With Northern Vietnam behind us, we popped on a 10 hour night bus and headed down to the centrally located city of Hue. Although we were dead tired (due to lack of sleep and one of the worst night buses imaginable), we decided to venture out into the city for the day and make the most of our time. Our first order of business was to see Hue's Ancient Citadel which was both the Ancient Imperial Headquarters for the nation as well as a strategic location during the Vietnam War (known in Vietnam as the “American War”). After strolling around for quite some time, we decided to spice up our day with a motorcycle tour of the city. Our guides took us to some beautiful and historical sites, including temples, covered bridges, pagodas, rice fields and even to one of the royal tombs. We returned back to our guest house, and after a tasty waterfront dinner we thought it best to lay down our heads and catch up on some much needed sleep!
The next day we were up and at it again, heading out by bus to our next destination. We arrived in the city of Hoi An just after noon, and were thrilled to have the rest of the day to enjoy ourselves. We decided to up our usual budget-backpacker standards and book ourselves into a hotel with a pool. We spent three days just lazing around the pool, enjoying the sun and doing absolutely nothing at all (A sort of “backpacker's vacation”). We only managed to drag ourselves out of our hotel for two reasons. The first of these was to get some custom made clothes for Amanda (at amazing prices!), and the second was to meet up with some friends who we'd met along the way.
After a few days of recuperating and lazing about, we set back out on the night bus for the beach city of Nha Trang. We arrived in town at six in the morning, and got settled in. Three hours later, thanks to our good friends Steve and Laura, we were out the door and on a boat around the beach. We had fun with our friends snorkeling, swimming and partying on the boat (even though we were beat from the night bus). We spent the rest of our time in Nha Trang in similar fashion to our time in Hoi An (poolside). We lazed on the beach, sped through a couple of books and soaked in the sun.
After a quick couple of days, we once again boarded the bus (our final Vietnamese night bus) and headed down the densely populated Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon).Upon arrival, the first order of business was to head to the hospital and look after Amanda's ear ( as she somehow managed to pick up an inner ear infection somewhere along the way). After that we were out and about, checking out the sites of HCMC. We took in the War Remnants Museum, which was a real eye opening and heart breaking experience. The museum helped us to understand the horrors of the war, and also to understand how those events are still affecting the country and its people today. Not only does the country have to deal with the lasting horrors of dead family members (approx. 3 Million) and the countless war amputees and napalm victims, but they must also deal with the reality of the lasting effects of “Agent Orange”. In an attempt to gain territory & advantage, American forces sprayed hundreds of acres of land with this deadly chemical which literally destroyed any organic material it came in contact with. We were faced with countless photographs showing Vietnamese people whose skin and eyes were chemically burned to such a grizzly degree. However, while the war eventually came to an end, the horrors... did not. Even today hundreds of children are born with shocking birth defects such as lack of limbs or eyes, which was something that touched us to the very core. In the same vein, we came across dozens of photos of nations all over the world who marched to see the end of the War in Vietnam. Perhaps the most moving moment for us was when we saw a glass case which held numerous medals of honor, strength and awards which had been donated to the Vietnamese Government by a former US General who had served during the Vietnam War. In the top corner the General had included a small plaque in which he expressed remorse for his actions during the war.
With sadness in our hearts we made our way to the market to escape the heavy “wet-season” rain. We returned to our guest house and met up with our friends Tom and Cat (who we'd met in Chiang Mai) and spent the rest of the evening catching up with them. We started the next morning bright and early, with a two hour trip outside of Saigon to the Cu Chi tunnels. Here we were able to see how the war was fought from the Vietnamese perspective. We were able to see how they melted down exploded US bomb shrapnel to create booby traps and makeshift weapons all in underground huts and tunnel networks hidden deep in the jungle. Tom & Jono were brave enough to venture into the extremely tight tunnels which were dank, dark, low & lengthy. After only a few minutes they were glad to be above ground and were thinking how amazing it was that people spent literally years living, working and fighting in such confined spaces.
We were up bright and early the next day and heading out to our Vietnamese exit point which was to be the Mekong Delta. Along with Tom and Cat, we spent two days on various boats and buses, taking us through different parts of the Mekong Delta. We stopped in many small fishing villages and saw what life is like for many Vietnamese people outside of the main city centres. As we looked back at our Vietnamese adventure we realized how fortunate we were to be able to be friendly greeted by a nation with so many scars and hardships, and we would not soon forget the example of forgiveness seen across the faces, and the nation of Vietnam.
With Northern Vietnam behind us, we popped on a 10 hour night bus and headed down to the centrally located city of Hue. Although we were dead tired (due to lack of sleep and one of the worst night buses imaginable), we decided to venture out into the city for the day and make the most of our time. Our first order of business was to see Hue's Ancient Citadel which was both the Ancient Imperial Headquarters for the nation as well as a strategic location during the Vietnam War (known in Vietnam as the “American War”). After strolling around for quite some time, we decided to spice up our day with a motorcycle tour of the city. Our guides took us to some beautiful and historical sites, including temples, covered bridges, pagodas, rice fields and even to one of the royal tombs. We returned back to our guest house, and after a tasty waterfront dinner we thought it best to lay down our heads and catch up on some much needed sleep!
The next day we were up and at it again, heading out by bus to our next destination. We arrived in the city of Hoi An just after noon, and were thrilled to have the rest of the day to enjoy ourselves. We decided to up our usual budget-backpacker standards and book ourselves into a hotel with a pool. We spent three days just lazing around the pool, enjoying the sun and doing absolutely nothing at all (A sort of “backpacker's vacation”). We only managed to drag ourselves out of our hotel for two reasons. The first of these was to get some custom made clothes for Amanda (at amazing prices!), and the second was to meet up with some friends who we'd met along the way.
After a few days of recuperating and lazing about, we set back out on the night bus for the beach city of Nha Trang. We arrived in town at six in the morning, and got settled in. Three hours later, thanks to our good friends Steve and Laura, we were out the door and on a boat around the beach. We had fun with our friends snorkeling, swimming and partying on the boat (even though we were beat from the night bus). We spent the rest of our time in Nha Trang in similar fashion to our time in Hoi An (poolside). We lazed on the beach, sped through a couple of books and soaked in the sun.
After a quick couple of days, we once again boarded the bus (our final Vietnamese night bus) and headed down the densely populated Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon).Upon arrival, the first order of business was to head to the hospital and look after Amanda's ear ( as she somehow managed to pick up an inner ear infection somewhere along the way). After that we were out and about, checking out the sites of HCMC. We took in the War Remnants Museum, which was a real eye opening and heart breaking experience. The museum helped us to understand the horrors of the war, and also to understand how those events are still affecting the country and its people today. Not only does the country have to deal with the lasting horrors of dead family members (approx. 3 Million) and the countless war amputees and napalm victims, but they must also deal with the reality of the lasting effects of “Agent Orange”. In an attempt to gain territory & advantage, American forces sprayed hundreds of acres of land with this deadly chemical which literally destroyed any organic material it came in contact with. We were faced with countless photographs showing Vietnamese people whose skin and eyes were chemically burned to such a grizzly degree. However, while the war eventually came to an end, the horrors... did not. Even today hundreds of children are born with shocking birth defects such as lack of limbs or eyes, which was something that touched us to the very core. In the same vein, we came across dozens of photos of nations all over the world who marched to see the end of the War in Vietnam. Perhaps the most moving moment for us was when we saw a glass case which held numerous medals of honor, strength and awards which had been donated to the Vietnamese Government by a former US General who had served during the Vietnam War. In the top corner the General had included a small plaque in which he expressed remorse for his actions during the war.
With sadness in our hearts we made our way to the market to escape the heavy “wet-season” rain. We returned to our guest house and met up with our friends Tom and Cat (who we'd met in Chiang Mai) and spent the rest of the evening catching up with them. We started the next morning bright and early, with a two hour trip outside of Saigon to the Cu Chi tunnels. Here we were able to see how the war was fought from the Vietnamese perspective. We were able to see how they melted down exploded US bomb shrapnel to create booby traps and makeshift weapons all in underground huts and tunnel networks hidden deep in the jungle. Tom & Jono were brave enough to venture into the extremely tight tunnels which were dank, dark, low & lengthy. After only a few minutes they were glad to be above ground and were thinking how amazing it was that people spent literally years living, working and fighting in such confined spaces.
We were up bright and early the next day and heading out to our Vietnamese exit point which was to be the Mekong Delta. Along with Tom and Cat, we spent two days on various boats and buses, taking us through different parts of the Mekong Delta. We stopped in many small fishing villages and saw what life is like for many Vietnamese people outside of the main city centres. As we looked back at our Vietnamese adventure we realized how fortunate we were to be able to be friendly greeted by a nation with so many scars and hardships, and we would not soon forget the example of forgiveness seen across the faces, and the nation of Vietnam.
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