Good Morning Vietnam!

We’d like to say Good Evening (or Good Morning), wherever you are…

Writing of Good Morning, our first morning in Vietnam was very loud; the plethora of scooter horns on the main road outside of our guesthouse was overwhelming, and it all began at around Six AM. Not that we surfaced until a little later in the day (!)

When we did finally venture downstairs, we ordered a hearty breakfast, then made enquiries if it might be possible to hire bicycles or a transport to Ba Chuc? We had read that there had been a mass killing of Vietnamese people by the Khmer Rouge during Pol Pot’s regime, and that there now exists a huge bone pagoda memorial at the site, as a consequence.

Unfortunately, the staff’s command of the English language was reasonably limited (although streets ahead of my command of Vietnamese, I will concede). Moreover, it emerged that there are no traditional motorised Tuk Tuk’s in Chau Doc – they are all bicycle Tuk Tuk’s, meaning that some poor sod has the unenviable job of having to cycle up to two people around the locality.

Emma and I had always actively avoided bicycle Tuk Tuk’s, but we figured ‘When in Rome…’. A young guy was hustling for work just outside of the restaurant area of our hotel, and was certainly offering a cheaper fair than we would have to pay for a motorbike transport. We asked, via reception, if we could be taken to Ba Chuc, and then on to Tuc Dup Hill.

On route…

The latter, Tuc Dup Hill, is famed as it is known as ‘Two Million Dollar Hill’, due to the fact that the Americans spent that figure bombing it. The reception chatted in Vietnamese to our Tuk Tuk cyclist, and we agreed on a price. Then we were off.

Jo our bicycle Tuk Tuk driver. Lovely guy…

It rapidly became apparent that our Tuk Tuk cyclist spoke next to no English. He carried with him a Vietnamese-English phrase book, which the three of us periodically consulted, in an attempt to liase with each other. Progress was slow, but the guy seemed really nice.

Our only means of communication!

Unfortunately, we never got to Ba Chuc. Instead we were taken to a random temple adorned with religious swastika flags. God alone knows the name of the place, but it is aesthetically attractive, and approximately half way down the long road out of town, to what we were reasonably convinced was, in fact, Tuc Dup Hill.

Many tourists take a motorbike up Tuc Dup. Emma and I wanted to conquer it on foot. It was quite an arduous walk in the heat, and we had two, if not three, pauses for a rest, on the way up. The hill boasts a cemetery at its base, and then a variety of religious statues and memorials as you ascend it.

At the base of Tuc Dup.

On route to the top

Towards the summit, there are a number of restaurant bars, all fitted with hammocks, where customers can relax, and view the Mekong Delta. South Vietnam appeared incredibly flat – almost like Holland. On route up, there also exist a variety of old school games, the type you find at country fayres, in which you pay to throw a hoop or ball in a bucket – that type of thing. We also encountered a number of young couples, and we concluded it was somewhat of a young lovers haunt!

View of the cemetery at the base.

The Mekong Delta

One of the many hammock bars…

Public information sign, using bins in South East Asia, it seems, is quite a new thing!

Everyone we met was friendly, despite the fact that the chances of their speaking English, was pretty slim. Once at the top of Tuc Dup we took in the view, enjoyed a hammock and a beer, and then went back down to be re-united with our man with the Tuk Tuk, who cycled us the thirty minutes or so back into town.

We felt sorry for the guy. He was panting and sweating like a trooper, as we sat in the back living the life of Riley. We resisted the temptation of giving the locals slight waves, and saying “Hello, Poor People”, but it did feel a bit like that. Upon arrival back at the hotel, Emma pointed to Vietnamese in the phrase book for ‘Happy New Year’, and we bought the guy a drink. In return, he consulted the book, and gave us best wishes for the remainder of our holiday.

This is a man who truly works for his living! We gave him a tip as well as bought him a drink of his choice....

This is a man who truly works for his living! We gave him a tip, as well as buying him a drink of his choice….

Most tourists/travellers spend no more than one night in Chau Doc. But as it was Tet, we elected to spend two nights, which was a wise decision. In the evening we wandered around the streets, and before we knew it, a huge public firework display was in full swing, so as to welcome in the Lunar New Year!

People on the streets were incredibly friendly. We sat down outside of a bar and drank beer with one such family, the husband/father of which was employed in Saigon by a vehicle company, spoke good English, and was keen to ascertain where we were from, and thereafter, what our views on the Americans were? We had to tell the truth, so admitted that we sometimes found them “a bit loud”, which caused him to roar with laughter.

Lovely family!

They gave us both a sweet rice cake in a banana leaf…very tasty!

After we had said our farewells to that family, we made for the town square, where Tet festivities were in full swing. Another group of locals called us over and gave us free ice cream, a local delicacy, prior to us joining the crowds of festival goers, who were rapidly gathering to view the Chinese-esque puppet dragons, which were to become a staple diet of our Vietnamese Tet festivities, over the following week.

Another lovely family, who insisted they buy us some ice cream. This goes totally against the warnings by people that the Vietnamese are hostile towards Westerners, during Tet!!!

Typically, each ‘dragon’ is a costume worn by up to three people, although usually two, and they delight onlookers by dancing and jumping on and off platforms, erected for purpose, by the respective performance troop. Here’s a clip of the dragons in action! With their electric-lit and blinking eyes, the children present are enchanted with the dragons. They do make a great spectacle, I will admit!

Moreover, none of the Tet Festivities are complete minus a dancing Buddha! The Buddha periodically comes running out, dishing out sweets and other goodies to the kids!

All of the festivities we attended had a fantastic feel-good factor, and I have to say we were made to feel very welcome, by one and all who were celebrating!

Emma and I had booked a daytime sleeper bus for Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City as it is now known, for the following day.

I wondered what a major Vietnamese city might be like, as we dozed off to sleep…