Hue-Danang-Hoi An

After returning to Hanoi on New Year's Eve, a group of friends and I went to Central Vietnam on New Year's Day. We flew to Danang and then took a 2-hour drive in a van to Hue (pronounced Hway). Hue was the capital of Vietnam during the Nguyen Dynasty in the 19th century until the French colonized Vietnam. It is known for its palaces, pagodas, tombs and temples. It also has its unique Vietnamese cuisine, especially "cakes." They are rice cakes in different variations and stuffings. They have names like banh beo, banh loc, banh nam, etc.
The most famous tourist site is the Citadel. This is where the king lives and also has temples and pagodas.



Arriving at Danang Airport








Eating special Hue noodles for breakfast at a roadside restaurant.







The entrance to the Citadel








On a boat cruise on the Perfume River

Inside one of the temples with altars to the 14 kings in the Nguyen Dynasty







Giant urns outside the temple

Another part of the Citadel







Another outside view

Entrance to the Minh Mang Tomb. Minh Mang was one of the kings in the Nguyen Dynasty

Inside the tomb







Mother and child selling drinks and snacks outside the tomb







A nice lunch after the tour.











Another building inside the tomb

Another part of the tomb

After Hue we went back to Danang and visited some local popular spots there.

Steps leading up to the Kwan Yin statue






We got around Hue and Danang by renting motorbikes. There were 5 bikes for the 9 of us. It costs about 100,000 VND to rent a bike, about US$5 a day. You have to wear mask because it's dusty on the country roads. We often lose each other because of the windy roads and many intersections. If not for cell phones, it'd have been very difficult to stay as a group.

A temple next to the Kwan Yin Statue in Danang

A big Kwan Yin statue that was built only a few years ago. It's a prominent landmark next to the beach in Danang. At night it is lit so you can see it from far away.

In the late afternoon, we rode our motorbikes for a 30-minute ride to Hoa An. Hoa An is a seaside resort that is known for its ancient Chinese architecture.

This is where the tourist come. The shops and restaurants cater mostly to tourists.





One of the buildings with its old Chinese architecture

A brightly-lit dragon on the river.

Stuck in Hong Kong Airport

I had a wonderful time in the US. It was nice to be in my own house, sleeping on my bed and doing routine things that I've done for years.
It was nice attending Cynthia's graduation and then spending Christmas with friends.
It was great to talk without thinking about the words to use.

At last, I have to make this long journey back to Asia. A trip like this typically takes at least 24 hours from door to door. My flight from Los Angeles to Hong Kong took 15 hours non-stop. That's a lot of time to be on a plane. Fortunately, Cathay Pacific Airways has a very nice entertainment system in front of every seat. The service was good but not as good as Singapore Airlines, which has been voted No. 1 airline for the last 2 decades, I think. If you have to make a trip across the Pacific, forget about the US-based airlines. Their food is bad and their service is lousy. Also, the Asian countries don't have any age-discrimmination laws so the Asian-based airlines pick the best-looking flight attendants.

Unfortunately, my flight from LA to Hong Kong was delayed taking off and I missed my connecting flight to Hanoi. I ended up spending 9 hours at the Hong Kong Airport. Good thing the airline gave me a hotel room to shower and rest up. But, I still had a lot of time to walk around the airport. Below are some pictures I took while walking around.




This airport is huge. It is an airport and shopping center. It replaced the old Kai Tak airport in the early 2000s'. It is built on an island about 20 minutes by train from the city.
The picture on the left shows the waiting area for the gates.









Here is a map of HK's subway system, called MTR. It is a very clean and efficient system.












Burger or Wonton noodles?































Here are the check-in counters.

























One of the small restaurants selling local snacks.

Well....how can you not have a Starbucks. There is also a McDonald's restaurant somewhere in the airport.

Going Home for the Holidays

Friends, I am flying to Singapore today, then flying from Singapore to Los Angeles on Tuesday, December 14. From LA, it's a short 1-hour flight to Phoenix. The flight from Singapore to LA takes a total of about 18 hours, including an hour stopover in Tokyo.
I look forward to seeing friends and family again but the most important part of this trip is attending my daughter, Cynthia's graduation.
I will be back in Hanoi at the end of the year.
I will take a break from updating this blog so I am leaving you with some random pictures that I took while walking around Hanoi.


A proud Socialist Republic of Vietnam flag flying at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum








Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum, about a 15-minute walk from my apartment. I often run here in the morning.
On the weekends, you may have to wait as long as 4 hours in line to get into the Mausoleum.





A popular past time around the lake - men playing Chinese chess









A vendor selling sugar cane juice. She passes the sugar cane between two rollers, which squeeze out the juice. Costs about 40 cents a glass. Tastes great in the summer.







Mother and daughter selling dessert (called che) on the street in the Old Quarters. The desserts are made from green beans, red beans, lotus seed, rice, coconut milk, etc. She will add combination of the ingredients depending on what you like.






Inside a big shopping center selling clothes, toiletries, souvenirs, electronics, etc. It sells mostly low-quality goods.








A typical shop selling household goods.








I was surprised to come across a mosque in the Old Quarters.










Inside a temple, which are very similar to Chinese temples in other Asian countries.

A Family Gathering

I have been very fortunate in being accepted by my colleagues here in Vietnam. Most of them are young - late 20s' and early 30s'. I am as old as their parents but they treat me like I am the same age as them. I am always included in their coffee breaks, lunches, outings, and in this case, a big family gathering.
My friend, Trong's family had a memorial for his grandfather, who passed away about 2 years ago. Trong is pronounced as "chop" with an almost non-discernible "n" sound. In Vietnamese, "tr" is pronounced "ch"
About a dozen friends from the office were invited. There were many of Trong's family friends and relatives from the village as well. Trong lives in a village about 40 minutes outside of Hanoi.
Below are pictures of the party.


A group picture at the end of the party. All the friends grew up in Hanoi except Alan (2nd from the right) and I. Alan grew up in Australia.










This looks like a jug of ice-tea but it's really moonshine, made from sticky rice. It's about 80 proof or 40% alcohol. They kept pouring and toasting.










Mot-Hai-Ba-Jo! or 1-2-3-Jo (which kind of means Go!). This is the Vietnamese version of bottoms-up.












Trong is second from the left.













Not only was there a lot of alcohol, there was a lot of food too. It's all traditional Vietnamese food.

Tropical Fruits

One of the things I love about living in tropical Asia is the variety of fruits. There is such a variety and because it's warm all year round, you get fruits all the time. Not only that, they are very cheap.
I've been lucky to get the maid who cleans my apartment, to buy and cut up fruits for me everyday. The Vietnamese usually serve fruits as the last course of the meal, whether it's at a restaurant or at home. It's their dessert.



On the left are pomeloes, which is like a bigger version of a grapefruit. Some people call it Chinese grapefruit. You can grow this in Arizona. The pomeloes in Vietnam are much sweeter.







Here is a fruit cart selling mangoes, pineapples, sugar cane, papayas, and water melons







Shelling coconut husks so they will be ready to be sold.
The next picture shows what they look like after they've been shelled.








The vendor cuts the top off and put a straw into the coconut. After you drank the coconut juice, you can cut it open and use a spoon to scrape the coconut flesh. The juice tastes great on a hot day. Costs about $1 a coconut.








I don't know what this fruit is called. I haven't had it for a long time. The inside has white flesh like mangosteen.








Persimmons, which also grows very well in California. I was surprised many Americans have never tasted persimmons. The ripes ones are very sweet. They are usually in season around October-November.







You find durians everywhere. Not all Vietnamese like durians. They don't grow them in northern part of Vietnam.






Guava. They can be white or pink on the inside.









A fruit stand selling all kinds of fruits. In the foreground is mangosteen.

Rambutan. It has hairy skin. You twist open the skin and inside is a fruit that looks a little like a lychee.

Dragon Fruit. It is usually grey inside. Not as sweet as other fruits.

Mangoes. You see mango trees everywhere. There are many varieties in Asia and some are imported into Vietnam. The best mangoes are from India. Next time you go to an Indian restaurant, ask for a mango lassi. It's like a mango smoothie.

Longans. You break the skin and eat the translucent flesh. It has a seed inside.

A woman vendor selling pineapples. The pineapples here are small and very sweet. Unlike pineapples in the supermarket in the US that were picked way before they are ripe and have to ship over long distances, these pineapples are grown locally and are ripe when you buy them.

Melons and green-skin oranges. I don't know what kind of melons these are but they taste like cantaloupes. The oranges are surprisingly quite sweet.

Singaporeans call this fruit chiku. It has brown color flesh and is very sweet.