Hue - written by Marvin

Hue is great, less touristy than Hoi An, a couple of backpacker streets which we discovered after walking from our hotel looking for a massage place.  More hustle and bustle as locals zoom about on scooters and bikes.  Dinner was at a local restauant Da Hanh recommended to us by Long.  A great place with a menu of six items, we had spring rolls, pork on lemon grass accompanied with rice paper, fresh greens, and peanut dipping sauce, and seafood fried noodles.  All for 350,000 dong (approx NZ$26), including drinks.  We promised the kids a massage, so off we went and an hour later and 720,000 dong lighter we were all rubbed and relaxed.

 

 

Day two included a boat ride down the Huong (Perfume) River to Thien Mu Pagoda complex.  The main architectural feature is the seven level octagon tower which dominates as you enter the Pagoda.  Thien Mu is the first we have experienced in Vietnam with Monks inhouse including novice Monks (boys up to 8 years old) learning the ways of Budhism, most of whom are orphans.  Next stop is the old Imperial City (Citadel) with three layers of surrounding walls designed by the French and built between 1804 and 1833.  The outer wall is 10km long and is surrounded by a moat.  The Citadel was built for the Nyugen Dynsty which lasted through to 1944.  The complex suffered during the war(s) and there are now various restoration projects underway.  The photos and stories offer an insight into the lives of the emperors, there many wives, advisors and concubines. 

 

 

We visited Dong Ba market (the biggest in Hue) bought a few items, and then had lunch from a chicken takeaway place. 

 

 

Last stop of the tour with Long was out to Minh Mang Tomb, about 10km from the CBD.  Each emperor had a tomb built for their burial, most taking 2-3 years to build and often had to be finished after the death by the incoming emperor.  Minh Mang tomb is a majestic place alongside the Perfume River, with beautiful temples, ponds, and plantings.  The final resting place is a secret, as those soldiers who buried him were killed so they could not divulge the grave location, which is reported to have treasure buried with it.

We enjoyed a final night relaxing dinner alongside the Perfume River.

 

 

Danang & Hai Van Pass - written by Marvin

After our time in Hoi An the trip continued with a road trip to Hue, complete with our guide Long.  First stop was the Museum of the Cham people.  The Cham lived a 1,000 years ago, and the museum displayed a number of sandstone carvings, busts and symbols from their time occupying central Vietnam.  Very similar to the Angor Wat style sculpture and symbolism.  On the way to Marble Mountain we drove past China Beach, famous for the American soldiers R'n'R during the war, and the tv series from the early 90's of the same name.

 

 

Marble Mountain has various temples associated with Budhism, and after a few hundred steps you are rewarded with beautiful views over the bay.  (or take the lift to the base of the seven story pagoda tower.  There are various caves and paths, some more inspring than others.  Good to have a guide to explain the meaning of the symbols and importance of the temple structure.

 

The drive continued around Danang Bay before winding up to the top of Hai Van Pass (1,400m).  A welcome relief from the stifling heat and humidity at sea level.  Hai Van Pass was a key North/South boundary during the war occupied by the American army, with a few embattlements remaining.  We stopped for a tasty lunch (fried rice, noodles, sweet Hibiscus tea) will wonderful views over the bay.

 

 

We continued north, taking photos at Lang Co beach, before arriving at Hue.  The last part of the trip is bit fussy, having nodded off on a number of occasions!

Hoi An - written by Anne

This town is a real treasure situated on both sides of the Thu Bon river, by day we do a walking tour of the Hoi An Old streets through the picturesque streets of this 16^th century trading port where the buildings remind me of its Chinese, Japanese, French & Vietnamese architectural styles. We view the Japanese bridge that separated the Japanese and Chinese during early trading times, the Phuc Kien Pagoda and Tan Ky House.

 

 

On our own we head to the covered market and try local Vietnamese pancakes – they are delicious, once eaten we see all the fresh veges/salad that we have just wrapped in our rice papers being washed under the local tap water in the sink with the raw meat knives, cloths etc – hopefully there are no tummy bugs tonight! We continue walking through the fruit, vege and meat market as we have a torrential downpour that immediately floods the walking paths to about 20cm deep with muddy brown water – there's no choice but to continue onwards through the large puddles.
 

 

 

We find the local cloth markets, which cater more to my needs that the tailors making the suits and formal dresses. So I show a photo of a top I like from my phone and that's enough for them to look at, then we hunt for material and measurements are taken before being told to come back the following morning for first viewing of the finished garment. We bargain and agree on $28NZD - $40NZD for each of my tops depending on the level of silk in the material (50% paid before making), on returning the next morning I was 100% happy with all garments. Time for a massage now and home for a cool down swim and relaxation.

 

 

By night the banks of the river are lit up with lanterns and there are beautiful gourmet smells wafting out from the many cafes and restaurants, the cocktails and beers are all offered at buy 1, get 1 free prices for about $3 - $4 NZD. We are recommended to try the famous Morning Glory Restaurant which sells 'upmarket' Vietnamese street-food, the food is absolutely wonderful and great presentation, well worth the 20 minute wait time to get a table. 1980's band music drifts across the river where we are enjoying our balcony cocktails/mocktails.

We head out on our bicycles to An Bang beach 4km away going through rice paddies, watching the rice pickers and the buffalo roaming around. The beach has decent surf waves reminding us of our Oakura beach, but is also filled with sun lounger chairs and bars offering beers, shakes and cocktails. So a pretty relaxed afternoon was on the plan.

On cycling back into Hoi An we are amongst the chaos that rush hour brings, I was very proud of the kids dodging scooters, people, cars and trucks whilst maintaining a forward momentum and no stopping. It continues to amaze us how the traffic just seems to flow and work over here despite no set sense of rules!

 

HCMC Water Park - written by Katie

Today we had a free morning so we went to Dam Sen Water Park. We caught a taxi at 8:30am to get to the park at 9am. Once we got to the park, we got into donuts and drifted gracefully around the lazy river.

 

When we got out we went to a slide called the Wild River. The Wild River is when you get into an inflatable and go up and down the sides of the slide while going quite fast as well then at the end you splash into a pool of water. This slide was scary for the first time but then it was quite relaxing after a few goes.

Our next slide was Black Thunder. This time in the Black Thunder you go into inflatable and speed down a pitch black slide with only flashing lights. We did loads of turns and drops. This particular ride was quite scarier than Wild River but still tons of fun!

We went on a few other slides like Multi Slide and the Love Storm but I preferred the Black Thunder. We had some lunch at the park then did one more lap of the lazy river. This time round Connor and I were doing stealth mode because we were trying to hide from the lifeguards.

The park was sooo much fun and I would definitely recommend it if you come to Ho Chi Minh City. My favourite slide was the Black Thunder and close second was the Wild River. This park was such an amazing activity for my family and I.

Mekong Delta - Cottage Industry - written by Anne

Cottage Industry visits in the Mekong Delta – written by Anne

COCONUT FACTORY VISIT

Firstly they take the husks off to make fibre which can be used to produce matting (eg your doormat), then the flesh is used for coconut milk and cream, the shell is then burned to create charcoal hence nothing is wasted.

 

BRICK MAKING FACTORY

The local clay from the rice fields was collected and then put through an extruder machine to produce hollow type bricks. These were placed outside for 10 days to dry out and then were fired in the kiln (that was heated by the rice husks), then the bricks were brought outside to cool down for four days.

 

 

This practice is going to end in 2020 as the government doesn’t like the pollution caused. However even the ash produced is recycled and reused back in the local area for the farmers to use on their land – this in turn increases land fertility. So nothing is wasted in the process of this old fashioned brick making.

 

LOCAL MEKONG DELTA RICE NOODLE FACTORY

They harvest the rice from the field and add water then put through a grinder creating rice flour, this is suspended in a liquid and tapioca is added to this as a starch to bind together the ingredients and add strength. This is then feed onto a conveyor belt which was heated from the steam below. This cooks the thin sheet of rice paper which is then transferred to a bamboo cooling rack.

   

 

It is dried in the sun and peeled off the bamboo rack then fed through a rotary cutter to form the sliver thin rice noodles. Note the yellow noodles of Central Vietnam have egg yoke added to them to get their colouring.