Vietnam & Cambodia Tour with NVK. By Jayant Doshi

(from 1st February 2012 till 17th February 2012.)

This was only the second overseas trip

organised by Navjivan Vadil Kendra (NVK). We

left home early in the morning to go to the

airport. The airline computer had problems,

and the flight was delayed by two hours but

the flight made up one hour to our destination

in Kuala Lumpur. There was a mix up at the

two building terminal and we were waiting at

the wrong gate but in the end we all boarded

our flight to Hanoi and reached our hotel at

lunch time. At dinner time introductions were

made. Our group of 35 was international – four

from Canada, three from India and rest from

London – so introductions were a good way to start our trip. Four were non-Gujarati and as such

we had to use a mixture of Gujarati, Hindi and English in our conversations and announcements.

NVK aim to help the lonely and the aged, and

these trips give an opportunity to those people

to travel knowing that help will be at hand

and they will not be alone.

We started our tour next morning by starting

with the sightseeing tour of the city of Hanoi.

Vietnam with a very old culture and history

was cursed by fighting – initially civil war and

then with USA – for many decades and the

country was divided into two till its unification

in 1990’s. Hanoi, capital of the North till

unification, but now capital of the united

country, has a long past which can be seen in

its monuments and historical pagodas, its

narrow streets and lakes give it a distinctive charm. Vietnam was a French colony for long time

and the war of independence left its scars on the people and the country. But for centuries there

has been animosity with its northern neighbour China, while there is a large Chinese people living

in the country, and the culture of the country has lot of Chinese influence, the wars of the past and

the animosity generated have still lingering effects in the country.

During the day we visited the Temple of

Literature boasting its Vietnamese architecture

and its thousand year history. One Pillar

Pagoda also has a history of thousand years

but was destroyed during the war with the

French, and rebuilt recently. Our next visit was

to the stilt house where Ho Chi Minh used to

live. Ho Chi Minh, leader of the North who

ultimately won and united the country, was a

man of simplicity who refused to live in palatial

buildings. His house epitomized this simplicity

where he lived in a small house with limited

space and just two rooms. His simple living could be viewed through the glass windows. It is rare

to see a man who gave his life for the country,

followed his principles to the end. Our next visit

was to a temple and a lake with a small islet

with a tortoise pagoda. While driving through

we saw colonial structures such as Opera

House and St Josephs Cathedral. After the

lake we walked through the old city with

narrow alleyways called “36 streets” – each

street specialised in similar products and the

street was named after that product. We also

visited the History Museum with its fascinating

exhibition of long Vietnam History. North

Vietnam is known for its water puppet show

and we enjoyed the amazing show for an hour.

It was so fascinating to see a puppet show with life like puppets doing their show in water with no

visible sign of any human hands doing the movements. Puppetry is an art in itself, but the water

puppet show was enchanting. No wonder it is

an art which has not been copied elsewhere –

perhaps because it is not so easy to perform.

Vietnam has gone through years and decades

of conflict and war. China has for centuries

considered Vietnam and neighbouring

countries as its domain and has fought many

wars to subjugate these countries. This

animosity and bad feelings run deep in the

minds of the people. Vietnam language used

Chinese alphabets but now they use Roman

alphabets. Also in education English and

French are learnt but not Chinese even though

the culture and traditions of the people are a lot influenced by Chinese culture and traditions.

Vietnam was a French colony for many years, and after winning its independence after long

struggle, it got itself into conflict with communist and opposing factions. Then USA got involved in

this conflict resulting in years of bombardment, torture, killings and ultimately victory for

communists one party government, in day to day life it is adopting capitalist and democratic ways

of life, and economically it is making great progress

Next morning we had a long drive to Ho Long

Bay, one of the rare natural wonders of this

earth. The bay has almost 1600 limestone

korsts and islets which rise out of the waters of

the bay to heights of up to 100 meters and the

numerous caves and grottos spread throughout

the bay. Looking at the bay, it seemed as if

little mountains had popped out of the ocean. It

has become the most important tourist sites in

Vietnam and has been listed by the UNESCO

as World Heritage Site. We left early from

Hanoi but the three hour journey became a

feast of singing, jokes and laughter. The

diverse group of members, from various continents and of various age range, had mixed with each

other within a short space of time. On the way to Ho Long Bay we stopped at a huge store selling

wonderful stone, graphite and marble statues and sculptures. By lunch time we reached our cruise

ship which took us round islets, through gapes

in these little mountains in the ocean. We took

small boats and visited floating fishing village.

We saw how real pearls are found and how

cultured pearls are made. We saw the typical

village house and the school. All these

buildings are built on water. The option of

swimming in the sea was offered but no one

volunteered as it was cold water. I dropped the

idea also. We watched DVD showing the

breadth and the length of Ho Long bay and its

fascination which is bringing millions of tourists

to this country. Our cruise ship was anchored

in the bay surrounded by many cruise ships

with their lights glistening and reflection in the

water making the scene beautiful.

Next morning we had an early start after a light breakfast. We proceeded to Tai Chi with its maze

of mysterious caves. It was a steep climb to the caves but really worth the visit. The caves ran

quite deep inside with hundreds of stalactites

protruding from the ceiling of the caves. The

caves were lighted in different colour lights

which made them more attractive. It was a

wonderful walk and one could spend lot of time

exploring different paths leading into other

caves from here. After a brunch the cruise ship

took us to our motor boat. I took the opportunity

to drive the motor boat for a while. We drove

back to Hanoi stopping for a Chinese style

lunch which everyone enjoyed. Later we

stopped at a pottery village but it was

disappointing as there was nothing to see, and

the walk was so slippery that fear of injury was worrying. We reached the hotel and began

preparations for a very early start next morning.

With a population of 87 million Vietnam has over 20 million motor bikes and one does not have to

go far to verify these figures. Roads are jam

packed with motor bikes and crossing the

roads is a nightmare. When traffic lights go

green it appears as if flood gates have been

opened and water gushes out. Motor bikes do

not stop for the pedestrian but instead wind

round the person and carry on driving, and

the pedestrian also know this so carry on

crossing the road disregarding the motor

bikes. All the foot paths are taken over by

motor bikes which are parked in rows after

rows.

We woke up at 3.00 a.m and reached the

airport by 4.30 but flight was delayed by

almost two hours because of fog. It had been pretty cloudy and cold in Hanoi and members were

wrapped in warm clothes. Hanoi is north part of Vietnam and our flight took us to Hue in central

Vietnam. Compared to Hanoi, Hue is a much

smaller city, one time Royal capital of Vietnam,

and much nicer houses and beautiful layout of

the roads and parks. The river runs through the

city. Compared to Hanoi there was hardly any

congestion in this lovely city. On arrival we

start our sightseeing and visit the Imperial

Tomb of Tu Doc built by the longest serving

Emperor of Vietnam. He used the site as a

retreat for meditation, reading and theatre

performances. Our next visit to the Imperial

Tomb was on a hill side and represented one of

the last monumental tombs of the Nguyen

dynasty. Built in 1931 it represents a mixture

of European and Vietnamese architecture. At

the heart of the old Imperial city is the Imperial Citadel, modelled on the forbidden city of Peking,

and surrounded by moat. Most of the buildings have been destroyed by the recent war, but what is

left gives and impressive insight into the life of that dynasty. The whole Citadel has spacious

courtyards and lotus ponds. Our visit also

included a museum.

After lunch many opted for an afternoon sleep,

while twelve members of the group went to see

two tombs built for recent kings. One, just 80

years old, is built with ceramics imported from

France. The intricate design created by

breaking the ceramics into small pieces is very

impressive and will be a sight to see for years

to come. This tomb is built in a small area and

as such it is steep climb to reach the top. The

other tomb is built on much larger grounds and

as such it s spread out and involves lot of

walking. The King and Queens actually lived in this monument and the king was buried here after

his death. However, because of fear of Chinese coming and stealing the body, the tomb was built

in such a way that no one knew actually location of the body when it was buried.

Our drive from Hue to Hoi An next morning was scenic, passing some lovely beaches and small

towns. The coach drive had become lot of joy for

all as singing and jokes kept everyone

engrossed. Also various snacks coming out of

bags kept all mouths busy with chewing. Hoi

An is a lovely small town on the beach with lots

of tourists visiting this place. It has a very long

beach, and with booming tourism, hotels have

cropped up all along the beach and in the town.

It has nice bungalows, buildings that are well

maintained and a pleasant town to see. We

visited a marble factory and saw how

sculptures are made. During our visit to the

factory, and seeing all the beautiful statutes

and sculptures spread over a large area, one of

our group members slipped on the steps, fell and dislocated his elbow. He was taken to hospital

and appropriate treatment was given promptly. To our sigh of relief we learnt that it was just

dislocated elbow and no serious damage was done. The member joined us back by the evening,

and rest of the tour.

Next morning after breakfast we left to take a

flight from Danang to Saigon or Ho Chi Minh

City as it is now called by the present

communist government. After unification of the

country, the communists from the North took

control of the united country and changed

name of the city to Ho Chi Minh in honour of

their hero. South Vietnamese still prefer to call

it Saigon. On the way to the airport we stopped

at a museum which stores the best collection of

Cham dynasty artefacts. Cham dynasty lasted

for over 1000 years and the museum records

the glories of that period. Saigon is a buzzing

city with a large population, with modern buildings cropping up with a booming economy side by

side with colonial buildings built by the French during the rule, and the traditional Vietnamese and

Chinese life style and buildings. Motor bikes are seen in plenty on the roads, and one can see

young people riding motorbikes with mobiles

and rushing around in a hurry. Like every major

city in the world Saigon also has a China town

though they prefer to call it Cholon. Even though

the Chinese have played a major role in the

economy of the country over centuries, the locals

seem to try to forget that and that is why they

do not call this as China town. We visited one of

the most active 19th century Pagodas later in the

day.

It was so encouraging that the time keeping in

the group was remarkable and in the morning

everyone was in the coach at a specified time

and we never had to wait for anyone. However, going to an Indian restaurant meant that time for

sightseeing was reduced accordingly. And getting two heavy meals did not suit everyone. Few

always skipped dinner every day. But there does not seem a simpler solution though this needs to

be considered on future trips. While three

meals took considerable time, it was the best

part of the holiday when members of the group

got a chance to mingle, mix and exchange

acquaintances. I am sure lots of friendships

have been built on this trip.

Americans fought long war with communists

from North Vietnam and with Viet Cong in

South Vietnam who supported and fought for

North Vietnam. It was their guerrilla fighting

tactics which ultimately led to huge casualties

for the Americans and their final withdrawal.

Viet Cong built intricate web of tunnels, called

Cu Chu Tunnels very near Siagon, and which the Americans never managed to find. This is an

unique project of architecture as an underground system of tunnel deeply located in the ground

bed with numerous floors, several deviated alley like a cobweb over 200 km long with its places of

boarding, accommodation, meeting and fighting. The underground system indicated the will of

determination, wisdom and pride of Cu Chi

people as the symbol of the Vietnamese

people’s revolutionary heroism. Viet Cong used

these tunnels to attach American troops and

their supporters and then disappear in these

tunnels. Stretching over 200 km this incredible

underground network of tunnels, dug by hand

and connected to command posts, hospitals,

shelters and weapon factories is amazing

reflection of the ingenuity and resourcefulness

of the Vietnam people. Tunnels are so small

that one has to crawl to go through them. Of

course some of them have been modified so

that the tourists can have a look at them. There

are booby traps of all sorts that would trap anyone no matter how careful or clever the person is.

The traps would capture rather than kill, and the idea was that any soldier who came to rescue

would also become a target and be killed with the trapped person. Even the cooking food elaborate

precautions were taken to spread the smoke in

such a way that no one would notice it and

time for cooking was synchronised with the

habits of local population. Dried leaves that

would not burn would be used to build these

traps and underground cooking places. Our

visit to these tunnels was the most fascinating

of the day and the whole trip.

After lunch we visited the Reunification Palace

which housed the president of South Vietnam

before tanks attacked it in 1975 and brought

downfall of the South Vietnam Government.

The palace has been preserved in its original

state. Our visit to War Remnants Museum was

eye opening and horrifying in places. It houses relics and reminders of the two long wars fought by

the Vietnamese against the French and then the Americans. The museum has photos of atrocities

committed during those wars and photos of

victims of the orange bomb that gave shivers

when seen by visitors. The orange bomb had

long lasting effects, and even now people suffer

from after effects. Photos depicted how organs

were damaged or lost by the effects of the

bomb. We stopped by the President residence

with 100 rooms and took some photos followed

by a visit to a factory making lacquer furniture

and art pictures. We were shown the process of

making these and our members took advantage

of the opportunity to do some purchases.

Our next stop was at Notre Dame Cathedral

built in the 19th century and the largest Post Office in the country. The Post Office building is a

French style building. Inside the huge post office it was more of a market for tourists and only little

space was occupied for postal work. Our members naturally spent time browsing and doing

shopping – an opportunity few would let go at any time. We stopped at the site of former US

Embassy where photography was not

allowed. We visited the Ban Thanh Market

which is the central market of Saigon. It is a

lively place. The market are provides for all

requisites of daily life for the common citizen

of the city.

Next morning we went to Mekong River, took

a boat ride to see the amazing floating

market of Saigon. Thousands of people live

on houses built in the river on stilts, and

have television, electricity and other modern

conveniences. Even wedding within the

floating community takes place on the river in

boats and when boats are decorated and the wedding ceremonies and festivities take place with

other boat community members take part. We passed through by-waters and canals of Mekong

delta and visited local workshops that produced puffed rice, cocoanut candy and other local

delicacies. We saw how some of these items were made and got a chance to taste them and buy

them also. We had packed lunch and opportunity to try many exotic fruits on the way. The whole

day passed on the boat and visiting all these places.

Normally we had either early wake up or late

night and as such rarely got a chance to walk

around. But today we got a chance to walk

around the market at night. One person was

doing different sort of massage on the street, A

man lying on the footpath with shirt removed,

and the person would take small glass bowl,

light a match in front of the bowl and

immediately press it on the upper arms and

upper chest. We stopped to watch out of

curiosity and before I knew he made me sit on

a chair, pushed my shirt sleeves and pressed

four bowls on my upper arms. By lighting

match stick he was creating vacuum and when pressed on the skin the bowl stuck, and it

appeared that my body was trying to suck the bowl inside. It became painful. He soon removed the

bowls. But the burnt marks of the bowl remained on my arms for a few days. Duriyan is a fruit

similar to Jack fruit but is known for its nauseating smell. One of our group members was very

keen on eating it. A few others agreed though most refused. I had never tried it so I went for it also.

As a lover of all fruits I ate it but was not very

impressed by it.

We had early wake up next morning and left

hotel by 7.00 a.m. to see the most amazing

and biggest floating market where fruits and

vegetables are sold in wholesale and retail.

Small boats selling in retail weave their way

between large boats doing wholesale

business. We got an opportunity to taste

pineapples which were cut in our presence.

Cutting the pineapple without wasting much of

the fruit is an art and the way it was being

done was just amazing. The river delta is crowded with hundreds of river boats trying to sell their

fruits, vegetables and other trinkets and lots of tourists in their boats watching this fascinating

way of marketing. Today was our last day in

Vietnam and it had been fascinating visit with

such variations in things to see.

It was 4.00 a.m. wake up so that we could fly

to Siam Reap the city of Cambodia surrounded

by thousands of temples, and the centre of

tourist attraction. From the airport we

proceeded to visit the temple ruins. First we

visited Prasat Kravan with five brick towers

which were built in 921 A.D. for Hindu

worship and are notable for the bas-reliefs cut

into the bricks on the interior walls. Next

temple, Ta Prohm is popular amongst tourists

as much of the surrounding forest has not been cleared and the place is as it was found by

European explorers. Ta Kep was built by a Hindu Emperor (968 to 1001 A.D.) and is built entirely

from sandstone and dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva. The central tower is 50 metres high and

surrounded by four lower towers. We visited a few temples which are dedicated to Shiva and

Vishnu.

Cambodia had Hindu culture and influence and

these temples numbering over a thousand were

built mostly in the 12th century or before. Each

temple was built over acres and acres of land,

and some of the temples were huge in size in

width and depth. Later when Buddhism came to

the country some of these temples had Hindu

statutes removed and replaced with Buddha

statutes. Because of conflicts and spread of

forests, these temples were unknown to the

local population until a French man found their

existence between 1908 and 1910. Since then

they have become a big tourist attraction, and preserved as World Heritage Site. The temples are in

ruins though some of the carvings and statutes are still intact and in good condition.

We saw some temple ruins where up to 400

year old trees have grown on top of the

temples, weakening the solid rock walls of the

temples or knocking them. Trees have grown

in the rocks and then very thick roots have

pierced through rocks and found their way to

the ground. The sight of these roots and the

huge area of roots are amazing. Rocks used in

building the temples weight in tonnes, and to

pierce through those rocks and to displace

them and break them is a wonder of nature.

Some members of the group decided to stay

over to see the sunset for which Angkor Wat is

famous. We spent long time in Angkor Vat

which has the world famous temples. Size of each temple is huge and built from huge rocks. It

must have taken years to build those temples, using thousands and thousands of workers, and of

course they must have witnessed thousands of deaths in the course of the construction. Angkor

Vat has the largest, best preserved and most

religiously significant of the temples. The sheer scale

and size of the temples are impressive and the

beautifully proportioned layout is impressive and the

artistic carvings on the walls are amazing. The walls

are carved with at least 1700 apsaras, and outer

walls have the depiction of Hindu mythology stories –

including the story of churning of the ocean. It covers

an area of over 10 square km. It has a moat

surrounding the complex, statutes of demons and

gods carrying naga, elephants, leper kings. Just to

study and see the temple in detail one will need lot

more than a few hours – more like it will need a few

days.

After two days of seeing temples it was getting too

much. There was lot of walking and lot of climbing

and many in the group decided just to sit rather than

see same sort of temples in dilapidated state.

However those who are keen in knowing about the

history and have keen interest in the sculptures this

place needs lot more time to do that. Next morning few members went early to see the sun rise. I

felt lazy and skipped both the sunset and the sunrise. I regretted my decision but it was too late

for that.

For once we had a normal 9.00 a.m. start but because of the habit of getting ready early all the

members were in the lobby long before our time. The group had decided to do some charity while

on the trip. We bought 400 note books, 200 pencils and 200 pencil sharpners. We visited a local

school and presented those items to the poor children of the school and it was pleasure to see

smiles on those children for whom these gifts meant a lot.

Siam Reap is in the south of Cambodia. A lake

150 km long runs from Siam Reap to the north

of the country. Our next visit was to the

amazing floating village on the lake. Over

200,000 people live on the lake on floating

houses which are moved like ships as and

when required. Each village has about 350

families. People live on fish and snakes which

are in abundance around the lake. The snakes

also kill lot of people besides providing food for

the same people who escape from their bites.

The lake swells with water during monsoons.

Villagers move their houses on weather

conditions. Even the school is floating. Later

we visited an art factory run by dumb and deaf people but making some wonderful artistic gift

items. We saw these artistic items being made from wood, stone and other materials. This was

followed by a visit to a gem store where ladies in the group had a field day shopping while men

folk watched helplessly.

We were reaching end of our tour. Four members of the group were parting from this point. We had

special dinner where farewells were said and lot of singing and speeches ended the final day in

Cambodia. Most members expressed their pleasure at the planning and execution of the trip and

expressed their desire to join such a group in

future. Our cook, who rarely got an opportunity

to cook, got his chance and showed us how

good a cook he is. Everyone enjoyed the last

dinner in Cambodia.

For once, to the liking of everyone, next morning

we had a late start. We left the hotel at 10.30

and took a flight to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

Malaysia is comparatively a developed country

and the city of Kuala Lumpur reflected this in

its tall buildings, immaculate roads and

transport system and a very modern city as

such. For the first time in our journey we

arrived in Kuala Lumpur with heavy rains. We went for dinner and then to our hotel. The room, for

the first time in this trip, were pathetic. Some rooms had cockroaches, some had no lights, water

basins were blocked, taps not working and generally rooms were filthy.

Next we started at 8.30 and first visited the Batu caves which have properly made 272 steps to

climb to the top to enter the caves. Many decided not to try to climb those though many of the group

did venture to the top. The caves have many

Hindu temples, and statutes of Hindu deities.

On the ground level there are huge statutes of

Vishnu and Hanuman – almost height of 3 or

4 story building. The caves had many temples

and statutes, and decorated with colourful

lighting. The caves, unfortunately, were filthy

and little was being done to keep the place of

worship clean. After completing the caves we

reached Genting Highlands – a resort and a

maze of restaurants, hotels, and internal and

external rides for the fun and pleasure of the

young and the old. We were supposed to be

staying overnight in Genting Highland but

there was some mix up in communication between the tour manager and the travel agents. The

whole complex is huge and is built on top of a mountain surrounded by thick forest. We reach the

resort by a cable car, and the ride on the cable car is scenic. It crosses valleys with thick growth of

trees.

On reaching Genting Highland the guide

showed the complexity of the whole resort, and

asked everyone to remember a few high points

so we do not get lost. For a complicated place

like this it was surprising that neither the

guide nor the manager thought it right to stay

with the elderly and least mobile members of

the group in case of need or to makes sure

they do not get lost. We had our lunch. Lunch

was delicious. After lunch many decided to

walk around and rest but some decided to try

some of the rides. We tried all the difficult ones

and the rides were enthralling. We spent long

time in queues and very little to take the ride

but it was worth the wait. Some of the rides were challenging and frightening but the thrill we got

out of it was worth it.

Today was our last day of the tour. We did

some sightseeing in Kuala Lumpur. We visited

the National Memorial Palace where the present

king lives. We saw many buildings with lot of

British influence in the architecture. After lunch

we saw the national Mosque, a marvellous

piece of modern architecture and colour. Islam

being the national religion the mosque is built

right next to the impressive Parliament

buildings. We than went to Putrajay a new

ecological city being built near the capital city,

and planned to be the future centre of

governance in the country. We saw Prime

Minister’s office building and other government

departments. The city still in its infancy has lot of greenery, and very quiet and peaceful place to

work.

It was time for our departure. We had vacated our hotels in the morning. We had some passengers

flying to India and Singapore and their flights were earlier. But all passengers had to be dropped

together. Flight for London was at mid night but we had to go to the airport with others. We had

almost seven hours to kill at the airport. We first bought tea and coffee from the balance of the kitty

money. Later inside the airport after security we

managed to find a section with many relaxing

reclining chairs and we took over the area.

Nearby we had electric massage chairs. Some of

the passengers were left over with local currency

and we used that to take advantage of

massage. Our time passed well and before we

knew it we were called for boarding. Our tour

was over and we boarded the flight for a long

twelve hour flight back home. When the flights are

late at night it is important to give consideration to

this in planning the trip.

The group had scattered. Four left us in Cambodia to

proceed to London via Singapore. Two extended their

stay in Kuala Lumpur. Four extended their holiday by

going to Singapore and Bali. Two went on to

Singapore to spend some time with their family. The

rest reached London early next morning and went to

their respective homes taking with them memories of

an enjoyable and memorable trip.

(website www.jayantdoshi.yolasite.com)