October 24 -26, 2005

OCTOBER 24

At 9:30am Vinh was waiting in the lobby. We asked him for his address and the address of his aunt and uncle that we might send them a thank you note.

Za met us with the car and we all drove to the airport. As we passed a vehicle, with two tourists in the back seat while their driver was checking over the scene of their accident, we were grateful for the skilled driving of Za (spelt Giang) over the past three days.

We bought cokes in the airport café which entitled us to use a table. We began a game of Skip-Bo (a fun card game Michael and Tracey introduced to us) but before it could be completed they announced the loading for our plane. The plane was well out on the tarmac and a shuttle bus took passengers from the terminal.

The hour flight was a useful time to sort out pictures on the camera and learn two more Vietnamese words from the lady sitting beside us.

We were met at the Da Nang Airport by our new guide Binh and taken out to the car to meet Tap. They are both from Hue and have worked together a great deal.

Our first stop, at the Cham Museum, came soon after we left the airport. Binh explained some of the history of the region and the legends of the statues he was pointing out. The way he built up the story and made it entertaining was a reflection of his days as a teacher of literature.

On the way to Hoi An, we passed through a village that specialized in carving marble. White statues lined the way and blocks of unformed rock waited for a master's touch.

Back in the 16th century, Hoi An grew from a small fishing village into a flourishing sea port that attracted merchants as far away as Japan, India, Indonesia and Europe who purchased the area's silk, spices and porcelain.

A Japanese district and a Chinese quarter were built, to later be joined by a French district. By the late 19th century, the bay had silted up enough to stop the big ships from easily loading their cargos. Hoi An once again became quiet. Bad news for the residents and their offspring ... but good news for the families who stayed until a road was put through from Da Nang and the forgotten treasure was valued for its seaside beauty and heritage buildings.

Today Hoi An with its old tile roofed shops/houses, shady pagodas and colourful communal hall is a World Heritage Site and therefore is a living museum.

After getting settled into our room at the Hoi An Hotel, we went out into the streets of this charming town. We visited a small temple in honour of a deity which watches over those who go to sea and a merchant's shop/home which could easily be traded with one from Europe of the same era - Colmar, France comes to mind.

One shop that held our attention made silks and then tailored them into garments which can be sewn overnight. They showed us the silkworms that must be fed every three hours; except for one day a week when they do not eat. They showed us the framework where some of the worms build their cocoons. The cocoon is the silk. To harvest the silk the cocoons are placed in hot water, a fine thread is pulled from the cocoon. Along with around 20 other silk threads they are pulled from the floating cocoons, through a small ring that stops the cocoons from coming up too high, and into a spinner. Much like spinning wool. Under the circumstances it was only natural that Sherrie would have a silk garment made.

We continued our walking tour of Hoi An which included witnessing the river water creep up the street. It would not be the first time Hoi An experienced flood waters. Even the old merchant's house/shop was designed to protect the merchandise from flood waters.

It was getting dark when Binh took us to see an ancient bridge, built from the Japanese side of the town’s small river to the Chinese side of town, which was recently restored upon the original foundations.

We invited Binh (Tap was elsewhere) to join us for dinner (since he and Tap were also staying over night in Hoi An). He suggested a restaurant where the food is good and the prices inexpensive. Dinner for the three of us was under $10 US dollars (including drinks).

Today would be mostly a driving day between Hoi An and Hue (pronounced Whey). On the way we passed many beautiful Vietnamese girls riding bicycles. The girls were dressed in the traditional Vietnamese costume (pronounced "ow-ya") all in white. The white is worn by young ladies in high school or university.

The traditional costume is worn by most women in the tourist industry. It consists of a pair of full length pants with a wide straight leg. On top is worn a "dress" with a mandarin style collar, long tight sleeves and a very tight fitted bodice that flows down into a "skirt" which has side slits up just past the waist line. Most attractive since most girls we have seen are tiny, very tiny, and slim ... with delicate hands and beautiful facial features.

This time we stopped in the little village that specializes in marble sculptures and were led through a large display which could accommodate large tour crowds and cater to their buying sprees. We were the only ones there at the time and left the two sales people that shadowed us through the shop disappointed.

We whizzed through the countryside and although we let it be known we would like to stop along the way to take pictures, the car sped on as though the main goal was to get Tap and Binh back to their home in Hue earlier than expected. After they took us to another tourist stop where we were encouraged to shop, we restated our preferences in stopping spots. No shopping. No tourist coffee shops. We came to Vietnam to see it and experience it and its people ... not other tourists.

It seemed to fall on deaf ears. We reminded them of our itinerary which stated we were going to see a fishing village (we had passed some round boats they use for fishing and wanted to get up close and take pictures) and they told us, looking around at the buildings lining the highway, this was the village and kept going. They were clearly not listening to us until Terry told Tap to stop the car and told Sherrie she could now get out of the car to photograph a water buffalo up close. Other than that the countryside blurred passed the windows even through a new tunnel (at 6.3 km, the longest in South East Asia) cut the time and milage dramatically from what was in the original itinerary.

Even though Imperial rule in Vietnam ended in 1945, the city of Hue still bears the marks of its royal past. From 1802 to 1945 Hue was home to thirteen Nguyen emperors whose palaces and tombs today provide fascinating glimpses into the luxurious and secretive world of Vietnamese court.

Our hotel's lobby (pictured left) also reflected a world of grand luxury.

OCTOBER 26

Our hotel room balcony overlooks a dock where several tour boats depart and return with crowds of tourists. Our itinerary told of a cruise up the Perfume River and we assumed that we would be joining the many like the ones we saw from our hotel's perch.

After we met Binh in the lobby ... instead of taking us out the front entrance to the car, or out through the side to the tour boats, he guided us out to the decks facing the river, down a set of stairs that disappeared into the river's swollen waters (currently covering sun decks where sun bathing tourists would normally be catching tans on lounge chairs), and onto a waiting boat which carried just the three of us plus the husband and wife crew.

The rain came down in earnest as we plowed through the muddy brown waters of the Perfume River. That's not it's real name. The real name sounded like "per-fume" to a tourist and the image and thus the name caught on with other visitors.

For some distance down river, we could see the seven level Buddhist tower up on a hill. Our boat pulled up to the steep staircase that emerged from the water and we climbed up, turning around to wave as the boat pulled away. We would be met here by Tap with the car.

This was the first Buddhist temple in Vietnam, Binh explained. At one time there was a building in front of the tower. When it was destroyed by a hurricane, the people appreciated the better view of the tower so the structure was not rebuilt.

Next to the tower are two other shelters (common in pagodas), one to house a very large suspended drum, the other in which to hang a large bronze bell. The bell here is the second largest in Vietnam and weighs over 10,000 kilo.

We removed our shoes and entered the part of the temple which displayed a golden Happy Buddha.

Further in, a monk hit a very large metal bowl with a mallet and the soft deep sound carried out past the incense burner in front of the temple. The smell of incense is thought to help cleanse the mind, so we are told, and the smoke serves as a visual representation of prayers rising.

Walking further back passed the monks’ humble living quarters; we stopped to see the car used by the monk who in 1963 drove to Saigon, stopped in a major city intersection, got out of the car, sat down in the lotus position and set himself on fire. The newspaper picture was hung above the car; a picture we both recalled vividly.

Tap was waiting for us and drove back towards town to the citadel. At the front, or "South Gate" there are five entrances in the "U" shaped wall: three facing south, one east and one west. The centre one was for the king, since the Forbidden City lay within the citadel.

The one to the right was for members of the royal family, the one on the left for high ranking mandarin. The gate facing west allowed in the lower ranking mandarin and any peoples invited within the walls. The one facing east was for soldiers, horses and elephants. Above the gate stood a two level wooden structure. When announcing the names of new mandarin who had successfully completed all the tests required to become mandarin, the king would sit in the centre high above the gathered crowds. On both sides of him would be family, on his far left two high ranking civil mandarin, on his right the #1 and #2 military mandarin. Everybody in his place.

During the American War, opposition factions took shelter behind the walls. The Americans fought them within the walls (bullet holes still mark the battle scene) and bombed the Forbidden City (the king's private residence in the centre). So little was know of it before since those within the walls stayed within and now there is little that remains.

Binh guided us through a multi-tiered courtyard where markers indicated where differing ranks of people were allowed to stand before the king.

Along paths Binh pointing out the king's library (pictured left) and theatre (both buildings now too unstable to allow people to enter).

Binh pointed out the Mimosa plant (sometimes called the bashful or virgin plant) who's leaves curl up "in shyness" when they are touched.

He also pointed out huge "kettles" made from armaments captured from enemy troops. To make decorative objects from enemy's weapons would show that the king had plenty of his own.

He next took us by what looks like a large pasture. Because some of the kings had many wives and concubines (many whom they never actually met) and because once the new wife entered the palace, she never left again; and because they were often talented in many crafts (a sign of a desirable wife along with beauty and brains and bigger breasts) -- the ladies who were bored would take their crafts and trade them with each other at their pretend market held in this field.

For some reigns the number of wives counted as low as twelve while others were over four hundred. The two women that held favour and therefore had private luxurious compounds were the king's first wife (unless she could not birth a son) and his mother. Question: where did the king's father live? Answer: he was not living for if he were, he would still be king and his son prince.

Although the royal family and the people who served them lived in elegant surroundings, it was in fact a gilded cage. So little is known about the inside. Some information was obtained by the helicopters which flew surveillance over the Forbidden City. Any further information was destroyed by the bombs those surveillance photos guided.

We left the citadel and returned to our hotel to freshen up before moving onto the tomb of Vietnam's 12th king.

Originally it was a palace with all kinds of supportive buildings. It became his tomb upon his death.

He, we are told, wasn't a particularly good king, in fact had done several things the populace did not like. He even admitted to sins and had a crescent moon shaped pond built to catch rain water so he could wash away his sins. He also admitted -- it didn't work.

His claim to fame was his longevity which gave him the time to build his own elaborate tomb which includes the largest rock tablet mounted on a huge rock turtle in Vietnam. On the tablet is written his autobiography. Couldn't read it but doubt he mentioned how he had dew from lotus blossoms collected to make his day's first cup of tea.

Since kings pass the position to their eldest son, it is usually a smooth transition. This king didn't have any sons so he adopted some. Over time he adopted three, the eldest being the son of his brother. He grew to dislike and distrust his eldest and came to love his youngest but there was not too much he could do about the succession to the throne.

When he died, the eldest took the throne but the former king's top two mandarin saw what the king had seen in the eldest son and soon the new king was also dead. We believe the guide said he lasted 3 days on the job.

The second son now held the crown. The mandarin saw what the king had seen in his youngest son and wanted to see him king. The only way to make him king was to rub out number two son ... which they did.

The youngest son became king. Although he was very young, he was not stupid. Realizing what the mandarin had done, he had them knocked off. In retaliation, the young king himself was killed. The result was Vietnam had three kings in a very short time and came out without a ruler. For a year the mandarin ran the country until they were able to agree on a suitable prince from the balance of the royal family.

One legacy the old king did leave besides his autobiography and tomb was a mystery, ripe today for telling tourists. Because of his sins and his dysfunctional family, he feared his burial spot might be disturbed. He had tunnels built from his casket-tomb under the crescent shaped pond to ???. Immediately after his funeral the two top mandarin took his remains down one of the tunnels (which one no one knows) and then collapsed all the tunnels. There have been a few attempts over the years to find the body and the jewels buried with it, without success. Since it is bad luck to argue over a grave and because the family did not know where on the grounds his body was buried, the whole tomb complex became a peaceful place. With today's technology the site could probably be located, but as our guide asked with a shrug, "Why?"

Through the architecture, it was pointed out, one can see how indecisive he was. There is a little Vietnamese, a little Indian, a little European. As well there are indications of Hindu, Buddhist and Christian religions ... he was covering his bases. His burial place is also well known, in a opulent room glimmering with porcelain tiles and gold leaf, under a statue of himself.

The guide pointed out that the layout of the tomb mirrored his position in Vietnam ... a large front yard, representing the royalty who came before him and virtually no back yard, representing his son who abdicated his throne and demolished Vietnam's monarchy.