorable experience. I chickened out and did not even go through the whole 100m long stretch that is open and has been specially widened for the public. The humidity and confinement is stifling.

- Tight squeeze down the trap door!

In the evening we went for a bit of a climb in a very trendy part of town to try and keep our strength up for 4 days of climbing in Laos next week.On the one hand, definitely feeling weaker, but on the other, all the little niggles have gone away!

- Sophie with some high octane climbing action.