Tag Archives: photos

Asia, Vietnam

Hue: The Imperial City

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Once we returned to shore from Ha Long Bay, our next destination was Hue. To get there, we flew from Hanoi, in Northern Vietnam, to Hue, in Central Vietnam. It was a nice change to leave the bustle of Hanoi for the slightly less bustling Hue It was also a fantastic break in car sickness to fly instead of drive.

Our first interaction – we were scammed by the airport shuttle that was to take us to our hotel. Vietnamese culture is to avoid answering no, but it is kind of inconvenient when the question is, “Will you take us to the hotel?” and the shuttle driver answers, “Yes.” but really means, I’ll take you to somewhere near the hotel and then say get out, and leave you to figure out the rest of the way. The rest of the passengers with us were NOT impressed.

Unfortunately, the names of the hotels are confusing , eg: Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn 1, Holiday Inn 2, Original Holiday Inn. And #1 and #3 might be across the street from each other, while the original is around the corner. You get the picture. We did find the place, but what a rainy nightmare that was.Hue is a beautiful city. We visited several temples, tombs and the Imperial City. We also did a short river boat trip on the Perfume River at the end of the day.

Imperial City, Hue Vietnam
The Imperial City of Hue is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Construction started in 1804 during the reign of Gia Long, and was completed in 1838 under Minh Mang. The Imperial City served as the center of government and court life throughout the Nguyen Dynasty. It has been damaged by natural disasters over the years, and still has visible scars, damage, bullet holes etc, from wars in 1947 and 1968.We went to the Minh Lau – Pavilion of Light, and Khai Dinh tomb. The Khai Dinh Honour Courtyard is probably one of the most recognizable with the stone sculptures of Mandarins, soldiers, elephants and horses.
Khai Dinh Tomb
Tu Duc Tomb grounds
The Tu Duc tomb probably had the prettiest grounds and walk ways. When we set out for the day, I figured the sites we’d see were ancient, but most of the construction was done in the late 1800’s. For the Tu Duc tomb, construction began in 1864 and was completed in 1867.
Tomb grounds, Hue Vietnam
Tomb grounds, Hue Vietnam
Lotus flower

One fantastic site for the day – the MASSIVE Buddha statue that was visible from Tu Duc Tomb. We never did get to visit it, but He fits right in with Cristo Blanco and Our Lady of the Rockies.

Buddha
Asia, Vietnam

Hanoi to Ha Long Bay

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Ha Long Bay was an amazing experience, and frightening as well. Let’s start with the trip from Hanoi to Ha Long…

Rice Field Vietnam
Rice Field Vietnam
I don’t think I have ever felt that carsick in my entire life. I don’t get carsick. I don’t get sea sick. I was carsick for 3 days. The drive was about 3 hours through idyllic rice fields. Imagine a stereotypical setting with green rice fields, a woman wearing a conical hat, she’s walking along the berm between sections, and there is a water buffalo wandering around. Seriously, we saw that. Then a few minutes of the skinniest row houses and businesses, and then back to idyllic movie scene Vietnam, then back to dust bowl village of skinny row houses.
Rice Field Vietnam
Vietnamese Row House
As we were driving, I noticed several tombs in the middle of the fields. The best explanation I received was that this was the burial custom. A deceased person is buried along side their home or field, with their possessions, and the alter is created to have that person ever present. As sort of an Ancestor Worship. Our driver said, “In your country, big big people with tiny grave site, in our country, tiny people with huge grave site!” He also said that all possessions of the dead person still belong to that person, so nothing is passed on to someone else lest the dead person come back and ask why you are using their stuff.
Tomb in Rice Field Vietnam
Tombs in Rice Field Vietnam

Once we arrived at the water, we met some of the people we were going to be onboard with. We met Pierre, an Australian traveling home from the UK via India and Asia. He was very interesting and passed along his Lonely Planet Vietnam to us. (We didn’t bring any guide books–too heavy! But, it was nice to have for the remainder of the trip. Just add it to the 50+ travel guides we already have.) We met a German physicist and his family, and a solo female traveler from Finland who we named Elsa, because she never did tell us her name.

You may wonder why I said the trip was frightening. A few weeks before we were set for our trip, one of the junks sank in Ha Long Bay. Passengers died because they couldn’t evacuate the boat properly in the middle of the night. New safety standards were put into place, and our room came equipped with a flashlight and a hammer to smash out the window if need be. We slept just fine aboard the boat. I don’t know the exact circumstance that caused the ship to sink, but the junk we were on appeared well maintained, and the weather and water were both calm for us.

Stay tuned for more photos from Ha Long Bay.
Happy Travels,
~j
Asia, Vietnam

Hello Hanoi!

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Because of our scheduled trip to Ha Long Bay, we didn’t have much time to explore Hanoi. As with any metropolitan area, a day is often more than enough time before people/traffic become an issue. NOTHING can prepare someone for Vietnamese traffic! There is no way to describe it short of organized chaos. We learned the specific technique for crossing the street which was just start walking, and keep walking slow and steady, don’t change speed, and don’t stop until you get to the other side. Stepping off the curb into traffic is scary business.
Hoan Kiem Lake The Huc Bridge
Hoan Kiem Lake The Huc Bridge
Luckily, our hotel was within walking distance of everything we wanted to see for the day. We started at Hoan Kiem Lake and The Huc bridge. We managed to visit the Temple of Literature, checked out St. Joseph’s Cathedral, that was modeled after the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, saw some sights, and visited an indoor market. I did take some interesting photos along the way. The wire work was astounding. FYI: We didn’t try the Creative Oriental Craft Kingdom.
Lost in Translation
Regina Pacis Hanoi
St Joseph’s Cathedral Hanoi
Vietnamese Wiring
Asia, Vietnam

Standard Fare Really

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It isn’t raining, but it is overcast. I suppose I should be thankful that it isn’t scorching hot though because we climbed several hundred stairs, and covered a few kilometers hiking in caves today.The “junk” we are sailing is quite sweet. There are 8 passengers on board, with a total of 6 cabins. The cabins are cute–pretty much like the pictures on the website; the food on the other hand is INSANITY! We had 10 courses for lunch and then another 10 for dinner. I really hope the breakfast isn’t 10 courses or I might explode.

I took photos of most of the dishes. I tried most of the dishes, but just couldn’t stomach de-legging, de-heading and de-shelling steamed shrimp that were bigger than my thumb. And, the physical reaction to clams and oysters prevented those two dishes from being a gastronomic success. The stuffed crab, squid and seafood soup were all quite good though. I know you’re all wondering what Jon ate…we’ll tell you when we get back.

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Asia, Vietnam

Good Morning Vietnam!

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We’re alive and well in Hanoi! It took just over 28 hours of travel to get here, and there is a 15 hour time change…let’s just say jet lag is being a bit of a bitch.

The flights were alright-the airline food would have killed both of my brothers, one of them literally would have died. FYI: the food was borderline alright, but different than any other airline we’ve flown. (Pork bits with huge chunks of mango, and the other a salad of cold noodles with thin slices of the most fatty marbled beef ever. I took photos.)

And now, we’re leaving Hanoi for Halong Bay. Hopefully it isn’t rainy and gross when we get there.

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China Eastern Airline meal
(Yes, that yellow bit at the top is congealed ickiness.)
 
Asia, Cambodia, Thailand, Update, Vietnam

Strange Currencies

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No, I’m not going to bust out the lyrics to the song, I’m gonna talk about money! Little known fact: I like collecting currency when we’re on vacation. Not so much the bills, but the coins. This isn’t about amassing a foreign fortune, but it does work well with the photo projects when we return home.

Obviously, I have to do a little pre-trip research before we leave to make sure I know what I’m after. The best part is in Vietnam I will be collecting DONG! Giggle away my little minions; that’s funny as hell!The exchange rate is approximately 20,000 Vietnamese Dong to $1US. I think it’ll be crazy to be paying for items with 50,000₫ notes. (That’s only about $2.50.) Also try wrapping your head around being able to take out a maximum of 2,000,000₫ from a bank machine. Apparently, that’s the machine limit. (That’s about $95!)

The least valued currency for exchange alternated between the Zimbabwean Dollar and the Vietnamese Dong for a while. Now the least valued currency is that of Somalia with the Vietnamese Dong running 2nd. Thanks VietnamWiki for the photo. Vietnamese Dong

The Cambodian Riel is approximately 4010៛ to $1US. Unlucky for me the coins are rarely used. That could be a bit of a struggle collecting them. The Thai Baht is about 30฿ to $1US. Gotta love travelling with exchange rates like that. It definitely helps the bank account!

FYI: All of this learning, and now I know a lot of currencies are actually descendants of the Spanish Pieces of 8. How very Piratey! Arrrr!

British Columbia, Canada, North America

Salmon Run

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Salmon Run Adams RiverMid-September, I roped a friend into going to the Adam’s River Salmon Run. He really wasn’t keen on it. As someone who works on the Thompson and Fraser Rivers, he sees thousands of fish in the river each summer, and understandably didn’t want to go see more. Luckily, my persistence paid off, and we went for the mini road trip. Every 4 years there is a mass return to the spawning grounds; 2010 was supposed to be one of the biggest returns in the past 100 years, so why not check it out?

The Salmon Run was elementary school field trip extravaganza when we were little! We would have to learn all the stages of the life cycle. Here’s your science lesson just in case you don’t remember grade 2. The salmon swim from the Pacific Ocean, travel up the Fraser River through Hell’s Gate, up the Thompson River and into the Adam’s River where they spawn and die. (And, smell horribly bad!) The eggs hatch, grow, swim to the ocean, live there for a few years, and if they’re lucky to have survived that far, they swim back to the Adam’s River to start the cycle all over again.

We were there at the start of the Sockeye run and the very end of the Chinook run. The size difference between the two fish is crazy, but I wasn’t able to get any good photos of Chinook to compare. They don’t turn the bright pink colour that the Sockeye do. We wandered the trails, took a few photos and all in all had a fun little road trip.

North America, USA, Yellowstone

Wyoming: Grand Teton National Park

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The TetonsEntry to Grand Teton National Park is included with the Yellowstone entry fee. Since, we had to drive through the park on the way back from Devil’s Tower we wanted to check it out. The photo above pretty much sums up the whole experience. Yep, a mountain range. The Teton mountain range. It is beautiful, akin to anything you’d see in Banff or Jasper, but just not quite as spectacular.
If you have experienced the moment when you’re driving, and Mt. Robson is just around the corner, it is a perfect blue sky day, and all of a sudden you’re in the Canadian Rockies, then you know what I mean. The Tetons were gorgeous, they just didn’t create that same sense. (FYI: Grand Teton is the highest point on the left side of the photo.)
Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton National Park