The Group visited the Cao Dai Great Temple where we witnessed the noon service. We also inspected the communist guerrilla tunnel system at Cu Chi and Barry Stevens had a very friendly encounter with a snake in the Mekong Delta.
Leaving Saigon we had a slow, winding trip to Dalat, a cooler mountain retreat, which was much appreciated. Visits to a Lat village, the summer palace of the last emperor of Vietnam and a Buddhist Pagoda were interesting. Terraced flower and vegetable gardens were everywhere.
Next was booming beachfront Nha Trang via another winding road. This was the place to relax with a boat trip, swimming, massages
and PARA GLIDING by Alan Taylor!
We flew to historic Hoi An, the city of many tailors, much to the delight of our dedicated shoppers. A Vietnamese cooking class
was fun, but no one shone.
Marble Mountain, with 156 steps up to the Pagoda and cave, proved a bit too much for some who preferred to shop.
However, every time you stepped off the bus, out of the hotel or restaurant, the local hawkers were waiting to `pounce`! We continued to drive north over a spectacular pass to Hue, the old capital. We visited the ancient Citadel, a 21m octagonal Thien Mu Pagoda and a royal tomb. That evening we dressed in period costume for a Royal dinner hosted by King Roger and Queen Irene, being entertained by musicians.
The APEC Conference in Hanoi did affect our movements, but Phai managed to adjust our itinerary around it. We drove to Halong Bay
(10 hr return trip) where we boarded a junk to sail among the islands, enjoy lunch and visit limestone caves. Back in Hanoi
again, we visited The Temple of Literature (1070), Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (outside only) and the water puppet theatre.
Finally, the time arrived to board a train for our overnight trip to Lao Cai (near the Chinese border). Everyone coped really
well, sharing 4 berth sleepers and we were soon lulled to sleep, arriving around 7.30am.
We were driven 35kms on a winding road to Sapa, an old hill town built in 1922 in a beautiful valley 1,600m above sea level. We explored the town and market (more bargains) and later the energetic and fit walked for 1 hour and over two swing bridges to Cat Cat Village - this included 525 steps up and down. Bill Dair was convinced we should have done the walk in reverse direction, but Phai wouldn`t be swayed. We also drove on Vietnam`s highest road (1900m`s) and walked to Silver Falls.
We visited another village where the women wore striking red and black dyed clothing. Their enthusiastic welcome when we arrived
nd much pressure to buy, which was the norm throughout Vietnam, was a highlight.
We returned to Hanoi, again by train overnight, for mandatory last minute shopping before flying home. The hotels were above
expectations except Hanoi (due to APEC), the meals were excellent, the touring and organisation by Wendy Wu was great and the
companionship and bonding of the group was fantastic. `JUST GO WITH THE FLOW` was Bill`s catch cry and it worked well.
