Winnie Post 6: Viet Nam

Spent  Wed 12/29 at Sandy Beach Resort.  It was beautiful!  Due to the flight 
delay, we just went for dinner and then to the resort.  In the early AM walked 
the beach a bit but we left the resort for the beginning of the tour.  Thurs. 
12/30 drove to Hue.  Our route of travel was on the Hai Van Pass, which means 
Pass of Sea and Clouds.  The top of the pass is 496 meters above sea level.  It 
separates the seasons for on the north side of the pass, they have 4 seasons 
while on the south, only 2 seasons.  
> 
> 
> On the way up, the road is very narrow and twisty, curvy but such gorgeous 
views of the East Sea, rice paddies, and the city of Da Nang.  We passed a 
Buddha that is 67 meters high, made of concrete.  It took one year to build and 
was completed last year.  It is enormous and spectacular!  We stopped and walked 
around it.  The view from it is also wonderful - mostly of Da Nang and the sea.  
We passed a leprosy colony and saw parts of Lang Co beach.  Lang Co means 
village of the stork- so named because the storks come there in the winter.
> 

> 
> Forgot to mention we went to the Cham museum.  The Cham were people who had 
their own language, writing made from Sanskrit, and are thought to be extinct 
now.  They are thought to have lived from the 4th to the 14th century.  The 
museum housed incredible sculptures - such detail and beauty were awesome.
> 
> 
> The mountain behind the giant Buddha is called Monkey Mountain.  Yes, monkeys 
live there but it was a key site in the Viet Nam war for information.  It is 
thick w/ trees and jungle-like.
> 
> 
> At the top of the Pass there are still some bunkers from the Viet Nam war - 
and there is the most wonderful jon!  Of course there are tons of people trying 
to see you pearls  and necklaces...but the bathrooms were the best.  Door not 
necessary - a pot in the middle of the floor with a watering jug in it...I had 
no ideas what to do - so followed my instinct and just went in it.  It is good 
to carry your own toilet paper as it is not available most of the time!
> 
> 
> As we drove on, we passed oyster beds, bottles of either clear or yellowish 
liquid that I was told was from the gum tree - it is supposed to be medicinal, 
good to put on a baby's head to keep away mosquitoes.  It is supposed to similar 
to Tiger balm...
> 
> 
> Children go to school in shifts here, AM or PM session.  They wear uniforms 
of navy pants, white shirts, and in spite of of the dirt and dust, look very 
clean.  They ride their bicycles, often two or three to a bike.  Some have a red 
scarf around their neck which symbolizes the Communist party.  One must be 
elected into the first tier.  The election is based on academics, citizenship, 
and conduct.  The first tier is elementary school, then high school, and finally 
as an adult.
> 
> 
> We passed trucks loaded w/ live pigs going to market.  The pigs were on top of 
one another - so incredibly loaded into the trucks...sad for the pigs!  
> 

> 
> Once we arrived in Hue, we went on a boat trip on the Perfume River to visit 
Thien Mu Pagoda, considered the Royal Pagoda  of the Nguyen Dynasty.  The boat 
had a bow of dragons - and puttered along a pretty gross river but I enjoyed it.  
Very full of gas fumes so others not so happy!  Then to visit the Imperial 
Citadel. And on to our hotel in Hue called Camellia.  Great room!  
> 
> 
> We are now in Hoi An and will fly out tomorrow early to Saigon or Ho Chi Minh 
City.