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| Celebrated my birthday at Seventeen saloon |
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Travelling in a tourist boat upstream to visit a Buddhist
temple in Hue |
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| Pagoda of Buddha at Ba Na Hills |
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| Ba Na Hills Mountain Resort |
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Satatues of the Mandarins at the Nguyen
Emperor's Mausoleum in Hue |
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| Entrance to the Forbidden City, Hue |
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| Handicrafts from marble at Marble Mountain |
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The Hindu temple monuments at My Son,
capital of the Champa Kingdom |
It was my interest in the Malay-Polynesian history, culture and people that attracted me to visit Da Nang, as not too far away in the south-west interior of it, is located the temple complex of My Son, which in the early history of Vietnam, served as the capital of the Champa Kingdom known as Panduranga. This Kingdom which existed in the 6th to the 8th century came under the Javanese influence of the Sri Vijaya Empire and inhabited by a population made up of Malay-Polynesians. My two backpacking friends, Tan Sri Mohd Nor Ismail and Rahim Abd Rahman agreed to accompany me on this trip. The Air Asia Go Holiday fare+hotel package was booked two months ealier amounting to RM 1350 per pax.
We departed on Wednesday Feb 20 from the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) Kuala Lumpur by Air Asia flight AK 1468 at the scheduled time of 13.55 hrs. It was a 2hr.35minutes flight from Kuala Lumpur arriving in Da Nang at 15.20 hrs local time (Da Nang is one hour earlier than KL). The airport taxi took us to HAGL Plaza Hotel, a 15 minutes drive away from the airport. The fare was VND 70k (exchange rate US $1= VND 20, 800). We stayed for 4 days and departed Da Nang by flight AK 1469 at 16.00 hrs on Sunday Feb 24. The places of interest that we visited and my observations of the city and its people are provided below.
1.
Ba Na Hills Resort. This was the first destination in our itinerary scheduled for Thursday, Feb 21 , costing each one of us VND 890k for the trip inclusive of the cable car and lunch. We were picked up by a van and there were other tourists which we found out later were locals. It was about a 2 hour drive to the foothill of Ba Na and then took a cable car to the summit of the Resorts. It was a cool breezy day. The attractions of the Resorts include the cable car ride, the winery where visitors were conducted through the process of wine making, a huge Buddha pagoda, the cool climate of the hill and the scenic views around it. A fantasy park is being constructed and is expected to be completed in 2014. Inspite of the cool, cloudy weather and light showers the Resort was crowded with tourists. We were back at the hotel by 16.00 hrs.
2.
Hue City. On the advise of the Public Relations Officer of the Hotel, Ms Thao, we decided to rent a car and guide for this trip that cost us a total sum of VND 2 800k. Yes in Vietnam transactions were in millions - millions of VND. We feel like millionaires The visit to the imperial city of Hue took place on the third day of the visit Friday Feb 22. The journey to Hue from Da Nang gave us glimpses of rural Vietnam. Extensive paddy were being grown and it was the young seedling stage in the paddy-fields and gave the green colour to the fields. The narrow piece of land in front of each villager's house are grown with vegetables. Altough the distance to Hue is only 110 km the drive took 2 hrs 30 minutes as the 70 km/hr speed limit has to be observed. According to our guide, the authorities are very strict on the speed of vehicles on the road and any driver that breaks the law can be suspended from driving for 3 months and it is strongly enforced. Our Malaysian authorities can learn a few things on the enforcement of laws from Vietnam....We were at the Perfume River jetty where we rented a decorated tourist boat from an operator assisted by his wife, who was selling such tourist items as silk shirts, night dresses for ladies, table place mats. We headed for the Thien Mu Pagoda jetty, a half-an hour boat ride. The Pagoda is an iconic landmark of the city and along the bank of this river there are many othr pagodas. We did not visit the pagoda but instead headed for the Citadel. The Citadel is an extensive walled area, which served as the seat of the Nguyen Dynasty that ruled Vietnam for 142 years starting in 1802 until the abdication of the last emperor, Bao Dai, in 1945 with the emergence of the Communist Government. Within the Citadel is the Forbidden City, accommodating the palaces of the 13 emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty with the accompanying residences for the mandarins, soldiers, concubines, and other supporting workers. We also visited the mausoleum of the last emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty on the way back to Da Nang. Its unique feature is the the many pictures decorating the main hall and each picture is accompanied with a poem. The mausoleum was built at high cost with construction materials imported from France and other parts of the world and this project became very unpopular with the people.
3.
Marble Mountain, My Son and Hoi An Old City. We devoted the fourth day (Saturday Feb 23) visiting the three destinations in the same rented vehicle and guide costing us the same amount as above. Marble Mountain is on the route to My Son. Around this rich limestone outcrops a vibrant marble handicraft industry has developed. We visited one of the bigger marble outfit displaying a whole range of products from small items such pen-holders, vases, bracelets, pendants to to huge statues of Buddha. I bought two pendants and two small flower vases. We then proceede to My Son. As I have mentioned it was the temple complex at this past capital of the Champa Kingdom that has drawn me to visit Da Nang. This temple complex is divided into several sections. However, quite a substantial part of it was destroyed during the recent war with the United States of America. A huge bomb crater could still be seen there. The temples were of Hindu origin depicting many of the gods and goddeses associated with Hinduism. Satisfied on achieving my objective we left My Son for the old city of Hoi An. As it was past lunch time we headed for a seafood restaurant by the beach. It was another windy day and huge waves were rolling in and due to the weather there were hardly anybody on the beach. The lunch was sumptuous as among the dishes we had was crabs, large prawns, grouper and vegetables. The bill came to a whopping VND 3 900k or US $ 200 or MR 200 per person. We were informed by the guide that Hoi An is a shopping destination, with the whole range of products available. Suits could be made to order and ready just within hours. We opt not to go shopping but stop at a silk factory where we were shown the production of silk products right from the rearing of the silkworm, to the threads and finally the products such as scarves, shirts etc. As the effect of the heavy lunch meal and the earlier two days of tiring schedule, we decided to return to Da Nang early and we were back at the Hotel at 5 pm...it would have been great for a body massage. It was not going to be as February 23 is my birthday. After a short rest, clean-up we headed for a seafood restaurant by the beach in Da Nang. It was a memorable birthday dinner with two pretty Vietnamese friends which was followed by an entertainment programme at a night-club, Seventeen Saloon. The night-club was packed with revellers on a week-end with an entertaining band from the Philippines. It was at around one am that we finally ended up in bed.
As our flight was scheduled in late afternoon, we have scheduled the city tour in the morning of the last day. Whenever I visit a place the destinations I have always included in the itinerary is the wet market and the museums. The wet markets will usually give me a picture of the type of agriculture in the area - the fruits, vegetables, herbs, wildlife, the species of fishes available, locally processed food; the museums will provide the history, culture, religious practices etc of the people. However, it was not to be as the weather was cool, cloudy and above all wet. We were kept indoors. However, I decided to have my final swim at the hotel pool.
4.
Entertainments. Part of the excitement in the travels, besides the sightseeings of places of interest such as the wet markets, museums and people, are the lighter side of things. In Da Nang we were recommended the New Phuduong Night Club. We patronised it the first night we were in Da Nang. There were pretty guest relations ladies but the techno music was too loud and that you feel the whole inside of you is throbbing. Surprisingly, not many patrons were on the floor and as someone that enjoys disco dancing this was a let-down. We were looking for a lounge with soft music where we could go on the floor to dance and we were recommeded Seventeen Saloon with a band from the Philippines performing. The performance was satisfactory but again the dancing the oompness in its ambience was not there. I observed that there are many karaoke joints and massage parlours.
Comments and Observations. My travels in recent years are confined to countries in the ASEAN region. It is relatively cheap both in terms of accommodation, food and other amenities; many entertainment outlets; friendly people friendly and there are so many interesting things one can see. And lately, since the establishment of the Malay-Polynesian organisation, I am fascinated with the many facets of the Malay-Polynesian peoples all over the world. But Vietnam is of special interest to me. I have earlier visited Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. The country as long as I could remember, were in perpetual conflicts and wars. We read how the French colonialists were humiliated and defeated at Dien Bien Phu in 1954 and subsequently the Americans in the early 1970s. Even earlier the Vietnamese were subjugated by the Chinese from the north. These wars have its positive effects on the people. I find them resilience, industrious and resourceful. They move around on motorcycles and appear to be eating healthy food. Generally they are slim, the ladies petite. The many of them that serve us in the hotel, entertainment outlets, tourism destinations and restaurants, I found them courteous, disciplined and honest. It is these sort of people that I like to be associated with.
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