'Heavenly' Hoi An

Hoi An is an ancient town recogninsed as a world heritage site by UNESCO.  It's a good example of a 15th to 19th Southeast Asian trading port.  The buildings reflect both local and foreign styles and remarkably escaped much damage in the wars with France and the United States.  As well as this it is famous for its handcrafted lanterns.

On our second morning we went their to have a look around, but the weather was so hot we weren't able to stay for more than an hour.  Although what we did see was very impressive.

       

Therefore we decided to do a trip there in the late afternoon, especially as we discovered that when it gets dark they light all of the lanterns hanging in the streets and you can even float lanterns on the water.  It was much cooler and after a wander we headed to, the interestingly named, Morning Glory for supper.  

                                  

                                  

                                 

As we left the restaurant it had got dark and we set off for the river with all sorts of romantic notions of lanterns and heavenly peace and quiet.  I'm sure that a few hundred years ago it was, however, the introduction of motorbikes and tourists has put paid to that. 

                                  

 William, Oliver and I managed to put flaming lanterns on the river without being run over. 

       

      

We also had a brief look at the lit up lanterns, but as soon as we saw a taxi we grabbed it. Soon we were leaving the chaos behind and heading back to our own heaven.  

       

From five quid to five star

When we were planning this trip we decided that after six days of pretty intensive sightseeing we would need some time on a beach to recover before heading back for school and work.  Sam discovered that he had collected enough points to get us two nights free at the Intercontinental Da Nang, therefore we decided to go for four!

Our flight arrived pretty late in Da Nang and after a fairly long taxi journey we arrived at our hotel.  Even at 10 o'clock at night it looked luxurious and we were welcomed with ginger tea and comfy sofas.  The resort was built in to a hill to reflect a Vietnamese village.  We were taken by golf buggy to our room which was in a building housing only about eight rooms.  After a quick look around the room we all fell in to bed.

       

                                      

The following morning we were greeted by an amazing view from our balcony and saw more of the resort as we headed to breakfast.  

      

      

We were lucky enough to breakfast most mornings in pods, designed to look like upside down Vietnamese hats, suspended off the restaurant.  

      

     

Each day we followed a similar pattern of breakfast, beach, relax and dinner.  Because of the hilly nature of the resort there was a funicular 'boat' to take us between the levels.  

       

We were on Heaven level, at the top.  We speculated that the others might be Purgatory, Earth and Hell!  However, we discovered they were more appropriately named, Sky, Earth and Beach.  Sam enjoyed getting in the boat each day and asking the girl to take him to Heaven!

Having spent a lot of time inside in Shanghai recently due to the pollution it was lovely to be outside.  William and Oliver enjoyed swimming, building sand castles and wave catching.  

                                 

      

       

                                     

Most of our meals were outside, except for a couple when Oliver and William were drawn by the boat table.  

       

      

Tomb Raiders

Luckily we arrived at Ho Chi Minh airport to check in for our flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia rather early as it meant that when we discovered our flight had been cancelled, they still had space on another flight for us.  Transferring us to the new flight however seemed to be the most convoluted process and took an hour.  But we were on the flight!

Upon arrival in Siem Reap Sam and I were reminded of when we went travelling.  Firstly, our taxi driver tried to get us to hire him for some hugely inflated price, secondly Siem Reap had such a third world feel on the outskirts that we were reminded of India and Africa and finally, our guesthouse was complete backpacker heaven where our room for four, including breakfast, was about £15 for the night.

                                       

                                      

Rather than pay our taxi driver vast sums to be driven around in the heat, we ate lunch and relaxed by the pool.  In the evening we headed in to Pub Street where we had cocktails watching the sunset, followed by a traditional Khmer curry for four for £10.  Sam and I realised that we were nearly achieving our daily budget per person that we had set ourselves when travelling fourteen years ago.

      

      

The following morning we were up bright and early and headed off to the famous temples of Angkor.  We hired a tuk tuk and driver for the day which was much more comfortable in the heat than a car and handy to dodge the traffic.

       

No sooner had we set off than we pulled in to a roadside stand.  I thought maybe the driver needed breakfast and then realised it was, a rather rudimentary, petrol station.

       

Sam and I have had the temples on our list to visit for ages and were worried that they wouldn't live up to the hype. 

      

      

      

 However, they were amazing and William and Oliver enjoyed them as much as we did and even understood the religious aspect of them.

                                       

                                         

Our favourites were the less restored ones where nature has been allowed to take over.  

                                      

                                      

        

The final temple we visited was the famous Angkor Wat.  It was very hot and pretty crowded but very worthwhile. 

      

                                  

                                     

 Unfortunately, children under twelve were not allowed to climb to the highest point.  However, William and Oliver, although disappointed, declared that we would just have to come back in six years. Instead, they enjoyed exploring the temple and finding bits that seemed far more risky.

                                  

Upon arrival at the temple complex in the morning we had asked our guide to take us straight to the point for an elephant ride.  However, despite being pretty early all the elephants were booked up.  There are only a certain number of rides allowed a day in order to give the elephants time to rest.  We were told that more rides would happen in the afternoon.  Sam and I promised the boys that we would make those rides, therefore, after looking around the temples and having lunch, we headed to the location about an hour early.  I positioned my self right by the table and chairs where the ticket people would sit, to hold our place in the queue.  Living in Shanghai has taught me well!  William and Oliver enjoyed trying out the hammock in our tuk tuk and even driving it.  They were also entertained by a local monkey.

      

      

      

       

Eventually the elephants arrived and after negotiating a discount in exchange for the four of us going on one elephant, we were off.  

       

Oliver and William really enjoyed the ride and it was a great end to a wonderful day.  We returned to our hotel where we cooled off in the pool, had dinner and headed to the airport for the final leg of our trip.  

    

        

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới

The eve of the Luner New Year passed fairly peacefully in Ho Chi Minh compared to Shanghai.  The Vietnamese government banned firecrackers several years ago and fireworks have to be part of an official display.  Therefore, we all had an undisturbed nights sleep.

We had a fairly leisurely morning compared to our first two and after breakfast went off to see a bit of the city and enjoy the first day of the Year of the Horse celebrations.  

      

On the way back to our hotel the night before we had noticed that the people from the shop next door had set up a dinner party on the street which was still in full swing the next morning, including large glasses of red wine!

      

In keeping with our normal family routines we found a perfect place for coffee and people watching.  Afterwards we looked at the floral displays celebrating the new year.  

                                     

It was a scorching day and we headed for shady spots as often as we could.  During our wandering we stumbled across the Ho Chi Minh Museum.  William and Oliver enjoyed looking at the canon, aircraft and tanks and trying out the Ack Ack gun.  

                                      

        

They were especially pleased to discover the underground bunker.  It seems the Cu Chi tunnels have inspired a desire to do most sightseeing underground.

One of the things we had been keen to try out in Ho Chi Minh was the Vietnamese street food.  On recommendation we went to a restaurant in the old French Quater which specialised in street food.  The restaurant, although busy, was an oasis from the hot, crowded, motorbike ridden streets.  It was in an old villa set around a glorious courtyard. 

                                    

 And even better the food was fantastic.  The meal was a holiday treat from Grandma and Grandad and there was even change for an ice cream!