The middle of Vietnam is a long strip of land from north to south bordered by Laos and then Cambodia on the West and the Eastern Sea (or South China Sea) on the East. Leaving Hanoi and Halong Bay in the north behind, we now head south to the middle section the country where we’ll visit Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang, and Dalat.
To Hue: April 5,6
Highlights from Hue:
The Citadel, a UNESCO World Heritage site (one of seven in Vietnam), was once the imperial capital of the country, built by the Nguyen Dynasty’s king. The Nguyen Dynasty ruled for centuries until 1945, perhaps explaining why the name Nguyen is so common among the Vietnamese. We explored the old city, surrounded by walls and a moat, and even explored the Forbidden Purple City, once the private refuge of the emperor. Happily, this was all preserved and never bombed during the wars, even though the Viet Cong carried out surprise attacks from here during the Tet Offensive. This was another fascinating look into the long history of Vietnam.
A visit to the Dieu Thanh Pagoda for vegetarian lunch and a chat with one of the nuns. This was another interesting opportunity to learn about the Buddhist faith and about life in Vietnam.
A visit to Minh Tu Orphanage: This temple operates an orphanage supported by the Grand Circle Foundation, of which OAT is affiliated. We love knowing that the company we tour with also contributes to support such efforts. We began our visit with a young nun who works there, and later we met some of the children as they finished their school day. It was clear that the older children helped the younger ones, and that they all felt like one big family. They too seemed fascinated to meet us travelers, so we enjoyed meeting them and seeing how they live and are cared for.
A Brief visit to the Cao Dai Church: It was closed so we saw only the exterior, but this sounds like a fascinating approach to religion. The Cao Dai seek to unify all major religions: Hinduism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Confucianism and more. Their philosophy is that no religion is superior to another: they all teach love and peace over hate and war. Sounds a bit like Unitarian-Universalism to me, seeking to find what is of value in all religions.
The church’s facade features symbolism from these various faith traditions. Don’t be put off by the swastikas. Long before the Nazis, this was a religious symbol in many Eastern cultures, including Hinduism and Buddhism.
To Hoi An: April 7-9
Highlights from Hoi An
We had a 3 hour bus ride from Hue to Hoi An. On the way we made a brief stop at My Khe Beach in Da Nang. Once an American Army base, today it’s a lovely, touristy stretch of beach in Da Nang. We know it as “China Beach” after an American TV series that ran from 1988-1991. We stopped just long enough for a cup of coffee and a walk along the beach to wet our feet in the water.
Once in Hoi An, Yo led us on a great walking tour through the city. We visited historic houses in the old town of Hoi An with brick exteriors and wooden interiors. They’ve survived through hundreds of years, and quite a few floods. Today’s Hoi An has a multi-cultural appeal from its years as a center of maritime trade in the east.
We enjoyed another great evening with our “best beer buddy,” Brian, who located a great craft beer spot, the 7 Bridges Brewing Company Taproom, with over 30 brews to choose from.
The Best Banh Mi: The Banh Mi combines the French baguette with Vietnamese cuisine to form a great sandwich. Anthony Bourdain was here, he called it “a symphony in a sandwich,” and the best Banh Mi in Vietnam. Thanks again to Yo for making sure we did not miss it.
Bánh Mì Phuong, 2B Phan Chau Trinh, Minh An, Hoi An.
Day trip to visit My Son, (pronounced “mee sown”) the most significant ruins of the Champa Kingdom from the second to the fifteenth century in this middle area of Vietnam. Today, My Son features the remains of a religious center, the interesting ruins of a long-gone civilization. The style is similar to the ruins of Angkor Wat and other temples in Cambodia.
Our tour often allowed for “free afternoons” to go out on our own, to rest, or to enjoys an optional excursion. Evan stayed back at the hotel, while I (Sara) joined four others on an afternoon optional tour. We hopped on an electric car – more like a golf cart – and off we go to explore the rural areas, meet some local people, and cruise along the Thu Bon River. Then back to Hoi An for a traditional street food dinner. It was a fantastic experience!!!! I’ll describe it through photos.
The last part of our optional tour was a cruise down the river and an experience in a Basket Boat (Thung Chai). Basket Boats are made from bamboo and covered with resin or tar. These round boats are used today for fishing and considered a symbol of independence since fisherman can operate independently instead of on a larger commercial fishing vessel.
We visited the community gardens and chatted with Hoi Anians as they worked their plots. Yo topped this off with a fantastic dinner at a great local restaurant.
We really enjoyed our time in Hoi An. Our accommodations were lovely and the staff ere very helpful. The older part of Hoi An seemed unique to us, with its ancient wooden structures and architecture, and a bustling, lively city life. We certainly could have enjoyed a longer stay here.
On our last day in Hoi An, we took a morning bus ride through the countryside’s rice fields to the My Son Sanctuary. This is Vietnam’s most significant ruin from the ancient Champa Kingdom. The Cham people (who are believed to have migrated from the Indonesian islands) began to settle along the coasts of Vietnam, gradually seizing the political power from the locals. They remained a significant power in South East Asia for over 1000 years, between 500 and 1,500 AD.
To Nha Trang: April 10, 11
From Hoi An we flew to Nha Trang where we stayed at the Yasaka Nha Trang Hotel, a beautiful resort hotel right across from the beach. Needless to say, we walked the beach a lot.
For two nights we enjoyed a modern, touristy ambiance, quite unlike what we found elsewhere in Vietnam. And with Brian’s help, we also found good places for craft beer and meals.
Motorcycle Ride: One morning, we each had our own motorcycle driver as we set out. Holding on tight, we biked into Nha Trang and away from the touristy beach.
- First, we visited a small family business, with two women weaving colorful scarves, placemats and other pieces, all meticulously designed and woven by hand.
From there we went to a local open market. Yo assigned us to teams to shop, giving each team the Vietnamese name of some food. We had to figure out what that food was and to buy some for our lunch. Yo would always tease us: “If you fail, you just won’t get any lunch.”
- Then we traveled out into the farming area to the “Bamboo Village,” where our motorcycles left us at the home of Mr. And Mrs. Hoang. We all helped to prepare lunch and some delicious Mojito’s. After lunch we enjoyed chatting with Mr. Hoang and learning about life in the village. From there, our bus took us back to our hotel.
To Dalat: April 12, 13
A Terrifying Trip: Our three-hour bus ride from the lowlands of Vietnam up the mountainsides to a higher plateau was terrifying. The trip was all on a two-lane road full of switchbacks, climbing along steep terrain. What made this frightening? Our bus driver was so aggressive and so anxious to pass other vehicles, even on blind curves, with or without a passing lane. At one point he and another bus driver took turns passing one another. Complaints were made, and Yo asked our driver to drive more carefully, but the effect was minimal. We were certainly glad to end our trip safely as we finally reached Dalat.
Dalat is a delightful city that has been given various names: City of a Thousand Flowers, City of Love, City of Eternal Spring, and “Little Paris.” It was one of my (Evan’s) very favorites. Thankfully, the altitude made things a bit cooler and more pleasant. Historically, Dalat was a playground for the French in Vietnam, as reflected in its architecture, with lots of stone brought all the way from France. It’s a university town and more affluent than other areas, so we saw less poverty.
Dalat is particularly well-known for its flowers, fruit, vegetables, rice and coffee grown in the farmlands.
Highlights of our stay in Dalat:
- Our first stop was for lunch at the Blue House Restaurant. The food was good, and we were treated to a visit with representatives of the Lach ethnic tribe, a subgroup of the K’ho people who live here in Vietnam’s central highlands. They wore their traditional clothing and performed music for us on their traditional instruments, including a kind of marimba made of bamboo.
- The Walking Tour: To get acquainted with Dalat, Yo led us through a bit of town from our hotel, and we ended up at the “Dalat Palace Hotel,” a very posh structure on beautifully managed grounds overlooking the town and the lake sitting at its center. What a lovely place to stop for coffee and tea while enjoying the view!
- Dalat University: Dalat is a major university town in a country that’s boasts of one of the world’s highest literacy rates. Education is important to today’s Vietnamese. One afternoon we visited the university where a professor met us and welcomed us. We then met with students anxious to practice their English with native speakers. We were paired up with the students to spend an hour walking the campus: they told us about their lives and their schooling, and we answered their questions about our lives. OAT offers these great opportunities for travelers to have an authentic experience of another culture.
A Home Dinner: On another night we were divided into smaller groups to enjoy a “home dinner” with a local family. Our group of five were driven to a family home where we were greeted by a woman and her niece. We enjoyed a lovely dinner cooked by the woman, a tour of this suburban Dalat home, and conversation, facilitated by the niece, who was considerably more fluent in her English than her aunt. Of course, there was tea and dessert. A lovely evening.
- Our group: This dinner established us as “The Five,” Sara and me, along with CC (Caroline), Kevin (the youngster on our tour), and our best beer buddy Brian. From among our tour group, we were the only five who would be continuing on for the five-day “post-trip” extension to Cambodia.
- Dalat Agricultural Tour: We visited a market garden where they raise flowers; then a ride in a tractor-drawn cart to a farm where we learned about Weasel Coffee. From there to an isolated village of Hill Tribe people who were moved here by the government. But they welcomed it, for it seems to have improved their lives a bit. We enjoyed a visit with the village chief while his wife continued her weaving and his granddaughter smiled and silently observed. This was an optional tour with an added price, but it was well worth it.
- “Weasel Coffee” Buckle your seatbelt because this one is really weird. Someone in Vietnam once made coffee using beans that had traveled through the digestive system of these weasels. They decided that this produced a great cup of coffee. Before long, they were farming weasels to eat the coffee beans, collecting their weasel excrement, and brewing coffee they sold as a high-priced luxury. Some call it more descriptively “Weasel Poop Coffee.” On our “Dalat Agricultural Tour, we visited a woman who kept seven weasels in cages (they’re nasty and dangerous animals) and she produces the Weasel Coffee. We all tried it. It was strong and black, just as the Vietnamese like it. But I think weasel poop is a luxury I can afford to skip.
- The Crazy House: A most unusual piece of architecture was just a short walk from our hotel, the Hang Nga Guesthouse, designed by Dang Viet Nga, inspired by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi. Locally it’s also called the “Crazy House.” It’s pretty wild, and our pictures can give you just a glimpse of the colorful, fairy tale craziness of this mazelike structure.
We loved Dalat. It was unlike anywhere else in Vietnam, in part for its subtropical highland climate, in part for its different vibe. It’s one of the most productive agricultural areas in the country. It’s generally less poor than other cities, and it’s more attractive due to its long history as a favored area under the French. And we enjoyed our two night stay at the Sammy Dalat Hotel.
