The average daytime temperature is about 30-32 degrees dropping to about 28 – 29 at night. The city comes alive after sunset.An old Russian made Hydrofoil on its way to the coastal resort town of Vung Tau. The town itself is a bit like Weston Super Mare with heat and is now a very popular weekend/holiday destination. It also has a casino. The Vietnamese are not allowed to use it as gambling is illegal except for the national lottery. The casino is for foreign tourists and the mainly Russian sailors / workers on the off shore oil rigs. when they hit town it’s a bit like the Wild-West. The sea journey used to take about one hour fifteen minutes. They were very fast and convenient if somewhat scary! A crew member seemed to be always checking on the stern gland (Checking how much water was coming in) and invariably the boat stopped a couple of times en-route (I think it was to clear weeds etc from intakes / propellers)There were about four hydrofoils operating from a wharf in the very centre of Saigon. That is, till one of the ageing vessels caught fire and sank. There were no injuries or fatalities as I believe it happened within the confines of the River Saigon and not at sea. The government scrapped the service and they were never seen again. Some nice glazed ceramics believed to have been made in the north of VietnamA few more!Roll up! Roll up! Get your cart wheels here!Preparing for a party! Most things are done on the floor.Who needs a stool anyway? These tiny stools are ubiquitous. I can’t manage to sit on one. When deciding which coffee shop to relax in it pays to check out the size of the chairs first as in most places one would think they are catering for children!The men! The beer is ‘SAIGON DO’ – Saigon Red, pronounced Saigon DAAAAAAR. It’s a quite nice medium priced lager. They also produce a cheaper Saigon Green which is OK and Saigon Special which is also green, more expensive with a heavier taste.And the women. It is usual at social functions for men and women to separate. An unspoken tradition. The little girl being held is my daughter Betty on her first birthday. A child’s first birthday is a major celebration. There were about 80 friends and family at this event.And Relax!And finally, the evening sun makes a rocket of the worlds fourteenth highest building. (Taken from about 6 kilometers away with a small camera so quality not too hot!)
Part of temple complex in the ancient Royal capital of Luang Prabang. This is a photo of a photo so the quality is not good, The tiles are iridescent. The city was the Royal capital of Laos until 1975 when the Pathet Laos took over and moved the capital to Vientiane. It sits at the confluence of the Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers on a peninsular and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Every morning at dawn Buddhist monks walk the streets for alms. Luang Prabang is a city full of Buddhist temples, monasteries and shrines. The Americans had a secret airbase here during the Vietnam war from where they attacked North Vietnam. It was secret because Laos was a neutral country but America ‘Supported’ the Royal Laos Government. Read what you will into that! It is a very beautiful small city.A monastery in Vientiane. The main religion in Laos is Theravada Buddhism. The Communist Government does not have a state religion but does permit freedom of religion. In practice this means Buddhism only. Christian religions are frowned upon.A Buddhist shrine in a cave/grotto that can only be accessed by river.This photo does not do it justice the statues are gleaming gold This is Vang Vieng the tubing / back packer / drugs centre of Laos. Young tourists float in large inflated lorry inner tubes for considerable distance down the turbulent river Nam Song. At certain points there are zip lines for dropping into the river. At these locations there is always a bar. There have been many deaths mainly due to drunk or spaced out back packers getting into trouble in the river. The town itself is just a disused runway or possibly a – not used very often runway – with a cluster of buildings between it and the river. I believe the area has now been ‘cleaned up’ and is now safer and inherently more boring. During this trip I took a bus from Vientiane to Luang Prabang. It was an all day trip, up and down, round and round, you did start to worry about the bus’s brakes and tyres but not as much as the road itself which, as you wend north begins to be adorned with makeshift tolls. They consisted of a long bamboo poll pivoted and balanced at one end with a rock whilst being pulled up and down by a long rope.Sometimes they were unmanned but sometimes there was a group of men, no uniforms just shorts, sandals and a t-shirt or just shorts but they were armed. The weapons consisted of anything from modern-ish AK 47’s to what looked like muzzle loading flintlocks (they were very long). A small fee was paid and we carried on to the next mountain. I later learnt that they had only recently de-armed the bus crews as it was now safe to travel this route. About an hour out of Luang Prabang a tyre did indeed blow. No AA here, everybody off, fix it yourself with a big jack and a very long wheel bar that took three men to lean on! And relax!Or may be not – Nhi practising Yoga during the long- long – long lock down here in SaigonAnd finally – 99 Red Balloons!
Which started out like this- bending wood using a fire and some water (Steam)To this!Then this!and this.Or this!Also this!And finally this. The beautiful Pea Green Boat! Well nearly.
‘They took some honey!
And plenty of money!
Wrapped up in a five (Hundred thousand Vietnam Dong – about £15.00) Note
They sailed away, for a year and a day to the place where the B(d)ong tree grows!
Ha Long Bay, North Vietnam, One of the modern seven wonders of the world. Whole floating villages exist in these waters. The occupants rarely step on dry land.And relax!
According to Official figures Vietnam has had no deaths from Corona Virus and the number of recorded cases is extremely low – 240.
People here have been wearing masks for a long time, mainly for air pollution reasons when on a motorbike but more recently it is compulsory if you are out anywhere. Supermarket staff have been wearing them for best part of a year.
The main requirements for feminine beauty here is height and white skin so Vietnamese women are obsessive about avoiding the sun and cover everything up, (Socks/gloves/ head/ neck shroud and sun glasses) for even the shortest trip on a motorbike. If they have to walk a short distance they will use anything to hand, – documents, hand bag, an item of clothing – to shield their face from the sun. These behavioural characteristics are very advantageous for avoiding the odd virus.
Schools have been shut since the TET holiday which was at the end of January and for the last two weeks Vietnam is the same as the rest of the world in that only essential services are open.
The city is very quiet and the planes have almost stopped flying.
This is the infamous ‘Rooftop Garden Bar’ of the nearly five star REX Hotel in downtown (District 1) SaigonThe Bar (Today)
The Rooftop Bar was the location of military press briefings during the Vietnam War and was described by the Associated Press Bureau chief as :- “The longest playing tragicomedy in South East Asia’s theatre of the absurd.” His name was Richard Pyle. A rather spooky coincidence with the 1955 Graham Greene book ‘The Quiet American’ (Set in Saigon at the end of French Colonial rule,) where the CIA agent was called ‘Alden Pyle’. The book is wildly believed to have predicted the Vietnam War.
A Public Affairs officer – Barry Zorthian, led those meetings which were raucous, the journalists cracked jokes and heckled officials as to the credibility of their presentations. He lamented that where the US Government’s word was once true until proven false, in Vietnam, it would be questioned until proven true.
The Vietnam war was the first modern unconventional war. Progress could not be measured by area gained and held, as whenever the South Vietnamese / Americans won /occupied an area as soon as they left or at night time the communist forces came back.
The only evidence of progress that could be presented to the journalist were ‘body counts’ These were usually exaggerated or included rural peasants who weren’t actually soldiers. Nevertheless they were published in the American press. American and foreign journalists were allowed to accompany South Vietnamese / American troops on missions. Their experiences didn’t tally with what they were being told. 63 died.
The rooftop bar today is mainly a breakfast location for hotel guests and a nighttime cocktail / viewing bar. .
Today the view from the Rooftop bar is that of a busy hole in the ground that is destined to become part of the underground Metro system.Some more holes in the ground. The project (which is huge) is mostly funded by the Japanese (They’re not doing it as a favour)Here we see a ‘coracle’ type craft being used as a tenderSo! Wales or Vietnam / CochinChina. which came first?And relax!Sunset photos never look as good as in real live!And finally, Ladies of the night!
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