Amazing
Vietnam!
A ten-day
exploration of Vietnam
Hue, the
Royal City to Hoi An, the Ancient Town
A drive back to Hanoi and
then a short flight brought us to Hue, the Royal
City, the heart of Vietnam and the capital of
the country for a century and a half (1802 to 1945) through
the reigns of the 13 emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty. In
Hue we were met for our guide for the next few days, Mr.
Hong Nguyen. Hong, formerly a schoolteacher, was
a very experienced guide, and a wonderful travel companion.
Our hotel in Hue was an historic one, the Sofitel
Saigon Morin. As we relaxed in a spacious turn
of the century room with a sitting area and French doors
that opened onto a courtyard, we heard exotic sounding
music wafting up. We went down to the hotel restaurant
and enjoyed a wonderful dinner of Vietnamese dishes, sitting
in the open courtyard, with a performance of classical
musicians such as would have performed in the royal courts
of Hue. This was a magical evening.
The next day with Hong we visited
some of the most exquisitely beautiful places. Tourism may
have saved Hue’s cultural sites, and the government’s
recognition of the city’s tourism potential along with
the 1993 UNESCO designation as a World Heritage Site meant
that the rampant decay of these old buildings was stopped
and restoration and preservation work is being done. When
you see these palaces and royal courts and splendid tombs,
you will understand how fortunate this is, especially given
the fact that so much of this cultural heritage was destroyed
during the bloody battles of the Tet Offensive of 1968 when
10,000 people, mostly civilians, were killed.
We took a cruise on a dragon
boat on the Perfume River to visit Thien
Mu Pagoda, the oldest and most important Buddhist
shrine in Vietnam. Then we visited the tomb and complex devoted
to the most beloved of the 13 emperors, King Minh
Mang. This was a lovely place, like something out
of a dream.
We strolled around the Imperial City, comprised
of the Royal Citadel, the Imperial Enclosure and within it,
the Forbidden Purple City, the private residence of the emperor,
which was almost entirely destroyed. A few buildings such
as the Emperor’s Reading room have been partially restored.
We left the Royal City of Hue
and drove over the Pass of Ocean Clouds to Da Nang and
on to the ancient town of Hoi An, a designated World
Cultural Heritage site. Hoi An is an enchanting
town on a river that until the late 19th century linked it
with the sea. Hoi An was one of Southeast Asian’s major
international ports during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries
and an important port of call for Dutch, Portuguese, Chinese,
Japanese and other trading vessels. During French colonization
Hoi An was an administrative center, and it was the site
of the first Chinese settlement in southern Vietnam. The
sense of history envelopes you as you wander the pedestrian-only
streets of this atmospheric town.
Hoi An is a shopper’s
paradise. It has numerous tailor shops and
all feature fabric bolts of many types of silk and locally
produced cottons. Short on time, I inquired how long it might
take to have a silk dress made for myself. The shop girl
took my measurements, helped me choose fabric (a sturdy Thai
silk with blended threads of orange and pink!) and a style
from a book, and told me to come back in an hour. My dress
fit perfectly with no alterations, and I waited as they finished
the hem and sent me on my way—a delightful experience.
I also picked 3 fabrics, silk and cotton-silk blends) for
my husband and had them copy a favorite shirt, for which
I was charged $10-$15 per shirt.
Although there are hotels in Hoi An, we spent two nights
five kilometers away at lovely Cua Dai Beach in
a luxurious, low rise, Asian style beach resort, the Victoria
Hoi An Hotel. Here we enjoyed massages ($15 per
hour), a splendid dinner buffet of Vietnamese dishes including
the local dish Cao Lao, a long refreshing
bath in the South China Sea, a swim in the
pool and the antics of the resident elephant named Darling.
Hong took us on a morning excursion
to My Son Holy Land. This site was the intellectual
and religious center of the Champa Kingdom during
it’s heyday from the 4th to the 13th centuries. These
were Hindu people and this site ranks with the famous temples
of Angkor Wat in archeological importance. The site of these
structures and the carvings and sculptured stone in the lush
jungle setting make a dramatic impression. Among the ceremonial
structures we also saw a number of bomb craters filled with
water—reminders of the destruction this area endured
during the American War. We were lucky. When we arrived descendents
of Champa people were performing an ancient religious ceremony
with music and dancing. This did not seem to be something
that was staged (there were few tourists around) but something
quite authentic and unique.
We had a late checkout and a
drive to Da Nang airport for our evening flight to Saigon
(Ho Chi Minh City). The next morning our 3rd and last guide, Tong,
gave us a morning tour of the city, including the French
architecture of the Notre Dame Cathedral and
the Municipal Post Office. We visited the National
History Museum, which was housed in a beautiful
Sino-French style building. In the afternoon we embarked
on our 308 kilometer journey to Dalat City.
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