WATER ACTIVITIES

It seems like we have chosen to spend a lot of our time on the water this time around. The Vietnamese water vessels are not that easy to get in and out of so I have our passports

locked away at the hotel and my credit cards and phone safely stored in plastic…all because I am a bit of a clumsy boat enterer!  Is there such a word?  

The women (almost always women) have given me head shakes and smirks when I bounce into the boat. Fred and Mo have told me a few times that they didn’t think I was going to stay out of the water! But I continue to fool them all!!

Anyway, yesterday was another day on the water… in basket boats this time. 

We took time to catch a few small crab, which was fun until one escaped in our boat…my feet were up after that. 

MY APOLOGIES

The Blog site I have been using has been upgraded and has made it almost impossible for me to comment on your comments. I enjoy reading them but can not respond. But please keep them coming!

FARTHER SOUTH AGAIN

On Monday we left Hue and drove to Hoi An with a drive through Da Nang.  We have been to Da Bang before but this time we were shocked…it is completely different. Many high end hotels have been built on China Beach where the Americans landed during the war. So busy and so top of the line. 

Hoi An, on the other hand, was still Hoi An. No longer the quaint little city we stayed at before, but still with that “Hoi An Charm”!  The hotel we are staying at is right at the Old Quarter so everything we want to see is within easy walking distance. 

We had stopped along the way for a traditional lunch at an oyster farm… Fred warned me but I didn’t listen and as a result I was sick for the rest of the day. Darn allergies. Fred and Mo went out for the rest of the afternoon while I enjoyed my time in the hotel room!!

On Tuesday we visited a silk worm/silk factory…so interesting. 

The clothes and hand made pictures were incredible and not that expensive. Had we been travelling with our usual travelling partners I’m sure we would have lost Jim here for a few hours…. Shirts and suits ready the same day!

A FEW RANDOM PHOTOS

All taken by Hung, our guide. 

A CHANGE OF PACE

Today (Friday, 27th) we continued our exploration of the Ninh Binh area and visited the largest Pagoda in Vietnam… very impressive! Bai Dinh Pagoda Complex.  Some of the statues rivalled Tibet but didn’t have the history to follow. This complex is only twenty years old and was built to keep the Buddhist population in Vietnam rather than travelling to China to celebrate big events. Hung says it is working because on every Buddhist holiday Bai Dinh hosts millions of people…like I said, it is huge. Visitors have to use electric cars to get to the start of the complex 

It takes a few hours to complete the walk about and we were hot when finished….thank goodness for AC in the van. 

MOVING SOUTH

Today we drove to Ninh Binh to visit the area that is sometimes called the Dry Halong Bay. We have been to Halong Bay before and we came away quite frustrated. It was extremely touristy and very polluted….hopefully this has been addressed and Halong Bay is living up to its reputation as a World Heritage Site once again. 

We were quite pleased with the Ninh Binh area and it appears to be well worth the overnight stay. Today we visited smaller temples and tomorrow we will visit the largest temple in Vietnam…. Supposedly it takes two hours to walk it. 

We also took a three hour bamboo boat excursion through different caves and an up close visit to the limestone formations. 

Some setting on my blog isn’t allowing videos so I sent some to the Humeny Group. 

DAY TWO OF HIKING

Yesterday we hiked up hill for two hours and today it was down for four hours…give me the “up hike” any day. Today the rough and washed out trails were hard to manoeuvre, constantly watching so we didn’t fall or step in too much unknown water!

Yesterday we visited a White Hmong village and today it was strictly a Black Hmong day. The White Hmong are not nearly as touristy as the Black…. So many of the small village homes have been turned into Home Stays. 

The water buffalo are so docile and tame that you can pet them if you wish…. We couldn’t quite build up that courage. 

By the looks on our faces I suspect we did have a great hike….hard to tell at the time!