Nha Trang, Vietnam

 
Sunday, December 6

We moved 300 miles down the coast from Da Nang/Hoi An to Nha Trang which is basically a beach resort near Cam Ranh Bay. It has a mixture of Vietnamese and foreign visitors.  There are many mid-level and budget hotels with only a rare world-class resort properties here. The beach is very nice wide sand with strong currents and surf.

This part of south central Vietnam is the center of the Champa Culture. From the 6th to the 18th century, the Champa conflicted with the Viet and Chinese people to the north and the Khmer civilization to the west. Their religion was a combination of Hindu and Buddhist influences. There are many remnants of Champa temples through out the area. This morning we visited one right in the city.

 There were many locals there. Some girls preparing for a performance later in the morning:

Musicians to play for them:















Some local kids playing in the area:

We went over to a local market where there was a variety of products from fruits, flowers to various animals butcherd for food:

Hoi An

Friday, December 4

Hoi An is a friendly small town that depends greatly on tourists. But the locals are quite laid back in that they are not persistent and nagging you to buy something or come to their shop or restaurant. They ask once and then stop...unusual for Asia....or anywhere I guess. They smile easily and seem to genuinely welcome you to their town. It's very walkable.

The weather since I got to Vietnam has been a welcome break from the oppressive humidity in Indonesia. In fact my guide has been "old" since we started...but temps have been in the high 60's to low 80's. It has been cloudy with periods of light rain. Rain is unusual here at this time of the year. However they had a severe typhoon here 2 months ago that resulted in bad flooding.

Yesterday we looked at a 17th century Chinese Temple in town that was very nice.

Attended a music and dance performance:

Fish in a fountain pool at the Chinese Temple:

Today we drove out of town about 40km to visit a small complex of 9th century Champa Temples. These were severely damaged on 1968 by US bombs.

The Champa had an extensive civilization in southern Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam in the 8th to the 13 th centuries.

It was very lush and green in this area, indicating that today's rain must not be too unusual

Tomorrow we will fly another 300 miles down the coast to Nha Trang which is a well developed Resort and Beach Town mostly for the Vietnamese.

Hoi An, Vietnam

Thursday, Decenber 3

Yesterday we flew down to the Da Nang Airport about 400 miles from Hanoi. From there it is about a 45 minute drive to Hoi An. The drive takes you down a past of beautiful sand dune beaches that have a representative property almost every high end hotel chain in the world being constructed or already built. Hoi An is a small, friendly, quaint town that has a long history as a Japanese port in the 17th century and a Chinese port for trade in the 18th century. The Thu River has deposited enough silt so that the town is no longer on the sea so it no longer serves as a port. It is popular with tourists and has many shops and restaurants.

The river is now a source of commerce with fishing and tourist rides:

Children are friendly and playing in the streets:

Hanoi Today and Reflections on Indonesia

Tuesday, December 1

Today I arrived in Hanoi to meet my Tour Guide, Tran Van Bay. He was my guide for my trip in northern Vietnam in 2007. This trip I will visit central and southern Vietnam. We will head off to Da Nang and Hoi An tomorrow morning.
Since there are no direct flights from Bali to Hanoi...I guess the Communist Peoples Republic of Vietnam doesn't see the need to allow it's citizens direct access to Bali...I spent the nite near the Kuala Lumpur Airport in Malaysia. I stayed at a Bed & Breakfast run by a retired US Marine and his Malaysian wife. They have a lovely huge home in a modern upscale development about 15 minutes from the airport (which is 40 min from central KL). The roads I saw there were very modern multiple line highways with somewhat sane drivers. I think it would be interesting to visit Malaysia for a few days if it weren't so Muslim.

I thought I would add a few photos from Bali.

This is a scene at the beach near the hotel in Seminyak:

This is a photo by Danny of Del, Moh (my friend from Singapore) and me at a very trendy, beachfront upscale bar and restaurant for lunch called Ku De Ta (pronounced "coup d'etat"):

One evening we went to a Balinese dance ceremony and here are a couple of the dancers:

 

And here is a sunset at the beach on our last day in Bali:

 

Bali

Thursday, November 26, 2009…..Happy Thanksgiving

We are on the island of Bali…many people’s idea of paradise. It is lush island with beautiful beaches that can be used for relaxing, swimming and excellent surfing, snorkeling and scuba dives.

Unlike the rest of Indonesia which is mostly Moslem, Bali’s religion is a mix of Hindu and local animism. The native people are friendly and accommodating. There is a large population of expatriates living full-time or part-time here as well as a major tourist industry.

My friend Danny lived here for 5 years before coming to the USA. One of his friends is Del, who works part-time for the Washington State in mosquito control and lives 6 months of the year near Ubud, Bali in a small village where he leased some land from the village chief and built a small lovely house which he rents out when he is in Washington State during the summer. The location and views of the local rainforest are remarkable.

Ubud is in the center of the island and is an area filled with native and foreign artists...painters, sculptures, fabrics.  You can stroll around central Ubud and the surrounding villages to see some lovely creations. It is far from the beaches and the tourist here is respectful and culturally attuned…unlike the trendy resort areas.

Here are some local Balinese teen-agers:

Del’s house:

Bathroom decoration:

Back yard:

Front porch:

View out the bedroom window:

A view of the house from across the valley…you can see how it is located on the top of a piece of land that sticks out into the small river valley:

Decorative figure on wall:

Local rice terraces outside of Ubud:

The Market and Mt Merapi

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

The next day we got up early to go to a local market in Yogyakarta. This is always a good way to get a flavor for the local people and activities. It is common for 2 or 3 generations of a family to be involved in presenting and selling goods

This is a sample of the folks at the market:

As it was clear day after the market we drove about 40 kilometers north of the city to see Mt Merapi.  This is a legendary mountain that is an active volcano, last having a major eruption in 1994. There is smoke that continuously escapes from the top. The mountain has religious significance and is thought to be represented in the form of ancient temples at Angkor, Borobodur as the  center tall cone structure in the center of these complexes. It is about 9500 ft in altitude

We were quite lucky to time it well so we could get good photos as the clouds that were drifting by obscured the mountain about 45 min after we arrived.

After the viewing of the mountain we went over to a spot that has a trail that goes to a waterfall that is popular:

Borobodur Temple and Raft Trip down the Elo River

The first day we visited Borobodur Temple outside the city. It is a Buddhist temple built in the 8th Century that is out in the country side surrounded by lush foliage.

After the Temple we had a rafting trip arranged by a friend of Danny's nephew, Putra.  We spent 2 hours floating and paddling thru the rain forest down the Elo river which had some fun but tame rapids.