Dividing this into 3 blog posts – 1. Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) 2. Hanoi, Vietnam and 3. Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Mon Mar 9
Said our goodbyes and thank you to Jackie….excellent guide!
Check-in etc. all smooth. Vietnam Airlines. Good flight, just over 2 hours and included snacks….more food!!
Arrived just after 6PM. Definitely not as warm as HCMC. Our guide here is Vinhy (sp?) Just getting dark on our drive to the hotel…..very different here. More of a big city feel to it than Saigon. Not the street vendors, roadside cafes etc. very quiet compared to HCMC, but then maybe just the route from the airport. Crossed a huge bridge with lights that changed colours. More cars than scooters and bikes. Will be interesting to see more in the daylight tomorrow.
We’re at the Crowne Plaza here https://www.ihg.com/crowneplaza/hotels/us/en/hanoi/hanch/hoteldetail/photos-tours#scmisc=nav_photos-tours_cp Massive hotel. Nice rooms. On our own for dinner tonight. Not very adventurous and doesn’t look like it’s easy to cross the road to get to where there might be restaurants so we just ate at the hotel. Joined Lori and Connie. Pizzas and soup and that was about it.
Busy day! Our room looks out over a very bus road with a major roundabout. They’ve closed one side of the street getting it ready for some big car race in April….so traffic is even more crazy. Looking forward to not having any light issues!!
Tues Mar 10
Oh happy day…..a 9AM start!! A bit of time to relax before our jam packed day. Good buffet with an egg guy. A mix of western and asian goodies. Lots of hot coffee. Quite pleasant this morning. A bit of cloud but lots of sun and just nice and warm, definitely not as hot as Saigon.
The currency here is the “Dong”. Had no problems finding ATM’s/bank machines in Saigon, so stocked up there. I think I have enough to last here. Don’t want to dip into my US if I don’t have to as that is what we’ll need in Cambodia.
Eddie has been taking great care of us. A bit disturbing that they’ve had about 10 cases of corona here so they’re trying to stay on top of it with temp checking, hand santizing and masks, which also means unfortunately closing some of the tourist stuff, one of which is the Temple of Literature which was to be our first stop today. http://vanmieu.gov.vn/en/ Too bad, I think it would have been very interesting. Instead we are heading directly to the Ho Chi Minh complex. Drive there was great…..happy to see the city is much the same as Saigon…..lots of people, street stands etc. Was so quiet last night.
Driving thru the city was interesting. The river, a lake and the old quarter is wonderful….crowded and full of people, tourists and locals, lots of restaurants, shops, street markets, barbers on the sidewalks etc.
The Red River also runs thru the city so lots of pedestrian walkways and parks around it. Saigon is the bigger of the two and where most business/commerce is but Hanoi is the capital and the oldest…..dating back to 1000AD. 
French influence on many buildings here too. Still most homes/shops are tall and narrow……something about the max width can be 15ft or something close to that but they can build to quite a few stories, so that is what they do! Not sure if it was because of taxes or some city bylaw type thing. We did see some pretty huge houses definitely much more that 15ft so probably taxes or ??
Arrived at the HCM complex early because there is usually quite a line up to get in…..Vinhy said we’d probably have to wait at least 1/2 hour or more…..but not today! Apparently because of the outbreak they have stopped all international flights into Vietnam….so we’re lucky we got here when we did! I think!! But regardless we’re here now! The hotel is almost empty…..not sure how many rooms but maybe 25 or 30 people at most in the dining room and milling about.
https://vietnamdiscovery.com/hanoi/attractions/ho-chi-minh-mausoleum-complex/
Took 5 minutes for Vinhy to get our tickets and into the grounds. No photos allowed enroute to HCM’s mausoleum. You must follow the route and walk single file all the way from the gate…..about a 6 or 7 minute walk. Luckily it wasn’t hot because there was no shade. The temp is pretty much perfect…tee shirt weather. The grounds are huge as is the mausoleum. You walk up the stairs, past the guards and into the building, then around where he is laid out, with lights shining on him……NO talking either!! They have guards stationed inside and outside the building…..which they change every couple of hours. Asked Vinhy if it’s really an embalmed him or ?? He said to just “know it’s him” ???, so have to presume so but it does look like wax or ? Interesting but also a little strange. The mausoleum was built in 1975 so 7 years after his death.
Not sure if he was loved or hated. Vinhy seemed quite taken with him, or at least his “vision”. Basically all he wanted was peace and to not be occupied or at war. HCM asked for help from the US to unify Vietnam and they turned him down (communism/dictator etc). HCM was then approached by Russia and well, the rest is history!! Vinhy said he is not at peace being put on display…..not what he would have wanted. He lived very frugally on the palace grounds in the 3 room stilt house.
The palace is beautiful, bright yellow, as were all the buildings on the grounds (yellow represents peace and happiness). It was only used for official and dignitary visits. There’s a very pretty lake and beautiful gardens with huge trees and shaded pathways thru the complex. HCM spent most of his time in the stilt house.
Wandered around a bit…..there’s a pagoda, a snack stand and a bit of a market and some good washrooms!! Have not seen one “squatty potty” anywhere so far!! This is good! The HCM Museum was closed, which was too bad. There is snippets of information on boards on the grounds but would have been interesting to see and read more about him.
Loved all the street activity……people cooking, people eating, barbers set up along one of the streets, buys playing checkers wherever…..
On to lunch!! First we had a cooking class. Our first lesson was fruit carving/decorating. We all had a demo of making tomato roses, then had to do one ourselves. They make it look so easy!! 
My tomato turned out pretty darn good I think…..and so did they! I was one of the top 3…..the winners got a free Heineken. I’d already had a Hanoi Beer, so feeling a bit loopy after that one. Lots of fun. We were divided into 3 separate groups and had to pick our “chef”. All the Burnaby boys got chosen to do the cooking. They first had to spice up and marinate the fish, then it all got tossed into a pan and stir fried with veg. Was very good. They served it to us in bowls with rice, which we thought was our lunch! NOT! A whole table was set up next door for our real lunch. When we are not moving, we are eating!!! All was very good…..soup, crab balls on a stick, veg, prawns, beef and more! I truly think this has been some of the best food on a tour type holiday. Still waiting for what I think is normal pho!!
After lunch we rolled ourselves back on the bus for a short drive to the Tran Quoc Pagoda, the oldest pagoda in Vietnam. https://vietnamdiscovery.com/hanoi/attractions/tran-quoc-pagoda/ Very pretty around there, it’s right on the river, nice treelined street. 
People are set up outside the gate selling birds and turtles….mostly little guys but a couple of big ones, probably close to a foot round, to buy and release for good health/luck etc. Felt bad for the big turtles that we tied up….they just kept moving like they were trying to walk away….poor things!! Connie asked how much to buy all of them, the lady said “millions”, which may have amounted to a couple hundred CDN….wish we’d all chipped in to do that! But I guess they would have just gone out and got more….probably the same ones over and over again. At least they let them go!
Beautiful pagoda and grounds. Also a Buddhist temple for many people preparing offerings, some putting together trays of goodies. Food, alcohol, flowers, cigarettes and a new fruit that I haven’t seen called Buddha’s Hand, which they use to make a tea. Nice spot right on the lake. A guy fishing on the rocks with a long skinny bamboo pole…..sort of fly fishing. Very pretty place with well maintained gardens and grounds.
Leaving there we passed a memorial to John McCain. It’s on the main road that runs along the lake. It’s where he was captured after he’d parachuted. He’d broken his arm and could barely swim. The memorial is now a friendly gesture to the US……and how, enemy or not, he was respected by them.
Hanoi is quite a pretty city with all the water, gardens and treelined streets. Our next stop was the Vietnam History Museum, which was excellent. http://baotanglichsu.vn/en Well laid out with some very interesting artifacts. Spent over and hour in there but started getting museum overload.
Because of the Literacy Museum being closed and an early lunch we had over an hour to kill before our rickshaw ride at 4, which was starting just outside the museum. Some of us thought we’d take a little walk looking for a place to get a coffee. Lots of Starbucks but not near there. We did manage to cross a couple of streets with no incidents, which was exciting!! They said to walk like you are the boss…..the scooters, cars and buses will go around you…..DO NOT STOP once you start going…..scary but it seems to work. Never did find coffee!
We each got our own rickshaw, which then had to cross 4 lanes of traffic to get on our route….rather exciting but we made it. 
Lots of honking. Cars, scooters, buses etc. just whizzing by….made sure to keep my arms and hands in at all times! A one point traffic came to a stop, so we waited and just as things started moving again, including us, a scooter came zooming by and cut right in front of us to turn right but had to stop quickly…..my driver was doing a lot of yelling and could NOT stop so we crashed into the side of the scooter. Not too hard luckily but hard enough to hear metal on metal…my driver yelled even more and flailling his arms ……the scooter driver had a quick over the shoulder look at us and just drove off with a dent in his tailpipe!! The rest of the ride was lovely and uneventful! Almost an hour. We drove thru the Old Quarter. Very busy, just a great area. Lots of restaurants and cafes, hostels all over the place. One area that was all produce, another selling flowers, a couple other streets for household items, electronics etc. 
Streets were packed with locals and tourists. I love the little plastic tables and chairs or stools that many stands have set up. Really an enjoyable tour. Suggested tip was $2US but I gave my driver 5…..that’s a lot of work pedaling those things thru traffic and throngs of people on the streets. Unfortunately I took a lot of video thru the food part and not a lot of pics…..too bad because that was the best part!
Finished our ride at a coffee house, Pho Co Cafe. Nice rooftop sitting area with a great view over the Old Quarter and the lake. Vinhy treated us to traditional Vietnamese coffees. Had tried one at home …..very strong, kind of espresso with sweet milk. Here you tell them whether you want sugar and/or milk, which is condensed milk so very sweet. Kind of a combination of lip puckering bitter and cloying sweetness. Was fun to have it there but won’t be ordering another anytime too soon.
We had about 45 minutes before our “Watery Puppet Show”, which was just down the street, so a couple of us took off to do a bit of shopping en route. Not much in the line of clothing shops right there so just browsed in a few stores mostly selling touristy stuff. I did pick up a really nice picture of a woman in the rice paddies…..it’s embroidered!
The puppet show was actually pretty good. No pictures allowed! A bit hokey but fun. Along with the show was traditional music and singing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_puppetry Kind of a neat history about how it started back in the 11th century. Luckily they gave us a program to follow so we understood each of the stories the puppets were telling us. All in all kind of fun, but not sure I would go out of my way to see it if it hadn’t been included.
Was dark when we came out and the area all around the lake was lit up as well as the bridge……very pretty. And the streets where just packed with people…..lots of fun! The whole city overall is really quite lovely…..a mix of typical narrow buildings along with French and colonial architecture, lots of greenery, wide streets, chaotic traffic, noise etc. Great place!
Dinner tonight was great. A place called “Khai’s Brothers”. A big buffet set up in the centre courtyard, which is an old temple garden. Buffet was excellent with every kind of dish possible….meat, fish, great veg, salads and a soup station where a couple of gals put together whatever you wanted. All delicious!
Back to the hotel, a quick drink in the bar and up to pack an overnight bag for our trip to Halong Bay tomorrow. We have to check out in the morning and they’ll keep our bags for when we come back the next day and then have to check in again!! A little bizarre considering the hotel is pretty much empty….you would think we could have just left everything in our rooms….oh well!
Another great day……a really busy day! The weather is not looking too good for Halong Bay tomorrow…..which is too bad. Was hoping for sun….ah sigh.
Wed Mar 11
Up early! Breakfast, check out, store bags and on the bus by 7!! A 4 hour drive to Halong Bay. It was warm-ish but pretty overcast so not much chance of seeing any sun today.
The city is busy…..everyone already has the food stands set up, roadside produce stalls etc. People using their scooters and motorcycles as “cargo” vans. As we left the city we started going thru smaller towns/villages but with the same scenes.
Once in the countryside, many beautiful farms, rice paddies being tended. A few industrial areas. Geese farms…..or farms with lots of geese! Yet interestingly not something we’ve seen on any of our menus so far.
Many people along the roadside selling goodies….mostly fruit but you see a lot of those packets of cured meat. Tons of flower stands. Not a very nice day which is really too bad….very overcast, not cold but not hot either. I just love the rice paddies….from a distance they look like a solid sea of green but up closer you can see the individual stalks of rice…..these also could just be recently planted fields that will thicken up later. Just about every field has someone working in it. Such hard manual work….so sign of any type of machinery regardless of what is being grown.
Stopped for a break at a very touristy shop that sold everything from huge Buddhas and dragons statues for your garden (or wherever you might want to put them!!) to beautiful delicate pearls and other gems. Some very nice clothes but all really quite expensive, definitely geared towards tourists enroute to Halong Bay. At least 3 other big buses where there. Our bus is medium size I guess…..since there are only 14 of us….with just enough seats that we can each have our own row/window, which is kind of nice.
As we got closer and closer to the coast you started to see “mountains”, which truly looked like huge rocks…..limestone I guess, like Halong Bay. Arrived in Halong Bay just before noon. Halong is a very busy tourist destination for locals as well as foreigners. Many highrise apartments and timeshares. There’s a cable car that crosses the harbour/port and marina as well as a huge “Sun Wheel”, like the London Eye. 
Had to fill in “medical forms” and have our temperature taken. Lots of boats, big and small, some are “self-drive”, like the houseboats we can rent on lakes at home, some are bigger specifically for short cruises like ours. Lots of barges, container ships and tankers. Very well kept and pretty place, nicely landscaped boulevards and medians. Many very attractive lowrise French looking apartment complexes. I’m sure it’s usually booming but not now because of corona. Such a shame because 50%, or more, of the population here relies on tourism. The marina is full of boats…..many anchored right now unfortunately…..just not busy.
Also to protect the bay, or at least to try and protect it, you are forbidden to take any plastic bottles on any of the boats……if you are caught, the captain gets a fine, not you, so they were quite diligent in checking everyone. Better than nothing and certainly good on them for making the effort.
Took a tender out to our boat, The Victory. https://baithojunks.com/ 
It has the capacity for 60ish people but there are only 20 of us. It’s really lovely. Our cabins are small but very pretty, a good size bathroom, and nice little balcony big enough for a small table and two chairs. The main deck has the dining area, bar and seating area inside, outside there is a nice big deck with lots of chairs and seating areas, the upper outside deck has lots of tables and seating and is partially covered…..I guess for hot sunny days, ah sigh! Just not the best of days to sit out there and enjoy the scenery unfortunately. The main deck patio is at the front of the boat, so even though we’re not moving at any great speed, it’s a bit too breezy and chilly to sit out there.
Got our bags dropped off in our cabins and just enough time to have a quick drink before we started our cruise and lunch was served. Lots of smaller boats out and about and the odd “houseboat”. We ordered a bottle of bubbly to celebrate getting here! One of the things on everyone’s bucket list….Halong Bay!! It looks absolutely glorious in all the brochures, which I’m sure it is on bright sunny days, but oh well, I’m just so glad to be here and the mist and low cloud make it almost magical or mystical. The karst formations and islands are just beautiful and even in this cloudy weather the water is an incredible blue/green. Lunch was excellent!! Very gourmet really with each course beautifully presented. Quite enjoyable just sitting and chatting.
After lunch was a tour to one of the islands with a pretty beach and a cave that you had to climb up to. Donna and I decided we would pass on it and spent a couple of hours out on the deck having drinks and chatting with Gord and Alan. It was quite pleasant outside when the boat wasn’t moving…..still no sun though. Everyone that went said it was really interesting and lovely but it was also great to have a couple of hours of just sitting and relaxing. We just seem to be on the go continually.
Once everyone was back on board we did some scenic sailing. Even though cloudy and overcast, with a few spits of rain, it is a pretty spectacular place. Some of the pillars are huge, islands really, but straight out of the sea up and up….others are smaller and truly look like pillars. Other than the one we stopped at I didn’t notice any others with beaches but apparently there are a few of them. We were supposed to have the chance to go kayaking but that’s just not going to happen unfortunately. I would have done that!
Brenda and Cathy went for massages…..just OK they said. A couple of others had just the foot and leg massages….one of the guys had a pedicure! The rest of us just sat around in the bar chatting and enjoying the scenery. Around 4:30 we had tea time/snacks…..a very good creamy drink of some sort. Lots of snacks….deep fried shrimp chips, very salty but tasty pretzel sticks, nuts and other snacky goodies (eating again!!) Then we had a cooking lesson/demo!! Donna and Cathy and then a few others had a go at putting together salad rolls. The demo ladies finished putting the rest together and we ate those too!!
Was just too chilly to sit outside unfortunately so just popped out every now and again to snap a few pics. Very disappointed though looking at them later because they aren’t very good….poor lighting at this time of day and the cloud cover made for really crappy pics unfortunately, which is too bad.
Dinner was just as good as lunch if not better!! And again all presented so nicely. Talked to a few of the other people on board, people from Germany, Switzerland and France. Each table had a flag of the country that they were from….fun. A enjoyable evening relaxing and having a very good glass, or two, of wine (Aussie).
During dinner, Eddie had a number of phone conversations….hmmmm, we thought. Sure enough he told the 4 of us that our flight out of Siem Reap to Hong Kong on the 16th had been cancelled and we’d spend an extra day there and then leave on the 17th to Hong Kong via Bangkok….but we’d have to overnight in Hong Kong. All at the expense of Cathay Pacific. This should all be interesting as we don’t have Eddie with us for the Cambodia part of the trip. Fingers crossed everything goes smoothly…..he has assured us that it will!! Things are just getting crazier each day. Heard a rumour tonight that Halong Bay will be shut down tomorrow….so cloud and all it sounds like we were lucky that we made it here period.
To bed pretty early, just after 10, but another great and busy day. Up early tomorrow for our tour of the water village. I hope we at least get a peek of sun tomorrow.
Thurs Mar 12
Slept great…..nice comfy beds and great pillows. Up very early, before 6, for coffee and a small continental type breakfast around 7. No sun…..ah sigh.
Out right after breakfast to visit Vung Vieng Village….a floating village. Very overcast this morning, even a few sprinkles of rain…too bad. But even in this weather it looks lovely. The tender took us by a number of other boats similar to the Victory, a couple had their traditional sails up. 
Also a lot of the smaller boats out….the house boat type. Not sure if I’d do that….the water is pretty calm but it’s pretty open water, not like a lake and there are quite a few tankers and barges that you’d have to contend with. They may have a specific area that they have to go to and only use this route to get to/from the marina. Even though you can’t bring plastic bottles on board, there were still a lot of them bobbing around in the water. They are trying I guess.
The village marina is kind of tucked away in a smaller bay, We got into 4 person rowboats with one lady rowing……hard work!! Really quite enjoyable just watching the scenery go by. Many different types of houses…..some looked like family compounds with a few different buildings on the floats, others were stand alone, some were like little individual neighbourhoods with a few individuals houses connected by little bridges or planks. Quite a few dogs, which I am telling myself are family pets!!! A lot of boats as well, biggish and small fishing type boats that people live on. All, or most a brightly painted. Very peaceful and serene there.
The village is sort of tucked into a little bay protected by a couple of bigger islands. The limestone formations are pretty impressive up close, some sheer faces with bamboo adding a bit of colour and softness, which made it very pretty……bamboo is such a calming plant….gently moving in the breeze. You could see holes, or maybe caves, in some of the rocks. Our lady didn’t speak English so couldn’t ask her about them and forgot to ask once we were back on the boat.
The main part of the village was the dock, it has a school and a bit of a supply store. Other than that everyone must be pretty self-sustaining. We did see oyster farms and was supposed to visit a pearl farm but it was closed due to the virus. It didn’t clear up at all the couple hours we were out…..oh well, still just beautiful.
Back on board the Victory just after 9:30. Our buffet brunch was all set up. We were also told that Halong Bay and all boats were being closed down for one month because of the virus. Not sure how many cases they’ve had but definitely not taking any chancess. This is just devastating to them since these boats and all the tourism is one of the main sources of income in this area. Very nice buffet set up with a mix of our kind of breakfast stuff and local traditional dishes along with yogurt, fruit and some really nice pastries. Really….it seems like we eat all the time!
Sailed back to the marina and managed to get a few more dull and gloomy pics but it kind of made it more mysterious looking in the fog/mist.
Just before we got off the boat the manager (American guy) and all the staff thanked us for our visit and wished us well on the rest of our trip. He advised that that they too would also be disembarking with us. And they did……two tenders to take everyone back to the marina.
Very dull, dreary day. Stopped for a break at a place similar to the one on the way. Again, nice stuff but I think a little over priced. Some of it, especially the clothes did look better quality but hard to tell really.
Vinhy stopped at a street fruit vender and got a jackfruit. He cut it up for every one to try. Tasted really good….sort of a mango/peachy taste but smoother texture. Each section has a bit pit in it, looks like a pecan still in it’s shell.
Our bus got side swiped!! By a truck. Drivers exchanged some money and off we went…..nasty big black scrape on the side of the bus.
Back to check in and a bit of rest before our Farewell Dinner…..a real farewell as we go off in different directions tomorrow. Six of us will head to Cambodia (the 4 of us and Connie and Lori), the others are all off to Thailand for 4 days then on to Cambodia. We will be sort of on our own….no Eddie!! He’s off to Thailand with the rest of them……apparently you have to have at least 8 people to get the tour company guide all the way……info that they didn’t tell us! I’m sure we’ll survive but just that things are a little different right now. Eddie has assured us that we’ll have no issues. There will be a guy waiting in Cambodia with a sign who will collect our passports and get our visas. And our guide, who’s name is Kim, will be waiting with a sign. He’s printed off all our flight changes as well as emailing the info. He’s got all our phone numbers and we have his just in case. Donna will be our main contact person if any more changes come up. He’s pretty sure there won’t be any other changes but things seem to be getting a little crazy from messages that we’re getting from home, so who knows!
The bus came to pick us at at 6:30 looking as good as new!!! Everyone wanted to how he got the body work done so quickly…..he just smiled! Dinner tonight was excellent. 
A great restaurant call “Ly Club”. https://lyclub.vn/ (new website in the works….) Beautiful place, colonial style building in the French district. Very pretty outside, lots of plants, palms etc. could easily be somewhere in the south of France…..especially with the Bentley parked out front. Inside was just a lovely, bright and white wood paneling, dark floors, nicely set tables etc. Definitely the splashiest place we’ve had dinner. Food was all excellent as well as the service and the wine. Vinhy and Eddie gave a little speech and then gave each of us a little women figurine as a gift….a very nice little touch. Great evening.
A nighcap at the bar and to bed. I’m pretty sure there are maybe, including all 14 of us, 20 people at this massive hotel!!!
Fri Mar 13 (!!!!)
Slow start this morning. Our flight to Siem Reap isn’t until 5. Later breakfast and just repacking and organizing my bags. Checked out at 12 and, of course…..off to lunch!! Very different part of the city but much the same street scenes. All the little cafes and street food places were busy. Another excellent lunch, one of the best we’ve had….that said all has been excellent. 
Quite the variety today including duck!!! It was the first time we’d had it and it was delicious, along with the french fries…..what a treat they were. Chicken with lemon grass, absolutely delicious spring rolls, beef, rice and a pho to start. Dessert was a little gummy type square that came in a little box….not sure exactly what they were, maybe a bean cake?? Kind of good but 1/2 of one was enough. Flavour was OK but the texture was a bit of thing for me. More than enough food…..for every 4 people they’d bring out a plate of each. More often than not there would be stuff left and not because it wasn’t good, even the guys couldn’t put anymore away.
Right after lunch we headed to the airport. Our flight was at 5 and the Thailand flight at 4:30. Said our goodbyes to Vinhy and Eddie and the others. What a great bunch we had to travel with for the last week. Great people. Hope we can keep connected at home. Have done an email list and have already found Maurine on facebook!!
I’m really going to miss Hanoi! Wasn’t too sure about it the first day but it really kind of grew on me. Would love to come back some day……not on a tour! Spend some time in the Old Quarter and would love to visit Halong Bay in the sun. Friendly people, so much more of this country to see…….one day!
A few more random street shots……out the bus window!
Our gate wasn’t posted yet so took our time going thru security etc. The airport was just about empty!! A few people here and there…..again could have played football just about anywhere. Our gate finally came up and was right next to the others heading to Thailand. Grabbed a coffee and some snacks.
Flight was about and hour and half. Vietnam Airlines again…..very good!
Next on to Siem Reap…….
Unreal seeing so many planes parked, there had to be a few hundred all in neat rows, wing tip to wing tip. Eddie collected us all and off we went to the gate for our connection to Saigon. Had only one hour but no problems and NO PEOPLE!! I’ve never been to Hong Kong before but I’m pretty sure the airport is normally packed. 
Honestly you could have had a football game in there. Only our gate and one other a ways down that had people. Wow!
Mines are also still a problem all these years later. We stopped in to see a video, which Jackie explained was a Viet cong propaganda video, made in the late 60’s meant, to encourage villagers to join the fight against the Americans…..it showed happy smiley people, including little boys and girls maybe 5 years old if that, holding and shooting guns. Told them all how smart they were and that fighting and killing Americans was their priority. They dug the tunnels, set booby traps……really quite horrific ones…..the things nightmares are made of! If you didn’t join them, they simply killed you, or your family…..these poor people had no choice….they were stuck between a rock and hard place. I remember thinking how horrid it was that innocent women and children were also being killed during the war but this kind of makes us understand now why the Americans shot everyone and everything in their way……you just wouldn’t know if it was an innocent villager, or small child, with an AK 47 or Kalishnikov (sp?) tucked under their shirt. Just incredible!
The city with the scooters, sidewalk food sellers, fruit/veg stands, motorcycle parts and repair shops….sometimes regardless of the type of business a bike would be parked inside!! Various modes of transport…..mostly scooters but a few other carts often pulled by a bicycle, or the person! Busy, busy…..just constant action. On the main highway and in a few other places there are separate lanes just for scooters. Just outside the city it gets green…..lots of palm groves, gardens, rice fields. Some of the rice paddies were just recently harvested….they get 3 crops a year down here. Lots of stores and 
roadside stands selling those little green packets of “fermented” meat. They looked like little presents wrapped in green paper with gold ribbon….is actually banana leaf and dried grasses or shredded corn husks.
Bees!! Lots of bees. Got to hold one of the slats full of them….apparently they’re quite docile when they’re busy making honey….this is good! 
The island is beautiful and lush…..very hot and humid too. Local fruit trees; banana, mango, rambutan, longan etc. We got to sample some honey tea that was very good and not as sweet as I’d expected. Various other treats made with honey…..dried banana, ginger and a kind of peanut brittle….all very good. Bought some of the dried banana. We also got to sample some of the creams and balms they make and sell made with royal jelly.
I’ve held smaller ones and a very docile cobra in Morocco, but this guy was huge and very strong. When he moved his head, you could feel the muscles, or whatever snakes have, move 4 ft away down towards his tail. Only a few people decided to hold him……the lady stood close by of course but not sure if it was for our safety or the snakes!! Not creepy at all.
They put on a nice little performance of traditional song and dance while we enjoyed more honey tea. Had few minutes to browse the market before our canoe ride on the canal. Four per boat plus the rowers in front and back. Getting in was a bit tricky…..stepping into the canoe dead centre was very important…..not the easiest thing to do from the wibbly stairs but we managed. Very, very hot, so we all got conical hats to wear. Was really very pleasant going along the canal….lots of shade. It’s not very wide, just enough room for two canoes to pass most of the way.
I really could have done without it. Didn’t notice the driver whipping him luckily but he was yelling a lot, so not terribly enjoyable. Hate seeing animals used for stuff like this. Lots of people riding bikes….apparently we could have done that, which I think I would have preferred. Nice shady, paved pathways, mostly bikes, scooters and buggies. Whatever the place was, it was really very clean and tidy. A few restaurants and food sellers, so definitely bigger than the other islands we’d been too.
Very thick but no blooms. Jackie pulled one out to show us the root that is used in cooking. Once on board we all got a coconut to drink the milk. Not very much taste but just cool enough for it to be refreshing. Smoking hot by then…..well after 1PM.
Building is rather art deco-ish. The slats or whatever you would call them on the face are meant to represent bamboo….calming and airy. No AC only the open slats create enough cool air flow to not need it! Not clear if it’s used for anything today…..meetings, art exhibitions and a tourist attraction. A rather austere building inside and out. Toured it from top to bottom…..the rooms are huge, lots of local Vietnamese woodwork, inlay and lacquer. Some artwork on the walls but basically not a very warm and welcoming place.
Quite a few steps to prep the material and even more interesting was besides just paint and shells, they also use crushed duck eggs to make some of the designs. Bins and bins of duck egg shells…..who knew!! Very time consuming and apparently there are a lot of “fakes” so we were told. Not sure I’d be able to tell real lacquer from fake so it’s a good thing that I’d be unlikely to buy any but some very nice stuff.
My Travel Journals 