Singapore then Home

Chinese New Year is almost here: Year of the Goat

Lobster Salad

Fried Rice

Chili Pepper Crab

We arrived in warm, humid Singapore about 5:30 pm after our 3-1/2 hour from Hanoi. We are staying the night at the Airport Hotel and then catching our flight home. It goes first to Tokyo (7 hour flight) and after a brief layover on to Los Angeles (10 hour flight). Our trip is almost over. Just the boring (I hope) flight home is left.

We grabbed a taxi and went out for dinner at Jumbo Seafood. This Chinese seafood restaurant is an institution in Singapore. The one we went to is not to far from the airport and is located by the harbor. The complex where it is located has several other large seafood restaurants. Living in Los Angeles with all of its thousands of Chinese restaurants, none that I know of are outdoors. Jumbo has a large outdoor seating area and the restaurants walls are open to the warm sea breeze. We had the traditional Crab in Chili Pepper Sauce, Lobster Salad and Fried Rice. Actually we are lucky to live in Los Angeles, Newport Seafood is better, in our opinion!

The trip was great with the big exception of John’s illness. Cathy and I both look forward to re-reading this blog, as an aid to remembering our trip.

Happy 85th Birthday Communist Party of Vietnam!

Entrance to the Prison "Hanoi Hilton"

Diorama of Vietnamese Prisoners

Sculpture of Torture (note the water boarding)

Proclamation from Ho Chi Minh

Sculpture Garden

Inside the Bomb Shelter

Cathy in the Bomb Shelter

The Bomb Shelter

Sculptures of the Resisters to the French 

Today is the 85^th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam by Ho Chi Minh. The 3 million Communist Members are all excited, putting up red Hammer and Sickle banners all over Vietnam. The 87 million people of Vietnam who are not members of the Communist Party apparently couldn’t care less; they only want to make a buck and drink great coffee. I asked our guide what they felt about America. He replied, “We like America, we hate China”.

We caught our morning flight from Hue back to Hanoi. Sometimes when you hear about foreign airlines you feel a little worried about taking them. We can report back that Vietnam Airlines is first rate. They are very efficient. We have taken 3 flights on them and all were perfect. We returned back to Hanoi to spend the night at the Metropole Hotel. There was a screw-up about our reservation, but we wound up with a fantastic suite. Cathy decided to remain at the hotel while I went to the "Hanoi Hilton".

The Hanoi Hilton, of course, is the prison where American flyers were held by the Vietnamese if they were captured. John McCain was the most famous prisoner. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting when I visited the prison, but it was an overwhelming experience. To the Vietnamese, the prison that was built in the 1800 by the French was a place where Vietnamese were tortured and killed by the French. It stands as a monument to their fight for independence from the colonial French Government. John McCain and the Americans are really a small part of the prisons dark history. As you walk through what remains of the prison there are dioramas depicting the horrors that that the French inflicted on the Vietnamese resistance leaders.

It is quite a history lesson. The Metropole Hotel where we are staying is unquestionably the major hotel in Hanoi. This is where Jane Fonda and Joan Baez stayed during the war when they visited Hanoi. After the war Bill Clinton and both George Bushes have come here as well. John McCain, who we disagree with on almost every issue, is very respected by the Vietnamese. One undoubtedly good thing he did in his life was to return to Vietnam after all of those years as a prisoner and help reconcile relations between the two countries.

Upon returning to the Hotel, we went on a tour of its bomb shelter. Only 3 years ago this bomb shelter was re-discovered during a modernization project. It had been completely forgotten. You descend into it and feel the claustrophobia that the people must have felt when the air raid alarms went off. The tour only allows for 11 people at a time and you must wear helmets as the ceiling is very low. When we reached the last section of the bomb shelter the guide played part of a song that Joan Baez recorded in the bomb shelter and you can actually hear the sound of bombs exploding on the recording. The experience was extremely emotional as our guide not only explained the bomb shelter but also told her story as a young girl during the bombings. It is impossible not to be affected by first person descriptions of being bombed upon as a child while cowering in a shelter.

Our experience in Vietnam has been wonderful, it is so different from what I expected. The infrastructure is great, the food is delicious and the people are extremely warm and gentle. I feel they have absolutely no animosity towards Americans. So much of our lives have been affected by the Vietnam War (by the way they call it The American War) and our subsequent blunders in Iraq and Afghanistan. Somehow as a country we must learn to be far wiser in our dealings with cultures so different from ours.

Tomorrow we fly to Singapore.

A Day in Hue

Entrance to Royal Tombs

At least we are dry

The Royal Tomb

Part of the Citadel

One of many Temples

Gates after Gates

Dowager Empress Pavilion

Caramelized Shrimp

Our Bed with a Heart Made of Roses

Champagne

Embroidery Factory

30 years ago today, Cathy and I were married in San Francisco. San Francisco was one of the main locus of Anti-war activity. If you had asked us on our wedding day, if 30 years later we would be celebrating our Anniversary in Vietnam, I am sure the answer would have been something on the order of: “Are you crazy?” But here we are rediscovering what was so much of our focus in our respective college days. Cathy was protesting the war in Madison, I was protesting the war in Tempe.

Vietnam has a long period of many dynasties ruling it. For 1000 years the Chinese were in control. The country didn’t get unified until the early 1800’s by a king here in Hue. Successive kings ruled Vietnam from this Imperial City until the King was forced to abdicate in 1945. The French claimed Vietnam as a colony and they were in charge until they were defeated at Dien Bien Phu by the Ho Chi Minh in 1954. The country was divided in two along the 17^th parallel. North Vietnam was under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh. South Vietnam was under the government of Ngo Dinh Diem. The North Vietnamese then reunited Vietnam defeating the South Vietnamese and the Americans.

           

Hanoi became the capital of Vietnam and Hue is now more of a historical city. The city is very important in the Vietnamese War. Over 80% of the city was destroyed during the famous Tet Offensive. This is the city that became famous for the phrase “We had to destroy the city in order to save it”. Although the Americans eventually drove the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong out of Hue, and by that standard it can be considered a US victory, the ultimate revulsion to what we did was instrumental in turning America against the war.

This history was all relevant to our tour today because The Citadel the vast palace like fortress of the Kings of Vietnam modeled after Bejing's Forbidden City,  was the site of the last bloody fighting in Hue and this historic site was severely damaged. Much has been rebuilt, but the destruction immense.

It was raining in the morning; thankfully it cleared up later in the day. As soon as we stepped out of our van women selling ponchos approached us. They only come in 1 size, but they work.

We first visited the Royal Tombs. They are spread out in a park like setting. The architecture of both the Royal Tombs and the Citidal (The Royal Fortress and Palace) is strongly influenced by the Chinese. There are lots of Red Temples and stone walls. You walk through many gates and long stone paths to get to a temple or living quarters and then continue on to get to the emperors ultimate home (at the Citidal) or grave at the Royal Tombs. Armies of men must have been employed to build these compounds.

They are sparsely furnished, I imagine that most of the furnishings were destroyed in the war or stolen. At the Tombs, there is a combination of thoughts. It is a large beautiful location, lush with vegetation from seemingly constant rain. On the other hand so much energy wasted on building magnificent tombs for just the Royal Family. I guess grand burial spots are a benefit of being a king (along with concubines).

Later in the afternoon we visited a museum, an art gallery and a embroidery factory.

We had champagne in our room, then went to dinner. It was funny, our tour guide had suggested the restaurant for lunch where I had soup and Cathy had French cheeses. It was the same restaurant that we had made dinner reservations at. It was excellent. There were some Vietnamese hipsters at the next table who would be right at home in Silverlake. The name of the restaurant if you are ever in Hue is Les Jardins De La Carambole.

We love the food in Vietnam. It is delicious and fresh and we don't worry about getting sick like in India. We have no trepidation about eating raw greens. Our favorite restaurant in Los Angeles is Newport Seafood Can Tang. We found out yesterday that Can Tang means Newport in Vietnamese. In Vietnam you get the best of all worlds: French Coffee, Good Wines, Fabulous Pastries and breads, Chinese influenced foods and authentic Vietnamese food.

Tomorrow we fly back to the capital - Hanoi. 

Do you Know the Way to Hue?

Shiva Linga

Ruins with American Bombs that Destroyed the Temple

Cham Ruins

Fried Rice and Calamari

Marble Mountain

Spring Rolls

Dragon Bridge

Red Beach where the American's First Invaded

We left the resort of Nam Hai in Hoi An Vietnam. The good news is that we got frequent stayer points towards other of their properties. The bad news is the other property is the fabulous resort The Ananti. The really bad news is that is located in all places in North Korea! You can read about the Ananti here: Ananti. Why do I think I won’t be cashing in my points? If you want to borrow them feel free.

In Danang we drove across the Dragon Bridge. This is such a fun architectural idea. The bridge supports are made to look like a giant dragon and every Friday and Saturday night it actually breathes out fire. It is an amazing piece of architecture.

We drove to the ancient ruins of My Song. This gets very complicated very quickly, but the essence is that in the 11^th century a Hindu culture flourished here. There are ancient temples to Shiva, and other Hindu Gods. Most of these ruins were lost to humanity and then re-discovered by the French in the early 20^th century. They are in the middle of the jungle and we had to drive down a narrow road, then walk to see these ruins.

This Hindu civilization is called the Cham, and its descendants still live in Vietnam. The temple complex we visited, unfortunately was bombed by the US and among the ancient relics they display US bombs. It is a horrible thing to contemplate. The destruction of these ancient ruins for no good reason, makes you ashamed.

Driving to the ancient Imperial Capital of Hue we stopped at a roadside small building where three generations of a family have baked (actually steamed) a rice tortilla like pancake that they sell. I made one and it wasn’t to bad. I felt this wasn’t a gimmick but a real business.

On our way to Hue (it rhymes when you say it aloud) we also drove by a marble mountain with its accompanying stores of carved marble. I didn’t know that Vietnam actually had marble.

The entire country is getting spiffed up, Tet, the lunar new year is quickly approaching and in addition it is the 85^th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

We finally arrived in Hue and are staying at the La Residence. This hotel was originally the Residence of the French administrator of Vietnam, before they lost the war to Ho Chi Minh. It is very art deco. We checked in and immediately headed for massages. 

We absolutely love the food in Vietnam. They really understand vegetables (and good wine). In addition we have no fear of eating fresh lettuces, the hotels all grow their own.

Tomorrow we explore this imperial city.

Best Head Ever

Do It Yourself Bloody Mary for Breakfast

Bee Hive Honey for Breakfast

Organic Garden for the Hotel

Hoi An's Answer to Grand Central Market

Egg Man

Classic Photo

Overlooking the River

River at Sunset

Hoi An at Night

After breakfast we went back for another 90 minute massage. For whatever reason the massage ended with what I would estimate 30 minutes just massaging my head. It was amazing. I never wanted it to end. Cathy and I left blissed out.

The hotel is self-sustaining with a huge organic garden. We walked through the garden looking at all of the vegetables and herbs. It is beautifully laid out, and planted so that fresh vegetables are always coming into season. We probably saw a dozen people working in the garden.

We then returned to the city of Hoi An and it was easy for us to navigate on our own. The central market was huge, with everything you would expect, meats, fish and vegetables. Our favorite was an area that was the Hoi An version of Grand Central Market in Los Angeles. There were all kinds of food stands.

We returned to the hotel for cocktails and dinner. Tomorrow we sadly leave and head to the Imperial City of Hue stopping on the way at some ancient My Son Champas ruins.

Getting Pampered

Biking through Hoi An

Our Beach

Chop Stick Selection at Dinner

Martini Time

Fried Rice with Egg Noodle and Shrimp

Suckling Pig with Crispy Skin

Creme Brule with Coconut Ice Cream

We hardly left the Nam Hai today. After breakfast we had 90 minute massages and facials. We could get used to this. We borrowed some bikes and went for a long ride. Thankfully Vietnam in this area is flat. Upon returning from biking we read by the pool. This is a very different and enjoyable experience for us. We are just hanging around getting pampered. The food here is delicious. Before dinner a server brings over a box offering you a selection of chopsticks. That was a choice I had never been offered before. Now that I think of it back at the Metropole Hotel, in Hanoi, just inside the dining room, there was a large display of chopsticks that were engraved with peoples name. Perhaps there is more to chopsticks in Vietnam that I need to research. I had a wonderful Suckling Pig for dinner, will have it again tomorrow night it was so good. We enjoyed talking to the waitstaff. We bring up Communism and living under it, but it is clear they don’t feel comfortable talking about it.

Tomorrow is another day just hanging out here, more massages, more bike rides more reading. We then will resume out tour. I am not sure I want to leave here it is so nice.