The Never Ending Journey

Following our return to Hanoi from Halong Bay we spent Monday morning visiting sites in the Old Town including the Temple of the Jade Mountain, located on an island at the northern end of Hoan Kiem Lake, a major tourist attraction within minutes of our hotel. We then spent the afternoon visiting the Temple of Literature, a massive temple complex dedicated to education in the western part of the city.  We then made a stop at the nearby Museum of Fine Art, a 3 story building featuring art ranging from the dawn of civilization to the present time. While we cabbed it to the temple we walked back, experiencing some of the city’s stranger sights. Lenin Park, featuring a statue of the communist leader was, one the one hand a respite for the city’s male population who congregated in groups playing Chinese checkers and various card games. At the other end of the park, skateboarding teenagers used the base of Lenin’s statue as a ramp while he seemed to look down, disapprovingly. Further ea...

The trip to Hanoi was an experience, and one I don’t plan to repeat. Leaving Hue train station at 9:30pm, we surveyed our “soft sleeper accommodations and wondered what we were in for. The journey took till noon the next day and covered approximately 700km.  Luckily we didn’t have to share our 4 berth sleeper car with anyone else, so that was a plus. We hadn’t really expected to get a whole lot of sleep and the rattling and vibration of the train virtually guaranteed a mostly sleepless night. Luckily stops were relatively infrequent with the none between 1 and 5 am.  A fairly heavy mist obliterated all but the closest details of the passing countryside for much of the morning. But as we got within 3 hours of Hanoi it began to lift and we could see the countless miles of rice paddies as well as dozens of small towns and villages.  Entering Hanoi the buildings were so close to the tracks that we could have picked washing off balconies if the windows hadn’t been closed. ...

Our day started with a visit to the Thien Mu Pagoda. Built in 1844, it featured an impressive 7 story Pagoda overlooking the Perfume River. Behind it, there is a large gateway leading to the temple which features a number of Buddha’s including a large bronze laughing Buddha. Behind the temple was a large courtyard featuring some examples of Bonsai trees of different species. Also there was the Austin car used by the monk Thich Quan Duc who famously burned himself to death in 1963 to protest the policies of the South Vietnamese president.  After a short boat trip to the town centre we walked to the Citadel and spent a couple of hours touring the main buildings. Originally built in the early 1800’s, it is a massive complex that originally housed the king and his staff, including bodyguards, wives, concubines etc. Largely reduced to rubble by the US military, only a few buildings remained of the former Imperial City.  Our next stop was the city market, the Dong Ba mark...

Tuesday was not a great day. For starters our ride to Hue was a no show until I put in a call to our tour operator. When his driver did show up, almost an hour late, it was clear that he spoke little or no English and that he assumed his job was to take us to the airport. A few texts and WhatsApp chats later he set off for what was, to him, an unplanned trip to Hue. Obviously realizing he had two rather pissed off passengers he took us on a meandering trip through Da Nang, stopping at Marble Mountain, a local tourist spot in the hopes that this would offset our frustration. A few photo ops later and we set off for Hue following a coastal road for several kilometres. The road ultimately turned inland and we began a slow winding climb into the mountains.  By the time we reached the Van Hoi Pass the road ahead was almost obliterated by a dense mist. Stopping at the highest point of the pass, visibility was down to less than 100 feet, totally obscuring our surroundings. After several...