Vietnam Travel Diary (3): Hue, Hoi An and finally, Homebound!

Since my body and mind were overly battered from the bus rides during our Vietnam trip, I wasn’t really able to form coherent thoughts and insights because I was intent in holding myself together as not to give in to fatigue and near suffocation.

So, here’s a photo overload instead. *wink*

Don’t get me wrong. I still love bus rides---but don't put me for more than 60 hours inside it, please.

KAI DINH TOMB

Khai Dinh tomb belongs to Thuy Bang, Huong Thuy, Thua Thien-Hue and it is far about 10 kilometers from Hue city. Khai Dinh tomb has an area smaller than others one but it is more sparkling and sophisticated between western and oriental architecture.

Khai Dinh King chose Chau Ngu Mountain to built tomb which is far about 10 kilometers from Hue. The tomb was established on September 4th 1920 and lasted to 11 years after. The tomb has a combination between modern and traditional architecture. In comparison with those of the preceding emperors, Khai Dinh’ s tomb is much smaller in surface (117m x 48.5m) but it is very elaborate. (http://www.toursinvietnam.com)

Situated at the peak of Chau Ngu Mountain, our feat of climbing the stairs up to the tomb was rewarded by the sight of the wide expanse of the skies and the sprawling trees. Space, a lot of space----is love!

I think that the interior of this edifice is one of the best that I’ve ever been into. The details of the designs are so intricate that despite the fact that it was actually built for the purpose of being a tomb, the whole interior is such an eye-candy.

I don’t know what is it about statues and mannequins that slightly scare me----it’s as if they can move to life, anytime.

CHINESE TEMPLE, HOI AN

The sea below this mountain where the temple is located, reminded me so much of Guisi, Guimaras.

COFEE HUNTING, YET AGAIN

We found one of the best coffees in the city!

Caption this. *wink*

LAMPANG-BOUND, FINALLY

"One of the best things to look forward to when leaving for a vacation, is the warmth of being welcomed back home."

Vietnam Travel Diary (2): Hue

I woke up to the sound of something lashing outside that I really thought our hotel was near the sea. When I quietly tiptoed to our hotel window since Ahne was still sleeping, I was surprised to see that a storm was actually brewing outside. For two years of having not experienced a tropical storm, I actually had forgotten how a storm particularly sounds. 

We were then advised to stay inside and wait for the storm to calm, before going about our travel itinerary.

"Travelling is always humbling because it makes you realize that there are certain things that you can hardly control---your emotions on a dragging bus ride and most especially, the weather."

…while waiting for the storm to calm.

THIEN MU PAGODA

The pagoda is situated on Ha Khe hill, on the left bank of the Perfume River, in Huong Long village, 5 km from Hue city.

It was built in 1601, and then Lord Nguyen Phuc Tan had it renovated in 1665. In 1710, Lord Nguyen Phuc Chu had a great bell cast (2.5m high, 3.285kg) and in 1715, he had a stele (2.58 m high) erected on the back of a marble tortoise.

The name of the pagoda comes from a legend: a long ago, an old woman appeared on the hill where the pagoda stands today. She told local people that a Lord would come and build a Buddhist pagoda for the country's prosperity. Lord Nguyen Hoang, on hearing that, ordered the construction of the pagoda of the "Heavenly Lady". (http://www.vietnamtourism.com)

HUE IMPERIAL CITY

The Imperial City at Hue is the best-preserved remnant of a vast citidel and royal quarters that once existed on the site. 

In the early 19th century the Emperor Gia Long consulted geomancers to find the best place to build a new palace and citadel. The geomancers chose the present site at Hue. The Emperor wished to recreate, in abbreviated form, a replica of the Forbidden City in Beijing. At his command, tens of thousands of laborers were conscripted to dig a ten kilometer moat and earthen walls to form the outer perimeter of the citidel.

Nowadays the city has been declared a UNESCO site and the remaining buildings have been lovingly restored. (http://www.orientalarchitecture.com)

GIRLS’ NIGHT OUT

We did not pass up the chance to go out and have a late night drink…coffee drink, that is----since Vietnam is well known for its coffee.

We were so delighted with the cute Vietnamese girl who went in front of our table and started singing some local songs. All of the people in the coffee shop applauded when she finished and we also received a lot of warm smiles when they knew that we were not locals. I think that this was one of the highlights of my Vietnam trip. It is always, always, the wonderful surprise brought about by interacting with the locals in a foreign land that would always make me remember fondly a particular place.

Vietnam Travel Diary (1): Thoughts on a 30-hour Bus Ride

I love bus rides. Really, I do.

But a 30-hour bus ride from Thailand through Laos going to Vietnam---that’s a different story. It made me wish to just sleep through the entire trip and just wake up finally, in Vietnam. But that’s not the case. The crammed bus seat and the occasional bumpy roads that we passed on made sleep almost impossible. And, I need my 8-hour uninterrupted sleep for my brain to function normally. Without that sleep, all you get from me are the occasional nods and halfhearted replies that my disoriented brain can muster.

This whole trip, though it made me occasionally cranky and irritable due to exhaustion, made me realize a lot of things and one of it is the importance of comfort while travelling. This trip was a teachers’ trip of our school, so everything was basically free. And so, another thing which I realized was that an arranged group tour by a travel agency is okay, but I’m definitely not going to be a big fan of it in my future travels. I am still pro-independent travel and backpacking.

I believe a foreign city or country becomes more personal to you when you are involved in the planning of the whole trip and without really having any fixed or rigid schedule for the entire trip. The charm of independent travel is in interacting with the locals, and being really out in the streets of a city and getting lost and finding your way through it. Although this Vietnam trip was already pre-planned and pre-arranged, but we also somehow made sure that there was something to remember about it.

"What I find weird is a night sky without any stars. I think stars give us this certain sense of being connected, most especially to people whom we can only share but the wide expanse of the night sky with."---bus ride, sometime between the 13th and 14th of October

LAOS ROADTRIP

Laos is a relatively small, landlocked country and its population is living below the international poverty line. Travelling opens your eyes not only to the wonders that this world can offer but also to its realities. Passing through Laos was a very humbling experience. The moment we passed through the national highway of Laos which connects Thailand and Vietnam, I was reminded of the dusty roads of the far-flung barrios in the Philippines.

Honestly, I did complain a bit. Okay, I did complain about the bumpy ride along the country’s national highway---but that was the exhaustion and the ball of emotions that I had become because of the length of the trip. But what I really appreciated was that, despite the state of this country’s economy, the Laos tour guides were very proud in talking about their country for the whole duration of the trip. I think taking pride in one’s country despite of, is something that we have to learn from the Laotian.


STORMY VIETNAM

"Travelling is always humbling because it makes you realize that there are certain things that you can hardly control---your emotions on a dragging bus ride and most especially, the weather."

I woke up to the lashing of the winds and rain on our hotel room window. When I drew the curtains aside, we were greeted with a tropical stormy Vietnamese morning.

I’m sorry but despite the lashing of the tropical storm which actually destroyed a lot of homes and establishments in Vietnam, at that moment, I smiled nostalgically upon remembrance of stormy mornings way back home. So, we waited for several hours inside the hotel for the storm to calm down before doing our travel itinerary. In the midst of waiting, we were astounded with the heartbreaking earthquake news from the Philippines. A couple of our colleagues who are from Cebu and Bohol had difficulty contacting their families, and although the Filipino spirit of resilience and faith surfaced among us during that moment, but the agony of waiting for any news from home made us contemplative all throughout that first day.

The scenes along the roads of Vietnam were no foreign to us Filipinos. They were like images from home during a calamity and after that, when we are picking ourselves up right after the storm. We even waved back to and shared some kind smiles with some young Vietnamese soldiers who were doing some clean-up and relief operations along the shores of Danang, one of the cities badly hit by the storm. 

The scenes of the Vietnamese people, picking pieces of their homes and businesses, or whatever were left of it to rebuild it again, were truly heartbreaking. But it also inspired admiration for the fortitude that they were showing. Because of that, I was a little bit pacified in knowing that since the spirit of fortitude and resilience is universal, the Filipinos way back home can definitely rise back again right after the striking of the earthquake---for we are one of the strongest people that I know of.

Vietnam, right after the tropical storm.

"If there is anything else that I would remember about this trip aside from having had a week-long love affair with my bus seat is that, I was able to have a glimpse of the Filipino spirit in the Vietnamese people while they were picking themselves up, right after the lashing of the tropical storm---which reminded me that the spirit of human fortitude and strength is indeed universal. Plus, the gift of knowing that on the other side of the long stretch of sea before us was actually home."