The British Kabayan and his guide, Tran, at the Palm Garden resort
Back in the Summer of 2016 I had a very long Vacation from Bahrain to Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam , and Cambodia. I used my usual mix of cheap and expensive hotels with a couple of recommendations from my friend Mama Jam in Malaysia and then a more expensive hotel in Hoi An in Vietnam called the Palm Garden resort. Their website is Palm Garden Resort, Hoi An, Vietnam
My beautiful bed at the Palm Garden resort, Hoi An
It was a big beach front resort and they had a Tour Desk. After a few days walking on the beach and visiting the pretty town of Hoi An I enquired about the tours they offered and selected one to My Son and one to Hue. I was told what time to be at the desk and asked if I needed to have breakfast before I left. I was told this would not be necessary as we had an early start and a long drive and it would be provided in the car. I set my alarm and went to the desk and was taken to a Chauffeur driven Black Mercedes waiting outside. I told you it was an expensive hotel. That's my kind of tour.
My beautiful guide, Tran, in the back of our Mercedes
A few minutes later a pretty small Vietnamese lady ran up the drive apologising for being late and introducing herself as my English speaking guide ( you buy the tour and the guide separately) Tran. On the first day for our shorter one hour ( 41 km) trip to My Son she was very formal and sat in the front with the driver while I luxuriated in the back. On the second day I asked her to join me in the back so we could chat more easily on the long (3 hour, 122 km) drive to Hue.
My Son which according to Wikipedia:
"Mỹ Sơn (Vietnamese pronunciation: [mǐˀ səːn]) is a cluster of abandoned and partially ruined Hindu temples in central Vietnam, constructed between the 4th and the 14th century by the Kings of Champa, an Indianized kingdom of the Cham people.[1][2] The temples are dedicated to the worship of the god Shiva, known under various local names, the most important of which is Bhadreshvara.
Mỹ Sơn is located near the village of Duy Phú, in the administrative district of Duy Xuyên in Quảng Nam Province in Central Vietnam, 69 km southwest of Da Nang, and approximately 10 km from the historic Champa capital of Trà Kiệu. The temples are in a valley roughly two kilometres wide that is surrounded by two mountain ranges.
From the 4th to the 14th century AD, the valley at Mỹ Sơn was a site of religious ceremony for kings of the ruling dynasties of Champa, as well as a burial place for Cham royalty and national heroes. It was closely associated with the nearby Cham cities of Indrapura (Đồng Dương) and Simhapura (Trà Kiệu). At one time, the site encompassed over 70 temples as well as numerous stele bearing historically important inscriptions in Sanskrit and Cham.[3]
Mỹ Sơn is perhaps the longest inhabited archaeological site in Indochina, but a large majority of its architecture was destroyed by US bombing during a single week of the Vietnam War.[4]
The Mỹ Sơn temple complex is regarded one of the foremost Hindu temple complexes in Southeast Asia and is the foremost heritage site of this nature in Vietnam. It is often compared with other historical temple complexes in Southeast Asia, such as Borobudur of Java in Indonesia, Angkor Wat of Cambodia, Bagan of Myanmar and Ayutthaya of Thailand. As of 1999, Mỹ Sơn has been recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site. At its 23rd meeting, UNESCO accorded Mỹ Sơn this recognition pursuant to its criterion C (II), as an example of evolution and change in culture, and pursuant to its criterion C (III), as evidence of an Asian civilization which is now extinct."
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%E1%BB%B9_S%C6%A1n (accessed 13.6.21)
We also watched a cultural show and then I took a picture of Tran!
She was so small and cute but was married with a child! When we got back to the car the driver had cool towels and cold drinks for us from an ice box in the boot, which was very refreshing after walking around in the heat. As we drove back to Hoi An we watched the kids going home from school. The eldest ride mopeds, the teenagers electric bikes and the small ones cycle or walk. Sometimes we saw the eldest one on the moped pulling their siblings on bikes behind! We discussed the differences between children in Bahrain and Vietnam. She was amazed when I told her in big families they have a driver just to take the children to their different schools and after school activities. I told her how the Indian kids over the road from me in Awali got picked up by a private bus each day for the journey to school!
On the second day we set off earlier for the longer nearly three hour drive to Hue, which according to Wikipedia:
"Huế (Vietnamese: [hwě] (
listen)) is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế Province in central Vietnam that was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of the Nguyen Dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the administrative capital for the Nguyen dynasty, and later functioned as the administrative capital of the protectorate of Annam during the French Indochina period.
The city's economy is primarily built around tourism, as it contains one of the few UNESCO designated sites in Vietnam, the Complex of Hué Monuments being a tourist attraction, alongside its moat and thick stone walls. The complex encompasses the Imperial City, with palaces and shrines; the Forbidden Purple City, once the emperor's home; and a replica of the Royal Theater.[1] Nearly 4.2 million visitors had visited the city in 2019 and much of its historic landmarks are undergoing restoration.[2]
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hu%E1%BA%BF(accessed 13.6.21)
We were served a picnic breakfast in the back of the Mercedes on tray tables and then I showed Tran some pictures of life in Bahrain on my Laptop which she was fascinated by. She told me about her life in Vietnam where she had to get up at 5 am to get her child ready for school and then she dropped her at her mothers before going to which ever hotel needed her as an English speaking guide. After work she had to collect her child and then go home and make dinner for her husband who would come home from work, eat , get drunk and fall asleep. What a life! I think you learn as much about a country by hiring and talking to local guides than you will ever find out on Wikipedia ( Mr. Gregory applauds so loudly I could hear him from The Cathedral in Cologne, the Bapco club or The Notre Dame!).
When my dad took photos on vacation ( maybe 6 a year) he always wrote on the back where it was and how old we all were. I do not follow in his obsessive nature ( I can hear my brother Andrew laugh at that white lie) so I have no idea where this photo was taken. It was on the way to Hue and we stopped for coffee and the toilet ( CR, Bathroom or Gents/ WC depending where you are reading this) and to see an old tower. You will notice Tran loved her old green straw hat and wore it everywhere to keep the sun off.
The road North to Hue took us first along the coast where a lot of Chinese Casinos and resorts are being built to Da Nang where I landed when I arrived for my stay in Hoi An. Then it starts to climb through the mountains where we stopped at a roadside shop and took in the view.
Finally we reached Hue and visited the historical sites. Once again Tran showed off her photographic skills as well as giving me the history of the UNESCO designated site.
Some of the site reminded me of Angkor Watt in Siem Reap, Cambodia, but not as grand! Just the way it's laid out with the moat and bridge to enter the site.
The long cloisters are beautiful too, and very photographic.
The wood carving is beautiful as well and there are manicured gardens and a reminder of my friends in Alimurgan , Palawan.
I am so looking forward to see the turtles hatch and head to the sea when I finally move there next year!
Hue is a big site and it took us all morning to tour it. However eventually it was too hot and we were too tired and hungry after our early start so we retired to a posh hotel where I treated Tran to lunch.
Then I stole her hat as we toured an exhibition of old photos at the hotel!
Finally we walked back out into the sun and our driver pulled up in the entrance with more cold towels and water from the ice box as we got settled in the back for the long journey back to Hoi An. Those of you who know me well will know that Tran and I slept most of the way back.
I wanted to thank her for a very memorable two days and so , after a long discussion, we headed to the hotel shop, and I bought her a stylish new hat.
Tran, I hope you are still wearing your hat and reading this blog- Thank you!
Special thanks to a great friend for many years at Bapco, Peter Hughes, who has now retired to South Africa with his lovely wife Sue. Peter, along with Kenny and many others were avid motorcyclists and would regularly set off on Epic Motor cycling vacations. It was the pictures he showed me, and the information he sent me, that inspired me to visit Hoi An and I was so happy I did. Thanks Pete!
Once we get to Palawan there will also be Vlogs on my new retired life there- so please like and subscribe to our You tube channel- all the links are below thanks to our technical whizz kid and Marketing Executive, Teacher Tang , in Marikana!
Until the next blog- Kita Kits, Ingat Palagi and stay safe.
If you want to learn about my Vietnamese Cookery class on my final day in Hoi An then click here:
Finally if you want to make some masarap Vietnamese chicken curry click here:
Vietnamese Chicken Curry Recipe
Hello, I am The British Kabayan! Feel free to read my stories.
No comments:
Post a Comment