Vietnam may have started out poorly for me and Deb but things have certainly turned around. From Vihn we remained off the tourist track for a couple of days in Dong Hoi before heading on to Hue.
Deb and I had heard mixed reports on Vietnam and the people but we are finding them to be really nice and friendly. Especially the young people. Actually, it seems like almost everything is run by people in their late teens and 20’s. The younger generation appears to be very motivated, hard working, and entrepreneurial. I’m finding it to be quite refreshing. As Deb and I walk down a street it’s very common to have people say, “Hello”. We respond with a “Hello” and the younger kids really seem to get a kick out of it. Often times they giggle and laugh. Lots of smiles without much, if any, hassle.
The only real problem we’ve run into in Vietnam is getting overcharged but we’ve wised up to it very quickly. Many restaurants don’t have prices on the menu so you actually have to negotiate what you’re going to pay when deciding what to order otherwise you’re at the mercy of whoever writes up your bill. In touristy areas you find prices on the menu but in other places it's hit and miss. I’ve been able to negotiate a meal to about half of the original asking price.
A big disappointment are the local buses. Try to buy a ticket at the station and you’re lucky if they will sell one to you one. They claim they can’t and you have to buy it on the bus. So, the only option is to buy the ticket on the bus and overcharging westerners 2 to 3 times is the norm. That’s only half the problem. If the bus is a 25 passenger variety you can count on it being packed with 50+. Our bus ride from Dong Hoi to Hue cost us over twice as much as the advertised price and we were crammed into a back corner for 4 hours. The alternative is to opt for a train or tourist bus. Both are much less expensive when you consider the overcharge you’re almost always guaranteed to get stuck with on a local bus.
Hue is an attractive city with a nice appeal. There’s a very touristy area where most travelers stay but a short distance away is a narrow alley packed with several hotels and a few small restaurants. Everything is geared for the budget backpacker traveler. The quality of accommodation is really good and you can find a nice clean room for $8 to $15 USD. A good meal will set you back about $3 USD and a 16 ounce bottle of beer costs around 50 cents.
As a middle aged American male I find Vietnam War history to be very interesting. I see the Vietnam War as one of America’s worst mistakes but I also find it tragically fascinating. I spent an entire day in the area once known as the DMZ. It was an arranged tour so I piled on a bus with about 15 others.
We first visited a wide open swath of land that was nothing but miles of bomb craters during the war but is a now full of rice paddies. After that we went on to a village where the inhabitants lived in tunnels during the bombing. While there we spent about a half hour or so touring the cramped tunnels with small rooms just big enough for a family of 4 to huddle together. The afternoon proved to be more interesting with a visit to the famous Marine lookout known as the Rock Pile. We finished with a stop at the former site of the American Khe San air base. All of these areas were run over by the North Vietnamese. Hamburger Hill and other famous sites are located in the general area. Looking at these places today makes it hard to believe that they were once the closest place to Hell. There is remarkably little left to indicate there was ever a war aside of a monument here and there celebrating the North Vietnamese victory. I’m left with an utter respect for the soldiers who filled their duty and served but I’m also left with thought, “What the hell was our American Government thinking at the time?” The war was undoubtedly a horrible waste. Nothing was gained and an enormous amount was lost.
On Wednesday Deb and I rented bikes and I just followed her. Yesterday, while I was visiting the DMZ, she biked around the area and visited villages and mausoleums amidst the countryside. She wanted to see more. Off we went and I was surprised at how quick and easy one can peddle out of the city.
The streets of Hue remind me a little of India. They’re mostly filled with bicycles and scooters with a few cars and trucks mixed about. Again, it seems like everyone is in their 20’s. No one is moving too fast and there’s a perfect orderly chaos to it all. Deb put it best when she said, “It’s a good not to use your brakes”. So, I just followed Deb and abstained from using the brakes. We rolled into the countryside past villages on paved, dirt, and single track trails around rice paddies and visited a couple of impressive mausoleums. There are numerous mausoleums around Hue where various dignitaries of the past are laid to rest.
While cycling about we took a chance at a nice looking local restaurant. As is generally the case no one spoke any English and the words on the menu could not be found in our book for translation. We took a chance and ordered with prices on the menu. What we got were two heaping plates of fairly bland fried tofu and white rice with peanuts. Hey, when you can’t decipher the menu and no one speaks any English it’s an adventure. You never know what your going to get. The rice was good so we ate that. The tofu? Well, some of it was eaten. We were still slightly over charged on the bill but it wasn’t worth the hassle of sorting out. After that we rode into a pouring rain and back into Hue.
Its already been a week since arriving in Vietnam and today we find ourselves in Hoi Ann. It’ a lovely city whose original European style buildings survived the Vietnam War. The downside is that it’s overrun by white skinned Farang tourists and touts to buy this and that are common. However we found a great hotel for $8 USD a night and the city town is very nice. This will likely be a short stop for us as we continue our way south along the coast of Vietnam.
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