Hanoi is a charming city with a turbulent history. It is graced by many parks and lakes and the Old quarter still features magnificent French colonial architecture. Those of you who remember the war will love my Hanoi photographs.
On the day we arrived, it was the 35th anniversary of the "Dien Bien Phu of the air", which is what they call the "Nixon" December bombing of Hanoi in 1972. John McCain talks about this bombing that he witnessed from his cell in the "Hanoi Hilton." Speaking of which, on the left you will see the door to the "Maison Centrale", more famously known as the "Hanoi Hilton". It is the prison where American pilots were held and less than a mile away from the lake where a badly injured McCain landed after ejecting from his airplane. It was built by the French to hold Vietnamese prisoners and then taken over by the North Vietnamese to hold Americans. A few blocks away are luxury stores and super luxury hotels. Gucci, Burberry, Hyatt Regency, you name it. The city is bursting with energy and commerce. The art scene is astonishing. I bought a painting :-) from one of the top artists in Vietnam. Art is still (relatively) reasonably priced there and there are wonderful buys is you are interested in collecting artwork.
Ho Chi Minh is revered in most of Vietnam and I made the visit to "Uncle Ho's" mausoleum and modest stilt home(he refused to live in the palace and was never married--I'm sure a "Mrs Ho" would have had different ideas :) The military takes his remains very seriously. Although he had asked to be cremated, the government overruled his request after his death.
I also visited the Vietnamese Army Museum of the "French" and "American" wars where there is a "scultpture" of a downed B52 and other plane parts.
The French architecture of Hanoi is lovely. Many of the restaurants are in old French mansions. Very little of Hanoi was destroyed during the Vietnam (AKA “American”) War. American bombing for the most part was strategic—roads and bridge, so the wonderful French buildings are intact. The next day we went to Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum. The government takes this museum very seriously. Metal detectors, no back packs, no phones or cameras. I always find museums of dead people weird. Uncle Ho’s mausoleum is weird, but an interesting cultural experience. His very modest stilt home is preserved and sits directly across from the presidential palace. He never married. I’m sure a “Mrs. Ho” would have had a very different opinion of where they were going to live. I have one of the typical tourist pictures of me holding baskets of fruit on my shoulder. You have to admire these entrepreneurs who come along and hoist the shoulder pole upon you and put a conical hat on your head. What you experience is how astonishingly heavy these things are. I am twice the size of these teeny, tiny women and the pole was killing me. I put my hand on the Vietnamese woman’s shoulder to see if she had some sort of shoulder padding, but no, just bone. I simply do not know how they do it. No wonder they are so skinny.
After the Hanoi Hilton, we took a cyclo ride through the old quarter. The streets in the old quarter are named after trades “Silversmith street”, “Coffins Street”, Fish Street, Incense Street, “Flower Street” etc. A wonderful ride. I had my Ipod and blasted Vietnam war era music while I was riding around the city. I wanted to experience the parallel universe that existed when I was in school listening to this music while at the exact same time 35 years ago, bombs were dropping and American pilots were in the Hanoi Hilton less than a mile away. It was a sureal, great experience. 60% of the population of Vietnam is under 25 years old. You get no sense that the "American War" even interests them. They are too busy scooting around on their Honda motorbikes and building businesses. Vietnam is bursting with commerce. It is an booming, vibrant place.[Show More]
0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink | Posted by Patricia Pomerleau on Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is astonishing in its beauty. It is one of the natural marvels of Vietnam and the world. Covering an area of 1500 square kilometers, Halong Bay contains 2000 tiny islands. This bay was featured in the movie Indochine. We were there on an overcast day which created an eerie, mystical quality to the islands. This place is so gorgeous, you just keep exclaiming "look, isn't that beautiful?" every time you move around an island and see even more wonderful views. We spent the day on a private Junk and just relaxed. It was so nice. Along the way, we climbed to the top of one of the islands and visited some amazing and massive caves.
Hue was Vietnam's political capital from 1802 to 1945 and it was the site of some of the bloodiest battles of the 1968 Tet Offensive. The picture to the left is in the Citadel which formally housed the Royal Palace, including the "Forbidden Purple City," whose courtyard you see here.
Much of the Citadel was damaged during the Tet Offensive and many scars still remain. However, it is under major renovation and is a lovely place to visit, even including the bullet holes and bomb craters.
We stayed in a terrific hotel while in Hue, the Hotel Saigon Morin, an elegant 19th century French hotel that was recently restored. There were three beds in our room which made it great for spreading out our stuff. We joked that the room was for the Mandarins who had more than one wife. We were there on Dec 24th, and they celebrated Christmas in a big way. We found this true throughout mostly Buddhist Vietnam. Christmas decorations and Santas everywhere. As they say, "Madison Avenue has a long arm."
I have created two albums of Hue. One of the amazing, romantic city and one of the huge and frenetic Da Bong Market, that survived both the French and American wars.
2 Comments - Read Comments | Add Comment | Permalink | Posted by Patricia Pomerleau on Thursday, January 10, 2008
We said goodbye to lovely Hue and drove the magnificent coastal route from Hue to Danang. Our route took us over the Hai Van (“Sea Cloud”) pass where you get absolutely spectacular views. The day could not have been more perfect. Sunny, breezy and not a cloud in the sky. You need to make sure you are on a vehicle with great brakes as the hairpin turnson the drive are numerous and really “hairpin.”
Da Nang was the place of the first landing of a US Marine division in 1965. In Da Nang was the infamous "China Beach" where soldiers, sailors and marines went for R&R. It is a gorgous beach and the scenic ride from Hue to Da Nang must be one of the most spectacular anywhere. When we got to the top of the famous famous "Hai Van" Pass we got out and saw all the bunkers--left over from the Americans, the French before them and the Chinese before them. You can see forever from the top of this pass--critical for defense as Da Nang was fairly close to the 17th parallel (DMZ).
I think you will throughly enjoy my China Beach pictures. Make sure you have your sound on. You'll smile.
2 Comments - Read Comments | Add Comment | Permalink | Posted by Patricia Pomerleau on Monday, January 14, 2008
Hoi an is acharming and picturesque riverside townlocated south of Danang. It is one of Vietnam’s most enchanting places with a real sense of history on its streets. It was a major international port many centuries ago and has wonderful architecture and homes that were built by wealthy merchants. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site, it is now being carefully restored. The residents are rightfully proud of being a UNESCO site. The best thing to do in Hoi An is just walk around. There are no beggars (there are very few throughout Vietnam) and no touts. Just the month before there had been one of the worst floods of the last 25 years, yet you would not know anything had happened except for the water marks at 10 feet on the walls of buildings. The people of Hoi An are used to floods and just pack up and move to higher ground. When the water recedes, they set up shop again.
The town has more tailors than you can shake a stick at. I had three intricate linen shirts made in less than 24 hours. louise had a gorgeous silk cocktail skirt and jacket.
Hoi an is delightful. The weather could not have been more perfect when we were there. I would higly recommend visiting this wonderful place. Please enjoy my photographs of this beautiful place.
We were in Hoi An for Christmas Eve. We had dinner at a wonderful French/Vietnamese restaurant that is a joint venture between a French fellow and a Vietnamese. The name of the restaurant is “Tam Tam” There was a prix fix French dinner and it was beyond divine. Five courses: First: Mackerel and Foie Gras, Second: Duck breast salad, Third: Beef Bourguignon with native vegetables, Fourth: Goat cheese on toast points, Fifth: “Assorted Christmas cakes” You really need to try this restaurant when you are in Hoi An. We had lots of great wine and a simply superb evening. It was nice not to have rice and spring rolls for one night :-). It is on Nguyen Thai Hoc near the Japanese bridge.
Before you have dinner at Tam Tam, stop at a bar on the same side of the street a block towards Le Loi called “the lounge” It has big sofas in the front windows. You will see a sign that says “Happy Hour 4PM-12PM, 2 for 1 drinks.” Well now, that is my idea of a happy “hour”. They had the best Mojitos I have had since Havana and two drinks cost $3.00. Oh, yes, when the drinks came, they were packed to the top with ice. I eyed the ice and the waitress immediately said “we make the ice with bottled water, the town demands it” So, we decided to believe her and we were just fine. So, we ate lots of salads in Vietnam and had ice in our drinks and we were fine. I think that in places so dependent on tourists that they really try hard in Vietnam to keep visitors safe. Of course, we could have just been lucky. The waitress in the bar asked if we were from England or Australia. I told her we were from the US and she said she had an uncle in Washington DC. Everyone in Vietnam has a relative in the US. She had dropped out of high school, but spoke excellent English as do so many Vietnamese. Another young woman in the shop where I got the linen shirts said she was studying “American Culture” It was with trepidation that I asked her what exactly the course consisted of. I was relieved to find out that it was about government, states, and rivers. I had a terrible moment of thinking it would be about Paris Hilton and Brittney Spears.
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0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink | Posted by Patricia Pomerleau on Monday, February 25, 2008
We landed in steamy heat in the bustling city of Saigon, and checked into the storied Caravelle Hotel which is a gorgeous hotel and was the headquarters of the NYTimes, WSJ, CBS and NBC during the Vietnam War. The rooms were very well appointed, great internet access in the rooms, huge, nice baths and comfortable mattresses and soft pillows. We had a great view looking over the Opera House and the famous Rex Hotel. Can't ask for much more. As many designer shops as there were in Hanoi, it pales in comparison to Saigon--at least in the neighborhood that the Caravelle and Hyatt are in. I walked into a mall that catered to locals and checked out the prices. Yep, $300 St. Laurent sunglasses and $500 Manolo Blanik pumps. Wow.
That night we went up to have a drink at the hotel's "Saigon Saigon" bar that was made so famous by the reporters who were headquarted there during the war.At the end of the war they joked they could report from their bar stools. Notre Dame cathedral that was built by the Frence as well as the famous post office. The post officewas designed by Eiffel of Eiffel tower fame and is gorgeous. We also walked to the "War Remnants" museum which chronicles the war from the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese perspective. It used to be called the "War Crimes" museum, but they changed the name when diplomatic relations were restored with the US. The warnings on this museum had been so dire, I thought it would be far more difficult to experience than it was. There is an excellent exhibit of the war correspondents on both sides that was very well done and fascinating.
T We then visited the Unification Palace (formerly known as Independence Palace). The gates of this palace are famous in the iconic picture of the North Vietnamese breaching the gatesof the palace on April 30 1975 just after the evacuation from the rooftop of the American Embassy less than a mile away. This palace was designed by Ngô Viết Thụ, the best known architect of him time in Vietnam. It is a brilliant building. You don’t think so at first site, but it absolutely brilliant modern architecture. If you like architecture, make sure you visit this building. I loved this building as you will see from my pictures of Saigon.
0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink | Posted by Patricia Pomerleau on Monday, February 25, 2008
We also visited Cu Chi and the tunnels. The Cu Chi tunnel system (pronounced "Kootshee") was built by the Viet Cong. It stretched 250 km from the Cambodian border to Saigon.
It is worth going to see this amazing network of tunnels and hear the story of the Viet Cong and how they lived and fought during the war. You can also shoot an AK-47 or an M-16 if you so desire. Bullets are $1 with a minimum order of 5 bullets. The whole thing is a bit weird. It is like Disney and Fellini decided to build a theme park. It is a bizarre place, but I am glad I went. Warning: You have to sit through a fairly gruesome anti-American propaganda film, but every country has propaganda; it is what it is.
After visiting Cu Chi and seeing what our American soldiers had to cope with, it is amazing to me that anyone came back without serious emotional issues. Look at my Cu Chi picturesand see for yourself how awful dealing with the Viet Cong and this tunnel system was like.
0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink | Posted by Patricia Pomerleau on Monday, February 25, 2008
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