Having no intention of visiting anything war related on his birthday, Pieter opted to create his own day in Saigon. (Ho Chi Ming)
Once we got to the city, we headed to the reataurant. Lucky for us we did some research on how to cross roads in Saigon, because the scooter traffic is a constant flow and never stops. You step off and just start walking across. Don’t stop, and don’t rush. The key to staying alive is to keep a constant speed. And we found it best not to look left or right at the onslaught of vehicles bearing down on you. It is unbelievably scary at first and every time you get to the other side you appreciate still being alive.
The restaurant was extraordinarily good. Sadly, we did not have enough time there to eat through the complete menu.
After an energetic walk after lunch through the city, we met up with our guide for the next few hours. The one tour that gave everyone serious doubts.
We were getting on the back of a scooter and joining the other 8 million scooter drivers careening through the city to visit some interesting (very) local markets.
And hopefully live to tell about it.
It was the most exhilarating (and scary) experience for a birthday ever. The term ‘sheer insanity’ does not even come close to describing it.
The markets we visited were in the local neighborhoods and very removed from anything touristy. Strange and unusual things, maybe food, for sale. A truly fascinating glimpse into local life.
When we asked about all the live catfish for sale, the guide told us that it is not for eating. According to their religion, you can atone or have good luck if you set something free. Those were all for people to release. The market sellers would then catch and sell it again. What a system.
It was not only a great day, but also an unusual and exhilarating way to spend a birthday.
Good morning, VietnamDocking in an industrial port 2 hours from the city. Again. Rice paddiesNext to the parliament houseThe scooters are EVERYWHERE!The choice for the birthday lunchThe cover of the book full of deliciousness. Happy birthday!Painting silkOur main guide for the scooter tour, ThuaAnd we’re off!Scenes from a marketFloating marketsFamily lives on top half and bottom half is for goods. We survived the exhilarating insanity.
Our all day excursion started with a bicycle tour through fields and farms heading to the ancient town of Hoi An, an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Hoi An definitely lived up to its reputation. It was pretty and ancient and intense. Our guide took us to some highlights: a buddhist temple, the oldest house in town and a silk house.
At the house there was a family preparing food and telling us how it would have been done hundreds of years ago. Taxes were paid on the width if your house and number of windows, so a tiny entry way led to an open air courtyard with space around it to the food area in the back. No windows.
At the silk house we saw the process from the silkworms to the final embroidery, including the worms, harvesting the cocoons, unraveling the thread to spinning the silk and even embroidering it.
On the way back we stopped at a marble company. The mountains around Da Nang, known as ‘The Marble Mountains’ supposedly has some of the best marble in the world.
Even though it was slightly rainy by now, we also made a quick stop at Danang Beach. Stunningly pretty.
Good morning again, VietnamScooteringReady for our bicycle tour through the countryside to Hoi AnField greensRice rice baby, dum da da dum dumFirst non-buffet lunch on an excursion. And it was good!The covered bridge in the old town of Hoi AnBuddhist TempleEnlightenment jealousy?Inside the oldest house in Hoi AnCeramics museumHoi An is famous for its lanterns Seeing how silk is ‘made’Street vendors everywhere Everybody was Kung Fu fighting
We had a quick stop at the marble company. Da Nang has some of the best marble in the world from the ‘Marble Mountains’ that surrounds it.
There was no way to get anything from there back in our carry-ons.
Today we went to see the highlights of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.
Our first stop was the Temple of Literature, a school that was founded in 1070.
After lunch, where we had the best ‘Pho Ga’ EVER, we went to see the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh. Behind the very impressive structure was the very simple Stilt House where he lived for most of his life.
Our last stop was the very dense Old Town. A little too much for us so we went for a walk along the lake and stopped for a drink.
That was a little mini-adventure in itself. (See video below) We survived and was rewarded with a very nice local craft beer while we watched the lake and never ending traffic below.
Entering Halong BayFields on our driveEmbroidering silkA single slice of French Colonial Architecture At the Temple of Literature
Welcome to the special national landmark Văn Miếu – Quốc Tử Giám!
Located in the southern part of the ancient capital Thăng Long, Văn Miếu was built in 1070 under the reign of King Lý Thánh Tông. Later, Quốc Tử Giám was established by King Lý Nhân Tông in 1076, initially only for princes and children of noble families. In 1253, Quốc Tử Giám was renamed as Quốc Học Viện and expanded to admit excellent students from common families, becoming a leading educational center and a place to select talented individuals for the country.
Not only is Văn Miếu – Quốc Tử Giám known as a national school that has existed for over 700 years, the relic has also preserved 82 stone steles recognized by UNESCO as “World Documentary Heritages” and recognized by the Vietnamese Government as a national treasures.
Văn Miếu – Quốc Tử Giám currently includes the inner precinct, the Giám garden, and the Văn Lake.
The inner precinct is divided into five spatial courtyards: The first section – the entrance to the Way, The second section – success, The third section – The Doctor’ stele section, The fourth section – The Đại Thành (great success) sanctu-ary, and the fifth section – The Thái Học (Great study) section.
The massive mausoleum of Ho Chi MinhThe Stilt House where Ho Chi Ming lived for most of his life. The Single Pillar Pagoda Getting a drink in the Old Town. This is going to be interesting. What an adventure. I think we went through someone’s house to get there!We deserved that one after that adventure. They train sellers really young!
It was a foggy morning in Halong Bay, which made the excursion to see this UNESCO area with one thousand and sixty eight islands so exotic and even more interesting then mere postcard photos.
You could even imagine at some point an old pirate ship from centuries ago appearing in the fog from behind an island.
Our first stop was Dau Go island where, according to the description, we were told there were 450+ steps. Everybody imagined a steep staircase of rock going straight up to a tiny cave on top with a buddha inside.
The reality was so much better. Steps were part of an easy walkway and the cave(s) were massive and beautiful.
Back on our ‘junk’ – not a comment on the state of the vehicle we were in, albeit appropriate, but rather a new generation of old Asian vessels – we headed of to see the island that is also on one of their bank notes.
Islands keep appearing and disappearing from the fog. So magical.
Last ones we headed to were ‘The Fighting Chickens’. Quite the ‘junk’ traffic to get there, but we were able to see it up front.
A truly wonderful day.
Last morning, VietnamAll the ‘junks’ look basically the same. See you later!Heading to island with the caveHeading up to the caveMouth of Dau Go Cave
Dau Go Cave is located in the Dau Go Island, dubbed as the “Cave of Wonders”.
The cave is an old phreatic underground cave formed between781,000 and 11,700 years ago. It is around 5,000 square meters in size and is separated into three chambers with a broad open structure outside and a narrowing inside. It possesses an antique and unspoiled beauty.
Each chamber of the cave is a magnificent work of nature formed by distinct speleothem. The first chamber is large, beautiful, and ancient with moss; the second chamber is strong, brilliant, and gorgeous, like massive monuments; and the third chamber is rustic and mysterious.
Jellyfish?
Dau Go boasts diverse environments, including mangrove forest and cave ecosystem. In 1918, King Khai Dinh (Nguyen Dynasty) visited the cave and had a stele erected at the cave entrance to mark the trip, praising the beauty of Ha Long Bay and Dau Go Cave. In 1957, President Ho Chi Minh visited Dau Go Cave and said: “No visitor can convey the beauty of its scenery, so everybody should visit the cave to enjoy its beauty themselves”.
Ha Long Bay was inscribed in the UNESCO List as a World Heritage Site in 1994 with the criterion of aesthetic value and expanded geological and geomorphological criterion in 2000. In 2009, the Vietnamese government designated Ha Long Bay as a special national monument. In 2012, Ha Long Bay was voted as one of the seven new natural wonders of the world. In 2023, the World Heritage Committee approved expanding the boundary of Ha Long Bay World Heritage Site to include Cat Ba Archipelago (Hai Phong city).
Ha Long Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago is a remarkable sculpture of nature, with thousands of large and small limestone islands rising from the pure blue water in a variety of shapes and patterns, producing a pristine and picturesque landscape. This is the most prominent and largest model of karst terrain invaded by the sea and one of the most important areas in the world for karst terrain fengling (separated peaks) and fengcong (clusters of limestone pyramids lying next to each other).
The island you see on the 200,000 note
The Ha Long Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago boasts a diverse range of ecosystems, including tropical rainforest, cave, mangrove forest, tidal flat, coral reef, soft bottom, and Tung – Ang.
Ha Long Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago is also home to the ancient Viet people with three cultures: Soi Nhu, Cai Beo, and Ha Long; where the history of Vietnamese people creating and defending their country is imprinted; and where the unique culture of the fishing community living on the sea has been preserved.
These two islands are colloquially knows as ‘The Fighting Chickens’Back at the dock
Even though we docked early in Hong Kong, we opted for a leisurely breakfast before we disembarked and headed to the hotel. They had a different room than the one we booked ready, so we took it and was able to leave our bags and headed into the city.
We took the Star Ferry, a beautiful classic ferry, over the bay and started exploring with the rest of the group.
Kowloon Park is a serene oasis in this busy and bustling mega-city. There were quite a few Tai Chi groups taking advantage of the calm.
The Promenade is all along the river and has stunning views of ‘Central’, the actual island of Hong Kong, where we just came from.
After another ferry ride back over the bay, we stopped for lunch at Tim Ho Wan Dim Sum at the bottom level of the metro station. What an experience that was!
It is a loud, intense and smallish place with long communal tables. Since our group was so big we had to split up into smaller groups and the two of us ended up in the middle of a table between a lot of locals. They place a pen and a pamphlet of a menu in front of you and leave. We looked around helplessly and eventually figured out to mark things on the menu what we want. At some point this lady came up, grabbed our menu, yelled at us whilst stabbing at the menu and threw it back on the table in front of us. We were gobsmacked.
What did we do? NOW what do we do?
This younger girl on our one side said in broken English – ‘You have to order tea’
In tiny print somewhere on that pamphlet it did say everybody has to order tea. So we did. And they took our menu and left.
Then all this amazing food started showing up. And tea of course. Quite a few locations of this tiny chain has Michelin mentions. And they very well deserve it!
After lunch we walked to Hong Kong Park where we got caught in a rain storm. We were all prepared so when the worst of it passed we walked to the bottom station of the Peak Tram. We were heading to the top of Victoria Peak to see the best views of the city.
Our expectation was a little different than what was there. It is a mega-mall in the shape of a flat martini glass. It was loud and crazy and busy, but whenever the clouds moved out, the views were breathtaking.
In the neighborhood of the bottom tram station we went to a classic Sichuan Chinese restaurant that was able to accommodate all ten of us. The feast that was placed on the turntable in the center of the round table was excellent.
We opted to get lost in the city on our walk back to the hotel. Electronic maps are pretty useless since they can not figure out on which level you are, suspended walkways, ground level or a lower level. It was frustrating and fun.
After a final drink for the night we got our well deserved rest from the more than thirty thousand steps for the day.
Hong Kong is definitely a city to experience.
Different window, different viewTaking a Star Ferry to cross the bayStairway to Kowloon ParkThe hedge maze is a little bushyOn the PromenadeThe front page of the ‘menu pamphlet’Karaoke under a bridgeRefections of the city in Hong Kong ParkA hard rain storm while we were in the parkTaking the Peak Tram in the rain up to Victoria PeakThe ‘peak lookout’ is a massive multi story mall with a big flat roof to view from, next to another mall. The view is spectacular The back viewThe clouds moved inAbsolutely fantastic last dinner with the groupNight skyCity at nightNope. Did not go in there. We had one last drink in the hotel bar before bed
We left Hong Kong early Sunday morning, and after some delay in Chicago due to weather in Orlando, finally arrived home at 1am a lot more than simply exhausted. All in the same calendar day.
What a great trip that was!
We ate great (and sometimes unusual and new) food, saw sights we only dreamt of or saw in pictures, had unique (and even death defying) experiences and met lots of wonderful people along the way.
Thank you!
“Live the life you’ll always remember!”
Good morning Hong KongHopefully not our plane!Bougie lounge in Hong Kong Hello Chicago. What day is it?Everybody is back from vacation, and everybody is sleepy.
