Cycling SE Asia 2023 Part 7: Exploring Hoi An

Hoi An the Peaceful Meeting Place

After a wonderful breakfast (I loved having noodles for breakfast paired with small glasses of guava juice and that wonderful cold, sweet  Vietnamese coffee) we took a brief walking tour of Hoi An's Old Town before heading for the bikes. 

It is easy to see why Hoi An is such a popular destination. This city of 120,000 is home to wonderful resorts on pristine beaches and an old town worthy of a 1999 UNESCO World Heritage designation. The name Hoi An translates to "peaceful meeting place", yet because of its lunar full moon festival it is also known as The City of Lanterns.

Bright Beautiful Lanterns are Everywhere in Hoi An

Lanterns in Profusion

Hoi An was Vietnam's largest trading center on the East (South China) Sea for more than two hundred years. But its importance waned in the 18th century with the collapse of the Nguyen rule and ensuing battles which left Hoi An in ruins. The winner Emperor Gia repaid the French for their aid in the war by giving them exclusive trading rights to nearby Dà Nang, which relegated Hoi An largely to backwater status. 

Hoi An's renaissance came in the 1990's in part through the efforts of a polish architect, educator, and conservationist Kazimierz Kwiatkowski. Today Hoi An's links to Poland are noted throughout the city.

I noted the "I Heart Poland" on the Incense Offering

During the tours it was pointed out how severe flooding is very common in Hoi An. Further, over tourism now poses a risk to Hoi An's Old Town. The city is as fragile as it is pretty. To help reduce further damage Old Town is now closed to auto traffic.

Hoi An offers a different face by day and by night with a bustling restaurant zone on one side of the river and a large shopping district with a focus on art, textiles and exquisite custom tailoring on the other. 

An Embroidery Shop

After our tour, and a walk through the large waterside market, we boarded a ferry to cross the river to where our bikes were waiting for us.    

Waterside Market

After collecting our bikes we cycled through rural Hoi An on small streets and crossing numerous bridges in its rich marshy agricultural area. All along the way there were stacks of recently harvested and dyed marsh grass drying in the sunshine. The grasses are used by weavers to make the sleeping mats commonly used instead of mattresses throughout Vietnam. We stopped in to visit one family of weavers (a woman and her 93 year old mother) in the process of weaving. They told us they weave two mats a day selling for $12 each.

Mat Weavers

 

As we rode, we passed more farmers working with their water buffalos and lots of children eager to wave and test out their "hello's".

Hello!

At the end of the riding we stopped at the Dao Tien a new restaurant on the rivers edge for one of the best meals of our trip.  The menu included two spring roll appetizers and then presented crispy fish with young mango, grilled chicken with honey and five spice and cabbage salad. The meal was rounded out with wok fried vegetables in oyster sauce and steamed rice in pandan leaves. Truly a delight.

Rice Paper Appetizer

Birds Nest Rolls

Steamed Rice in Pandan Leaves

Boat Themed Waterside Cafe

At the conclusion of the day those that were interested went for fitting at a noted local tailor sho (BeBe). I took a photo of Walt Disney in with me to show them some trousers that I'd like. I wondered if they'd be able to create a couple of pairs like Walts. One summer weight linen the other in heavy wool lined half in silk.

Walt Disney's Slacks

24 hours and two fittings later my beautiful pairs of new slacks were dropped off at my hotel. I asked how they did it so fast and was told they employ dozens of seamstresses who work all day and night. The slacks will serve as a cherished souvenir of the trip.

 

Roadboy's Travels © 2023

Cycling SE Asia 2023 Part 6: Lang Co, Oyster Farms and the Hai Van Pass

Travel from Hué to Hoi An

Our repositioning day (from Hué to Hoi An) began with some really beautiful cycling through the outskirts of Hué. The routes were relatively quiet and flooded farming areas with lots of cemeteries, working and grazing water buffalos, and bridge crossings over rivers.

Water Buffalos

 

Along the way we stopped for snacks hosted by an elderly couple who provided us with refreshing fresh squeezed orange juice. We could not help but notice their command of English. So we got the chance to chat with them. We came to realize that they were boat people refugees that had left South Vietnam at the end of the war and settled in Seattle. Their hard work and deprivation had assured their children of a new start in a new country. They were happy to know their children were thriving and they missed them. But they still felt tied to Vietnam and had opted to use the nation's repatriation system to return to finish their lives in the country of their birth.

Their lives were torn between the life they left and the life they created for their kids in a new land. But now, like countless refugees before, they left kids who are fully assimilated in the US and have no real ties to Vietnam. 

A generation torn between two worlds clearly takes its toll.

As we rode I loved watching everyday life pass by. Farmers in the fields, local cyclists passing and waving at us, and all of the scooters. One scooter passed carrying a child up front and produce and fertilizer behind. 

Then, as he passed, we saw he also was carrying two pigs in a cage behind everything. I swear they get more on those scooters than we get in our pickups.

The Family and Produce

And a Couple of Pigs on the Back!

At the end of our am ride we shuttled to lunch at an outdoor beachfront resort on the spectacular and peaceful Lang Co Peninsula.

Lunch Stop / Majestic Beaches Along the Lang Co Peninsula

 

After lunch there were two riding options. One was to cycle up 1600 ft to the Hai Van (Ocean Cloud) Pass. The second was to ride a loop around the oyster farms of the Tam Giang Lagoon and shuttle to the top of the Hai Van Pass.

 

For me, in the heat and humidity, this decision was a no brainer. I opted for the lagoon ride. It turned out to be spectacular. Those that cycled up the mountain did so on a narrow two lane road shared with cars, large trucks and buses, plus a stretch of repaving activities.    

Oyster Farming Lagoons

The placid lagoon was mirror still and filled with over water structures inhabited by the oyster farmers. There were endless piles of old bike tires along the way as they use them to provide nesting beds for the oysters.

The Tam Giang Lagoon

 

 

Crystal Clear Mountain Tributaries Flow into the Lagoon

 

Looking North from Hai Van Pass  

(The Lang Co Peninsula in the distance)

 

Looking South from Hai Van Pass

(barely visible off to the left is the massive city of DaNang)

The balance of the day was spent in our final shuttle to Hoi An where we quickly settled into our new hotel. The hotel provided a very well prepared western style dinner for us. It was good to just relax.

 

Roadboy's Travels © 2023

Cycling SE Asia 2023 Part 5: Hué Vietnam's Imperial City

The Cycling Begins

When viewed on the map Vietnam is a very long and narrow country; sort of a bent figure eight. Hanoi is at the top, Ho Chi Minh Cty at the bottom and Hué sort of in narrow the middle squeezed between the mountains and the sea. 

 

And, after just a few days in the anthill that is Hanoi our arrival into Hué, with its population of 427,000, felt downright peaceful.

Hué is almost in the center of Vietnam was the northernmost part of South Vietnam. Its strategic location near the DMZ meant it was the site of incredible bloodshed during Tet Offensive.

Hué is set along the Huong River and just a few miles inland from the East Sea (due to China's expansionism Vietnam and its neighbors now refer to the former South China Sea as the East Sea).

Despite December being part of Hué's "mild" season, compared to Hanoi, Hué immediately crushed us with heat and humidity.

Our first stop was a tour of the Imperial City and Citadel. The complex has a series of walls and moats enclosing a series of gated courtyards and inner walls and moats. Construction on Hué's Imperial City began in 1803 and served until the imposition of the French Protectorate in the 1880's. 

This remarkable site was symbolically left derelict by the communists at the conclusion of the Vietnam War. However since its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993, and its rising popularity as a major tourist destination (it now receives more than 4,000,000 visitors a year), it is now undergoing meticulous restoration efforts.     

The Citadel, Imperial Walled City, and Purple Forbidden City

 

 

 Entering the Imperial Citadel

 

The innermost zone of the original complex was the Purple Forbidden City which was restricted to the imperial family. The whole complex, oriented to face the Huong (Perfume) River to the southeast, Hué's Purple Forbidden City differs from Beijing's Forbidden City which faces due south.

 

 

The Citadel / Imperial City has been heavily ravaged by storms, wars, termites, and neglect. In 1947 it was seized by the Viet Minh. The French responded by mounting a six week French counter-attack resulting in many of its original buildings (including the Imperial Palace) being burned. 

Gardens Within The Forbidden City

 

Restoration Work

The site was massively damaged during the Tet Offensive when the Peoples Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong launched a coordinated attack on Hué. When US forces arrived to retake Hué they entered the site with orders to not bomb the historic areas. But, as casualties mounted, protective orders were lifted and by the end of the battle only 10 of the original 160 structures survived. The site still bears numerous scars from bullets fired during the war. 

Symbolically today the Citadel now supports the tallest and largest national flag flown in Vietnam.

After our tour we checked into our hotel The Pilgrimage Village. It was a wonderful antidote to the noise and confusion of Hanoi. The Pilgrimage is set on a tranquil and beautiful site. I've stayed in many amazing hotels over the years. But, I have to say the Pilgrimage resort ranks as truly something very special.

Our Poolside Accommodations at The Pilgimage

Guest suites are placed throughout the resort's highly manicured grounds. It boasts a comprehensive spa, multiple pools, various ponds (with very energetic frogs at night), an excellent upscale restaurant and an amazing breakfast pavilion. Pilgrimage staff all offered smiles and bright and sincere Xin Chào greetings. At twilight, howler monkeys, could be heard in the trees nearby. 

Due to a personal connection of one of our guides we were upgraded to extra wonderful rooms with semi-access to semi-private pools.  

My Room at the Pilgrimage Village 

The Main Pool at the Pilgrimage Village

In Hué we began the biking part of our vacation. And after arrival and a chance to settle in at the Pilgrimage we had a bike fitting, safety orientation, and our warm-up ride. 

For those familiar with more typical VBT tours, this tour is a big change. It is unlike any of my previous 12 VBT tours. First off it is a full 10 full days in length compared to the usual 6 days of VBT's normal trips. And, here everyone rides together with one guide riding in the front and the other riding in the back. Still everyone can ride a their own pace with little chance of anyone getting separated. 

This trip is supported by an additional pace crew that discretely accompanies all the cycling with 3 minivan drivers plus a transport truck. If a rider gets a flat someone appears immediately to swap out a tire and wheel.

If a rider opts to end riding for the day a minivan is there to pick them up while the transport truck is there to pick up the bike. 

The crew advances ahead to each intersection before we got there and made sure we were directed properly. This is the only tour I've been of recent years where riders really did not need the Ride With GPS travel app VBT uses.

The warm up ride tracked some scenic farmlands with lots of birds. When we came upon our first cemetery everyone stopped in awe. It was fascinating to see these big elaborate raised memorials. However we'd soon learn over the next few days that these amazing cemeteries are seemingly everywhere. They are so common (and consume so much valuable farmland) that the government is now offering financial incentives for families to avoid these big family burial memorials.  

 A Traditional Cemetery

Of interest was that the government has made provisions allowing the original "boat people" refugees that left Vietnam for the US at the conclusion of the war the ability to return as seniors to be buried in Vietnam. They return yet must leave the families they created in the US.

As we rounded a corner in one village we encountered this wonderful covered bridge. The entrance at each end was adorned with a bat motif. as the bridge was shady it was filled with locals eating lunch or were taking and afternoon nap.   

Bat Bridge

Riding along the canals we noted these stainless steel fishing boats at anchor along the way. Upon closer inspection we saw they were assembled using sections of fuselages from downed American jets from the Vietnam war.

Jet Parts Repurposed into Fishing Boats

After breakfast day two we toured Emperor Khai Dinh's Mausoleum. The elaborate mausoleum was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993. Khai Dinh, the twelth Emperor of Vietnam, had a relatively short a 9 year reign from 1916 to his death in 1925. 

Over his life he was never fully embraced by the Vietnamese public. Although he was likely gay, he fathered the last Emperor of Vietnam Bào Dai.   

Construction on the mausoleum began in 1920 and continued until 1931 (6 years after Kai Dinh's death). It is reported that he levied an enormous tax on his subjects to finance its construction.

The mausoleum is compact, yet exquisitely detailed. It is composed of architectural elements that borrow from Vietnamese, Chinese and European motifs. It is reached by climbing a wide steep staircase that leads to forecourts, temples, and additional stairs.

The Lower Forecourt With Protective Mandarin Statues

 

Upon entrance to the tomb itself you find Kai Dinh seated on an elevated sunburst throne cast in Marseilles. The ceiling is a spectacular fresco and wall panels are composed of inlays of broken pottery fragments (similar to those found at the Imperial Palace).

Throne Sculpture in the Tomb

Rows of Mandarin Forecourt Sculptures

 

After the visit to the mausoleum we collected our bicycles for a ride along the Perfume River. The river name is the result of the fragrant blooms that collect in the river in the fall from upriver orchards. Along the way we stopped at a market. Literally everything is for sale here from snakes to flowers, housewares to fresh produce.    

 

Market Day

Fresh Seafood in Abundance

 

Our ride ended at the Thien Mu (Heaven Happy Fairy Lady) Pagoda and temples. The 7 story pagoda was constructed in 1884 and is the highest stupa in Vietnam. 

 

 

Thien Mu Pagoda

 

This site became a major organizing point for the Buddhist movement and a site of major protests during the summer of 1963 after South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem's regime continuously showed strong preferences for Catholics and engaged in discrimination against Buddhists.

As a chilling historical reference to the protests, the auto driven by Buddhist Monk Thích Quang Duc to the busy intersection in Saigon where he set himself on fire is displayed. 

 

President John F. Kennedy said in reference to Malcolm Browne's photo of the self-immolaton that "No news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one". 

Despite being only 8 years old when I first saw the burning monk photo it would become an image I'd never ever be able to forget. 

 

 

Buddhist Protests in 1963

After visiting the Pagoda site we crossed the street to the river to a waiting "Dragon Boat" for an elegant lunch cruise along the river.

Hue's Dragon Boats

Our guides pointed out that most of Vietnam has only two seasons: Hot! and Damn Hot! After a full day of cycling in what they only view as Hot!, I can only imagine what summer's here are like. 

This was to be our last night in the completely amazing city of Hué. Tomorrow we ride and shuttle to Vietnam's City of Lanterns Hoi An.

 

Roadboy's Travels © 2023 

Cycling SE Asia 2023 Part 4: Arrival Vietnam

Vietnam's Contrary Capital

 

My Vietnam Backstory

My life has been blessed. I have never had to shoulder a weapon in war, endure hunger or worry about having a roof over my head.  Overall my health has remained good for most of my 67 years and I have healthy children and grandchildren.

I was able to follow the American sequence for success. I became the first one in my family to attend and graduate from a University. It was at a time when higher education was still comparatively affordable. I worked hard and graduated debt free. And, the knowledge gained from college, allowed me to eventually found my own practice. 

But the one anomoly in my teen years was Vietnam. I never understood the Vietnam "conflict". My childhood in Oakland was framed by antiwar riots in Berkeley, SF State, and at Oakland's Clay Street Induction Center. 

I lived with very conservative parents. To them the psycho Joe McCarthy was a hero. They completely believed "commies" had infiltrated every level of the US government. In their eyes if communism was left unchecked anywhere, it would inevitably lead to soviet style domination everywhere. 

Kennedy and Johnson were perceived by them as lying liberals. But, when America's truly epic liar, Richard Nixon, became president they believed anything he said. As soon as I was able to vote I took great pleasure in using my vote to cancel out one of theirs.

I earned spending money during high school by working nights, weekends, and summers at the City owned parking lots in downtown and Jack London Square. The Clay Street garage I worked in was directly across the street from Oakland's Induction Center where all Vietnam draftees reported. Upon entering this building all youthful innocence was surrendered forever.

All day, every day, when I worked in my little parking lot booth at Clay Street I watched the endless lines of nervous young men being consumed by the Vietnam "conflict".

My resentment about eventually having to join that line, and possibly surrender my life for something three consecutive presidents and the US Congress never had the guts to call a war, slowly began to overwhelm me. I knew I had a future and I did not want to offer it up for something I could not understand and certainly did not believe in.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love my country. If an enemy were to attack our shores I'd willingly surrender my life and fight with my bare hands.

 Protesting The Vietnam War From the Clay Street Garage 

Photo: Oakland Local Wiki

All this led to one of the very few times in my life when I risked an open conflict with my father. I told him that, until someone could give me a damn good reason I could fully understand, I was unwilling to go to Vietnam and would seek asylum in Canada before surrendering to the draft. Dad muttered how much it hurt knowing his only son "had a yellow streak running down his back" and walked away from me. It was one of the most painful moments in my life.

Years later, dad quietly told me he had come to the conclusion I'd been right about "that Vietnam thing".

So to this day, the word Vietnam evokes an unresolved part of me. And, like most things in my life, confronting the unresolved is the only way I know to overcome it.

So my trip to Vietnam would involve far more than sightseeing.  

Hanoi

The history of Vietnamese Hanoi began in 1010 when Ly Thaí Tô established it as a strategic stronghold naming it "Soaring Dragon". 

When the Nguyen dynasty was established in 1802 Vietnam's capital was moved to Hué. 

In 1873 the French arrived and in 1887 the French military decreed Hanoi as the capital of "French Indochina".

The Japanese invaded and occupied Hanoi during WWII. 

After WWII control returned to the French colonists until their defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. The country was left divided during the Geneva Conference. 

Elections were scheduled to reform the country under a unified government. The communists in the North, supported by the farmers in the south, were favored to win the elections. But when the leader of South Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem refused to hold elections, the US government threw its support behind him. This left the capital of a Communist regime in North Vietnam while Saigon became the capital of South Vietnam. 

The Communist North, under Ho Chi Minh, commenced a guerilla war to recapture the South. American politicians quickly decreed that letting Vietnam fall to communism would enable the spread of communism throughout Asia. Of course, they never offered proof of those claims.

In 1964, LBJ capitalizing on a reported attack on US ships, proffered the Gulf of Tonkin resolution. It formed the excuse to escalate the Vietnam "Conflict". The US propped up and toppled successive (hopelessly corrupt) South Vietnamese regimes until our final defeat in 1976. At that time Vietnam was reunified with Hanoi becoming the capitol of the entire nation.

Now, almost fifty years later, Vietnam operates under the iron rule of the communist party. The party first attempted to create a centrally controlled economy. It failed and then unleashed the sleeping tiger of free enterprise. Today there are highly visible signs of prosperity everywhere. And, although average annual national income still remains painfully low at just $4,000/yr (compared to $6,000/yr in Thailand and $12,000/yr in China respectively), the Vietnamese people I met are happy and optimistic. They anticipate an increasingly brighter future. 

Hopefully, Vietnam's path to success will not be cut short by its pervasive culture of political and bureaucratic graft and corruption.

Beep Beep!

A westerner's first shock upon arrival in Hanoi is the traffic. There is no workable mass transit. In this city of over 8,000,000 residents there are swarms of scooters. Scooters are used for hauling unimaginable amounts of materials. We saw scooters with four (or more) riders. Besides cars, the rideshare app Grab offers "hop on the back" scooter services allowing you to quickly book a quick, cheap ride anywhere.

Scooters Scooters Everywhere

Western visitors must take time to understand the rules of the road in Vietnam. It would be suicidal for a westerner to rent a car and attempt to drive in Hanoi traffic. Lane markings are irrelevant. Riding on sidewalks is common. Red lights are mere suggestions. 

Yet, after a day, the delicate etiquette of Vietnamese traffic started to make sense.

Everyone honks at each other all the time. But the beep beeps are not "get out of my way" rage honks like in the US. They are more of a "Hey! be aware, I'm here" safety behavior. While riding bikes we became grateful for those thoughtful little beeps that drivers offered as they came upon us and began to pass.

The next thing visitors must learn is how to cross the street. In Vietnam pedestrians simply become little human pebbles disrupting the stream of endless traffic. Once you step off the curb into the swarm of traffic and slowly proceed to cross traffic just flows to either side of you.

Crossing rules are strict and important: 

1. First you size up traffic. 

2. Slowly step off the curb directly into traffic. 

3. Walk forward slowly with purpose. 

4. Never step backward or change direction. 

5. Never run. 

It takes courage to cross swirling Hanoi traffic, but as soon as you become comfortable with how traffic constantly adapts, crossing becomes completely natural.

We arrived a day before our formal tour was to begin, so we booked our own hotel in Hanoi's old quarter for the first night. It was a lovely little boutique hotel (Royal Palace 2). I booked a spacious room with a big balcony overlooking the bustling street scene below. My room rate (including fast WiFi and a full breakfast) set me back $65 (including all fees and tax).

 First Night Hotel in the Old Quarter

We visited a walk-up Banh Mi stand for very serviceable dinner (which cost about a buck). Even with an eye popping exchange rate of 24,000 Vietnamese Dong to $1, it did not take long to realize that travel in Vietnam is an amazing bargain.

The next morning we slept in and then met up with our Vermont Bike Tours (VBT) group at the swanky nearby Hanoi Melia Hotel in the heart of Hanoi's diplomatic zone. 

Our VBT tour began with a detailed walking tour of Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum and residences and our welcome dinner.

The following day was packed. We began with a walking tour, took rides in cyclos (bicycle versions of a rickshaw), toured the Temple of Learning, the infamous Hanoi Hilton, religious sites and finished with an early evening performance of Hanoi's famous water puppets. In between were amazing meals at some very nice restaurants.

Bicycle Street Commerce

A Cyclo Ride Through the Old Quarter

The Hanoi Hilton

Built by the French, the Hanoi Hilton was clearly designed for the purpose of torture and brutal incarceration. Today, most of it has been demolished to make way for new government structures, but the main facade exists along with a series of displays. The displays are now used as a propaganda tool to stress the cruelty of the French (true), but then goes on to stress how "humanely" the Vietnamese treated US fliers (bullshit). John McCain's inability to reach high enough to comb his hair stands as testimony to those lies. 

Today everywhere in Vietnam there are smiling images of "Uncle" Ho Chi Minh. The communist party has attempted to elevate him to the status of diety. It is most evident when you visit his huge mausoleum (where, despite his wishes to the contrary, his glass boxed corpse now resides on permanent display like Lenin in Russia). Hearing his story from the Vietnamese perspective did alter my perception of him a bit.        

Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum 

After the departure of the French Ho Chi Minh (HCM) refused to live in the elegant presidential palace the French had built. He instead chose to live in a modest home nearby.

Ho Chi Minh's Nearby Residence

Ho Chi Minh's Autos Are Also Preserved

But once you get past all the HCM stuff, the actual City of Hanoi is really a delight. The streets are covered in trees. The French influenced legacy architecture is beautiful, the cultural amenities are rich, and Vietnamese food is wonderful. 

But, more than anything, the gracious and friendly people of Hanoi form the real treasure of this City. 

Green Canopy Trees Shade Narrow Streets With Picturesque Lanterns in Hanoi's Old Quarter

An Evening with Hanoi's Water Puppets

Hanoi Infrastructure is Reckless

 

After the heat of Bangkok, the 68° temperatures in for our three days and two nights in Hanoi were very welcome. 

Now coming to day three, we faced an early morning flight to our next destination Hué.

Roadboy's Travels © 2023