On to Hue With a Brief Interlude.

For starters this little gem was seen in a typical tourist trap on our way from Ha Long Bay back to Ha Noi where we boarded our overnight train to Hue. The sales lady informed me this no doubt delicious vat of moonshine would run in the neighborhood of $3,000. That's a large scorpion in the cobra's mouth.

Then we hopped the overnight train from Hanoi to Hue.

Car 13. Not a good sign.

It was the bumpiest train ride I could possibly imagine. The Vietnamese may be great at repelling foreign invaders, but they ain't squat at laying straight tracks, at least not on this road. Several times I thought we were going to derail. I did manage to catch a few winks, whereupon I dreamt I was trapped in a house during a typhoon. As the winds built up and the house shuddered and shook I decided it wasn't a typhoon after all, but an earthquake. Then I woke up.

My accommodation.

Some scenery along towards morning.

Probably a cathedral from the colonial period of the rifle-dropping, cheese-eating French surrender monkeys.

We survived the journey tired but intact. Personally I enjoyed it. After all these years I still retain a soldier's most valuable skill, I'm pretty much able to sleep anywhere.

And Hue awaits our discovery!

It Appears I May Have Been in Error...

My previous post counted Ha Long Bay as my UNESCO World Heritage site visit #100. HOWEVER it turns out the previous day I stopped to take a photo of this tower:

Which happens to be the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long in Hanoi. What caught my eye initially was this

Soviet era MIG-21.

So now I'm at #101 with the Citadel of Hue (102) across the street. All in all an unexpected surprise. Six UNESCO sites on this trip alone.

Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam

UNESCO World Heritage site #100!

Before leaving our hotel in Ha Noi I observed these guys trying to crush their own toes. Mark Schroeder, you would've been in your "corrective" element!

We spent the night aboard a ship on Ha Long Bay. Peaceful!

I never expected these caverns and my handheld camera doesn't do it justice, but they were impressive.

As you may well imagine its a big tourist destination.

Sunset. The end of a beautiful day.

And with sunrise we departed back to Ha Noi to meet our overnight train to Hue.

Spotted Along a Nearby Street

Apparently commemorating the shooting down of an American aircraft on October 26, 1967, this was permanently molded onto the side of a building. Outside of museums indications of "our" war are rare.

One Day in Hanoi

Went on walkabout around the Vietnamese capital. It was HOT and humid' but a very pleasant day nonetheless. Here are some of the things seen:

Sunbeam Bridge in the center of the city.

This was a big turtle. Inside a small temple, which name I never learned (not that it mattered anyway).

The entrance to Hoa Lo prison, better known to Americans as the Hanoi Hilton.

It was originally a small trading village. The French turned it into a prison to house anti-colonial activists and fighters. Reminded me of Robben Island off Capetown, SA, where among others Nelson Mandela was imprisoned.

Very moving displays demonstrate (again) the depths we humans sink to in our treatment of others.

Death Row for Vietnamese prisoners who fought against the rifle dropping French colonial regime.

And yes, these buggers actually used the guillotine!

Then came the American involvement. This is Sen. John McCain's flight suit.

Phot of McCain being "arrested" by villagers.

Changing of the guard in front of Ho Chi Minh's tomb.

I believe that's a MIG-15.

Street scene.

Lenin has his own park here.

One a lighter note, enjoyed a nice Hanoi beer with my Pho and spring rolls.

And topped off the day with a refreshing Gin and Tonic at the Sky Bar atop the Sofitel. I don't think Ho Chi Minh envisioned this.

Arrival in Hanoi

I'm proud to report I DID NOT exclaim "Good morning Vietnam!" Didn't even think of it. However at least half our group did.

To paraphrase Von Clauszewitz, "War is economics by other means."

Kind of surprised they have a drink called a B52 here. You know, what with the late unpleasantness and all...

Hanoi night market. Makes Bangkok look like a sleepy backwater village.

Last Day in Lao.

PRESIDENTIAL PALACE, VIENTIANE

SISITEK TEMPLE

BROKEN BUDDHAS

Smashed by Thai soldiers in war between Lao kingdom and what was then Siam in late 18th-early 19th century. Apparently there is more ill will between Thai and Lao people than between them and us. The Thai army used this temple as it's HQ during that war.

VICTORY GATE

Celebrating independence from France. Cement was donated by the US. In an odd sort of twist it appears as an Asian version of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

For the US equivalent of 37 cents and a climb of a couple hundred stairs you get these views of the city (plus a good sweat!).

Wonder how they repair a power outage?

GOLDEN TEMPLE

Not sure who the guy was, but I liked his hat.

Some kind of Sunday morning bicycle event through the streets of Vientiane.

SIGN ON THE WAY TO THE AIRPORT.

We bid adieu to Laos and fly to Hanoi. Roughly half the trip is complete. We'll be joined by a new tour guide and eight passengers (sadly saying "travel well" to three friends). I consider this first fortnight (all my life I've been trying to work that word into a sentence) a warmup. Vietnam awaits me. Better now than forty-five years ago!