Episode 10: Hoi An to Saigon and Mekong Delta
Mekong Delta canal
Mom shows us a snake for sale in Mekong Delta market
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Jan 15, 2000 SaigonHello again, this
time from Saigon. We are coming to the end of our trip
through Vietnam. We have seen & experienced a lot,
missed several must see places & wished we had more
time in several of our stops, but the Visa has an expiry
date & our travelling schedule says move on.
Hoi An Bridge
Market in Hoi An
We thoroughly enjoyed Hoi An. That was one of
the places we could have lingered longer. We rented
Vietnamese bikes for the princely sum of 5000 Dong per
day (0.60 CAD) & zipped around town. The main
business in Hoi An is custom made clothing, so we visited
one of the multitude of small shops & of course ended
up ordering a few things. I had a 3 piece Vietnamese raw
silk pant outfit made for 18 USD & Ray got himself a
black silk nightshirt. Très soignée. They had never
heard of such a thing so I drew a picture & it came
out just right. Great for travelling as it is so light
& packs up very small.
Hoi An has a great beach about 5 K away so we rode out
there in the afternoon to enjoy the sun & surf. The
white sand beach stretches for several Ks in each
direction & the water temperature was a balmy 25 C.
The glitch is that to get to the beach you have to get
past girls selling fresh pineapples. They are often very
friendly & Ray struck up a conversation with Linda.
When he told her he was not buying pineapple right then,
she kept saying ‘later, later’, but we kept on going.
Then you reach the beach and the lady keepers of the deck
chairs that are arrayed invitingly under thatched roofed
canopies are after you to sit in their chairs. It seems
simple. You buy a soft drink or beer from them, you get
to use the chairs. We tried to escape them but ended up
sitting with 2 young Australian girls we had met in
Halong Bay. We went for a lovely swim & a walk on the
beach and even bought pineapple from one of the girls. It
was delicious. Then we agreed to buy a soft drink from
the deck chair lady, but the price she quoted was double
the going rate. I told her so & gave her what I
considered was more than fair, but I guess she considered
she had lost face, & told us to go. We stayed, but
who should come along but the lovely Linda. She said she
had been looking for us for an hour & Ray had
promised to buy pineapple from her alone! She was most
upset that we were not buying any more & first tried
the guilt trip. When that didn’t work she told Ray that
he looked like her father and he was always mad at her
and that I looked like her mother and her mother would
never do that to her. We decided it was time to leave.
Sigh. Never, never say ‘maybe’ if you are asked if you
want to ‘buy later’.
The next day we took a bus tour to visit the Champa
ruins at My Son, about 1 hr away. This is
Vietnam’s equivalent to Ayuthaya in Thailand & Angkor
Wat in Cambodia. They were built between the 2nd & 17th
century by the Cham kings and the temples were heavily
influenced by Indian & Javanese architecture. We had
visited the Cham museum in Danang & some of what Mr
Louis told us came to have more meaning here. The area
was an intense war zone during the Vietnamese war and
heavily damaged and mined. Only the entreaties of a
French archaeologist to Pres. Nixon resulted in the
cessation of bombings of the site itself. Some of the
temples are in the process of being restored, but there
is a great deal left to do. It was an interesting and
peaceful walk amongst the temples, set in a valley with
the Cat-Tooth Mountain in the background but you don’t
stray from the paths due to uncleared land mines.
Back in Hoi An for the afternoon, we rented bikes
again and despite our problems the previous day, made for
the beach again. This time we escaped serious hassles
& once again enjoyed riding the gentle waves into
shore. On our way out, we were distracted by a lot of
noise and activity in a yard next to the road. We
investigated and watched about 100 women in the midst of
cleaning the catch of the day. They were sitting on small
stools expertly gutting & filleting small fish and
filling bags and baskets with the results. We continued
home, riding beside many of the women who had finished
their quota for the day and carried their stools, knives
and sometimes fish home with them on their bicycles.
Hoi An was also a great spot to sample seafood, as you
could guess. We had some of the best food yet in Vietnam.
Amongst other dishes, we sampled shrimp ravioli,
cuttlefish (tender squid), stingray and mackerel cooked
in banana leaves.
Jan 8 found us on the road again. It was a long, bumpy
almost 13 hour bus ride, including stops, to Nha Trang.
At least the scenery was lovely as we passed by long
expanses of white sand beaches and rode over mountains
that fell straight to the sea. Nha Trang was quite a
large city with a lovely beachfront right in town, which
we enjoyed walking along in the evening.
The next day, we signed up for an all day boat cruise
through the many islands just offshore. This is a very
popular tourist activity and there are many different
boats to choose from. Ours was one of the smaller ones
that we shared with 12 other people from all over the
world. Our OBC friends would have been interested to meet
some of them. One couple from Holland was touring on
recumbent bikes through Thailand, Laos & Vietnam.
They built the bikes themselves and used a 28 ” back
wheel and a 26 ” front wheel, so they sit higher
than the usual recumbent. Another couple from Norway was
travelling the same route on mountain bikes. They were
both very pleased with their progress, although the
Norwegian girl, Ingun, told me she had suffered at first
on her bike as she had only bought it a few days before
starting and the seat was most uncomfortable. The Dutch
couple had navigated several roads in Laos that we had
passed up as being too rough and planned to bike up to
Sapa, 32 K uphill as well. Oh to be that young &
strong.
We had a great day, snorkeling off a coral reef,
jumping into the sea from the boat, enjoying a
great buffet lunch of seafood & fresh fruits, having
my toe nails painted and taking a ride in one of those
small woven tea cups they use for fishing boats. The tea
cup ride was around a fishing harbour & a highlight
was visiting a fish pond on a raft where they kept
lobsters, crabs, cuttle fish and lots of other unknown
types of quite large fish. Our souvenir of that day is a
slight sunburn on our backs. We forgot to wear T-shirts
for the snorkeling, I guess.
Jan 10 we were on the road again, this time to Saigon,
AKA Ho Chi Minh City, although we found out every one
prefers Saigon. The road was the best yet so the bus
zoomed through in just under 9 hours. The buses were a
very good and inexpensive way to travel. The tour
companies all offer ‘open ticket’ deals where you can
stop as often & as long as you want. The rate from
Hue to Saigon for a comfortable greyhound type bus was
just 23 USD each. As the roads in Vietnam improve, the
travelling will get only better.
As usual, we are staying in the tourist, backpacker
area of the city. There is a good selection of rooms and
the competition keeps the price s down. This time we are
paying just 8 USD for a double with A/C & attached
bath. It is clean & the owners are friendly. Not
Hilton standards, but fine for us. Saigon is hot during
the day and the motorcycles are out in force, but we have
found it easy to get around in and despite some dire
warnings regarding personal safety, are enjoying
ourselves. Our first day we limited our sightseeing to a
visit to the Art Gallery, which has an interesting
collection of old ceramics and sculptures and modern art,
much of it with Vietnam War themes. We also walked
through one of the many markets and over to the Saigon
river. There was a nice looking park at the mouth of a
small tributary, but we didn’t stay long. Seems this is
where the junkies go to exchange needles & the
tributary was just black, sticking sludge. I have read
that some of the city canals are being rejuvenated but I
guess this one has not made the list yet. Too bad.
Jan 12 we started a 3 day visit by mini bus and boat
to the Mekong Delta. There were 17 in our group and our
guide, Nguyen Van Son, was very informative. In fact, we
thought he was the best guide we have had yet. He was
secretary of protocol for the President of South Vietnam
in the 1970s & as a result was on the wrong side when
the South was defeated & ended up in jail for 4 years.
He did not seem bitter, but he is still barred from
several types of jobs and must pay higher fees for his
children’s schooling. This is still a communist country
even though free enterprise has arrived and seems to be
changing some of the rules.
The tour always included stops in the bus or the boat
to visit areas of interest. Our bus stop the first day
was to visit a pineapple plantation and sample some of
the delicious sweet fruit. Once we reached Cai Be in the
Mekong the first day, we boarded small tour boats to
navigate the river. It was low tide and we watched the
fishermen wade into the water & retrieve the fish
caught in the basket weirs along the shore. We had a stop
to visit a brick kiln where they use rice husks as fuel.
Bricks and tiles are hand made on site and then piled
into the conical kilns, sealed up and fired for 25 days.
The resulting ash is then returned to the rice fields as
fertilizer. We also stopped to see cottage industries
making rice paper spring roll wraps and rice candy, sort
of the original rice krispie squares. Very good.
The boat trip ended in a tour through the first of the
many floating markets. Larger boats filled with produce
anchor off shore and do business with smaller boats as
they come alongside. Each town also has a thriving land
market selling all kinds of produce and seafood’s. We
walked through the market in Vinh Long, where the novelty
here was live snakes being sold for meat or as
ingredients in snake wine.
That night, our guide took us to a local restaurant in
Can Tho to sample some sticky wine he had bought along
our route and also to sample their specialty, snake wine.
The jar of snake wine was gross. It was filled with
snakes coiled inside the jar and the waiter just used a
plastic cup to scoop out a glass full. I can tell you it
wasn’t bad, although quite alcoholic. Ray thought it was
great. The sticky rice wine was more like a strong sherry
and was OK, but I wouldn’t bring any home.
The 2nd day of our trip started with a tour of the
Can
Tho floating market and canals. This time the market was
in full swing and more interesting than the previous
afternoon. Each large boat advertised their wares by
tying a sample of their produce to a flagpole at the
front of the boat. As well as purchasers in small boats,
floating vendors with soft drinks, snacks and portable
kitchens circulated in the market area. This time we were
in small open boats. Our guide provided us with
Vietnamese palm leaf hats to shelter us from the sun and
we were glad of it. He himself wore a hat the whole time
as well as full-length gloves to protect his arms from
the sun. It is only the Europeans & Westerners, who
sunbathe, the Vietnamese know enough to cover up. He also
gave us samples of several fruits purchased along the way
and we finally got to taste some of the unfamiliar but
delicious varieties we had seen in the markets. The trip
through the canals was a hit. Most are lined with trees
and bushes, many flowering. The children in each small
house come running out to say hello and wave to the
tourists. Just like along the roads in Laos, we had to
respond. Again, we know how the Queen feels on her tours.
Our boat stops were to visit a larger rice noodle
factory, low-tech variety and a casket making &
decorating operation.
Loaded boat
Sunset from Sam Mountain
Back in the bus we drove to our overnight spot, Cau
Doc, and nearby Sam Mountain, with
a brief stop to see a crocodile farm. The crocodiles are
all kept in a crowded cage in the front yard of a house
and as well as being ugly were rather sad awaiting their
fate as belts or purses. Sam Mountain sticks up about 300
feet in the middle of the very flat plain of the Mekong
Delta. The object was to visit some of the many pagodas
on the hill and to see the sunset over the hills on the
Cambodian border less than 20 K away. We climbed about
half way up the west side of the mountain to see the
Cavern Pagoda first. Two monks were observing their day’s
end prayers complete with chanting and beating of drums.
One was playing such a syncopated rhythm on a large drum
that I thought it could be a good CD. Gregorian chants
were top sellers, so why not Buddhist chants from
different parts of the world. Call them Under the Bodhi
Tree. Anyway we made
the top of the hill just in time to see the sun turn red
and sink behind the hills, leaving red trails on the
watery rice fields below. We left via the stairs on the
east side ending at dark next to two large temples, one
Hindu, one Buddhist. They both had the requisite Buddha
statues but these ones had been updated with round wheels
of flashing disco lights behind the main statues. Hmm.
Day 3 of our trip started with an open boat tour of
the Cau Doc harbour. Our hotel that night was right on
the bank of the river so even before we left we were
entertained by the hive of activity just below us. This
is an area where much of the population live on the river
in small houseboats. There are obviously no pesky
municipal regulations here as anything goes. The people
wash their clothes and themselves in the river, fish for
supper and conduct business right from their homes. We
toured through the floating village area then turned into
one of the small canals to visit a Cham Muslim community.
Their specialty is hand-woven cotton produced by the
women on large wooden looms under the houses. We were
invited into one of their homes, built of ironwood, to
have some tea and admire the products of their weaving.
Several of us bought lengths of the colourful plaid or
patterned materiel used for sarongs and headscarves.
We also visited a mosque a few doors down and even the
women were permitted a look into the main sanctuary. At
the end of our boat ride the minibus picked us up and
raced to the town of Long Xuyen to let 4 people off at
the local bus station. They planned to travel to the
Vietnamese coast and take a ferry to visit Phu Quoc
island and sample the beaches there. It is sure to be
uncrowded, as it is certainly not yet on the usual
tourist route. The rest of us boarded boats again for one
last visit to a floating market. Then it was back on the
bus to Saigon with a stop for lunch and one last breather
where our guide announced he had a surprise for us. It
was. The owner has a huge pet python, which was brought
out for our pleasure. It was so tame that the owner’s
small daughter flopped down on it like a pillow and rode
it around the yard. Those brave enough got to hold it or
at least feel it slithering along. I guess it is well fed.
They tell me one chicken or duck a week is the preferred
diet.
Ducks taken to market
Fresh eels for sale
Today,
back in Saigon, Ray & I hired cyclos to take us to
the Cholon (Chinese) district and visit the markets there.
It was huge. Whole streets are given over to the same
products. We went through the motorcycle parts
street then down the street selling live chickens and
ducks. We got off and followed one of the drivers as he
conducted us on a tour of the indoor portion and several
more streets. And they say North American society is
consumer oriented. We have nothing on the Asians. Local
markets are a national pastime.
The last night in Saigon, we treated ourselves to
dinner at a restaurant in the upscale part of town. The
decor of the Lemon Grass definitely took us out of the
backpacker league and we enjoyed a very nice meal
accompanied by music played on a Cambodian auto harp. The
restaurant was near the center of town during French
Colonial times and the night was nice and warm, so after
dinner we walked around admiring the beautiful National
Theatre and old Hotel de Ville, which is now the People’s
Committee for Saigon. I guess the Vietnamese still
appreciate the French architecture. Right in front of the
Hotel de Ville was a park crowded with families and their
toddlers holding balloons and pulling toys bought from
the many street vendors. There is a large statue of Ho
Chin Minh holding a small child, his Uncle Ho persona, so
this seems to be the children’s park.
Tomorrow afternoon, Jan 16, our visas for Vietnam
expire and we fly to Cambodia to visit Angkor Wat. I’m
not sure what the email situation is in Cambodia, so next
you hear from me may be when we return to Thailand. We
plan to end our trip at the beach, starting with Ko
Chang, which we will reach by land a ferry from Cambodia.
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