A flying visit to VIETNAM
Six flights, five cities and four hotels in eight days. Kate Preece dips her toes into a culture influenced by many, yet still very much its own entity.
‘‘YOU’RE going to love it,’’ a friend said, days before we left Christchurch for Vietnam. He wasn’t wrong.
We made an overnight stop in Singapore before spending two nights each in Ho Chi Minh and Hoi An, one in Hue and the last in Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi.
‘‘That’s too short,’’ our Active Asia guide said.
He wasn’t wrong, either
Saigon/Ho Chi Minh
There are only two seasons in Saigon — wet (MayNovember) and dry (DecemberApril). A rapid downpour isn’t going to deter a Kiwi, especially when the temperatures remain in the high 20s.
Along with the humidity (80%), it’s a bit of a shock to the system, as are the sevenmillion scooters that weave through the streets with incessant honking — the background noise to all cities on our south to north trip.
I’m not going to lie: I had as much apprehension about making our way through Ben Thanh Market, the city’s largest, as I had for crossing the road. I had read that the stall holders can be aggressive and persistent, and you must cling to your bags to spite pickpockets.
However, we made it past the weaved bags and placemats, ‘‘branded’’ clothing and coffee beans without being accosted in any way. If we had been tempted, however, we would have started our bidding at 30% of the offered price, and paid no more than 50%, as advised by our Active Asia guide.
The stories of Saigon’s past are told at numerous tourist hot spots today, including the War Remnants Museum and Independence/Reunification Palace. However, for a truly eyeopening experience, Cu
Chi Tunnels is a must.
While many tourists make their way by bus to the site of the Viet Cong’s intricate underground system, we travelled by speedboat. An hour along the Saigon River enabled us to take in scenes of lifestyles unfolding around this key waterway, saved us up to two extra hours in traffic jams and included the most delicious pain au chocolat (Pat’a Chou French bakery).
In the 250km of tunnels soldiers had lived, worked (making weapons and clothing), fought and died within underground rooms that were up to three levels deep. Above ground they spread handmade landmines and booby traps designed to slow everything from American foot soldiers to military tanks.
As tourists visiting the Ben Dinh Tunnel site, we can slip
down into a hole barely wider than one’s shoulders, pull the cover over the top and ‘‘disappear’’ into the ground below. A replicated tunnel structure two times the original size (still only a metre tall by 30cm wide), better ventilated and well lit, enables visitors to meet the challenge of going 100m. The majority of our group escape after 60m.
Extra purchases could enable you to try your hand at AK47 shooting at the firing range ($40 for 10 rounds) or come home with a pair of shoes made from tyres that leave footprints that suggest you’re walking in the opposite direction.
The art of war is a clever one. A history of a different kind can be discovered at Fito Museum, which tracks the development of traditional Vietnamese medicine from the Stone Age to today.
One of the first private museums in Vietnam, the sixstorey building itself is of interest. Moved from Hanoi, it is remarkably bigger than it first appears, with 14 exhibition rooms exploring different fields of pharmacy.
Whether it’s the bamboo houses of the Mekong Delta, the carved figures of the north or the motherofpearl use of the south, there’s also an opportunity to become more familiar with Vietnam’s four spiritual animals: dragon (power), phoenix (beauty), turtle (longevity) and unicorn (prosperity). These animals line the roofs of pagodas — with the unicorn more of a lion than what the Western world depicts — and the turtle often represented through a circular symbol, which, once you start taking notice of it, you will see everywhere.
We finish our journey, aptly, with a cup of tea infused with both lotus flower and the highly revered li minh mushroom. We are told one cup will add one year to one’s life. Well, then, drink up.
Hoi An
There is something about Hoi An. A 45minute drive from Danang airport, it’s warmer than Ho Chi Minh, with a much smaller population (about 150,000, versus 8.5 million of Vietnam’s largest city).
It almost feels as though you are walking through people’s backyards once you start winding your way through the city streets. Houses are being built, reels of wire are being straightened out and, down an alleyway, you see normal family life taking place.
There are tailors aplenty, though I settled on purchasing some custommade shoes. A bit of bartering and 24 hours later, I’m picking up a pair of sandals in Vietnamese leather that truly do boast an amazing fit — all for $30.
The halfday cycle tour became a trip highlight — despite not being able to remember the last time I was on a bike and the ‘‘anything goes’’ approach to road rules. Water poured from the sky, pooled on the roads and had us completely soaked, but we weren’t cold and we gained a much wider view of life in Hoi An.
From rice paddy fields and their freeranging water buffalo, to shrimp farms and the rivers complete with fish traps (bamboo sticks arranged in large circles), we rode easily among the lush landscapes that surrounded them. At the Thanh Ha pottery village, where 300 families live today (not all making a living from pottery any more), we try our hand at making small vessels from the clay sourced from the nearby river.
The houses here are raised well above ground level. Vu, our Active Asia guide, explains that this is due to flooding that was once an annual event, with river water rushing in through the village to heights of 2m. Yet, never was this seen as a catastrophe. Rather, a way to wash away pests — from termites to rats, and fertilise the rice paddy fields. It was good luck. Today, manmade dams in the mountains make the floods less frequent and Mother Nature’s way stymied.
At Tra Que ‘‘farming’’ village we see perfectly maintained strips of lettuce, mint, spring onion and morning glory create a patchwork of green, in all its shades. Each family owns 100200sq m of space, which they tend laboriously, using only homemade seaweed tonics to boost growth of their yearround gardens. These organic vegetables are then taken to the market and sold. The leaves of the water coconut are used like netting, fending off birds and providing shelter from the sun.
As night falls, the streets become aglow with brightly coloured lanterns and the Thu Bon River covered in sampan and floating candles. Flanking both sides of the river are eateries serving everything from pizza and beer to traditional Vietnamese food. While deciding, we stopped in on the 300mlong Nguyen Hoang Night Market, a place for souvenirs and snacks — a fried frog, perhaps?
One of the best reasons to add Hue to your itinerary is so you can experience the 21km Hai Van Pass that serves as the border between what was the former capital and Danang. There’s a 6km tunnel (the longest in South East Asia), but it’s all about the views on this journey.
A quaint pitstop, halfway up (500m), is enough to cast views down over a picturesque village (a former leper colony), across the sea to the Marble Mountains, Monkey Island and everything in between.
Once back at ground level, myriad shops sell eucalyptus oil, as the surrounding hills are covered with gum trees that are felled and replanted for use as wood chip and paper. There are lotus farms, which send the flowers and seed off to be used in cooking and tea, and the largest lagoon, Tam Giang (20,000 hectares), on which entire families live in boats.
EAT ‘‘BEEF PATTIES WITH CITRONELLA’’ AT NGOC CHAU GARDEN, SAIGON
Beef cooked on lemongrass skewers, served with a peanut sauce, pineapple, Vietnamese mint, cucumber, green capsicum, daikon and some greens. Create your own rice paper parcel with the aforementioned ingredients for a flavour hit.
PHO ON THE STREETS
You’ve got to do it. Find a place that smells delicious and looks busy (our choice was Pho Ga Nguyet in Hanoi). Then, grab a seat and go for pho — it’s noodle soup, with meat, in a flavoursome broth that always comes in a generous bowl and can be amplified in taste with various condiments on the table. A splash of lime and a couple of drops of a mystery chilli sauce seemed to do the trick.
BANH XEO TOM THIT AT QUAN AN GON, HANOI
Our guide directed us to this place, and thankfully even picked our dishes, because this might not have made the list otherwise. Shrimp, pork and noodles were within a crispy Vietnamese pancake, that was just one ingredient to again layer into rice paper with assorted leaves for the ultimate flavour combination.
FRIED STICKY RICE BALL
There’s sticky rice and then there’s this, the street food version. It will arrive as a large brown balloon, which is then squished flat and cut into pieces using a pair of scissors. It’s sweet and very tasty.
BANH MI
They say there are a couple of things the Vietnamese remain thankful to the French for, and the baguette is No 1. A very popular meal is one such bread stick filled with a mix of meat and salad ingredients, and often pate, that, no matter how simple, puts any sandwich place we have in New Zealand to serious shame.
DRINK
COFFEE
Can be bought in the way you’re accustomed to ($2 for a cappuccino), and it’s not hard to find a great cafe. Vietnamese ice coffee ($1.50) is served with milk, or condensed milk — don’t knock until you try it! It’ll hit the spot for sweettooths, or simply dial it back to a simple black coffee, if preferred. Remember, Vietnam is the second largest producer of coffee in the world, so they do know a thing or two about the stuff — join them to enjoy a traditional ‘‘phin’’ singlecup drip filter.
BEER
At as low as $1 (15,000 VMD), it is cheaper than bottled water. The local beer — and every city has one — is typically refreshing and easy drinking, even for someone who traditionally wouldn’t drink it at home. You can step it up a level, though, for craft beer is certainly a thing.
WINE
Not your cheapest option. Can be $8 a glass for the house wine, a bottle of French red could be found for $40, and generally, it appeared easier to purchase by the bottle.
HAPPY HOURS
Make a note of these, and their times. This might see you with cocktails as cheap as $5, twoforone beers, or three for two cocktails.