Hue to Hoi An

We rose early and hit the road for Hoi An. The drive was quite stunning — lots of small villages, green rice fields and rolling hills. One thing that I realized is that in Vietnam there are no highways, so you drive through fields and towns as you go from one place to another. And, the towns are actually on the road, rather than to one side or another. So, as you drive, you go through the middle of series of villages and small towns. Also, because sidewalks are pretty rare, as you drive through towns you are very, very close to shops and people’s homes.

As we drove, I found it endlessly fascinating to peer into people’s private homes, which is easy because the doors and windows are generally wide open, to help with the heat. What I saw was quite a lot of poverty. I talked to both of our guides about this, and learned that there is a huge divide in the country between the rich and the poor, with a very, very small middle class. The average earnings for an individual are between $150 and $400 per month. Most households have multiple adults who work, which is necessary given the low earnings. (Caring for your aging family members is also a cultural obligation, so multi-generational families are the norm.). For those families who live in villages, they try to have gardens in which they can raise food and perhaps a few chickens, or a cow if they are lucky. People generally have enough money to eat very modest meals (lots and lots of rice), to buy clothing, and to have electricity and running water. Homelessness seems very rare. But, the houses are very, very simply furnished, with wooden furniture, and sleeping mats. Most houses do not have a refrigerator or hot water heater. Families share a scooter if they can afford it. Life in Vietnam is very hard.

At the same time, the ravages of the war are not a distant memory. During both the wars for independence from France, and the American/Vietnam war, fighting was a constant, bombing was frequent, and starvation was common. Anyone who is 50 or older lived through these wars, and the stories are probably told endlessly to the younger generation. So, the people we spoke with consider the situation to be much improved, and seemed pretty sanguine about the economic realities of life in Vietnam. Both of our tour guides, as well as the young woman who led our food tour in Hanoi, said that life was improving in Vietnam, and that opportunities were growing. This fits with what you see — building everywhere, and people working hard to start businesses and make money in any way they can. (But, as an American, I can’t help but be reminded of how incredibly fortunate we are, in comparison to people in the rest of the world.)

Our first stop was about an hour outside of Hue, where we walked to a beach and got to see some oyster beds. Unlike in Ha Long Bay, where the oysters are harvested for pearls, these oysters are eaten. The bay is relatively shallow, and old tires from motor scooters are cut in half and used as beds for the oysters. Once the oysters are harvested, the tires are laid in the road, where cars drive over them and break off the old shells. Then, the tires go back into the water where they are used again. Definitely recycling at its finest.

After another hour in the car, we stopped at a beautiful peak in the Hai Van pass. Although it was still quite foggy, the view was lovely. And, again, we saw a bride posing for photos with her groom — he was wearing a red suit. (Red is the color of good fortune, but this is the first groom that I’ve seen in a red suit.). When I asked about the photos, our guide told me that about three weeks before a wedding, most couples put on their western wedding clothes, and have their photos taken in a few different locations. Then, the photos are blown up and displayed at the wedding banquet.

Our next stop was Da Nang, where we went to the Cham museum. Most of the artifacts in the museum are from My Son, a Cham temple complex just outside of Hoi An. As the Cham were Hindus, the artifacts include sculptures of Vishnu, Brahman and Shiva, and the writing on the artifacts is in Sanskrit.

Across from the museum is the “Dragon Bridge.” Why is it called that? Well, winding its way through the bridge is an immense yellow dragon, in steel. We saw the Dragon from the tail end. Sadly, we also saw it on a Monday. Apparently, on Saturday and Sunday, the dragon spews fire from its mouth!

As we headed out of Da Nang, we stopped at “China Beach,” which was a place where American soldiers went for rest and relaxation. Now it is called Da Nang beach, mostly because the Vietnamese generally dislike the Chinese. Both of our guides gave us the same explanation for the views on the Chinese. First, China occupied Vietnam for the greater part of 1000 years. No one likes an occupier. Second, Chinese tourists have been flooding Vietnam for the last decade. They have a reputation for being pushy and cheap. The number of Chinese visitors to Vietnam is so high that they Vietnamese say “the Chinese are everywhere, even in my toilet (aka, bathroom). To accommodate the Chinese tourists who are interested in high class resorts and gambling, Vietnam is developing the beach in Da Nang into a little “Miami,” full of huge hotel/resort complexes, high rises and casinos. Not particularly beautiful, but likely to be a huge revenue source for Vietnam’s fastest growing city.

Our last stop was a beautiful pagoda on a hill on the far side of Da Nang. The is the only pagoda in all of Vietnam which has a female Buddha! The pagoda is very beautiful. Behind the pagoda is a series of caves which each have another image of the Buddha. As you head down the hill from the Pagoda, you pass a “garden” inhabited by 9 dragons. We had seen many buildings decorated with 9 dragons, as this number of dragons symbolizes power and good luck, but this was our first garden. Very cool looking.

We ended our day in Hoi An. . . But that’s for another post.Read more