Recap of the Tour

March 29th

• 1/2 hour before departure my dad decides that he wants to come on tour with KA and I. We already had problems trying to get airline tickets for my mom and CT but the tour operator made it possible. He said my dad had to take his chances at the airport as it was too late to buy a ticket from the company.
• There was a 1 hour delay at Cam Ranh Airport due to technical difficulties. KA, CT and my mom were drugged up (KA still didn't feel well from the catfish the other night) and CT/mom had motion sickness.
• The driver that met us in Da Nang (we didn't fly directly to Hue) was totally scary. He had a thick accent and we were glad that our parents decided to come along as I think if it was just KA and I we wouldn't have been able to understand his dialect.
• The driver took us to Hue using the tunnel pass. There was a mountain pass but he was driving as if he were on a race course so we opted for the "safer" route.
• There were parts of the drive where I had my heart race. Even my dad reached for his seatbelt (though no one wears them over here) at one point. I looked around the van - the rest of us didn't have seatbelts. Oh well - I figure at the speeds he was going we'd die anyways in some horrific crash.
• All drivers use their horns to signal a pass. Boy do they ever pass around here. There are even times when it's a dual or triple pass. Where cars are racing against other cars to try to pass the passers. Road signs are merely suggestions. I saw a no passing sign as we were trying to pass another car that was trying to pass a pickup truck.
• Da Nang is a very patriotic city. Lots of red flags with stars. We were told that every home and business has to have a flag infront of it. I guess I'm use to the southerners who aren't as patriotic. I wasn't able to get a picture though all those flags would have looked pretty nice on film.
• On the drive to Hue there were lots of rain forest and waterfalls. We didn't have time to stop to look at stuff and most of us had our eyes closed. Keeping our eyes closed when on longer journeys is the best bet. That way you're not tense from fear when you reach your destination.
• There were lots of temples hidden in the hillsides. The temperature in the north was cold(er). About 10 - 15 degrees. KA and I had brought clothing for 30 degree weather.
• We arrived at our 3 star hotel in Hue. We were pretty tired and wanted to rest before the tour guide arrived. There was hot water in the bathroom. KA and I were estatic as this was the first hot/warm shower in a tub that we've taken in 2 weeks.
• KA had to show CT how to use the tub and shower curtain as after CT took a shower the whole bathroom was soaking wet. She's use to taking showers Nha Trang style (which is just with a bucket of cold water and scooper). :-)
• Our Hue tour guide was this tiny little lady with a heavy accent too. She had come to the hotel earlier but we weren't there so she took off. She came back later though when we called the company asking where the Hue-guide was.
• The xit-lo drivers in Hue are pretty persistent. They wouldn't leave us along and tended to bike beside us trying to get us to ride on the chairs.
• That night we went to see an Imperial Concert aboard one of the concert ships. We didn't know what to expect. The guide took us to the boat then left us. We were kinda perplexed by this as we assumed our guides would go everywhere with us.
• The concert was good - though I didn't understand the music. There were 5 singers dressed in traditional Ao Dai's and 3 musicians.
• After the concert they gave us all wish-lanterns to let go into the river. Very beautiful scene with all the laterns floating...camera does not work well in dim lighting...grrr. We all made wishes before letting our lanterns go - some of us were more worried about falling over board or having our lantern sink (which is a BAD sign).

March 30th

• We woke up early and had a buffet breakfast. KA was really happy as this was the first western-style dining we've had in a long time. KA has gotten a bit weary of our street eating and her tummy still wasn't feeling "right". Nothing Pepto Bismal can't cure!
• We went to visit the Imperial City today. The guide showed up in a traditional outfit and hussled us into the van with our nutty-driver.
• There was a lot of "culture" to see today. Visited temples and monastaries. Lots of picture taking as well. But after awhile all the temples kinda blended together. My family did get an opportunity to dress up in Royal clothing and take pictures as King, Queen and Princesses. That was pretty fun.
• After the tour we walked around the city at night to explore the eating facilities. We ended up having Bun Bo Hue (as we were in Hue!). It rained that day so we were under a tarp with our driver (who also ate with us).
• The day was gloomy so we didn't want to go out at night too long (didn't have umbrellas).
• We had to get to bed a bit earlier as we had a flight into Ha Noi the next morning and the driver said he'd come pick us up at 7am. We wanted to get some of the yummy buffet breakfast into our tummies before heading out to Ha Noi.

March 31st

• We head out to Ha Noi (the Capital) early in the morning. The driver takes us right into the airport and waits for us to check in. The service is great - guess it comes with our tour package.
• We fly Vietnam Airlines and get their standard snack: ham & cheese sandwich with a cup of water. We fly Vietnam Airlines 3 times on our 6 day tour.
• Ha Noi is a pretty city. Much bigger than Hue and full of toll gates. But on the bright side our tour guide in Ha Noi is this young guy who we can understand (as his accent is not as harsh).
• As we drive to the hotel he shows us the "thit cho" communities. Thit Cho = dog meat. Dog meat is a specialty of the north. I try to take a picture of all the restaurants that have it advertised in their signs but the car was going too fast. We have another crazy driver.
• In Ha Noi we went to visit some lakes, temples and more cultural centers. My dad is totally bored and ran off to sit with the locals who were fishing in the lake. The rest of us following the guide around the lake.
• The shopping is better in Ha Noi as it's a bigger city. There are more stores that are catered to tourists. More things that are likely to fit us. We didn't find anything that we liked though. Bummer! Though we tried very hard.
• Ha Noi has a wonderful night market. Much bigger than Vancouver's chinese night market. We went there 2 nights in a row. Took some pictures of it too.

April 1st

• We head to Ha Long Bay. It was a 4 hour bus ride there and the guide on the bus was this grumpy girl. We were already tired as she came 1 hour late - which caused the Ha Noi guide to sit around with us to wait for her to show up.
• Ha Long Bay is beautiful. The day as foggy so we didn't to see the islands too clearly. Though it made everything kinda mysterious looking.
• The weather is too cold to take a dip in the waters. But I don't think I would anyways as there is a lot of trash in the water for a tourist site.
• We did a 4 hour tour of the Bay then headed to Tuan Chau Island.
• Tuan Chau Island is a tourist trap. It caters to just tourists and there's no way on/off the island unless you call up your guide.
• The good thing about Tuan Chau is that it's a replica of all the nice tourist spots around the world.
• One of the entertainment domes is a miniture Sydney Opera House - really good accoutics in there. The entertainment in the dome was large pool in which whales, seals and dolphins performed.
• Our tour package covered a lot of entertainment. Because the weather was MUCH cooler we didn't feel as tired so quickly and enjoyed ourselves more (maybe because it was just the main family and we didn't have to entertain extended family).
• We went to see a water show that rivals any Belagio (Vegas) show. Complete with lasers, music and movie on a 6 storey screen of water. We were really impressed with this show as it mimics everything that the Belagio in Las Vegas has to offer.
• There are other entertainment on the island - private beaches as well. We went to see some zoo animals perform the next day - it was a good show too.
• The island is still under development. Our hotel is secluded as it sites in a construction site (there are a couple of other hotels being built around it). It's weird not having noise wake you up in the mornings. We're use to the sounds of city life waking us up but out there it's so quiet - only the sounds of the frogs.
• I think that if I return to Vietnam again then I would go to Ha Long Bay and stay on Tuan Chau Island before going down to visit any family. It's so nice there - more of the "vacation-style-living" that I'm accustomed too. KA and I didn't get an opportunity to spend any time of the Sheishedo Executive Spas - too bad as the price were SO cheap!! :-(
• We only got to say one night in Tuan Chau - the tour bus was to arrive and pick us up at noon.
• Noon the next day came and went with no bus to be seen. We were annoyed. We called the Ha Noi guide to see what was going on. He told us to just hold on and wait. We waited another 2 hours then called the Nha Trang guide to see if he can tell us what's going on. He had to call the other guides to get our schedule. So in the end we waited 6 hours for the bus to arrive. That was such a waste of time. We sat in the hotel room and watched movies on HBO (english movies!!).
• When the bus did come we were all tired and irritable. CT was sick the whole ride back to Ha Noi (we had run out of Gravol for her).
• By the time we reached Ha Noi it was too late to do anything. We left CT at the hotel and went searching for some food at 8pm. We hit the night market and walked around there for a bit. By the time we got back it was pretty late and we had an early morning flight.

April 2nd

• We woke up late. We had asked for a early morning wake up call but they forgot to do it. So our guide had to wait while we packed and got ready. My parents took their time getting downstairs and wanted to have some breakfast before going to the airport.
• I told KA that we're going to die on the car ride to the airport as we only had one hour to get there and check in. The driver was already crazy on a normal day. My parents finished their breakfast and we litterally raced all the way to the airport.
• Mental note to myself - when a driver turns on his hazards and flies down a highway...it's best to just close your eyes and not think about the lack of a seatbelt. There are people who jay-walk across the highways.
• We arrive at the airport in record time (half hour) and begin to check in. The airline girl takes forever. I hear "Vietnam Airlines flight 267 now boarding" on the intercom. We were still waiting for the girl to tag our luggage.
• KA and I get confused by the gate signs. Our boarding passes said "Gate 2". We looked up at the signs: "Gates 1-4 turn left" or "Gates 2-9 turn right". Nothing is clear when you're in a hurry. We look at the signs carefully again and read them in Vietnamese - much clearer (one was for domestic flights and one was for international). I don't think a Westerner would have been able to figure that out on his own.
• We rush towards the Gates 1-4 corridor. I hear "would passengers Le Dang Kim Anh, Le Dang Kim Hoang, Dang Thi Xuyen and Le Van Them please go to Gate 2". We run as fast as we can. We hop on the plane and try to find our seats. The other passengers on the plane had to wait for us.
• We ate our ham/cheese sandwiches and try to get some sleep. We arrive back in Nha Trang 2 hours later. The weather is 30 degrees again. I miss the rain - who would have thought?!