The Grandeur of My Son

During one of our days in Hoi An, we travelled to My Son (pronounced [me sun]). With a little help from Wikipedia to describe it - it is a cluster of abandoned and partially ruined Hindu temples constructed between the 4th and the 14th century A.D. by the kings of Champa. During this period, the valley at Mỹ Sơn was a site of religious ceremony for kings of the ruling dynasties of Champa, as well as a burial place for Cham royalty and national heroes.


It was dedicated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. As you can see from the pictures, it is quite an impressive place. It was a 1-1.5 hour bus trip to the site and then we needed to take small buses and jeeps into the jungle/forest. The Champan people arrived in Vietnam from Java, Indonesia in the 3rd to 4th century and if you know your geography, that would have been a tough journey through the South China Sea. Today, there are about 120,000 Champans left in Vietnam and they live in Southern Vietnam, mostly in and around the Mekong Delta. Over the years, they have also become primarily Buddhists which is the predominant religion in this country.



It was a very hot day (36 degrees plus humidity under a searing sun) so it was a tough (half) day on Madeline mostly who begged to be carried. Architectural sites etc are not always a huge hit for kids (there is no pool) but I thought they did a great job of listening to the history, exploring the sites and temples and climbing a few hills to get a better view.



Kristen and I thought it was a fascinating place. We are so fortunate to have been in 5 UNESCO World Heritage Sites already in our three short weeks on the trip including two in Australia and now three here in Vietnam including the Old Town of Hoi An and now the Imperial City and Tombs in Hue (that story on its way).
It continues to be very hot and humid and we escape to our room in the mid to late afternoon each day for a bit of AC and rest time…as much for the kids as the parents I think….

The Oasis of Hoi An – Capitalism in a Communist Country

We all survived the 15 hours train ride from Ho Chi Minh City to Danang in better shape than expected. Our family motto of “sleep is for wimps” came into play but in general it was pretty enjoyable….the scenery had changed when we awoke and we were witness to a more mountainous landscape, more rice fields, lots of rivers and a stunning view of the South China Sea. We read books, played cribbage and ate chicken and rice…at least we think it was chicken and rice.

The 30 km trip from Danang to Hoi An was about half hour, mostly along the coast and then we arrived to a beautiful town – Hoi An. The “old quarter” of Hoi An was designated as a UNESCO World heritage site in 1999 so the streets and the architecture have been well preserved over the last 400-500 years. It was a powerful merchant shipping port for the Chinese and Japanese prior to the arrival of the French in the 19th Century and was untouched by the American War in the late 60’s and early 70’s.

Besides great examples of Japanese and French colonial architecture, Hoi An is also known for its tailors. There are probably over 400 tailors throughout Hoi An – merchants of silks, leathers and great fabric from around the world who will make absolutely anything for you for a fraction of the costs of the same clothes in North America or Australia. Oh ya – it will take about 24 hours as well! This was one reason to come to Hoi An and has been the planned shopping stop for many weeks now. But before we get to the shopping extravaganza, there is also another reason to come here – the beaches are spectacular!!

We have spent a total of 5 days here and they have been very busy. We have explored the streets and laneways of this town. We spent a day on the (very very hot) beach and ate fresh grilled crab caught that morning while looking out at the South China Sea.






We have marveled at the architecture, the ornate wood work on the walls and doors of the carefully maintained houses. We also spent a half day exploring My Son (pronounced ME SON) another UNESCO World Heritage Site about an hour inland from Hoi An - holy site for the Champa people from the 4th to the 15th Century. I will have a separate blog about this impressive place with some pictures in the next day or so. As you can see from these pictures, there is a lot do and admire about Hoi An.



It has been an oasis of calm compared to Ho Chi Minh City. It has also been much hotter despite being near the ocean. It has averaged above 36 degrees with 75% humidity each day and the sun has been searing. Luckily, our hotel (the Thien Thanh - meaning Blue Sky) has a small but well-used pool and we have been in there about 3-4 times a day sometimes just for 5 minutes to cool off.

We have all had fun with the tailors. All of us have had custom clothes made including suits, shirts, skirts, dresses and even shoes for all of us. The tailors have been enjoyable to hang out with (all but one has been women and most of the shops here are all run by women – they say because they are the best negotiators…), they have had fun with the kids and the kids in particular have had fun choosing designs. Even picky boy Josh himself is thrilled with his new runners and hoodie! Yes, for a country that is so committed to communism, they have embraced capitalism and commerce quite well.





And just one other item – the food here has been magnificent!! Joshua has taken pictures of favourite meals (see below) and we cannot get enough of the spring rolls here made with prawns, carrots, spring onions – wrapped in very light rice paper and fried served with garlic, chili and lemon sauce – UNBELIEVABLE!!





Tomorrow we are off to Hue via a car for four hours. I will get the story of our trip to My Son up soon. We are in Hue for two days before another overnight train to Hanoi and Halong Bay.

It’s a Small World After All - Farewell Saigon

On our last day in Ho Chi Minh City, Kristen and the kids visited the Cu Chi Tunnels and I recovered from the Saigon Sweats…more on the tunnels shortly.


The highlight of the day took place at about 8 p.m. as we were walking through the Ben Thanh Market killing time before we went to the train station for our 11 p.m. departure to Danang (tangent: every time I see the word Danang, I am reminded of Robin William’s great turn as the American DJ in Good Morning Vietnam…Danang me, Danang me, take a rope and hang me…)…when we ran into Debbie and Joe Kuffner, neighbours of ours from Fourth Avenue in Ottawa. This is a city of 8.5 million in a country thousands of kilometers from Canada and there were Debbie and Joe wandering the same market in their last three weeks of a 5 month adventure they were taking with their boys. Of course this called for a beer and catch up. We met Debbie and Joe about 12 years ago through our friend Mike Coulson (a follower of this blog) and had not seen them, we reckon for about 4 years – some time before we left for Melbourne. It was serendipitous and certainly a fantastic “small world” story!! Safe travels for the rest of their journey and check out their blog as well for more family adventure stories.

And earlier on the same day, while I recovered at the hotel (and avoided the four hours in the bus), the kids and Kristen went to the Cu Chi Tunnels, a series of tunnels built by the Viet Cong during both the French resistance and American War. These were well hidden series of tunnels for living and transportation and of course avoidance of the American troops. Interestingly these tunnels have been “westernised” which means that they have widened them to allow overweight Western folk to fit through the tunnels. The trip was deemed a success including some stories of encountering bats in the tunnels which seemed to freak Joshua out a little.

By the time the troops returned to the city, I was feeling much better (thankfully) and we decided to take a break from the local cuisine (at the request of Joshua) and enjoyed some local pizza that was very good. After checking out of the hotel we expanded our “western culinary day” by going to an ex-pat pub to watch the Collingwood/Carlton football match and have French Fries - very good if not completely overpriced but definitely enjoyed by all. Once in awhile, it is important to have a vacation from the vacation.

Off to the train station for our on time 11 p.m. departure for Danang and Hoi An!! A 15 hour odyssey that could prove intreresting...

Mighty Mekong Delta - The Rice Basket of Vietnam

Let me start this entry by letting you know that I have been the first member of the family to fall to gastro/food/water poisoning so I am all alone in our hotel room here in Saigon while Kristen and the kids are off at the Cu Chi Tunnels. I was looking forward to that...but passing out at the Ben Thanh Market last night surrounded by locals wondering what to do - you want hospital? chemist?...no I just want a toilet....anyway enought detail (there is so much more if you are interested?!?!). I am feeling better today but bed rest is a must given that we have our first overnight train ride tonight to Danang and Hoi An and that means there was no way I could have made it through a long bus ride today.

Onto more pressing matters and our trip to the Mekong Delta....



We decided to do an overnight trip into the Mekong Delta. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mekong_Delta for more information). We also decided to do a homestay instead of another night in a hotel "for the experience".



After a 2.5 hour bus ride (to get 70 km) we arrived in My Tho and got on our first boat to motor down the Mekong. Given that it was the rainy season, the size of the tributaries was awesome to behold. The amount of boat traffic was huge throughout the two days which gave you the sense of the importance of the river to the everyday lives of the people here. Along the way, we saw field after field of rice crops and it was easy to understand that 80% of all Vietnam's rice (3rd largest producer in the world) is grown in this region.

The first day however was quite the tourist trap. I was starting to understand why the two-day trip was only $22 USD. We visited a coconut candy "factory" where there was lots to buy followed by lunch on an island where there was lots to buy, a trip in a small canoe through large reeds to taste tropical fruit (that we had never seen or tasted before and was enjoyable) and have honey tea...with lots to buy...you get the picture. I would say the time on the boat was the highlight of Day One although the kids are unanimous that the coconut candy was the best part...of course!

Another two hour bus ride to Can Tho (largest city in the region at approx. 1.2 million) and we were on another "short" boat ride to our homestay. By now it was quite dark and the short ride was really over an hour and we were beginning to get the sense that this was another trap...thankfully we were wrong and we were treated to the warm hospitality that we have become accustomed to here. We helped make our own rice paper spring rolls for dinner filled with sweet potato and beans followed by steamed Elephant Ear fish with onions and lots of fresh vegetables to go along. Dinner was superb!! Our accomodation was basic but as we found out, more interesting than those who stayed at the hotel in Can Tho. Erica and Kristen awoke at 6 a.m. to travel across the river to the markets to purchase breakfast and then we were off back on the river to the Floating Markets.



Day Two was the highlight!! Floating Markets, watching and learning about life on the River, learning how to make rice paper and tasting the most fantastic pineapple right from the market boats - all for 20 cents!!



By now of course the kids had made some friends. As the only people under the age of about 22 on this trip, they latched onto some American girls from California who were lots of fun - Shana and April - both of whom became defacto parents and Kristen and I seemed for some time to be childless. We also met many other great people - Chris and Verity from the UK who awoke one morning and decided to leave their jobs and travel the world for a year including teaching english in India. There are always some great stories on these trips....


A long journey (4.5 hours) back to Saigon was follwed by some Thai/Indian food (we think) and a well deserved rest.

There is still a story in me about our reaction to evrything we have learned about the "American (Vietnam) War" here as it colours much of what we have seen so far. That is on its way soon.

Chaos in Vietnam - Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City

It was a five hour flight to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon but still called this by the locals) and when we landed we had three kids asleep. If you are are a parent of younger kids you know that waking them up is (a) something you would rather not do and (b) you are a little scared because you don't know what kid will wake up - will it be the green-eyed monster or happy kid? It has to be done with customs and immigration ahead of us.

Walking through the sliding glass doors was just the beginning of the onslaught of the senses...it was 9 p.m. but 30 degrees and major humidity. And then there was the traffic. Thousands of motorbikes weaving in and out of the streets, gutters, foot paths. We were pretty tired and just made it before the kid's meltdown began.

Arriving at the Saigon Mini Hotel 1 (www.saigonminihotel.com/smh/) was an oasis in the chaos and there were many smiling faces greeting us. Little did we know that these smiling faces were just the beginning of the warmth that we would feel from every Vietnamese that we would encounter.

But it was a quick lights out...I say quick because we were all up between 4:30 - 5:30 a.m. due to the 3 hour time difference - and the rooster outside our window....

Our first full day was a fantastic introduction to this city which is best described as frenetic, high paced, traffic laden, hot, humid and a multitude of smells that just kept making me laugh all day - it was intoxicating!

When we first wandered out into the steets, we were of course a tourist target and that is when we first met Thien. While at first we were experiencing our first real tourist trap it turned out ot be a blessing in disguise because for the next five hours, we had two personal chaffeurs to navigate us through the crazy streets of Saigon.



As we meandered through the tree lined streets, weaving through motorbikes you quickly realise there are NO traffic lights, NO traffic laws really - but somehow, everyone knows how to avoid each other even through you are driving straight towwards trucks, buses and of course brushing against motorbikes.


Day One brought us to the War Remnants Museum (more on this later), Reunification Palace (former home to Southern Vietnam's US backed President prior to the "American War"), the Chinese Market and a Chinese and Vietnamese Temple (Note to traveller: rubbing Buddha's tunny and then rubbing it into your head brings welath and good luck!). Our tour guides were fantastic, funny and a fantastic introduction to the people of this great city.

Speaking of the people, their reaction to our kids and in particular our blonde girls was amazing. Every women (without fail!!) in the markets, on the sides of the street would approach Madeline and Erica and touch their face, their hair and smile broadly. This was a genuine demonstration of affection. At first, this was a little daunting particularly for Madeline who at one point said "I am not walking into any more markets because people keep touching me..." but of course she is now wondering why the odd person is not paying attention to her....

Day One ended with a visit to the famous Cho Ben Thanh Market in the heart of District 1. Joshua was able to meet his dinner first - a blue giant prawn and then had it on his plate 10 minutes later. We had a great meal (feeding a family of five for $15USD) in the heart of the chaos with a bottle of Tiger Beer (50 cents for a giant bottle!) and a toast (Yo!) to our first full day in South East Asia. Bring on more!!

The Top End National Parks - Litchfield & Kakadu

With some (just a little) hesitation, we headed off to do some hiking in two of the most beautiful national parks that Australia has to offer. I say some hesitation only because Madeline tends to last 10 minutes on a hike before announcing that "my legs don't work" and pulling the "someone needs to carry me" routine that the last born child pulls as she bats her eyes and begs her older brother to piggyback her...but I digress...you'll be happy to know that she has now announced that she has "very strong legs" and her hiking skills are improving.

Litchfield National Park lies approximately 130km's southwest of Darwin near the town of Batchelor and covers around 1,500 sq km's. The Park was established in 1986 and is a very popular destination being so close to Darwin with over a quarter of a million visitors a year. The Park was named after Frederick Henry Litchfield who was a member of the Finniss Expedition from South Australia that began in 1864 in a bid to set up a settlement at the mouth of the Adelaide River.

Two highlights from this day include the termite mounds and the spectacular waterfalls. The picture you see here are the kids standing in front of a Cathedral Termite mound...its easy to guess why they were named that. The other termites - Magnetic - build interesting mounds in more open fields that align in a perfect north south direction thus taking into account the changing temperatures of the climate.


Its a little more difficult to descibe the waterfalls and swimming holes - they are unbelievable. It helps that they are (usually) crocodile free and accessible for all. We had a blast swimming out to and under these falls. It was about 30 degrees on this day and after some hiking they were a welcome relief. We swam at Wangu Falls, Florence Falls and the Bulley Rock Waterhole.


We returned that night to attend the Mindil Night Market in Darwin which was also a highlight. It seems the whole town comes out for great food (lots of Asian fare) and fun entertainment.

On Friday, we left Darwin and headed to Kakadu. I was last there in 1991 and remember the adventure of tracking down crocodiles and just enjoying the dry harsh landscape.

Background:
Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981, this unique archaeological and ethnological reserve has been inhabited continuously for more than 40,000 years. The cave paintings, rock carvings and archaeological sites record the skills and way of life of the region’s inhabitants, from the hunter-gatherers of prehistoric times to the Aboriginal people still living there. It is a unique example of a complex of ecosystems, including tidal flats, floodplains, lowlands and plateaux, and provides a habitat for a wide range of rare or endemic species of plants and animals.




This time we were fortunate to do some great hikes through "natural rock art gallerties" where some of the art like those pictured here were considered up to 20,000 years old. We spent a morning on East Alligator River and Arnhem Land with an aboriginal guide and met over 20 crocodiles (which are the fiercest creatures I have ever seen...), learned about the six seasons, the various uses of all plants and trees and how to make spears.



We also became temporary members of the Jaiburu Golf Club as a way to have dinner one night with little choices when you are 250 km from the nearest city and the town has about 600 residents.

It was a fantastic way to end our time in Australia and with more "aweomes" coming out of Joshua and Erica's mouths and less "my legs don;t work" coming from Madeline, we know that we did something right.

Port Douglas to Darwin

With a final morning swim and another great breakfast from Masterchef Dean, it was off to the airport and of course, another tough goodbye. Dean and "Auntie" Jacqui as we have dubbed her have built a very special relationship with our kids. Madeline flocks to Jacqui the minute she is in the room, Erica is always happy to see her friends and of course for Josh, it is another opportunity to talk and debate about footy and in particular the (non-existent) rivalry that exists between the Saints and Hawks. We were happy that they joined us in Port Douglas as it was a means to ease the separation anxiety from Melbourne and ease the family into nine weeks of hectic travel across a number of countries. Jacqui has also spoiled our kids with great Aussie literature as someone who works for an Australian publishing company. Who knew Kangaroos could do ballet??

We headed to Darwin to a 32 degree sunny day. We found our way to the Barramundi Lodge - not the Hyatt that is for sure - a comfortable motel-like place on the edge of the Botanical Gardens and a quick walk into the city centre and Mindil Market.

We spent the afternoon walking around the (small) city, checking out the new Waterfront, Government House and Smith Street Mall.

How does one describe Darwin??

Darwin (I think) is a city of multiple personalities. It has an average age of 28 so imagine a place full of youg people who like to drink and party all the time. Many shops are closed and there are equally the same number of "white" and aboriginal people stumbling around at any time of the day/night having had too much grog. The parks are beautiful and the market is fantastic but you can't help but think that it is a very transient place - people arrive here to go somewhere else and those that stay seem to have lots of fun but not necessarily to grow the local economy. It is definitely a government and military town and looks to be struggling compared to the rest of the country and its southern city neighbours.

Everyone was tired today. We had a fantastic Thai dinner and were quite happy to collapse into bed as we looked forward to our next few days of adventure at Litchfield National Park and Kakadu.

Thanks Dean and Jacqui for joining us. We will miss you!