Vietnam - Ba Be Lake

Wednesday 29 June 2022

It was a prompt start today as our tour car and guide collected us at 0730.  Dat, the guide, and Mr Long, our driver, were our companions for our 10 day tour of northern Vietnam.  We spent the morning driving north through Hanoi suburbs and stopping briefly at a Museum of Ethnology in Thái Nguyên.  Dat explained the 42 different ethnic groups in Vietnam and some of their cultures/clothing/language etc. 

Then a short lunch stop before arriving at our home stay at Pac Ngoi on the shore of Ba Be Lake in the National Park.

Home stays are very common in Asia.  Although they vary wildly, the main premise is that a host shares their house with you and you eat with them.  The one we were in was large, felt more like a B&B with its numerous rooms, but, as we were beginning to find, the hot season post covid is a tourist desert and we were the only guests here.

We borrowed their bikes and cycled 6 km to Hua Ma Cave.  What a fascinating place!  We could have done without the gawdy lighting though.

Oooh look!  A tide pole - it must flood badly here - and a porcelain survey mark.  Beautiful.

After tea and shower we dined communally with our hosts with dishes of rice, pork, fish and vegetables. Not to mention the homemade rice wine.

Thursday 30 June 2022

We had a long hike around Ba Be lake today. Our driver dropped us a few km from the home stay and, with both Dat and a local guide, we walked through forest footpaths for kilometres.

There were loads of butterflies around, including one which used JC's camera for a brief rest.

As well as butterflies there were numerous spiders, stick insets, grass hoppers and a fast moving snake - not to mention buffalo, goats, chickens and cows.  The latter all tethered to a rope (chickens excepting).  We also saw ducks and even a small duck pond at the back of a dwelling.  This is not for cuteness, but simply a breeding pen for their duck meal down the line.

Dat showed us some snail eggs.  The rice fields have been invaded by these fresh water snails which destroy the crops.  As fast as the farmers pick them out, new ones appear.  I believe these snails were imported in the 1980s as a food but are now doing far more harm than good.

Rice was being harvested and put through threshing machines.  This would be hot and dusty work anywhere, but with temperatures in the mid 30s it must have been pretty unbearable.

Mid morning we had our first monsoon shower.  A deluge, but short lived, and we were fortunate to be able to dodge under a veranda as it hit us.

We stopped for refreshments where we found them: typically a house with veranda and some drinks/food for sale.  We watched a classic summer drink being made - honey, black beans, jelly, jelly sweets, ice and then fruit juice poured into the glass to top it up.  Seemed to be a hit with the locals.  We were certainly not brave enough to try it (too many potential stomach upset opportunities there) so we stuck with bottled iced green tea.

We struggled with the heat and stopped numerous times.  JC was particularly affected by the heat and mid afternoon decided that a lie down was the order of the day, much to the total bemusement of the local kids who were variously intrigued and scared by this tall white man (and me too).

We made sure we both kept drinking and our guide kindly took JC's rucksack so he only had to carry himself around, not his heavy camera gear.  The views were pretty awesome though.

We trogged on with the last couple of kilometres of the walk through the jungle.

The thunder rumbled then the heavens opened.  Initially we were semi sheltered by the canopy of trees above us, but once out into the open our guide grabbed us banana palm leaves each and we used these as umbrellas as we scuttled towards the boat.  You can't see in the photo but we are drenched!  So after ~18 km walking we could finally rest and enjoy the views as the rain subsided and we motored back to the landing stage near Pac Ngoi.  

We were pretty wet and, as we’d learned, leaving stuff outside overnight didn’t dry it due to the humidity.  The only way we could dry clothes was by hanging them in our room with the fan or air conditioning on.  So this time we creatively hung every item on the window bars, curtain tie backs just to try to dry them.

Another home stay dinner shared. Fabulous.

Vietnam - Second Day Running Around Hanoi

Tuesday 28 June 2022

We continued our exploration of Hanoi on foot today and ended up walking for miles and miles (sadly "kilometres and kilometres" doesn't quite have the same ring).  We started off by crossing Train Street.  This is where the national trains trundle down a suburban street.  The locals know exactly when they are coming, which fortunately for them is only 2 or 3 times a day, and there is a yellow line painted on the pavement indicating the extent of the train width.  You can just see it to the left of JC.  There really is not much room to manoeuvre when a train comes past!

After this we visited the Temple of Literature. It was the ancient school of learning for children (males only) to study their language and Confucianism and, if good enough, become Mandarins and advisors to the Emperor.   

The gardens, ponds and gates lead you through to the inner temple.

I love the dragons on the ridge.  And the big drum.

In the courtyard, stone turtles (signifying longevity) support stelae, inscribed with the names of all the successful candidates between 1442 and 1779 (although the school began in 1070).   I was amused to read that not only were criminals excluded from sitting the exams, but other so-called unworthies such as singers and musicians.   

It was our hottest day today with temperatures up around 38 degrees Celsius so every pore that could sweat did!  Undeterred, and supping water as we went, we moved onto the Imperial Citadel.

This was Hanoi’s forbidden city, however Emperors from the 18th century started modifying it when the capital moved from Hanoi.  And then the French arrived in the mid 19th century and pretty much demolished it.  Only the main gateway exists alongside numerous archaeological remains.  

There was an informative exhibition celebrating the life of Hon Chi Ming.  He ran the Vietnam War from offices and a bunker here.

We left and swung around to the north gate and stopped for a drink.  I loved the Ruth sized chairs which meant that JC was finding them a tad on the small side.  He’s obviously not Mr average size-wise in Vietnam.

I then wanted to see the botanical gardens so we popped into them, to the tune of 2000d each (10p).  The grounds are nice enough but it’s basically a couple of lakes and a park which was full of locals exercising.  Outdoor exercise is very common here and all ages are out doing thai-chi, badminton and using the outdoor gym equipment. 

We were near Hanoi’s largest lake, West Lake, which I wanted to see, so we eventually found our way to it detouring around private developments which had blocked off public access to it.  There is a road annexing a small lake, Ho Truc Bach Lake, with one of Hanoi’s oldest pagodas and Buddhist temple so we had a quick visit of that just as it was closing.  Lots of Buddhas!

Still very hot and wilting more we sat by the road and drank more coke.  On our way back to the hotel I fancied a pop to a coffee shop I’d seen mentioned in the guide.  You enter through a fabric shop, walk to the back of the building to find the cafe and order.  You then climb up 3 flights of stairs, including one spiral staircase, to an awesome view!

The coffee wasn’t that great (it’s very bitter in Vietnam) but the view and the sheer quirkiness of the place more than made up for it!

Vietnam - Hanoi Environs, Two Pagodas and an Historic Village

Monday 27 June 2022

Today we hired a driver and visited three sites between 60 and 25 km west of Hanoi today.  First off was Duong Lam Historic Village.  This UNESCO recognised site has refurbished some of its buildings to reflect their traditional design.  

It is very much a working village full of passageways which we’d hopefully follow to find a temple or traditional building only to find a dead end (but I liked the wiring up the pole).

We got our bearings after a while and found a few traditional communal houses.  It was so very hot!  Wherever we could we’d walk in the shade but, despite hat, umbrella to keep the sun off and lots of water I just felt like a melting sweaty blob.

Anyway back into the car (and aircon!) to cool down and off to Tay Phuong Pagoda.  This pagoda is reached by climbing a steep set of stone steps - 237 of them.  I seem to have a thing about counting steps.

It was pretty sweltering but well worth the effort as we had this marvel to ourselves.  It’s one of the more out-of-the way sites but also, as we were realising, travelling in the hot season has some advantages as few others are out and about like us.  We loved the ancient statues made of jackfruit tree wood.  Very quiet and calm in here.

A jackfruit tree in all its glory.

We tried to find the two minor pagogas down the hillside to no avail and were soon heading towards our last pagoda.  We swung by a restaurant for lunch and felt sorry for the fish swimming in a tank outside the kitchen knowing that they’d be next soon (not that JC looks particularly upset about it).

Thay Pagoda was another wonderful site.  Again, a Buddhist temple consisting of numerous buildings/pagodas.

We crossed a small bridge and huffed and sweated our way up 249 steps to an amazing jungle like temple up a hill.  It was the sort of place I’d expect Indiana Jones to appear at.

It had a shrine in a cave which, was not only interesting but super cool temperature wise.  We would have lingered longer, except the local resident seller/guide/hawker was determined to advise us and engage with us (for a fee) that we left for some peace.

Back down and a fresh coconut to drink revived us before the drive back to Hanoi.