INDOCHINA: Vietnam: Ha Long Bay and Hue

We had spent three exciting days in Hanoi and were now on our way to Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site 100 miles east of Hanoi in the Gulf of Tonkin. In all honesty, it was nice to leave the noise and congestion of the city behind and have a leisurely three-hour drive through the countryside.

Along the way we passed lots of rice paddies and small villages. It was a scene right out of a National Geographic special: water buffalo plowing the fields and workers, with conical hats, knee-deep in the paddies planting rice. Along the way, we stopped at a roadside fruit stand for some freshly cut pineapple. It was sweet and juicy. One of my favorite pictures is of a man riding a motor scooter with three pigs tied to the back seat. They were obviously on their way to market and, judging by their squeals, were not at all happy about the prospect.

We arrived at noon and boarded the Emeraude, a small passenger ship, for an overnight jaunt into Ha Long Bay. After the hectic pace of "playing tourist" the past several days, it was nice to sit and relax on the ship as we sailed into the bay. Beautiful is the only way to describe the multitude of islands and unusual limestone formations jutting out of the clear, emerald-green water of the bay. As Kay Dobbertin so aptly put it, "it's Guilin (China) on steroids!" Indeed, it is the same type of "karst" outcroppings found along the Li River in Guilin. It was very picturesque and we enjoyed watching all the boats with junk sails returning to their floating villages after a day of fishing.

In the late afternoon we docked in a small harbor and went ashore to explore one of the many caves that dot the islands with their elaborate rock formations and numerous stalactites and stalagmites. The cave was huge, the size of several football fields and at least three stories high, or so it seemed with all the climbing we did. The excursion definitely provided our exercise for the day.

The following morning we had time for a tai chi class and breakfast before we docked and returned to Hanoi to catch our flight to Hue. The cruise had been wonderful and an enjoyable way to explore the beauty of Ha Long Bay.

Hue (pronounced way), a small city on the Perfume River in central Vietnam, was the political capital of the country from 1802 to 1945. Over the centuries it has been "caught in the middle" of dynastic turf wars between the Cham people of the south and the Chinese in the north. In 1802 Emperor Gia Long, founder of the Nguyen dynasty, consolidated the country (under French tutelage) after several hundred years of war and established Hue as its capital.

Today, Hue is a quiet town of 330,000 best known for its palaces, temples, pagodas and tombs in and around the city. The first stop on our city tour was the Royal Citadel, built in 1804. Emperor Gia Long modeled the Royal Citadel on the Forbidden City in Beijing, but with a French military influence. Over the years much of the complex fell into disrepair, but several of the buildings are undergoing restoration and, under UN auspices, has been declared a World Heritage site. The highlight of the morning was a visit to the Palace of Supreme Harmony where, serendipitously, we were just in time to see a performance of the music and dance of the Nguyen dynasty. The show was wonderful and I particularly enjoyed the variety of antique string instruments you rarely see outside of Indochina.

We continued our tour of the city, visiting the local market with its interesting displays of fruits, vegetables, fish, poultry, clothing and a variety of household goods. In the U.S. we go to the supermarket, here the residents go to Dong Ba market in Old Hue.

After lunch at a local restaurant, we boarded a boat on the Perfume River to visit the Thien Mu Pagoda and the Tomb of Ming Mang, the best preserved of the Royal Tombs. The Thien Mu Pagoda is actually a Mahayana Buddhist temple and the oldest monastery in Hue, dating back to the 17th century. The complex is park-like with lots of shade trees and places to sit and enjoy the peaceful surroundings. The best-known structure in the complex is the seven-tiered Phuoc Nguyen Tower, built in 1844 to celebrate prosperity.

Back on the boat, we continued up the river to the Tomb of Ming Mang. It was interesting watching the boat traffic on the river. A quick side note about our boat trip: on the boat they had a winning combination - a small "shopping mall" and a captive audience. One by one the young salesgirl approached us with a wonderful smile and showed us merchandise that was "just perfect" for us. She was such a phenomenal saleswoman that by the end of the 45-minute boat ride we were the proud owners of shirts, silk pajamas, watercolor paintings and other Vietnamese "treasures." So if you see Tom Dobbertin, Monte Stuck, Rick Hulbert or John McMunn around town sporting a silk shirt with a Chinese pattern, it most likely was purchased on the Perfume River. The same goes for the women - most of us now own a set of silk pajamas.

The Tomb of Ming Mang (1820 to 1840) is considered the finest of the imperial tombs and the best preserved. Once again, the setting is more like a Chinese garden set among small lakes and shade trees. The feeling, as you walk through, is definitely one of peace and tranquility.

For dinner that evening we had as special treat. We attended a "banquet" presided over by a king and queen. Our own John McMunn took the role of king and Carol Weisenberg, from Laguna, presided as queen. In costumes fit for royalty, we enjoyed local cuisine and were entertained by a group of very talented musicians playing antique string instruments, similar to what we had seen at the Royal Citadel. It was great fun and a nice way to say farewell to Hue.