Before I left for Vietnam I made two promises; one to myself (not to play Wagner's 'Ride of the Valkyries' à la 'Apocalypse Now' for fear of bad taste) and one to my Mum (not to ride a motorbike while I was there)... Well I'm sorry Mum, I broke that promise!
(Sunset over Da Nang and the Hải Vân Pass)
Before I get to that fantastic and cherry-popping motorbike journey and continuing from the previous post on Vietnam; I had survived the uncomfortable night-bus to Phong Na (in one piece no thanks to the recklessness of the Vietnamese bus driver - no doubt in a hurry to get his early morning bowl of pho). The day ahead of us promised huge and jaw-dropping caves and swimming in the middle of the jungle (which I was very much looking forward to cooling down to escape the sweltering humidity).
But first of all though, a sad reminder what put this country on the map in the first place; with a visit to the 'Eight-Lady Cave'. Named for the group of women who perished during an air raid by American soldiers during the war. This was another indication of what this beautiful and welcoming country had suffered due to the interference of foreign powers since 1887 (firstly with the French, the Japanese and then the Americans).(Interesting read on the topic of Vietnam's occupation, from British author Graham Greene, his 1955 novel The Quiet American which depicts French and British colonialism in Vietnam being uprooted by the Americans during the 1950's).
Yet another visit to another cave (and you'd be mistaken by thinking that surely caves are boring and that once you've seen one, you've seen them all) but this time it was truly jaw-dropping! Nicknamed 'Paradise Cave', it was like a mini city underneath the Vietnamese forested karst parks (at around 31 km deep, HUGE is an understatement)! I had never seen stalagmites and stalactites likes the ones in that immense cave system (I always forget the difference between the two, I'm sure my geologist of a brother could lecture me about it for hours if I let him...)!
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Think of the greatest view you've ever had to accompany your meal, and you're not even half way there...
(Not too bad eh?)
(Vietnamese cuisine at its finger-licking finest)
The cool mountainous spring water was much-needed to cool down in the exhausting afternoon heat (despite the rapids threatening to drag you downstream) and shortly after this we headed to the aptly named 'The Pub with the Cold Beer', which was actually a home-stay just a stones throw away from the Laos border. It was really off the beaten track but it very quickly felt like home (the Vietnamese people are surely the most welcoming and friendly people in the whole of Asia - and the hammocks, pool table and titular cold beers definitely helped). It was here that I had my first experience with tubing (where you sit back, relax and take in the surrounding beauty, with beer of course, while the current takes you wherever it damn wants to!) Now, unfortunately I tried to make my bottle of beer float in the river next to me but it sank straight under and in my inebriated state I quickly caught it and carried on drinking, river water and all. (I must point out here that the river was far from clean in comparison to that sparkling blue mountain river that I'd swam in earlier that day, in fact it wasn't until I was drying myself on the river bank later that I took a glance upstream and noticed the buffalo - bathing and shitting - in the river. The same river water I'd just drank.)!
Later that evening, as we ordered our dinner (yet another Vietnamese feast), the head honcho of the home-stay looked to me and indicated that he wanted me to kill our chickens for dinner. Yes, you read that right! I opted out of this but decided to go and watch Summers and some of the others from the group attempt to decapitate their chickens (crying with drunken laughter - probably a little shocked - yet continuing to drink as they slaughtered our dinner). Needless to say, it was probably the most delicious, not forgetting probably the freshest, meal I've ever had (why does food always taste so good when you're drunk?). The drinks continued to flow as the bloodthirsty head of the home-stay served us "Happy Water" (home-brewed rice wine that'll put hairs on your chest - and kill any potential diseases from drinking the river water) from a jerrycan, of all things, into cute little tea cups! (Did I mention already that I love this country?). We ended the night having a mini rave in the home-stay to Pendulum's drum and bass classic, 'Tarantula' (it was probably the only sound heard for miles around across the rice fields and jungle).
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The next morning (complete with hangovers) it was time to visit the Vinh Moc tunnels, which are very close to what once was the Demilitarized Zone that separated North and South Vietnam. The tunnels were built to shelter local families from the intense bombings in the area during the American war (the name given to the war by the Vietnamese). Over 600 people lived in these specific tunnels and miraculously 17 babies were actually born here (between 1963-72) despite the cramped and terrifying conditions of the tunnels! The tunnels are pretty claustrophobic (I had to walk through them at a permanent crouch, which did wonders for my lower back) so it was quite a feat that so many people lived, and survived, here for so long under such intense and horrific conditions.
(Not for the faint-hearted or the tallest of people)
The time had come again for yet another reminder of the awful legacy of the war and its effects on the people of Vietnam (even today). The Mine Action Centre in Dong Ha leaves little to the imagination as it earnestly presents the abominations that are UXO. Unexploded ordnance (UXO) are still a huge problem today all over this region of Vietnam (as well as neighbouring Laos and Cambodia). Hostilities ended in 1975 but the UXO still pose a huge threat to innocent people today (accidents can occur from farming and ploughing local fields in which UXO are found and can be fatal). It's a great shame that, in the UK, we never really learn or study this part of history and its menacing affects on Vietnamese society (alongside the infamous Agent Orange and the use of napalm). The local children's drawings warning not to play with mines really tugged at the heartstrings. The centre is a really good cause worth supporting and donating.
(The awful legacy of the Vietnam War)
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Huế is a city in central Vietnam and was once the national capital. It's home to the Forbidden Purple City, which was once the emperor's home, and is very similar to the Forbidden City in Beijing in terms of design - unfortunately I didn't visit this opting to have an afternoon nap instead! (I'll definitely return to Vietnam at some point in the future anyway)! After a night of yet more drinking (the 'Leg Opener' cocktail certainly left a lasting impression on my hangover the next morning) the first stop of the day was a visit to the Thien Ma Pagoda (built in 1601). It is the tallest pagoda in Vietnam (at seven stories high) and is the central site for Buddhists within the country. The monastery is well-known for another reason; Thích Quảng Đức. Now the name may not ring a bell but his self-immolation in protest of the murder of Buddhists by the US-backed regime (and the Pulitzer Prize winning photograph) in Saigon in 1963 is world-renowned. (You may also know the photo as the cover of Rage Against the Machine's debut album)! His car (the one who travelled to Saigon in) is on display within the monastery and this has become a pilgrimage site for Vietnamese Buddhists.
("No news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one." - JFK in reference to the photo.)
Huế is also home to some of the most amazingly beautiful beaches I've ever laid my eyes on (and I thought the beaches in Malaysia were the epitome of perfection; but I was wrong, so very wrong!) Serene and not a soul in sight (apart from the occasional fisherman returning to shore with his boat) I could have spent the rest of my trip here, just relaxing with my Kindle and drinking fresh coconut juice from freshly picked coconuts.
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It was time for the moment I'd been dreading - the Hai Van Pass - as I'd never ridden a motorbike in my life! However, a few of the others on the Buffalo Run were in the same boat as me (or should I say bike) so we all managed to encourage each other and stick together early on in the journey. I'm going to go as far as saying that I took riding a motorbike as would a fish to water! It was a thrilling and such a wonderful way to travel Vietnam! Chef, and travel enthusiast, Anthony Bourdain was correct in saying "Just getting from here to there in this part of the world is just pure pleasure.". All along the Pass we rode through and past yet more beautiful beaches, rice paddies and breathtaking countryside. (I wish I had filmed some of the journey, it would have been incredible to re-watch.) Go back and watch the Top Gear Vietnam Special from a few years back, the guys on there did the same journey and even they said it was one of the best roads in the world!
At the top of the Hai Van Pass, we looked back behind us seeing the beautiful countryside and coastline spreading towards Huế and the north of Vietnam. In front of us lay a descent into the metropolitan beach-city of Da Nang and further onto Hoi An.
Unfortunately my bike being a temperamental and stubborn b***h (to the point where I wanted to name it after an ex-girlfriend...) as it wouldn't go any faster than 60 km/h! But as I rode down and descended the Pass towards Da Nang (alone, due to the speed of my bike) I recalled a passage from Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums that I'd only read the night before;
'I had never had a happier moment in my life than those lonely moments coming down that little deer trace and when we hiked off with our packs I turned to take a final look up that way, it was dark now, hoping to see a few little deer, nothing in sight, and I thanked everything up that way.'
(In my case, the sun setting behind me, there were no deer but an empty road lay ahead of me without a soul in sight, so all I had to accompany were my thoughts. It was such a surreal feeling, that is very difficult to write down. It was almost ethereal.)
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Hội An is a quaint and little seaside town that is UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was the perfect destination after an amazing, yet gruelling, bike ride the day before, with it's traditional architecture, craft markets and iced Vietnamese coffee on demand!
Our final day consisted of a leisurely bicycle ride through the picturesque old town, bamboo groves and we took a traditional basket boat ride to catch crabs! (Me and Summers were surprised at how well we did, joking that we should move out here and become crab-fishermen!)
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Wow Vietnam, is all I can say. It's not a final goodbye as I have no doubt I'll back there at some point in the near future, that's a promise I won't break this time (sorry, again, Mum!)