Boog's Blog

8 February 17:00

Still no connectivity.

Excellent day, just about perfect.

Weather was again sunny, not too hot, and no strong headwind. Off on rural roads, once we got off Hiway 1 (just the first 20 km). Then perfect roads both in quality, views and lack of trucks and horns.

Some minor rolling hills to break the flatness and then to My Son a UNESCO site.

The Cham people, one of the 54 ethnic minorites used to live in this area. Between the 6th and 10th century this was the center of Hinduism in Vietnam. Temples, what remains of them after we bombed them to oblivion as the VC were supposedly hiding here, are of three types.

Hindi – tall and windowless with Shiva and many other carvings

One old stone – sandstone – as the only Khmer (think angor wat ) remaining temple (ruins) left outside of Cambodia.

Viet with their typical square roofs.

The original stone work from the 10th century is evident. The restoration work is all erroding from the humidity. Modern concrete does not work. Not clear (asked twice and got different answers) if they ysed any mortor. My guess is that they did and once again the ancient recipie is lost.

Of the 70 structures only a handfull are still standing and only a few are not ruins. Walked into a few of them. The site is like a great park hidden in the hills and framed by the gates one sees "Lucky Mountain".

Later a ride along the beach – both directions and through a village. I think the proffered pens confused the children but they took them.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

7 February morning.
Will be sent later as no connectivity here.

Arrived last evening at about 18:00. Long day of cycling that had everything. Headwinds, a mountain pass of 1500 feet, distance (65-70 miles), wonderful scenery and outstanding views, beach (real sand with water at 20 C ).

Had a lunch of mussels and other seafood just before the Hoi An pass. Good that we ate first .

Hoi An is a world heritage site. Home of the Chaum peoples – mostly Hindu and Moslem. Own language of the Malay-Poly language group, most similar to Hawaii.

Hotel is another of the Victoria group. Excellent views and right on the ocean.

Cooking school via a boat ride:

First a walk through the market in Hoi An. Then off on a boat for about an hour to a restaurant / cooking school. Watched and made
-eggplant in clay pot
-warm squid salad in a pinapple boat (sweet and sour)
-bahn xeo (pancakes with shrimp filling)
-our own rice paper from rice or rice flour on a steamer with a linen cover
-lesson on decoration

Bike ride along the sea shore in the late afternoon. Hoi An is a UNESCO city (the market tour gave us a chance to see the ancient city center). The hotel is about 4km outside and right on the beach. Beautiful beach, water temp at 22 C

IMG00069.jpg

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

5 February. Evening before and after dinner

Another perfect weather day, a little warmer but plésant compared to the Mekong.

A day of boat and biking. Both on the Perfume River, a river so named as about 100 km upstream there are romantic mountains with wonderful flowers and smells which fill the river. Did not notice but did enjoy the relatively clean water and good Junk boat. Once again asked all get in safety position when the river police are watching and then no OSHA concerns of any kind.

Bike ride to another Pagoda. Hué is home to 300 of them – the center of Buddhism in Vietnam. One pic included.

The stupa used to be bigger but the French took the top one. This is the Pagoda of the Heavenly Lady.

The local village ride was bumpy but peaceful. Off then to the Citidal, the original Hué capital imperial center. 2km by 2km with moats, and inner city and a forbidden purple (read dynasty of emperors) city. While the architechture is Asian (Chinese and Vietnamese) the feeling is the same as one gets walking into the Russian Winter Palace or Versailles or the Vatican Museum. Extreme wealth of the Emperor and abject povery in the cities. Shall we use 3000 today to dig a spot for me or should we use 5000.

The buildings are much nicer here but the logic is different. In the South they are wealthy as they have lots of rice and good food. Therefore they can spend all their money and do not need to save or bulld nice homes or invest. Life in the North is just the oppisite so they build nice homes and husband all their resources.

Dinner menu
-Phoenix shaped starter
-Crab soup with mushroom
-Fried seafood roll on melon boat
-Shrimp pie and rice shrimp cake
-stewed pork with beans and dumplings. (beans used to be reserved for the emporer)
-Grilled grape leaves with beef
-Steamed rice with lotus seeds
-fruit, tea, beer

Long ride iin the morning

IMG00060.jpg

IMG00061.jpg

IMG00062.jpg

IMG00063.jpg

IMG00064.jpg

IMG00065.jpg

IMG00066.jpg

IMG00067.jpg

IMG00068.jpg

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

4 Feb. 23:50
A bit more on an earlier item.

In an earlier post (about the perfume pagoda) there is a picture of me in front of a temple and I am holding a stick. At the time it was just a stick but now it is a stick.

On the way up the hill, a very rocky road and very slippery, I was sold a bamboo pole for 2000 dong, $.12 (12 cents). Did not think much of it.

Helped a bit and used it coming down. However it then started to have a life of its own.

First as a security item when I was not permitted to take it on the cable car. Then retrieving it.

I was wearing my dark sunglasses and soon it was a stick as if I had no sight.

Then it became a way to get preferential entry at the airport. A betting item to see if I could get it through security at the airport. Finally got it checked as luggage, with a full bar code.

Then the staff used it to herd others.

A life of its own and a real stick (New York pronunciation).

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

4 Feb. 23:30

Just arrived Hué, the ancient capital. Had spectacular dinner, many but not all of the dishes included.

Stuffed grape leaves
Pork on sugar cane
Calamari
Prawns
Hué sticky rice, a speciality
Melon soup and fish

Notice especially the presentation. Carved veggies with each of the dishes. Beautiful work with carrots and white raddishes etc.

IMG00052.jpg

IMG00053.jpg

IMG00054.jpg

IMG00055.jpg

IMG00056.jpg

IMG00059.jpg

IMG00058.jpg

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

4 Feb. 16:00

Waiting is.

Flight to Hué is delayed so I am waiting in hotel lobby.

Botanical garden and temple walks.

Buffet lunch with excellent local fruit selection.

IMG00051.jpg

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Feb 3. 22:30 hours

Nice ride to the Perfume Pagoda today. Approachable only by boat, so one hour on a small boat with rowers to get to the remote hilly area. Then a climb up to the chair lift area (avoides a 6 km walk straight up hill) and then a 15 minute walk up and down stone type steps. Worth it however.

One climbs down to a large cave with staglitites (sic) and pertrified trees, flowers and stones. Wonderful space with several alters. Very calming and interesting

Make me feel that this is the ultimate in "if we build it they will come". Now a whole industry related to getting yo there and extracting funds as one approaches and leaves.

The ride was near perfect. Cool weather, excellent road quality, beautiful rice fields and other fields, small towns and then the scenery of the boat ride.

Two pics of the Perfume Pagoda. One the expected, has the equivalent of scaffolding.

IMG00049.jpg

IMG00050.jpg

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Feb 2. Evening before and after dinner

Last day of being a tourist in Hanoi – very ready to be back on the road. Took a short ride to nowhere today just to get my legs back and test out my butt. So far so good.

One pic is the One Pillar Pagoda near the HCM Mausaleum. Another is a Buddha from the same pagoda. The third and final is from the water puppet show.

All would have loved the one stringed instrument -a ancient one in Vietnam. Saw the same instrument being placed at the Temple of Literature and Learning (1000 year old university in the center of Hanoi with the teachers being venerated in exactly the same way as the Buddha). If one did not look at the statuary one would think that the Buddah was on the podium.

In 'ancient' times women were not allowed to listen to music from this horizonal one stringed gourdish shaped with vertical thin piece of wood to vary the pitch instrument. It was feared that they would be immediately and permanently infatuated with the player.

Tomorrow we cycle out the the Perfume Pagoda, full day ride. Finally back on the road. As I joined two trips not quite back to back there was an intérval between them.

In response to some general QB questions.

Mahayana with Boddavistas. From China via India.

Pho not yet really good. Hotel and local tourist places are not the best way to test out. Will know more after being on the road again.

Had a good lunch today with a wide variety of dishes, some I had not seen before. Pork in a sweet cream sauce, pineapple flambe, individual bamboo shaped clay pot filled with meat and onions and spices, as well as the usual veggies, lotus root with papaya salade, noodle soup, shrimp etc. Far too much food as you can imagine.

Getting to start to know the riders and their interests and histories. Suspect we will spread out quite a bit tomorrow. Some of the travellers are clearly real shoppers – shoes of course, but will in desperation buy anything.

Dinner at Four Brothers a good buffet.

Off at 7 am, yeah.

IMG00045.jpg

IMG00046.jpg

IMG00048.jpg

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Feb 1. Lunchtime and evening

Several hour walk a success in the sense saw no other tourists as I wandered north east and further east.

Small and large streets filled with narrow frontage commerce.

Smells, meats, obstacles everywhere. Teaming with life.

Wonderful visit with a group of smiling children. Photo on camera.
Lunch by West lake.

Lotus root salad with shrimp and pork.

QB posed some questions (private communication ibid.)

Is the food different in the North? In general no. Less spicy, ingredients more meat and less fish, vegtables less fresh, fruit does not look as good or taste as good. So far, but it is very early, the South wins hands down for freshness. As clolser to China more wheat products. Good bread. Poor pastries.

Of course maybe too soon to generalize as Hanoi is not Vietnam and it is still, in effect two countries. Their are excellent and terrible restaurants in Hanoi, just like any big city. Dinner at a local seafood place last evening was excellent and the seafood buffet, ibid. , had some wonderful crab and grilled prawns.

Previous riders, not much discussed. Scott and Ben, a father and son combo were a delight to travel with. Both were stronger riders so I watched their dust settle most days. Excellent breakfast and dinner companions. Ben, a San Fran architech. Scott, a vet in his youth, knew a bit of the aréa and could provide some interesting prospectives. We will exchange photos in the future.

On this trip there are 15 fellow travellers. Will be a very different trip. The riding has not started as yet, some still
arriving and some more touristing to do. Los Gatos, Ottawa, and Northern Georgia and Walnut creek so far. Met the rest at dinner tonight. One image of some in group.

IMG00043.jpg

IMG00044.jpg

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Jan 31. 15:45

Rice
Walking Tour
Food

Rice first. Havé been thinking about the history of Vietnam, a history of war and repeated attempts for control. Our recent past may have been for oil but double that two millenia were anything but rice and resources.

This was not clear until I got to the North. In SaPa one rice crop in a good season. In Hanoi and a bit South one crop and maybe two a bit further South.

Mekong – up to four crops let along fruit etc.

Rice is food to stop the starvation, power and money. Easy to see why adjoining countries all wanted the resources as well as the Ocean for fish. Then oil. These wonderful people sure have suffered from a bounty of relative wealth.

Took a longish walking tour of the city today.

The North and South are culturally, architecturally, economically, and socially two different countries.

HCMC is small entrepreneurial commerce on every square inch. Dirty and alive and vibrant.

Hanoi is closer to a modern city without the really heavy traffic that they will soon have. Wide streets, crossable streets, taller older buildings with lots of history and tourist items to see. Old city of markets, large lakes with a very special one in the center, many pagodas, some from the 11th century, several Catholic churches.

Finished walk too late to eat at a restaurant. Lunch starts and stops very early and 14:00 is too late to get served. So, resorted to the hotel. Glad that I did.

Fab buffet. Fresh, moments old, sweetwater crab. Boiled while I waited. Giant prawns grilled while I waited, small fish similarly prepared. I munched on shrimp, spring rolls, clams, lotus beef salad and Pompalo (close to grapefruit) salad mixture. The crabs were sweeter than Dungness but had to compare as mine was right out of the pot and still too hot to eat.

Fruit, cheese and non-mentionable ( to Tom at least ) chocolate, French style, deserts. I will most definitely eat again, often.

Will close this section with a comment on the Pagodas. Each are set in lovely places, are landscaped with Bonsai and old trees with benches and cool spots to sit. Another perfect weather day – the tourism office should be paying for my travels.

It is a hard life here. Might go for a massage.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend