the old Flanders and Swann song "mud, mud, glorious mud, nothing quite like it for cooling the blood"
Firstly, a few photos of means of transport - scooters everywhere and bikes
put to a great variety uses....
hey, there's room for one more on the rear pillion...crash helmets?? they're for wimps
flower market
put to a great variety uses....
hey, there's room for one more on the rear pillion...crash helmets?? they're for wimps
flower market
Below, Reunification Palace, Ho Chi Minh city (ex Saigon, named to celebrate the end of the American War)
beyond the fountain are the gates the Viet Cong poured through
Inside the Palace, a bust of Ho himself
Two photos inside the Palace
There's a mock-up of a helicopter on the roof of the Palace building just to remind people of events as the Americans made a quick departure
below: War Remnants Museum, Ho Chi Minh City. Photos of the results of American bombing (Napalm, chemicals, etc)
Cu Chi Tunnels. Below is a photo of the tunnels layout - used by the Viet Cong in the American War (as they refer to it) to escape from, and to fight, the Americans (and Australians...) . These tunnels were very extensive and connected areas used to cook and provide medical attention. The tunnels are narrow - in this diagram it shows the tunnel entering the side of a river - a clever way of hiding the entrance.
a cleverly disguised trap door and waiting spikes for the unwary
yes, I went down into a tunnel (forgetting I'm claustrophobic !) and had a mild panic attack when the lights went out and I could not go forward or back
another devilish booby trap
no, this is not a French surgical device for permanenly curing headaches, but Madame Guillotine - transported around Vietnam during French colonial times to dispense summary justice.
back in the War Remnants Museum - four photos - grim reminders of the savagery of the War
want that extra special naughty weekend? Try the Bamboo Bar - the romanticism is spiritualised...
not sure what it says, but it looks fun...
HANOI
paintings from the Hanoi Fine Arts Museum
Vietnamese microwave
Street scene
innovative ways of keeping the water circulating to keep the fish fresh
at the markets
why just set up your stool on the footpath corner - why not in the road as well?
kerb side stalls - no end to the variety...
a main street corner - never seen so many bags in one spot in the shop!
French influenced architecture
Hoan Kiem Lake
Travelled in a very modern "junk" in the bay - overnight stay, good food and drink, entertaining crew...
This lady was a bit upset because nobody purchased from her floating supermarket
our very pleasant crew were pursuaded to sing the Vietnamese national anthem
(see the video at the end of the photos)
not much similarity to vessels that we saw later on the Mekong...not too many river dwelling peasant families have dining rooms like this
back to Hanoi and the water puppets - one of the trip highlights. See the video also on this blog at the end of these photos
now you don't see it, now you do....
wasn't a "restaurant" in sight at 3 00pm, but at 4 00pm.......
don't see too many blokes doing this sort of toil (although the men can be seen sitting drinking coffee and planning their work)
above and below - at the markets
it's not the floral pig face that we have in the garden, but
that's right, no smoking in bed, especially when fully dressed in your smartly tailored suit
this was this Austin of England's proudest moment - a protesting Buddhist priest (?)drove to an intersection then set fire to himself in protest against religious oppression
examples of bonsai are numerous
don't forget to leave the dynamite, poison and weapon outside in the bus...
fish at the Hue Imperial Citadel (yes, I'm not sure why I took this photo...?)
above and below - Hue Imperial Citadel
The least said about these two below the better...our Intrepid tour group was sucked into attending a "typical" Vietnemese Royal feast, and naturally Lynne and I were selected to be the Royal personnages...but we thought their efforts with the carrots was quite creative
well, I guess the above is good practise for being pushed around in the future nursing home
These two were taken in transit...we stopped at a restaurant and persuaded the management
and our tour leader, appropriately enough, wins the sweep we organised:
another instant restaurant pops up. This is an innovative idea that perhaps the City of Perth could consider?
My Son Kingdom of Champa and religious area ruins . During the Vietnam war, the Americans rearranged much of the monuments with their bombs, suspecting Viet Cong were hiding there. A French archeologist (?), appalled at the wanton destruction of a Unesco heritage listed national treasure, appealed to Nixon to stop it - which he did. There is no cement used in the buildings and plants can take root in the unfired material (I think...)
inventive bike modifications - I thought Lynne might like to shop like this, but riding back from Midland over Greenmount Hill, the frozen stuff would thaw
This lady conducted our group's short cooking class - she was delightfully entertaining - here she is cutting banana leaf in which to wrap fish (see the video also)
Hoi An. Silk embroidery, exquisite, very expensive. We spent quite a while in this studio
just another boat
Hoi An markets - not much refrigeration evident
Hoi An Japanese bridge
Hoi An markets - why aren't we allowed to ride our motor bikes around our markets??
this is what happens when you chew Betel nut and don't clean your teeth
What about the ironing?
Marble Mountain supports a local carving industry...
boat trip off Na Trang - this lady was one of the "crew" - gave our tour group massages, toe nail manicures, old heel skin abrasions (what?) - but too many people around to discuss "extras" !
part of the boat trip was visit to a little island fishing village (next few photos)
delicious, but unidentifiable
making puffed rice
lacy rice paper making
ON THE MEKONG RIVER
houseboats on the Mekong
everybody on the Intrepid trip - at the "homestay" where we spent the night during our Mekong cruise
ultra modern kitchen where our food was prepared - but as the food was delicious,
the school bus
afternoon tea here. This is snake marinaded in rice wine (for extra "bite"?) - I tried it -
very nice. In another restaurant I tried another delicacy - boiled duck egg with a half hatched duckling inside. Quite nice, but strangely, I was the only person to try it.
small boat trip on the Mekong
eating time was never far away
above, rice paper out to dry; below, laboriously making it
Below are some videos - the 4th one down is the crew in Ha Long Bay, 5 is the view from the front of a pedal bike transport, 7 the cooking class, 9 blank - & 10 is the water puppets . The lady making the incense sticks has to make over 2000 per day
beyond the fountain are the gates the Viet Cong poured through
as the Americans departed in panic by helicopter from the roof of the Palace
Inside the Palace, a bust of Ho himself
Two photos inside the Palace
There's a mock-up of a helicopter on the roof of the Palace building just to remind people of events as the Americans made a quick departure
below: War Remnants Museum, Ho Chi Minh City. Photos of the results of American bombing (Napalm, chemicals, etc)
Cu Chi Tunnels. Below is a photo of the tunnels layout - used by the Viet Cong in the American War (as they refer to it) to escape from, and to fight, the Americans (and Australians...) . These tunnels were very extensive and connected areas used to cook and provide medical attention. The tunnels are narrow - in this diagram it shows the tunnel entering the side of a river - a clever way of hiding the entrance.
a cleverly disguised trap door and waiting spikes for the unwary
yes, I went down into a tunnel (forgetting I'm claustrophobic !) and had a mild panic attack when the lights went out and I could not go forward or back
another devilish booby trap
no, this is not a French surgical device for permanenly curing headaches, but Madame Guillotine - transported around Vietnam during French colonial times to dispense summary justice.
back in the War Remnants Museum - four photos - grim reminders of the savagery of the War
want that extra special naughty weekend? Try the Bamboo Bar - the romanticism is spiritualised...
not sure what it says, but it looks fun...
HANOI
paintings from the Hanoi Fine Arts Museum
Vietnamese microwave
Street scene
innovative ways of keeping the water circulating to keep the fish fresh
at the markets
why just set up your stool on the footpath corner - why not in the road as well?
kerb side stalls - no end to the variety...
a main street corner - never seen so many bags in one spot in the shop!
French influenced architecture
Hoan Kiem Lake
shops in a more local style
Hoan Kiem lake
HALONG BAY
Travelled in a very modern "junk" in the bay - overnight stay, good food and drink, entertaining crew...
This lady was a bit upset because nobody purchased from her floating supermarket
Views of Halong Bay - very pretty scenery, but very congested with tourist craft like ours
our very pleasant crew were pursuaded to sing the Vietnamese national anthem
not much similarity to vessels that we saw later on the Mekong...not too many river dwelling peasant families have dining rooms like this
back to Hanoi and the water puppets - one of the trip highlights. See the video also on this blog at the end of these photos
now you don't see it, now you do....
wasn't a "restaurant" in sight at 3 00pm, but at 4 00pm.......
don't see too many blokes doing this sort of toil (although the men can be seen sitting drinking coffee and planning their work)
above and below - at the markets
it's not the floral pig face that we have in the garden, but
a real porcine facial countenance used in cooking - thought this a bit strange until I saw the array of offal etc available below...not much thrown away.....
that's right, no smoking in bed, especially when fully dressed in your smartly tailored suit
this was this Austin of England's proudest moment - a protesting Buddhist priest (?)drove to an intersection then set fire to himself in protest against religious oppression
examples of bonsai are numerous
don't forget to leave the dynamite, poison and weapon outside in the bus...
fish at the Hue Imperial Citadel (yes, I'm not sure why I took this photo...?)
above and below - Hue Imperial Citadel
The least said about these two below the better...our Intrepid tour group was sucked into attending a "typical" Vietnemese Royal feast, and naturally Lynne and I were selected to be the Royal personnages...but we thought their efforts with the carrots was quite creative
Our tour to the citadel was by these pedal bikes - somewhat harrowing as the drivers assume
right of way over all the other frenetic traffic - and the passengers are out in front in the thick of it!
well, I guess the above is good practise for being pushed around in the future nursing home
These two were taken in transit...we stopped at a restaurant and persuaded the management
to lend us a computer so we could watch the Melbourne Cup (can't escape it even in Vietnam).
Below is an impressive all electronic flashing Buddha - it's not just the Catholics who love "tat."
and our tour leader, appropriately enough, wins the sweep we organised:
a severe storm passed through while we were there - quite impressive to blow a vessel ashore
another instant restaurant pops up. This is an innovative idea that perhaps the City of Perth could consider?
My Son Kingdom of Champa and religious area ruins . During the Vietnam war, the Americans rearranged much of the monuments with their bombs, suspecting Viet Cong were hiding there. A French archeologist (?), appalled at the wanton destruction of a Unesco heritage listed national treasure, appealed to Nixon to stop it - which he did. There is no cement used in the buildings and plants can take root in the unfired material (I think...)
inventive bike modifications - I thought Lynne might like to shop like this, but riding back from Midland over Greenmount Hill, the frozen stuff would thaw
This lady conducted our group's short cooking class - she was delightfully entertaining - here she is cutting banana leaf in which to wrap fish (see the video also)
Hoi An. Silk embroidery, exquisite, very expensive. We spent quite a while in this studio
just another boat
very cheap beer, about 25cents a glass...not too bad, only a little less
tasteless than the average ordinary Australian lager
Hoi An markets - not much refrigeration evident
Hoi An Japanese bridge
Hoi An markets - why aren't we allowed to ride our motor bikes around our markets??
this is what happens when you chew Betel nut and don't clean your teeth
What about the ironing?
Marble Mountain supports a local carving industry...
boat trip off Na Trang - this lady was one of the "crew" - gave our tour group massages, toe nail manicures, old heel skin abrasions (what?) - but too many people around to discuss "extras" !
part of the boat trip was visit to a little island fishing village (next few photos)
delicious, but unidentifiable
making puffed rice
lacy rice paper making
ON THE MEKONG RIVER
houseboats on the Mekong
everybody on the Intrepid trip - at the "homestay" where we spent the night during our Mekong cruise
ultra modern kitchen where our food was prepared - but as the food was delicious,
just shows that the Miele oven and the Smeg microwave are not always necessary for
culinary perfection
yes, there are mossies overseas, too
more cooking lessons
yes, there are mossies overseas, too
more cooking lessons
the school bus
afternoon tea here. This is snake marinaded in rice wine (for extra "bite"?) - I tried it -
very nice. In another restaurant I tried another delicacy - boiled duck egg with a half hatched duckling inside. Quite nice, but strangely, I was the only person to try it.
small boat trip on the Mekong
eating time was never far away
above, rice paper out to dry; below, laboriously making it
Below are some videos - the 4th one down is the crew in Ha Long Bay, 5 is the view from the front of a pedal bike transport, 7 the cooking class, 9 blank - & 10 is the water puppets . The lady making the incense sticks has to make over 2000 per day
Needs sound
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