Sunday - Feb 21 - Bike Ride, beach and chilling out

Gosh, I must have been tired since I slept for 10 hours. Up quickly, dressed, breakfast and off we go biking. We have a guide that takes us through some of the back streets of Hoi An and along the river. After about an hour's ride we reach Cua Dai beach located on the South China Sea....see me enjoying myself. Pictures of various scenes that represent the Viet Nam country-side.

The rest of the day was laid back...went to Catholic Mass, had dinner and went to bed. My body is requiring more rest.

Saturday PM - Feb 20 Hoi An

Hoi An is a shopper's paradise. They have at least 100 tailors who will make you a custom made suit, or leather workers who will make custom made shoes, ties, table cloth, etc...you name it, they have and if they don't...they'll make it. Pictures show the city at night and some of the shops, people and surroundings including an old man without teeth sitting in a boat with a wide grin.

After exploring Hoi An for a few hours, I head back to our hotel, Gold Hotel, to shower and get ready for dinner. The hotel is quite nice and I must complement Intrepid Travel for the excellent accommodations that we have had; excluding the Hanoi to Hue Unification Express train.

We had nice dinner and I tried some of the local foods that Hoi An is famous for : cao lam - noodles topped with pork slices sprouts and greens in a hot broth, fried wantons covered with a crab salsa-like sauce and finally white rose - a steamed dumpling stuffed with a shrimp mixture. Total cost for dinner was under $9 including tip. Since we have an early morning bike ride to the beach, I head back to the hotel and go to bed at 10 PM.

Saturday AM - Feb 20 - Hue to Hoi An via Danang and China Beach

Our five hour drive took us through areas and cities that are seared in my memory from the Viet Nam war. I was discharged from the US Navy in Aug '65 and did not serve in Viet Nam. But I did support the war effort and remember places we visited since I watched the news about the war religiously every night on the television and read in the newspaper. It is a strange experience to finally visit these locations and see the real places.

Pictures --- a US military bunker on a mountain side which controls the main road over the mountain that separated the opposing forces....a picture of a suspension bridge which crosses a river near DaNang, China Beach surf (a major R&R location for US troops...and finally me relaxing on a beach chair on China Beach.

Friday PM - Feb 19 - Emperor Tu Duc Tomb and Great Dinner

The tomb was built in the 1880s under the orders of Emperor Tu Duc. It was more than a tomb...it was a palace, religious site , summer house, hunting preserve and his tomb. He was one of the longest serving emperors and he was able to enjoy all of the additional facilities for a period of 25 years before he died. Tu Duc was a short man, 4' 7", and none of the mandarin statues could be taller than he was.

After returning to our nice hotel, Gold Hotel, we showered and were ready for a group dinner. The restaurant, Lac Thanh, is written up in numerous travel guides including the Lonely Planet's "Viet Nam" book. The owner is deaf and personally welcomes everyone, takes orders my menu numbers, serves and entertains. The lady in the picture is cooking a delicious crisp wanton-like pancake. The owner is showing me how to take the won ton, break it in pieces and wrap it in a thin rice wrap, dip it in delicious sauce and eat it...I must have eaten 7 of the rice wrap rolls. The picture of of our guide Thou, shows him using the owner's designed device for opening beer bottles...something like a painter's stir stick with a 1/4 " short bolt held by a nut...it is very effective since our group consumed at least a case of beer. We each received a beer bottle opener as a souvenir with the request that we take a picture of ourselves back home with a landmark and send it back to the owner...I plan on using the White House as a backdrop. The woman and little girl are the daughter and granddaughter of the owner.

Back to the hotel, well satisfied, to bed so that we are ready for our departure at 8AM for Hoi An

Friday Early Afternoon - Feb 19 - Arrive Hue - The Citadel and Thien Mu Monastary

Arrived Hue at 11:30 AM. We have only a half day to see the Citadel, Thien Mu Pagoda and monastery and the Tu Doc Tomb.

First the Citadel. Built in the late 1800's and designed by the French for the then current emperor. It is a formidable fortress with multiple moats, limited gateways to restrict access and numerous strategically located defensive towers. In 1968, the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong captured the Hue Citadel during the TET new year celebration when a cease fire had been agreed upon. The Viet Cong flag flew from the predominant flag staff shown it the attached picture....casualties after the fight included 5,000 NV and VC, 1,500 South Vietnamese soldiers and 150 US military, primarily US marines. 1000's South Vietnamese soldiers, civilian sympathizers, monks and priests were executed. Our guide, Than, had old pictures of the Citadel dating back to the 1930s. Although in black & white, you can see the beauty and expansiveness of the entire complex. After seeing the Citadel, one can clearly understand why it was so difficult to dislodge the NV and VC. Today, the Citadel is about 40% restored after suffering severe damage in 1948 caused by the French and the remaining damage from the 1968 TET fighting. It is a UNESCO Heritage site and one of the pictures depicts part of the restoration effort.

From the Citadel we sailed down the Perfume river to the Thien Mu pagoda which is a Mahayana Buddhist monastery. There are 3 major Buddhist sects, Teravada (Sri Lanka, Thailand Lao, Cambodia, South Viet Nam), Mahayana (China, Japan, North Viet Nam) and the Tibetan Buddhist. Notice the difference in the Temple's architecture, 7 tiered roof vs a 1 or 2 tiered roof. The young novice monks wear gray outfits and their head is bald except for a long hair tassel. The older monks wear a multitude of different robes, one gray or yellow or saffron. Notice the Buddhist statute is the jolly, chubby Buddha ...different from the ones you saw from Lao and Thailand. The car is the car that drove a monk from this monastery to, I believe, the streets of Saigon where he burned himself to death...one of the most vivid pictures that came out of the VN war.