Via Bangkok to Vietnam

I am writing this with a beginning that may leave the reader frowning, wondering where is this going. I invite you to read on, after which you will hopefully understand me and perhaps think, I once had a dog, cat or horse myself and felt the same and experienced this never-to-win battle myself. I wish you a good “reading journey” in my travel report via Bangkok through Vietnam.

After having “welcomed” New Year's Eve and the New Year without fun, no more sadly, it was time to say goodbye to my sweet dog YUUNDAI. His breathing became increasingly difficult, an inoperable lung tumor was the culprit, looking at his sad look, made me decide to summon the vet at our house.

Initially, the vet indicated that I had to come to his practice with this American Bulldog weighing more than 50 kg. But when I said I wasn't going to drag this very sick dog but give him a dog-worthy end to his way too short life, he was only 3,5 years old, wanted to give, the vet admitted and said I'm coming.

In the middle of the night the doctor arrived and seeing so many emotions asked if we were sure, we sobbed in tears YES, it is not only our pain, but even more the pain that YUUNDAI has. It wasn't about us, it was about HIM.
She got her stuff out of the car, gave us time to say goodbye, something that can NEVER last long enough, but the moment arrived irrevocably, and after an initial sedative injection, YUUNDAI fell into a coma.

As I write this, believe it or not, after more than 5 years tears are streaming down my cheeks again overcome with sadness. Perhaps it seems strange to you that I write that here, but I have never made a murder pit of my heart, but I also said it to my wife at the time; my dog ​​is number one and you are number two. Tough but fair! Perhaps an impetus for her to think about our relationship and decide, more about that later.

After the doctor injected YUUNDAI directly into the heart, his short existence came to an end and we had to move on with fond memories, an empty space in the house and questioning neighbor children around our house why YUUNDAI didn't come out to play with them as usual. Just keep upright at such a moment, so that didn't work, and together with the children and cried and made farewell drawings with them.

After YUUNDAI's cremation, I looked forward to the day I was at Schiphol without much pleasure, with the aim of first going to Bangkok and then three months of unprepared backpacking through Asia. Took a room in Bangkok and visited some acquaintances who worked there for a day or three and once again made the tour with the fast boat through the klongs, which for me was the first experience of coming home a bit.

I thought I would write a special about Bangkok, but there is already so much about Bangkok on the internet, I have to think about it for a while. Flew from Bangkok to Hanoi in the north of Vietnam, well that's what you have if you haven't prepared your trip, it was icy cold, foggy, so time to buy a thick sweater, because I didn't bring it with me in my backpack . Hanoi is a city with relatively few cars, but hundreds of thousands of scooters, all of which have a horn and are constantly used by the driver.

Of course I visited some sights, but due to the persistent cold and the heavy fog my first destination Halong Bay with its beautiful huge rocks emerging from the water, which were created by the countless eruptions that took place long ago, could not visit. I think that place is at the same height as the Netherlands and it was also cold there, no bleak and foggy!

So descended through what used to be a war zone and where the Americans dropped an awful lot of bombs. Where American soldiers were dropped in the morning to murder entire villages and were picked up again by helicopters in the evening, ready for the next mission. A very much used chemical weapon was used, entire areas were bombarded with the very dangerous defoliating agent “Agent Orange”.

The Vietcong could be inflicted losses but never defeated. I've been in subterranean bomb shelters/places, carved out of hard granite, up to 50 meters underground, with infirmaries, quarters for men for women. And from a tiny slit in that rock wall of 2 cm wide and over a meter long, one had a view over the bay and one could see the Americans long before they arrived in the villages and the Americans wondered where those "slit eyes" had gone . I could only respect the warriors of that time. The trophies in the form of war material captured from the Americans can be admired in many places while it is slowly dying a rusty death!

Arrived in the coastal towns of Vin and Ha Think with the very many fishing boats, which make you wonder at what time the water here and further on will be completely empty. God what an armada of smaller but also very large ships, which look more like sailing factories than an ordinary fishing boat. On the quays around the harbour, immense quantities of fish oil are stored in the hundreds in large 500 liter earthenware barrels. God almighty what a mess, but yes, when the ripening process, or should I say rotting process, is complete, then you also have something.

How it is obtained? Because I can hardly say it is made, well once a year during the fishing season, anchovies (or another related fish species) are fermented in brine in those big barrels standing in the blazing sun. Due to the large amounts of salt that is added, moisture is extracted from the fish. After three months in the barrel, the first “moisture” is drained off at the bottom of the barrel. This is then poured back to the top of the barrel. The longer the fermentation process takes place, the more the fish itself is digested, which affects the "taste" of the liquid. After about six months the fish is sufficiently fermented; the liquid is drained off and filtered and can serve as the basis for the production of the fish sauce. Often herbs and peppers are added for the end result. Not to be sneezed at in Asian kitchens and called Nam Plá in Thailand.

After a few days of travel, we found some peace in Hue in a small resort with a swimming pool on the sea, at a very low price. What a luxury to be served the most delicious meals for little money, not knowing that the Chinese New Year would drive up prices drastically based on little space and a lot of demand. When the owner told me that the high price would also apply to me, I thought for a moment, either I hammer her together on the spot or I start a charm offensive to see what I can achieve. When I indicated that I did not want to leave but wanted to stay a few more days, at the price I would pay earlier, I managed to make a deal for a little more. Being extra nice, sometimes giving a playful slap on the buttock followed by a big wink was apparently enough for this manageress. I had to move from my sea view cabin to a cabin / hotel room on the street side, with a disco across the road that was frequented by many foreigners.

There I met a Czech who I had met before in Hanoi, who was backpacking just like me. After the necessary drinks and some rubbing against each other, I said goodbye because she would travel on the next day. Because of the drink consumed I fell asleep like a log, perhaps or not, my salvation for that night, because on a letter taped to my door I found the next morning that she had come back in the night from her hotel to my room to "cozy to spend the night together". Sometimes drink does less damage than you think, after all I was still married, afterwards I think I would have known what was hanging over my head when I got home!

But about Hue, Hue was the imperial capital of Vietnam from 1802 to 1945. The Imperial Administration of Vietnam at that time lived in the citadel, located in the northern part of the city. Hue is located on the former border of South and North Vietnam. As a result, the city suffered heavy damage during both the independence struggle and the Vietnam War. A large number of beautiful old buildings in Hue were also damaged. The main attraction in Hue is Tu Cam Thanh; the Forbidden City.

This small town within the city itself used to be the private property of the imperial family and was then not accessible to the common people. Today the site is open to the public. Here you can view the palaces in which the imperial family lived. Just south of Hue are the Imperial Tombs. Apparently there was a trend among Vietnamese emperors to build extravagant final resting places because one tomb is even more beautiful and larger than the other. Especially the tomb of Tu Duc is very beautiful.

My "tic" is visiting cemeteries, whether on Terschelling, the Ardennes or in France or Greece, I also had to visit THE cemetery here. Yes I capitalize DE because I have never seen such a vast cemetery built on hills, kilometers long and hundreds of meters wide, graves from then and yesteryear, but also recently excavated everything mixed together. Walled areas, reserved for the future for some wealthy family, tombs of Catholics, Christians, all denominations mixed together. Graves with swastikas, crosses, but also Jesus images and here and there dragons and a single Buddha.

Never had I been allowed to enter a grave that probably numbered a hundred thousand or many more and such an imposing final resting place for people of all denominations. And I was not the only visitor, cows, goats and sheep as well as stray dogs also wandered quietly among all these no longer on earth.

The beaches in Hue are also wonderful for walking, many palm trees give it a very tropical appearance, the locals have created simple places to relax, where you can enjoy the seafood caught in the morning. What struck me was that long nets were brought into the sea in the evening, then pulled to the beach at dawn with all their might. Not only a lot of fish, crabs and other living things, but also fishing up an enormous amount of waste. What surprised me very much was that after "the loot" had been brought in, the waste remained on the beach and was again discharged into the sea at high tide and was dumped again in the nets the next morning and thus on the beach. But hey, I'm just an ordinary outsider.

Traveling further with rickety buses in the hope of finding the right one, because I think that little English is spoken there, dozing off a bit along the way via Dauang and Qui Nhon and via Nha Trans to Mui Ne. Mui Ne is clearly touristy and easy to get to from Ho Chi Minh City. Mui Ne with its huge desert-like sand dunes, but also its beach activities such as kite surfing in this bay of the South China Sea, nice for a day but then I've had it.

Ho Chi Min City, what a big and very busy city, located in the south, only stayed there for one day, to eat something and sleep and then the next day again on the bus, towards the coast where the boat to Phu Quoc left. find laundry.

Yes, the mooring place was there, you could also buy a ticket, but the departure time seemed to depend on the number of passengers and could take a while. So I strolled back and forth, having consumed some food of unknown origin to me, drinking a drink and waiting.
As far as food is concerned, I have eaten a lot of delicacies and sometimes something lesser without being ill, but I had a nice supply of medicines with me that should help me in case of need. It is advisable to consult the pharmacist or doctor and also the internet in advance, so that it is better to leave with too much than too little medicine and antibiotics under the motto in the "jungle" there is no pharmacy! Well the boat is leaving!

Because Phu Quoc was then still known as an island where peace and beauty could be found, with pearly white beaches, made the crossing of about 80 km by boat after arriving at Phu Quoc, having walked around in the "port town" and thinking about going I that way or that way, wonderful to be able to travel so carefree. Got a lift on Phu Quoc with a destination unknown to me, I would see where I ended up, no hurry. However, halfway the island I saw a sign with "hotel restaurant and pearl fishery", so I got out and went to take a closer look. A room on the beach, 15 meters from the sea at a very low price, the menu also invited me to taste it, so I said I wanted to stay there for a day or 4. After enjoying a drink, some knowledge made with the two owners of English and Australian descent, who proudly showed me their "pearl fishermen's museum".

There I was shown beautiful pearls in so many different colors, while I always thought of those lovely tutten with their necklace of white pearls, fake or not, none of that, pearls from salmon-colored to almost black. Unfortunately, in the context of personal protection, little or no information can be found on the internet about this pearl farm where I was a guest for a few days. This nursery, a few kilometers from the coast, where the shells hang on wires like the mussels in Zeeland, was a number of times the target of robbers.

But the Kalashnikovs that were shown to me seem to have worked wonders. As soon as danger was spotted by the two owners and guards equipped with night vision goggles, they went to the scene of the disaster with a speedboat and their weapons. Bad luck for the robbers anyway, because after a number of salvos and knowing for sure that there were no survivors, they sailed back and immediately to the nearest place to trumpet in the local café or restaurant that they had just "got a problem on the road". nursery” had solved. Nice couple, not harmless, but very hospitable to me.

Unfortunately, after a few days I said goodbye to the hospitality and hitchhiked to Duong Dong, where the boat was that would take me 80 km back to the mainland.

In the meantime I had made the choice while leafing through “the Lonely Planet” to spend a few days in the Mekong Delta. No cars, no buses, no big ferries, no luxury, no electricity, just simple accommodations annex restaurants that were or were not accessible, entirely dependent on the tide, low tide or high tide with very narrow wooden boats. The lighting was provided by oil lamps that were very attractive to hordes of mosquitoes, so put on socks, shoes, long pants and if you were lucky somewhere a shirt with long sleeves. This also turned out not to be enough, so one or the other anti-mosquito stuff of an unknown brand and scent had to be lubricated, and sleeves and trouser legs had to be buttoned up. What a peace, the chirping of the crickets, was the only thing that disturbed that peace, lying under my mosquito net and listening to the silence and sometimes the sound of a gecko.

In those days I enjoyed a boat trip through those creeks, a bike ride from one island to another where my bottom told me after two days that it was NOT possible to sit on it anymore, so I put the bike aside. Beautiful walks that showed nature in such a delta from its best side.

However, this also came to an end and a few hours later the border of Cambodia came into view and I left Vietnam a little melancholy, what a wonderful country for backpacking. Well, I will once again have to commit myself to digging deep into my memory, sometimes helped by Wikipedia or otherwise, to entrust my travel story about Cambodia to my iPad. Photos are NOT mine, they were stored on a hard drive and I lost somewhere, stolen, oh well I still have the memories.