Moomba

Thanks PETER01. If you are going to try the carrot net you will need a very fine, very sharp knife.

The night on the junk was fun but it was quite warm and humid and wasn't really as peacefull as you would imagine. The generator for the lights etc requires a diesel motor that ran constantly through the night. However you are right compared to Hanoi it was quiet. The traffic madness in Vietnam is supplemented by a contstant barrage of honking horns.

The water puppets were really entertaining and told several different stories including the first one with the Dragon and the Peacock that fell in love and their children became the first inhabitants of Vietnam.
Each story was accompanied by music and song from the live band that added to the whole event.

I will try and get the next day posted tonight. I am back to the daily grind now so it might take some time to get the photos uploaded for the remaining 14 days of the trip, so bare with me.

price123

We will be visiting Vietnam in November. May I ask which boat you were on in Halong Bay? There are so many to choose from and although we have booked, it would be interesting to know if you were on the same.

The photos are amazing and really whet the appetite...

Moomba

Before heading out to the airport for our 13:45 flight to Da Nang we had one last culinary adventure for us in Hanoi.

After a light breakfast and a short bus ride we piled off the bus and into a street side café for a breakfast of deep-fried perch in noodle soup. It was delicious and was quite fun sitting on little plastic chairs mixing with the locals eating their own breakfast.





Looking up in Hanoi one sees hundreds of wires strung between houses and power poles. It is a really a spaghetti nightmare of wire up there. We were told it is so bad because if something goes wrong it is easier to put up new wire than find the old one that had the fault.



Next up we wandered along the streets past various stalls and people on bikes selling all sorts to our next stop a snake wine seller. We sampled a cup of snake wine and bird wine sold to us by a 96 year old gentleman.





We next tried some sticky rice balls filled with sugar lumps and then some tofu with a syrup poured over it.





We next went through a market and on down an alley filled with street food sellers.







We stopped at the end and sat down to watch a lady prepare whole shrimp cakes that we ate with a chilli dipping sauce. These were sort of like a potato rosti with whole shrimp in the mix that were fried.











We moved on to the next seller who made us some shrimp pancakes that were served with a different sauce.





We walked on down the street past a place that sold all sorts of paper items used for offerings at temples, including a couple of paper motor cycles. Our guide explained that people burn these paper items so they are sent to heaven for the departed to use.



Next up was a taste of some weird jellyfish that was served with a very pungent shrimp paste. It almost made me gag and I was surprised that it actually had a crunch to it.





Finally we ended up with a lovely iced coffee before heading back to the hotel for a shower. The weather had been exceedingly warm and very humid. I had been drinking gallons of water a day and constantly dripping.

Moomba

After checking out of our hotel we said goodbye to our local guide and then bussed out to the airport.

Check-in was having problems and the baggage belt was being temperamental but we eventually go there.

We went back upstairs to security that was very quick and easy, none of the shoes off, lap tops out etc. We then waited until our flight was ready to board.



Boarding was announced and I made my way up to the gate and had my BP swiped.

Flight VN1519 HAN-DAD Seat 30G
Aircraft: A321
Departure time: 13:45

After going down the ramp I realised it was a bus gate and we were herded onto busses to be taken to the aircraft.

They had stairs at the front and read and I headed up the rear set and on board. Once on board we were given a moist towel in a packet. The flight time was announced as 1 hour. We pushed back with a full load at 13:45 and took off at 13:53.





In the air after the belt sign was turned off a small bottle of water was handed out to each passenger. After the quick flight we landed at 14:50 into Da Nang airport. We pulled up to a gate and offloaded quickly.

The bags came out quickly and once we had all the bags together we went out and met our new guide and driver to take us to Hue. Hue has its own airport but it was closed whilst they build a second runway and lengthen the existing one. This meant a 2 hour drive from Da Nang to Hue. On the way we went through the longest tunnel in Vietnam at just over 6 km. We passed by many more villages and rice paddies along the way.















When we arrived in Hue we checked in and freshened up before heading out for a feast of local dishes at a restaurant that was within the walls of the old Palace.
Along the way we were hindered by a film crew who were making a film about the Tet offensive. This included burning tyres, gunfire and other explosions. After they had finished filming a scene we drove right through the middle of the set to the restaurant.



They were filming right outside the restaurant and there was a US army jeep parked at the front gate. We negotiated our way into the restaurant through the garage and sat down for a lovely meal of local dishes and of course some more beer.

During the meal there were several interruptions from sporadic gunfire and a couple of loud explosions. It was quite surreal.



On the menu tonight was:
Main Meal


Spring roll decorated on formed peacock


Vegetable soup


Steamed shrimp


Hue special pan cake


Mixed fig salad


Grilled beef & Mixed steamed lotus rice

Dessert
Fruit

Green bean cake formed fruit.

After a lovely meal it was time to head back to the hotel by cab and some sleep. The long hot days were taking it out of us.



The firsts for this day were:

First time Vietnam airlines

First time in Da Nang

First time in Hue

First time eating dinner in the middle of a film set, explosions and all!

More Day 5 photos here

Moomba

Thanks price123

The name of the boat company is shown in this picture.

exilencfc

Loving the TR Moomba - and you're a braver eater than I am.
No Vietnamese food around here sadly.

Moomba

Ah well you only live once.

Glad you are enjoying the report. Hopefully I will get a few more days reports posted over the coming weekend.

Moomba

This morning we started with a tour of the old citadel area of Hue where the imperial palace was within the city walls. It reminded me of the imperial city in Peking where the centre most complex was the old residence of the former Vietnamese royalty.

The Vietnamese are still in the process of restoring this old palace and it was good to see some of the older parts along with the newer restored sections.

Moomba

After this we drove out to Thien Mu Pagoda the largest of the 500 Buddhist temples in the city of Hue that afforded some excellent views down over the Perfume River.



















Once done there we drove out to the tomb of the second last emperor of Vietnam Khai Dinh. His son was the last emperor and abdicated after Uncle Ho ousted the French. The tomb was originally meant to be a summer palace and was set atop a hill overlooking a valley down to the river.












Mosaic made from soup spoons, broken beer bottles etc.

Moomba

We came back into Hue city and wandered around and had some lovely ice coffee Vietnamese style with condensed milk and sampled a few local specialty dishes at a café across the street from the hotel.

The local specialities were:


Shrimp custard type arrangement


Shrimp served on sticky rice wrapped in a banana leaf


Pork served wrapped around a lemon grass stalk.

They were all very tasty with some odd textures though.

Tonight we were free to do our own thing and six of us went to one of the tour guides recommended restaurants, La Carambole, for another Vietnamese feast with more beer.

On the menu for this evening was:


Shrimp Soup


Rice Crepe with Shrimps


Fried Pork with Mushrooms


Fried Morning Glory with Garlic


Grilled Chicken with Chilli and Lemongrass & Steamed Rice


Fruit

Firsts for today:

First time in Hue Forbidden City

First time eating shrimp custard

First time eating shrimp in sticky rice

First time eating pork off of a lemon grass skewer


More Day 6 Photos here

Moomba

After another mediocre breakfast at the hotel in Hue it was time to head on down to Hoi An. The hotel in Hue wasn’t up to the same standard as the Hanoi one and the internet was pitifully slow. The air con also struggled to keep the room at a comfortable temperature.
On checkout day the guide had arranged for our bags to be picked up at 08:00 with a planned departure at 08:30. The hotel cleaning staff were knocking at the door at 07:55 saying ‘you check out now?’ Not the nicest of places.

Anyway with that behind us we jumped on the bus for our drive down to Hoi An.
We drove back along the road to Da Nang but instead of going through the tunnel again we went up through the mountain pass. On the way we passed many stills along the side of the road extracting eucalyptus and melaleuca oil that they sold at roadside stalls. We also passed many fishing villages and lots of farmer doing their daily toil.











We started the climb up the mountain pass and stopped to photograph an express train that wound its way from Hanoi down to Saigon.





At the top of the pass we took a break and scrambled around on the old ramparts that divided the Vietnamese and Chung people along time ago. These walls were mostly destroyed by the French but some areas remain. Also at this point there were some US bunkers built during the Vietnam war, complete with bullet hole riddled walls.













After another lovely Vietnamese iced coffee it was back in the bus and down the other side of the mountain and into Da Nang.



We passed by the beach where 3500 US troops first landed and then later on we drove by China beach, the famous R&R beach for US soldiers.

Moomba

We left Da Nang behind us and made our way on to Hoi An where we stopped for a lovely lunch of Chinese & Japanese influenced local specialities. Hoi An was a merchant city and there were many Japanese and Chinese inhabitants in the city in the past.


Fried Wontons – sautéed meat, shrimp, tomato, onion & sauce


White Rose – steamed shrimp in rice dumplings with onion, lemon & chilli


Grilled Pork Spring Rolls – in rice paper with fresh herbs & peanut


Cao Lau – thick noodle, sliced roast pork, herbs, fresh greens & croutons

After lunch we checked into our lovely hotel that had great air con and a lovely pool to sit beside.





Later in the afternoon we met up again for a walking tour of Hoi An visiting a Chinese temple, the Japanese covered bridge and an old merchant house.

Moomba

We had some free time to wander and experience this small touristy town. We ended up at a bar drinking a few 12 pence beers. Some of the tourist tat sellers came up to our table trying to flog us tat. One was quite amusing saying that we were handsome man and her pendants would make us even more handsome. She then tried to flog us other things and eventually was calling us cheeky monkey for not buying anything. The tourist touts were all over the town but if you say no often enough they will leave you be.













We had arranged to meet our guide at a recommended restaurant for dinner that she had warned us would be the most expensive meal of the trip. The chef came to speak to us and explained the dishes. They were fusion Vietnamese with his own twist. The meal was indeed superb.

I had a squid starter followed up with a duck dish with spices and chocolate served with French beans cooked in salt, pepper, garlic & shallot and they were stunning.


Amuse Bouche


Squid Starter


Duck Main with Spicy Beans

The meal with drinks came in at around 28 pounds, which was pricy for Vietnam but lovely none the less.



After the meal we explored the town a little more before making the 30 minute stroll back to our hotel for the night.

Firsts for today:

First time in Hue

First time drinking beer at 12 pence a glass


More Day 7 Photos here

Moomba

Another light breakfast today before jumping the bus to a village just outside the town of Hoi An where there was a market garden.

On the way I realised my battery in the camera was flat so I have had to rely on my friend for photos of this section of the report.

We walked on through the gardens watching people at work tending their plots. The guide from the cooking school explained all the herbs and vegetables that we saw growing.









After this we stopped in one of the houses for some fresh cool and refreshing lemon grass and ginger tea with the seeds from the lemon basil in it.



We then went back to the bus and into town to the market to buy some vegetables for the meal. The guide pointed out the various different local vegetables and explained how to check if you meat and seafood is fresh before buying.












After this it was back on the bus and a brief stop back at the hotel whilst I grabbed a fresh battery and then on to the famous Red Bridge cooking school.

The school is in a lovely setting by the river and has its own pool. The class was held in a roofed but no walls room. There was beer, wine, water and soft drinks on call throughout the class.

Moomba

We started with the chef going through the recipes telling us what we could use for substitutes if we couldn’t find all the ingredients back at home.

We were to prepare four dishes during this class:

Grilled Chicken and Banana Flower Salad

Hanoi Beef and Rice Noodle Soup

Lemongrass Shrimp wrapped in Banana Leaves

Clay Pot Fish with Fresh Dill

First off we began preparing the beef stock for the Beef & Noodle Soup. The bones were grilled first and then added to the stock pot with vegetables to simmer away for the rest of the class.







Then it was time to fry up some sliced shallots for the garnish of that dish. The trick here is to start with cold oil, that way the shallot doesn’t burn.




The rice noodles were the next task. The rice had been soaked in water over night, washed and then mixed with some salt a fresh water and blended to a smooth liquid paste. It is then ladled onto a piece of cloth stretched over boiling water. It cooks very quickly and you remove it with a piece of bamboo, oil it slightly, fold it over and slice it into noodles.









The next task was to prepare the Shrimp in Banana Leaf dish. Various ingredients were pounded in a mortar and pestle and the shrimp mixed through. Clumps of the mix were then folded into banana leaves and grilled.







The fish in claypot was the next item to prepare. The fish was cut into chunks and a paste of chilli, ginger etc was made. Twas all mixed up and cooked before putting in the clay pot.









In the meantime our shrimps were done on the BBQ so we sat down to eat these lovely little starters whilst the fish in claypot simmered.