Wednesday, 24 February 2016 01:50 am
Vietnam Vacation Photos
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deckardcanineI think the best way to handle my vacation report is to post photos and annotations first and then fill in more details as they come to me.
Visiting an airport counts as visiting a country. This is Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea, where live performers got a slight head start on celebrating the Lunar New Year.
Other live Korean performers caught my attention by playing Journey's "Open Arms" on violins and a piano. As you can see, they had quite a pop lineup.
My first hotel, in Saigon (officially but not popularly Ho Chi Minh City), was in the Tet spirit. If these evoke Christmas trees, it may not be coincidence: Some explicit Christmas decorations appear in Vietnam in imitation of western New Year's traditions. I think that's kind of cute.
But not as cute as the Year of the Monkey emblems all over.
This was the most interesting Saigon building I saw, with a nice tropical park nearby.
If there's one thing we could stand to adopt from Saigon, it's free exercise equipment in parks. Nothing electronic, but it's fancy enough for instructions.
The War Remnants Museum did not allow photos inside. I wouldn't have taken any anyway; it presents disturbing information.
The Reunification Palace used to house the South Vietnamese government. The war ended there after a tank crashed through the gate.
The Notre Dame Cathedral in Saigon. Unlike some fenced-off churches in Vietnam, this one could conceivably offer "sanctuary!"
We rode a boat called the Funky Monkey (appropriate for the Year of the Monkey) in the area of Nha Trang. There wasn't much to see in snorkeling, but at least this was picturesque.
The Vinpearl resort in Nha Trang belongs to Vietnam's first billionaire by American dollar standards. (A billion dong, by contrast, equates to about $45,000. I laughed at a Top Gear episode in which the three guys were excited to receive 15 million dong to spend on vehicles to drive across Vietnam.)
This was the most interesting building I found in Nha Trang.
Way to draw people into your restaurant. I actually considered trying that meat. Later I ate frogs and the purportedly bestselling mudskippers, both of which taste fine but have a low edible-to-inedible parts ratio, so they may be more trouble than they're worth.
Ever seen a river completely obscured by lilies? Da Nang has one.
The temple ruins of My Son. Not pronounced the English way.
Someone bombed the temple area during the war. Grass now grows in this crater. A tree grows in another.
We don't know much about the temple builders, but they were clearly Hindus.
I didn't expect a "temple" to comprise so many separate buildings. At least, I don't get the impression they used to be all one.
Unlike cathedrals, this temple puts its grotesque faces on the lower end.
I appreciate how they planted new trees near the path from the temple.
Did I mention I love tropical vegetation?
Especially when it grows near my hotel.
The Thu Bon River, as seen from a bridge in Hoi An. (It's an anagram of Hanoi, but that's no weirder than Tokyo and Kyoto.)
Hoi An was probably my favorite place in Vietnam. It's a quiet, semi-rural resort town where you don't have to watch out for traffic as much. And believe me, Vietnam traffic is a pain. Get used to walking in the street due to motorcycles parked on the sidewalk, if there is a sidewalk. You'll wish there were more lights, crosswalks, and respect for each. Maybe it's just as well that motorcycles outnumber cars; they're easier to avoid.
Told you it was semi-rural. No, I don't believe that the word "DUNG" there means what you're thinking.
Nobody could tell me what this crested fowl is, but it shared a coop with chickens.
A nice set of lanterns somewhat spoiled by the flag.
The lanterns add to the night life.
They call this the Japanese Bridge.
Another running theme of Tet displays was watermelons, for some reason. I did eat a lot of watermelon. And drink watermelon juice, which some of my fellow tourists wished they could do at home.
Speaking of fellow tourists, meet Nick, my roommate throughout the tour, who has become my Facebook friend. Like about half the Contiki tourists, he hails from Australia. (The rest were all from other English-speaking countries.)
Do you like Engrish?
A sight en route to Hue. Again, not pronounced the English way.
Cyclos are like reverse pedicabs. Not very fast, but the drivers will try to talk you into big tips. If you have only big bills, tough luck for you. I let it slide; things come cheap in Vietnam, and the money meant more to him than to me.
The Imperial City in Hue, which used to be the capital.
Tourists Hannah and Tara pose at the gate.
Some sort of Buddhist ceremony in the citadel.
Don't ask me who these guys were.
You won't find trees like this in the wild.
The tallest pagoda in the vicinity.
The leader's mausoleum, located in Hanoi rather than his namesake city. We were not permitted to cross the yellow line, but some of us visited the inside later. I passed.
St. Joseph's Cathedral in Hanoi. No entry.
The Turtle Tower in Hanoi. The turtle is one of four revered animals in Vietnam, along with the unicorn, the phoenix, and the dragon ("One of these things is not like the others..."). Alas, the last turtle in this lake died in January, which some Vietnamese took as an omen for the imminent election.
No one was celebrating Valentine's Day, but our trip manager mentioned that romantic couples come to Hoan Kiem Lake year round.
We cruised Halong Bay for a while. I couldn't safely take any photos on our kayaking segment, when we saw five macaques on the rocks. Nor when Darryl from California deliberately jumped out of my kayak and almost capsized it coming back in. (He became my roommate for a day after the tour.)
A view from the top of Ti Top Island in the bay. The island is named for Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov.
We went spelunking at Sung Sot Cave by the bay.
More Engrish.
Back in Hanoi. This bridge leads to the Ngoc Son Temple.
This tree is still rooted.
The Ngoc Son Temple gate. You have to pay a small entry fee.
They like to offer food on altars. I respect this choice more than the box of Ritz crackers I saw near a miniature Buddha.
No, these guys aren't real. They're a display at Hoa Lo Prison, nicknamed the Hanoi Hilton. Apparently, it was much harsher under French Indochina than when John McCain was a POW.
This is about as pretty as the prison exhibit gets.
Taking the long way home, I spent a seven-hour layover at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. No live performers, but there's this.
I felt a little nervous about stopping at Doha International Airport in Doha, Qatar, but it was as friendly as the other airports. This was the main sign of Islamic predominance. Interestingly, all Qatar Airways meals were halal, but they also offered alcohol.
Never let it be said that the Middle East has no sense of humor. I have no idea where Doha got this idea.
OK, other highlights of the vacation...
-I knowingly allowed myself to be ripped off on day 1, when a cab service charged $25, specifying U.S. dollars, up front. I was just in a hurry to get to the hotel after a long flight, and the rate wouldn't have been unreasonable back in Washington.
-There's a Vuvuzela Beer Club, with more than one location.
-Some people burned money in the street. No one explained it to me, but I took it as a Tet tradition. We did receive red "lucky money" envelopes, normally reserved for kids and elders. Inside was a 1,000-dong bill -- worth less than a nickel, but at least it has more spending power in Vietnam than a nickel does in the U.S. And it probably costs less than its worth to make.
-Broccoli is called "flower-cabbage" and similar names on menus.
-As you walk the streets, you're likely to be offered cigarettes (tobacco or marijuana) or a motorcycle ride. The creep factor of the latter wore off after a while, and I accepted three rides. Inexpensive and brisk. Those vehicles are starting to grow on me.
-Get used to slow waiting service and slow elevators (3.5 seconds per floor).
-The crew of the Funky Monkey brought passengers together from multiple ships and had them join in singing songs from their countries. Some were predictable choices, like "Waltzing Matilda" and "Frere Jacques," but I wouldn't have guessed I'd be singing "I Want It That Way." The poor lone Brit didn't even mouth the words to "Hey Jude."
-Ever have three buffets in one day? It wears on a guy.
-I saw plenty of cats and dogs hanging around, especially at the entrances of open-air shops, but I didn't pet any, for fear of fleas.
-Three fleeting blackouts occurred during my stay, including at the airport.
-The combination of vodka and apple juice evokes medicine to my tongue.
-One night, we went to a bar with a karaoke room. I got the ball rolling and was pretty appreciated by my peers, tho less so by the machine. My best score was for "Under the Bridge."
-I never found out what the menu item called "bird fried" was. They listed chicken in other items.
-One menu offered cigarettes of different brands. But despite the reports of prevalent smoking in Vietnam, I faced little smoke exposure. Maybe they're courteous.
-One establishment had a shaker full of toothpicks. The mechanism works.
-That poor Brit I mentioned? He has a claim to fame. Some of his legerdemain made women shriek.
Visiting an airport counts as visiting a country. This is Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea, where live performers got a slight head start on celebrating the Lunar New Year.
Other live Korean performers caught my attention by playing Journey's "Open Arms" on violins and a piano. As you can see, they had quite a pop lineup.
My first hotel, in Saigon (officially but not popularly Ho Chi Minh City), was in the Tet spirit. If these evoke Christmas trees, it may not be coincidence: Some explicit Christmas decorations appear in Vietnam in imitation of western New Year's traditions. I think that's kind of cute.
But not as cute as the Year of the Monkey emblems all over.
This was the most interesting Saigon building I saw, with a nice tropical park nearby.
If there's one thing we could stand to adopt from Saigon, it's free exercise equipment in parks. Nothing electronic, but it's fancy enough for instructions.
The War Remnants Museum did not allow photos inside. I wouldn't have taken any anyway; it presents disturbing information.
The Reunification Palace used to house the South Vietnamese government. The war ended there after a tank crashed through the gate.
The Notre Dame Cathedral in Saigon. Unlike some fenced-off churches in Vietnam, this one could conceivably offer "sanctuary!"
We rode a boat called the Funky Monkey (appropriate for the Year of the Monkey) in the area of Nha Trang. There wasn't much to see in snorkeling, but at least this was picturesque.
The Vinpearl resort in Nha Trang belongs to Vietnam's first billionaire by American dollar standards. (A billion dong, by contrast, equates to about $45,000. I laughed at a Top Gear episode in which the three guys were excited to receive 15 million dong to spend on vehicles to drive across Vietnam.)
This was the most interesting building I found in Nha Trang.
Way to draw people into your restaurant. I actually considered trying that meat. Later I ate frogs and the purportedly bestselling mudskippers, both of which taste fine but have a low edible-to-inedible parts ratio, so they may be more trouble than they're worth.
Ever seen a river completely obscured by lilies? Da Nang has one.
The temple ruins of My Son. Not pronounced the English way.
Someone bombed the temple area during the war. Grass now grows in this crater. A tree grows in another.
We don't know much about the temple builders, but they were clearly Hindus.
I didn't expect a "temple" to comprise so many separate buildings. At least, I don't get the impression they used to be all one.
Unlike cathedrals, this temple puts its grotesque faces on the lower end.
I appreciate how they planted new trees near the path from the temple.
Did I mention I love tropical vegetation?
Especially when it grows near my hotel.
The Thu Bon River, as seen from a bridge in Hoi An. (It's an anagram of Hanoi, but that's no weirder than Tokyo and Kyoto.)
Hoi An was probably my favorite place in Vietnam. It's a quiet, semi-rural resort town where you don't have to watch out for traffic as much. And believe me, Vietnam traffic is a pain. Get used to walking in the street due to motorcycles parked on the sidewalk, if there is a sidewalk. You'll wish there were more lights, crosswalks, and respect for each. Maybe it's just as well that motorcycles outnumber cars; they're easier to avoid.
Told you it was semi-rural. No, I don't believe that the word "DUNG" there means what you're thinking.
Nobody could tell me what this crested fowl is, but it shared a coop with chickens.
A nice set of lanterns somewhat spoiled by the flag.
The lanterns add to the night life.
They call this the Japanese Bridge.
Another running theme of Tet displays was watermelons, for some reason. I did eat a lot of watermelon. And drink watermelon juice, which some of my fellow tourists wished they could do at home.
Speaking of fellow tourists, meet Nick, my roommate throughout the tour, who has become my Facebook friend. Like about half the Contiki tourists, he hails from Australia. (The rest were all from other English-speaking countries.)
Do you like Engrish?
A sight en route to Hue. Again, not pronounced the English way.
Cyclos are like reverse pedicabs. Not very fast, but the drivers will try to talk you into big tips. If you have only big bills, tough luck for you. I let it slide; things come cheap in Vietnam, and the money meant more to him than to me.
The Imperial City in Hue, which used to be the capital.
Tourists Hannah and Tara pose at the gate.
Some sort of Buddhist ceremony in the citadel.
Don't ask me who these guys were.
You won't find trees like this in the wild.
The tallest pagoda in the vicinity.
The leader's mausoleum, located in Hanoi rather than his namesake city. We were not permitted to cross the yellow line, but some of us visited the inside later. I passed.
St. Joseph's Cathedral in Hanoi. No entry.
The Turtle Tower in Hanoi. The turtle is one of four revered animals in Vietnam, along with the unicorn, the phoenix, and the dragon ("One of these things is not like the others..."). Alas, the last turtle in this lake died in January, which some Vietnamese took as an omen for the imminent election.
No one was celebrating Valentine's Day, but our trip manager mentioned that romantic couples come to Hoan Kiem Lake year round.
We cruised Halong Bay for a while. I couldn't safely take any photos on our kayaking segment, when we saw five macaques on the rocks. Nor when Darryl from California deliberately jumped out of my kayak and almost capsized it coming back in. (He became my roommate for a day after the tour.)
A view from the top of Ti Top Island in the bay. The island is named for Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov.
We went spelunking at Sung Sot Cave by the bay.
More Engrish.
Back in Hanoi. This bridge leads to the Ngoc Son Temple.
This tree is still rooted.
The Ngoc Son Temple gate. You have to pay a small entry fee.
They like to offer food on altars. I respect this choice more than the box of Ritz crackers I saw near a miniature Buddha.
No, these guys aren't real. They're a display at Hoa Lo Prison, nicknamed the Hanoi Hilton. Apparently, it was much harsher under French Indochina than when John McCain was a POW.
This is about as pretty as the prison exhibit gets.
Taking the long way home, I spent a seven-hour layover at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. No live performers, but there's this.
I felt a little nervous about stopping at Doha International Airport in Doha, Qatar, but it was as friendly as the other airports. This was the main sign of Islamic predominance. Interestingly, all Qatar Airways meals were halal, but they also offered alcohol.
Never let it be said that the Middle East has no sense of humor. I have no idea where Doha got this idea.
OK, other highlights of the vacation...
-I knowingly allowed myself to be ripped off on day 1, when a cab service charged $25, specifying U.S. dollars, up front. I was just in a hurry to get to the hotel after a long flight, and the rate wouldn't have been unreasonable back in Washington.
-There's a Vuvuzela Beer Club, with more than one location.
-Some people burned money in the street. No one explained it to me, but I took it as a Tet tradition. We did receive red "lucky money" envelopes, normally reserved for kids and elders. Inside was a 1,000-dong bill -- worth less than a nickel, but at least it has more spending power in Vietnam than a nickel does in the U.S. And it probably costs less than its worth to make.
-Broccoli is called "flower-cabbage" and similar names on menus.
-As you walk the streets, you're likely to be offered cigarettes (tobacco or marijuana) or a motorcycle ride. The creep factor of the latter wore off after a while, and I accepted three rides. Inexpensive and brisk. Those vehicles are starting to grow on me.
-Get used to slow waiting service and slow elevators (3.5 seconds per floor).
-The crew of the Funky Monkey brought passengers together from multiple ships and had them join in singing songs from their countries. Some were predictable choices, like "Waltzing Matilda" and "Frere Jacques," but I wouldn't have guessed I'd be singing "I Want It That Way." The poor lone Brit didn't even mouth the words to "Hey Jude."
-Ever have three buffets in one day? It wears on a guy.
-I saw plenty of cats and dogs hanging around, especially at the entrances of open-air shops, but I didn't pet any, for fear of fleas.
-Three fleeting blackouts occurred during my stay, including at the airport.
-The combination of vodka and apple juice evokes medicine to my tongue.
-One night, we went to a bar with a karaoke room. I got the ball rolling and was pretty appreciated by my peers, tho less so by the machine. My best score was for "Under the Bridge."
-I never found out what the menu item called "bird fried" was. They listed chicken in other items.
-One menu offered cigarettes of different brands. But despite the reports of prevalent smoking in Vietnam, I faced little smoke exposure. Maybe they're courteous.
-One establishment had a shaker full of toothpicks. The mechanism works.
-That poor Brit I mentioned? He has a claim to fame. Some of his legerdemain made women shriek.
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