Honkers

I had never been to Hong Kong before unless you count walking across the tarmac at the old airport to change planes on the way to Vietnam for the first time in 1997. So, when Joel suggested he would like to see Hong Kong, I thought, yes, why not, let's do it.

We both found it to be underwhelming, claustrophobic, so many high rise apartment blocks which would be awful to live in. The air was horribly smoggy. The people were efficient, business like, generally polite, occasionally impatient and they don't smile - not friendly at all.

It is hard to find the old among the new in Hong Kong, but there are some British remnants - trams and the town hall.

Bamboo is still often used for scaffolding. This one looks like a porcupine.

There is construction everywhere, especially along the harbour front. It was also very smoggy which did spoil the views. Apparently it is like this 30% of the time.

Not sure I'd want to eat fish from Victoria Harbour.

Can you "see tomorrow clearly"?

A short sampan ride amongst fishing boats, house boats and million dollar yachts.

We rode the old and very steep cable car to the summit of Victoria Peak for the smoggy views. That's not quite true. The very touristy full-of-shops centre is not quite on the top. Someone with a lot of money owns a residence at the very top.

Man Mo temple is frequented by many locals and tourists. Not very big and not very old, built in 1847 but in an ancient style.

Lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe

Hong Kong is proud of its nightly light show. Sorry, Hong Kong, but Da Nang's night lights are better.

The famous ferry across the harbour which at 900 metres, is not as wide as I expected.

Kowloon is a similar mix of old and massive glitzy new buildings.

We used the Big Bus hop-on-hop-off bus tour to explore the city for the two days we were there and it was very good value and easy to use. I am glad to have seen Hong Kong but I do not need to go there again.

Da Nang night lights

The Han River is wide, around 600 to 700m. For 3 or 4 kms on both sides of the Han River, Da Nang has built lovely wide paved promenades where people walk and sit at all times of the day. In the evening, there are also dance groups, exercise groups and music. Cafes and restaurants line the banks. People are out cruising up and down on their motor bikes and in their cars. Dinner cruise boats sail up and down the river.

And the lights - wow! All of Da Nang's five bridges light up with a constantly changing display. The Han and Dragon bridges are the ones closest to the city centre. I don't know the name of the first bridge photographed which is further up river, and yes, there is a massive ferris wheel.


 Sorry for so many photos but it was such a lovely calm balmy night and the atmosphere was as lovely as the lights.


Han River Bridge

Dragon Bridge

Da Nang - much has changed, but much is the same

Ah - Da Nang - It did not feel like 11 years since I wandered your streets.

Da Nang - our home for 14 months in 2003-2004. Some things are the same but much has changed!

Twelve years ago there were a number of buildings around ten stories but now there are numerous real high rise buildings and many more being constructed. The long sandy "China beach" where US soldiers swam during the Vietnam War, is now lined with high rise hotels and five star resorts and construction sites. It looks like the Gold Coast when viewed from Son Tra Penisula at its northern end. The city centre is changing too. This a bad photo but it gives some idea of the changing city skyline.

Old and new - one of the lovely colonial buildings overlooked by Da Nang's tallest building, the People's Committee and local government administration offices.

The view from our fifth floor hotel room showing just one of the new bridges. There were two bridges across the Song River in 2004. Now there are five, and they are all large! This one is the Thuan Phuoc and is 1850m long and 80m high.

The Dragon Bridge (666m long) apparently breathes out fire once a week. Sounds really kitsch but is actually quite impressive (we did not get to see the fire). It points directly to the new international airport, which is unrecognisable compared to what we used to fly in to in 2204.

Oh - free wifi!!! Both Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City have really jumped onto the free wifi craze. It is everywhere, free, easy and FAST! Australia - take notice! Not only do most of the cafes and hotels have free, fast wifi, but the government also provides free wifi which seems to be all over the city area, and even the taxis advertise that they have wifi! And it is fibre optic - not old copper cables!

And coffee! Wow - that sure has improved. Coffee and cafe culture is truly alive and happening. Not only is Vietnamese coffee available but also all the western styles we know and love. Expresso machines are every where. We did go to quite a few, sometimes with local friends. It did not feel like we had been away for almost eleven or twelve years.

Da Nang is known for fresh seafood. Joel and friend, Huy choosing our dinner, all live and swimming.

While this visit was about revisiting the past and old friends, and meeting new friends, we did play tourist.

30 minutes drive from Da Nang, Hoi An is an old favourite place for a relaxing get away. It still retains its charm as it is UNESCO Heritage listed, but the tourist shops for art, crafts and tailoring have spread out across the river and into surrounding streets. There are way more tourists wandering around now.

Marble Mountain, originally a maze of caves and shrines, has become even more touristy. It even has an elevator going up the side. It used to cost $1USD to enter the main cave. Now it costs $1 to enter the main cave, $1 to enter the walking paths to all the shrines and other smaller caves, $1 to ride up in the elevator and $1 if you want to come down the elevator, but you can walk up it you want. Still cheap, but there are even more tourists visiting now which has the advantage of toning down the once extremely aggressive marble statue and trinket sales women in the shops at the bottom . Now they have so many tourists around they don't have to compete for us. Back in the 1990s, they would literally grab hold of your arm and drag you into their shops. Not a pleasant experience at all.

Below is the view looking inland from the side of the mountain near the main cave.

Hot and steamy

Two days in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

Hot and steamy, but vibrant and laid back. Lots of construction which means our favourite old 'French' cafe is gone, replaced by swanky designer shops, and soon the city will have an underground train system! High rise buildings are transforming the city but Ho Chi Minh City retains some beautiful colonial buildings and its parks are well used by the local citizens.

An early morning ritual as men arrive on motorbikes with their birds in bamboo cages. The park is full of birdsong, as the men drink coffee and talk.

A speedboat tour is a great way see the Cu Chi Tunnels - a massive system of underground tunnels where the North Vietnamese were able to hide from the US soldiers and launch surprise attacks. The Americans unknowingly built some of their largest army bases right on top of the tunnels.

Our tour included a one hour ride up the Saigon River, a guided tour of the tunnels, a delicious traditional Vietnamese lunch on the pontoon on the riverside, and a ride back to the city.

There were a huge amount of water hyacinth plants floating on the river. Our boat had to stop a few times to reverse the propeller to remove plants that had become caught in it.

We crawled through some of the tunnels which have been enlarged for us westerners. You have to admire the determination and tenacity of the North Vietnamese. 

Joel finally got to shoot an AK47 and a M60 machine gun. He was too young when I took him there at age 9. He was happy but a bit underwhelmed as it was rather rushed due to the large numbers of mostly men wanting to shoot the Vietnam War era weapons.

As our guide said, "All wars are rubbish, and for some, they are business." They continue to bring tourism business to Vietnam.

War Remnants Musuem -  It was a bit noisy!!! as we arrived just as six large bus loads of school children were entering to learn the North Vietnamese side of the war they call the American War. This says is all really:


More Vietnam War era tourism - The Unification Palace is a stunning example of mid-sixties architecture, designed for the South Vietnamese president. (There was a large stage across the front of the building and rehearsals under way for some sort of official celebration)

The rooms are huge, grand, extravagant and well preserved.

The repaired bomb holes (marked by the red circles) in the roof top were caused by a South Vietnamese plane flown by one of their own pilots, or so they thought - he was actually a North Vietnamese spy who joined the South Vietnamese air force. 

This is where the city was surrendered to the the North in April, 1975 following the famous footage of the tank smashing through the gates.

A lovely way to end a hot day of wandering - cold drinks and dinner sitting outside The Continental, one of the grand French colonial era hotels.

A beautiful tree lined street with some 'interesting', and quite common, electrical wiring.