No new pictures, sorry, at least nothing exciting. I had kinda promised an article by now, hoping I would have had diving pictures, or at least pictures of me right before a dive, but I haven’t. There was another guest on the boat today by chance taking a picture of me while doing my first “backroll entry”, which means sitting on the edge of the boat and rolling backwards over board into the water (you have seen that in James Bond movies), which must look quite great. But I couldn’t find that lady later after the dive in the Rainbow Bar, grrr….
Continue reading Nha Trang (II) Open Water Diver Course
Tag Archives: Asia
Map of Vietnam
Map of Vietnam, updated as of 24-AUG-2007, leaving Vietnam from Ho Chi Minh City. Continue reading Map of Vietnam
Nha Trang (I) Discover Scuba Diving
Nha Trang as a town is not exactly exciting. That’s not what you come for. What you come for is beach and water.
Beach
Yesterday I just walked up and down the beaches without actual lying down or going for a swim. It was by all means way too hot for beach. I have seen locals at the beach early in the morning (I am talking about 6am) or late in the evening (when the sun is more or less gone again). Inbetween none of the locals is so mad to lie down and get fried by the sun. The beach is all to the western tourists. But even they aren’t so numerous. Continue reading Nha Trang (I) Discover Scuba Diving
Hoi An (II) My Son
My Son
(not to be pronounced like your own male offspring, but rather like Mee Soon, with both vocals relatively short), the intellectual and religious center of the Cham kingdom, partly dating back to the 8th century. Described as the “most stunning sight to see in the Hoi An area” it is a tourist magnet. As such it reportedly gets very crowdy. Some people I asked told me it is not worth the visit, others were amazed. But all agreed it is too crowded. Lonely Planet says so, too, and suggest a visit in the early morning, which would give you the best atmosphere. Continue reading Hoi An (II) My Son
Hoi An (I) Old Town
Hoi An
…is a picturesque old city, which luckily was at an early state preserved in its current state, cars banned from its inner roads (not motorbikes, though). There is even a ticket to support maintenance of the city, which includes a bit a complicated system of visits to historical sites within the city. In the end…I never found the right time to buy such a ticket and see the sites, which mostly consisted of buildings of Chinese congregations or temples. Not the most interesting stuff anyway. Just the town by itself is the main attraction. Continue reading Hoi An (I) Old Town
Hue (IV) Citadel
Hue Citadel
As Hue had been Vietnam’s capital for an extended period of time there are also some remainders of the rule of the Ngyuen Dynasty right within the city. And only this day (11-AUG), the day of my leaving in the afternoon, I found the time to visit them. Continue reading Hue (IV) Citadel
Hue (III) DMZ
I had already briefly touched on the demarcation line between North and South Vietnam during the war the Vietnemese call “American War”, as I had a brief stop-over there when getting to Hue by bus. Please check there for 3 impressive pictures on restored buildings and memorials along the Highway 1 Bridge over Ben Hai river. For this day (10-AUG) I had booked myself on a so-called “DMZ Tour”, a tour to sites along the former Demilitarized Zone along the Ben Hai river. The tour included no less than 350km bus rides with a few stops along historically important sites. The sites by themselves weren’t so impressive any longer (except for the tunnels), but the day gave a good introduction to an important part of the American-Vietnamese War, though I will not be able here to repeat all details historically correct. Continue reading Hue (III) DMZ
Hue (II) Perfume River and Tombs
Today (09-AUG) was the full day tour on a “Dragon Boat” (see later what that one looks like…hasn’t much to do with Chinese dragon boats) along the Perfurme River of Hue, with visits to Hue’s most famous Pagoda, a temple, and three of the many tombs around.
Continue reading Hue (II) Perfume River and Tombs
Hue (I) Micracles / Getting There
Weltschmerz on the 13. (laptop had broken down), oh so beautiful a world the day after…yesterday afternoon and today was my day of miracles. I am writing these lines on my last day in Hoi An, the stop after Hue, but I am way behind with my articles. Had hoped to find more time in Hoi An, but instead I met a lot of people who drank a lot of beer, and who would I be to stand back? So I am still behind with the articles. Pictures are all selected, but writing takes time. And then there was the laptop’s breakdown, from which it against all odds recovered! At the moment the display works as always. I’ll be careful and expect the worst, but maybe a daily prayer will help. Continue reading Hue (I) Micracles / Getting There
Halong Bay – YangShuo on the Water
To imagine what Halong Bay looks like you basically have to take YangShuo (which I visited even twice) and just replace all rice paddies with open water…et voilà: It’s limestone karst peaks peeking out of the water. Despite the similarity I was still overwhelmed by the scenery. The fact that I took no less than 130 pictures in 2,5 days is a sure indication for it. I am usually not so quick in taking picture, although it’s all digital nowadays and could be just deleted. But I still don’t fancy the work of sorting out picture. I’d rather avoid a bad picture right away. But on Halong Bay you could essentially point your camera anywhere and just press the button…you’d still have a stunning picture. Continue reading Halong Bay – YangShuo on the Water