Hoi An

Hoi An, another Unesco World Heritage site, is a small town on a river just a few hours from Hue. Hoi An was a international trading port dating back to the 17th century and Chinese, Japanese and European influences are seen in the homes, Chinese assembly halls and in ancient art and architecture. We loved wandering around the (car and motorbike free :) narrow streets of the Old Town and the river, visiting the heritage sites and trying the delicious local cuisine.

Hoi An es otro de los sitios asignados como patrimonio cultural de la humanidad. Hoi An tiene unos paisajes muy bonitos y tiene bastante influencia de China, Japon y Europa. La comida es muy buena y lo mejor de todo es que no hay tanto trafico como en otra ciudades que visitamos.

Specialty of Hoi An--fried wantons! We went to this cafe for lunch the day we arrived in Hoi An and liked it so much we went two more times (and ordered the same thing). The main course was another Hoi An speciality, cao lau, a noodle dish.

Este restuarant esta tan bueno que regresamos y comimos los mismo tres dias seguidos. Nuestros platillos regionales favoritos se llaman cao lau y fried wantons (deliciosos).

The Chinese merchants who lived in Hoi An built assemby halls and temples where Chinese from different regions/ethnic groups could gather for festivals and celebrations. This was one of the many that we had a look at.

The Japanese covered bridge, built in 1593. Amy is on the bridge (in the hat) waving.

El puente Japones cubierto, contruido en 1593. Amy con su sombrero aparece en la foto.

We took a day trip to visit the Cham ruins at My Son. The Cham were an Indian influenced Hindu empire in central Vietnam (2nd-10th centuries).

Vistamos las ruinas llamadas My Son de la cultura del imperio Cham del periodo del siglo 2do al 10. Estas ruinas fueron bombardiadas en la guerra de Vietnam. Solo algunos elementos quedan erectos.

The most complete of the Cham towers.

Returning to the boat harbor at Hoi An after our trip to My Son (we took the bus one way and a boat back).

De regreso al puerto de Hoi An por medio de una embarcacion.

The beach was only 4km from our hotel and the ancient city in Hoi An. We rented bicycles and rode out to the beach on our last day there.

Para llegar a la playa rentamos bicicletas y las manejamos por cuatro kilometros. El camino a la playa es muy bonito.

A round basket boat used for fishing.

Bicycle parking at the beach.

Views along the river on the ride back to town.

Amy on bicycle./Amy en su bicicleta.

Hue

Hue was the capital of Vietnam from 1802-1945 under the 13 emperors of the Nguyen dynasty. The city is a Unesco world heritage site.

Hue la capital de Vietnam de 1802-1945 y es considerada como patrimonio cultural de la humanidad.
The city sits on both sides of the Perfume River, with hills just visible beyond the river.
Vista del Rio Perfume.


Dragon boats for tourist cruises.


The Citadel is the former imperial city and covers a huge area enclosed area on the north side of the river. Construction began in 1804. The Citadel was heavily bombed during the war and huge parts of the palace are in ruins or being reconstructed. Inside the Citadel is the Imperial Enclosure a 'citadel within the citadel' and inside that is the Forbidden Purple City which was reserved for the private life of the emperor. The photo is outside the wall of the Citadel.

Citadel es la antigua ciudad imperial, construida en 1804. Citadel es una ciudad fortificada (muy grande). Citadel fue bombardiada durante la guerra y grand parte del palacio esta en ruinas o esta siendo reconstruida. Esta es una foto de la fachada exterior.



A bridge over the moat and into the Citadel./Este es el puente para crucar al interior de Citadel.



The huge flagpole just inside the Citadel wall./La explanada en Citadel.


The gate to Imperial Enclosure. The emperor would make appearances from the top (under the orange roof) of the gate.


Este es la fortaleza Imperial dentro de Citadel. Aqui el rey hacia sus apariciones en celebraciones.

Closer view of the entrance to the Imperial Palace within the Citadel walls.

Entrance to one of the palaces (we think the Queen Mother's palace) within the Imperial City within the Citadel. The actual palace was destroyed.

Entrada a uno de los palacios donde la mama de la reina vivia.

One of the many temples/palaces within the Citadel./Uno de muchos de los templos/palacios dentro de Citadel.

The Tomb of Emperor Tu Duc. The emperors built massive tombs on the banks of the river with beautifully landscaped grounds, space for fishing and hunting, temples for family members and their own tomb. Some of the tombs were also occupied prior to the death of the King.

La tomba de la emperador Tu Duc. Los emperadores mandaban a construir sus propias tumbas.

Hanoi

We flew from Bangkok to Hanoi for our first stop in Vietnam. We loved the city! We stayed in the Old Quarter which was full of narrow twisty streets that changed names every few blocks. French colonial buildings with balconies line many of the streets. Many of the street names meant a type of good that was sold on that street, i.e. Bat Dan (street) means wooden bowls, Hang Ca means fish etc. Some of the streets we saw definately were still selling a single item, Hang Giay is still lined with shops selling shoes. The streets are busy, full of motorbikes, bicycle rickshaws, bicycles, street vendors and buses. Motorbikes and cars constantly beep their horns, though no one ever stops or turns around. The sidewalks are crowded of parked motorbikes and street vendors selling food and drinks to patrons sitting at tiny plastic tables in child-sized chairs or on stools.



Volamos de Bangkok a Hanoi para nuestra primera parada en Vietnam. Nos encanto esta ciudad. Estuvimos en la ciudad el llamada Old Quarter que esta llena de calles estrechas y confusas. El nombre de las calles generalmente significa el tipo de productos que venden en la calle, por ejemplo Bat Dan que significa platos hondos de madera. Las calles estan llenas de gente y trafico con motocicletas, carros y gente comiendo en todos lados con mesas y sillas para ninos de kinder.



Omar drinking Vietnamese drip coffee. The coffee is very strong and served black or with condensed milk making it very sweet. Took some getting used to.



Omar tomando cafe Vietnamese. Este cafe es muy fuerte y se sirve con leche condensada (La Lechera).


Hoan Kiem Lake in the Old Quarter./Es un lago en el centro de la ciudad.

Street scenes/Las calles de Hanoi

Motorbikes waiting for the streetlight to turn green.

Yum! Pho Gai for lunch.

The child sized tables and chairs at a street food vendor./Esta es la clasica comida en todas las calles (con mesas y sillas de ninos).

Amy en una entrevista de trabajo, afortunamente no se quedo con la posicion.

One of the many food markets

The Temple of Literature, founded in 1070 and built in traditional Vietnamese architecture. The temple is dedicated to Confucius and honors the nation's finest scholars. It was the site of Vietnam's first university which was established in 1076. The complex includes five courtyards and several pavilions.

Museum of Ethnology

Omar standing in front of models of different ethnic group's traditional homes. The actual homes were built outside in a courtyard around the museum. There's a picture below of Amy climbing up the ladder to a traditional community house--built by a whole village for festivals, visitors and community events.

Atras de Omar estan las differentes maquetas de casas traditionales de los grupos ethnicos. Abajo hay uno foto de Amy subiendo las escaleras de una de las casas comunales--construida para que en las festividades los visitantes se puedan hospedar ahi.

Our friend Molly Barret's niece Joanie, her husband Andy and their beautiful daughters Fiona and Matilda had us over to their home in Hanoi for a delicious dinner. They moved to Hanoi in August for a job Joanie has working on an immunization project for the global health NGO PATH. It was so nice to meet them, have a relaxing home cooked meal and sit down to dinner with a family. Thank you!

Joanie es sobrina de una de las amigas de los papas de Amy. Su esposo Andy y sus hijas Fiona y Matilda nos recibieron en su casa de Hanoi. Andy cocino para nostros una cena Vietnamese deliciosa. Estuvo muy bonito haber conocido y convivido con esta muy linda familia.