From Hue, Kat and I traveled up to Dong Ha in Quang Tri to hang out with our friend Max, the country director for an NGO. As you may recall, Roots of Peace (the organization I'm doing my internship with) has an office in Dong Ha. Kat and I planned to spend Christmas with Max and take photos of black pepper farmers for Roots of Peace.
We arrived in Dong Ha and were promptly whisked away to an English school's Christmas show. Max had been asked to make an appearance as Santa, and asked us if we wanted to go. Cute Vietnamese kids singing Christmas songs? Of course we wanted to go! Upon arriving, Max was told he was going to be a judge for the "Kid's Idol" singing contest. They needed another judge and I was more than happy to help. (This is my second gig as "International Talent Show Judge". Not sure how I can continue on this career path...). After about 2 hours of singing and games, Max was told to put on a highly flammable santa suit and reappeared to greet excited (and a few terrified) kids. All in all, it was a high energy evening and we were more exhausted than jolly when we bid our farewells at the end of the night.
I don't think the second girl from the right sang one word all night...but she sure was cute!
Santa getting mobbed
Santa's oh-so-lovely helpers
The next day, having thankfully recovered our hearing, we had lunch with Max's office staff and then headed up to Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. We planned to stay at Phong Nha Farmstay, a hostel in the middle of rice paddies, and visit 2 caves nearby. We arrived at this hostel in the middle of nowhere and found the temperatures had dropped. I ended up wearing around 2 pairs of jeans, 2 long-sleeve shirts, a hoodie, and a jacket I borrowed from Max. Luckily the rooms had heat and Kat immediately took to the bed as she wasn't feeling well. Max and I talked a bit with other folks at the hostel, drank some good gin and tonics, and ate a yummy beef stew for dinner. While I had originally thought we'd spend 2 cozy nights at the Farmstay and celebrate Christmas there, after a few hours of the cold we decided that one night would be more than enough. Additionally, the prospects for seeing the cave were limited--by rented motorbike (it was raining), by private car (over $50), or on a tour that cost $55 per person (pretty high for a tour in Vietnam). So...we called our driver that had brought us up and dropped us off that evening to come back the next morning, take us around to the caves, and then take us back to Dong Ha.
Our happy driver (the same guy Kat and I traveled around Hue with) showed up promptly the next morning and whisked us off to Phong Nha Cave. Thankfully Kat was feeling much better (the 12 hours of sleep she had might have helped). We took a boat ride to the cave and walked around. It was pretty impressive. Although, I must say, I'm not a huge fan of colored lights--but, whatever--this is Vietnam!
Phong Nha Farmstay
view from the Farmstay
Road trip!
Boat trip!
entrance to Phong Nha Cave
Phong Nha Cave
The next cave we visited made Phong Nha Cave pale in comparison. Paradise Cave was only opened with the past year--it's not even in the guidebooks yet. We walked through the jungle (on a paved cartpath, of course), climbed 500 stairs, and entered a huge cavern. We descended wooden stairs and walked 1.1 km into a natural wonder. It was truly breathtaking. At one point, we realized we were the only people in the cavern. Even cooler.
Paradise Cave
Enormous stalagmite--had to be at least 10 meters tall
These photos cannot capture the size of this amazing cave
It just kept going...
Mother nature is pretty amazing!
After all this gawking, Kat, Max and I returned to Dong Ha and a Christmas dinner prepared by Max's adopted mother (the owner of Tam's Cafe--where Max's office and apartment are). The bun cha was delicious--the perfect Christmas dinner!
Christmas dinner in Dong Ha--bun cha!
The next day, Kat and I visited the DMZ area around Dong Ha, including the Hien Long Bridge (across the Ben Hai River--the DMZ) and the Vinh Moc tunnels. We then headed off to take photos photos of Roots of Peace black pepper farmers.
Hien Luong Bridge on the DMZ
sisters reunited after the war
Kat with our Vinh Moc Tunnel guide--he said he was born in the tunnels
The next day, we bid farewell to our Dong Ha friends and boarded the train for Da Nang. It was a lovely Christmas break with friends and farmers in Central Vietnam. Next up: Hoi An!
Kat and I headed down to Hue (pronounced "way") from hectic Hanoi. It was certainly rainier and cooler than Hanoi, but the moisture lent a romantic, mystical hue to the city, the former capital of Vietnam. The trip seemed to start out a little rocky--our hotel forgot to pick us up at the airport--but we got ourselves into town and were greeted by a clean, friendly hotel and their (apologetic) staff.
Kat and I promptly headed out into the rain to see the Imperial City, part of the Citadel.
Entrance gate to the Imperial City
Hall of Supreme Harmony
lacquered walkways
beautiful colors
the moat surrounding the Citadel
Having soaked ourselves thoroughly, we headed to the DMZ Bar for some darn good burgers and fries. We headed back to our hostel, hung up our jeans to dry, and headed to bed.
We woke up the next morning with our jeans just as damp as the night before. The iron I used to try to flash dry the jeans worked a bit and improved our situation slightly. Thankfully we were going to spend the day exploring tombs and pagodas in a private car--our friend Max in Dong Ha (next stop on our journey) had a driver dropping off a donor at the Hue airport. So we paid a little extra to have our own personal tour with the car. Our driver was a hoot--grinning ear to ear and driving as carefully as possible. He only got lost once--but immediately asked for directions. Otherwise we managed to communicate through hand gestures and lots of smiles.
We visited the tomb of Tu Duc and Khai Dinh, had a quick pizza lunch (we were craving it for some reason), then saw the Thien Mu Pagoda and took a boat ride down the Perfume River to Hòn Chén Temple.
grounds surrounding the tomb of Tu Duc
steps up to the tomb of Khai Dinh
Thien Mu Pagoda
According to Wikipedia: "Thien Mu Pagoda was a major organising point for the Buddhist movement and was often the location of hunger strikes, barricades and protests... The temple also houses the Austin motor vehicle in which Thich Quang Duc was driven to his self-immolation in Saigon in 1963 against the Diem regime. It was the first of a series of self-immolations by members of the Buddhist clergy, which brought the plight of Buddhists to the attention of the international community."
boat trip down the Perfume River
Our driver was a blast!
How many cruises can two sisters do in one vacation?
Kat arrived safely from the U.S. in the wee hours of the morning December 17th. We promptly headed up to Hanoi on the 18th--talk about a fast turn around!
We were met with grey skies and much cooler temperatures than Ho Chi Minh City. (We changed into jeans and long-sleeve t-shirts before leaving the airport). We stayed in a lovely little hotel in the Old Quarters called Hanoi Gecko--would highly recommend it to anyone traveling there.
After getting settled into our hotel we headed out to try some bun cha--a famous pork and noodle dish from Hanoi. It was good--until I moved my plastic stool back to take a photo and the leg went into a hole. Luckily my neighbor grabbed me before I went bottom up. Embarrassment serves as an excellent appetite suppressant.
Bun cha!
After lunch we headed off to the Museum of Ethnology with a nice lady we befriended at lunch. The museum was impressive--and offered a live water puppet show outside.
Katrina was suffering from some pretty serious jet lag, so we headed back to the hotel. I headed out shortly thereafter to see some friends from Ho Chi Minh City that were in town. We had $ .25 glasses of beer Hoi (a local brew in kegs--not bad!), sitting on little plastic chairs on the street (literally IN the street) in the Old Quarter.
The next morning Kat and I walked around a bit and saw some museums, but didn't enter as most are closed on Monday. We visited the Temple of Literature and felt so much wiser afterwards.
Temple of Literature
Confucius
We had some interesting culinary experiences later on that day that I won't go into detail about here. Let's just say one meal involved something that barks (we didn't try it), and another involved Indian food with a bite. It revisited me the next morning before leaving for Halong Bay, as well as on our way down in the mini bus. I don't think I'll be having palak paneer anytime soon...
The next day we took a cruise of Halong Bay on the Pearl's Dragon, part of the Indochina Junk company. This is a more expensive cruise that leaves from a different port than the other hundreds of Halong Bay tourist boats. We cruised in Bai Tu Long Bay--a less touristed area. I had heard other folks tell me they were quite disappointed with their Halong Bay cruise--but we couldn't have had a better time. We met a couple from Spain and had a blast hanging out with them, and I got to practice my Spanish again. The only downer was that I was still dealing with stomach issues--so had to be careful about what I ate. This meant that I had to pass up plate upon plate of amazing seafood. Otherwise, it was a perfect trip.
Bai Tu Long Bay
sisters in paradise
Returning to Hanoi, I was able to meet up with my former UQ classmate, Kim and her dad and husband.
UQ reunion in Hanoi
Our final morning in Hanoi, Kat and I went to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum and the Presidential Palace grounds. It was certainly interesting seeing "Uncle Ho" up close and personal... Sorry--no photos. They would have shot me if I'd tried.
The best photo I could get of Uncle Ho's resting place
I'm behind on my blog because...well, I've been busy learning a lot and having fun! I'm keeping a journal of my activities, so what follows is a run down of my week in Quang Tri where Roots of Peace has a black pepper project.
December 1, 2011
Visited 3 districts, Huong Hoa, Cam Lo, and Vinh Linh. We stopped at the Khe Sanh Combat Base museum and got a bit of history along the way.
Visit to the museum at Khe Sanh Combat Base. According to Lonely Planet "The site of the most famous siege--and one of the most controversial battels of--of the American war...Despite the fierce fighting and loss of life, Khe Sanh was probably never the North's real target, but merely a diversionary gamble in preparation for the Tet Offensive."
"About 500 Americans, 10,000 North Vietnamese troops and uncounted civilian bystanders died amid the din of machine guns and the fiery explosions of 1000kg bombs, white phosphorus shells, napalm, mortars and artillery rounds of all sorts."
Lonely Planet: "Khe Sanh Combat Base was never overrun, but it was completely stripped and dismantled before the Americans left...Today the site is occupied by a small museum, a few captured or downed American aircraft and a red dirt swathe where the airstrip used to be."
ROP’s black pepper project is in Vinh Linh, but they’d like to expand it to Cam Lo. Saw coffee and black pepper in Huong Hoa. Met with government officials from DARD (Department of Agricultural and Rural Development) and officials of the People’s Committee in each district. We were brought into the official meet-and-greet rooms of the District Headquarters, served tea and water, and introduced to the officials. Tucker and the officials then exchanged pleasantries and promises for support. Officials in Vinh Linh said they would set up a low-interest loan program similar to one in Cam Lo.
Arabica coffee in central Vietnam! Only about 3% of Vietnamese coffee is arabica--the rest is robusta, which grows at a lower altitude, is easy to maintain, and contains more caffeine.
Coffee and black pepper intercropping (the black pepper vines grow on the tall trees)
A warm greeting from government officials in Cam Lo
beach break
a break in the clouds
December 2, 2011
Attended ROP TOT (“Training of the Trainer”) in Vinh Linh in the morning. There were about 20 people there (2 of whom were women). These are club leaders, model farmers, and demo farmers who will train other farmers in black pepper best practices. This was the second training of this sort. Dr. Truong (the black pepper expert from Hue) divided the attendees into groups and had them draw plants and the problems. He then had different people present to the group. We then went to a farmer’s house and looked at samples he was keeping of leaves and the group talked more about techniques and issues.
black pepper vines and peppercorns
Club leaders attend this workshop with a black pepper expert, Dr. Truong, to learn about pests and proper growing techniques. They will then be able to help the farmers in their clubs.
club leaders present about different diseases that affect black pepper vines
Tucker and Lien (Roots of Peace staff Quang Tri) talk with a club leader.
Tucker and Binh, Roots of Peace staff Quang Tri, answering questions from club leaders and thanking them for all their work.
Afterwards we were invited to pay our respects at a club leader’s home. His mother, 88, had just passed away. We entered the home, saw the shrine, were given an incense stick, bowed three times, and placed the incense stick on the altar. We then had tea with the couple. The woman wore a white band around her head—a sign of mourning. Both the club leader and his wife were obviously grieving—they smiled when we talked with them, but you could see deep sadness in their eyes.
We then traveled back to Dong Ha and Binh invited us to his brother’s home for lunch. The whole family was there—it was his older brother’s death anniversary. Everybody gets together, the women cook a lot of delicious food, and the men sip beer and reminisce. I felt honored to be invited to this family gathering.
Binh (3rd from left) and his family
Then we headed down to Hue (asking our driver to book it—he did a 2+ hour trip in less than an hour and a half) to catch our flight to Ho Chi Minh City.
All in all, it was a great week in Quang Tri and I know more about black pepper than ever before. Having seen the work Roots of Peace is doing first hand, I can better appreciate the organization's work to help farmers earn higher incomes through black pepper. It doesn't take up a lot of space, can easily be intercropped with other produce, and fetches a good price on the market. By providing training to club leaders and farmers, ROP is helping to provide knowledge and inputs that help to create a quality product. It makes sense!
