Hue Day Tour

Hue is located in central Vietnam on the banks of Perfume River. Some cultural areas of interest are in close walking or taxi distance but I decided to make the most of my time by booking a day tour of the highlights. Day tours are nice because it saves you transportation hassle and it gets me out of my solitary lag. It is nice to spend the day with others every once in a while.

My Hue Vacations tour with tour guide Dany starts with a hotel pickup around 8:00 AM.

Thien Mu Pagoda

Our morning begins with a visit to Thien Mu Pagoda (see photo above). This iconic Buddhist temple is a highlight of the city.

After our visit to the pagoda there is a 30 minute boat trip along the perfume river. It is relaxing but not memorable. The boat operator tries to sell us souvenirs during our ride. I don’t buy anything but a can of soda.

Dong Ba Market

After our boat ride we have a little time to explore Dong Ba Market. I get to feed my love for food markets all over the world. A couple of my tour-mates aren’t happy with this stop but the market is right up my alley.

Imperial City

Next we visit the Imperial city and Citadel. Our guide points out lots of damage from the war. Some of the buildings that are still in place are impressive.

According to our itinerary our lunch is supposed to be at a local home but it is really a restaurant that built for handling lunch service to the various tour groups that come through daily. Lunch is pretty quick and not memorable enough for me to take note of.

Minh Mang King’s Tomb

After lunch we visit Minh Mang’s tomb. It is the final resting place of a famous Confucian ruler during the Nguyen Dynasty. The property has a long stretch of walkways that lead you from monument to monument before you finally reach the tomb which is only open on special occasions.

I enjoy walking around the quiet grounds. There is one influencer doing a photo shoot with her instagram poses but it doesn’t bother me today because the site is not crowded and they also did not block access from others while they were doing their thing – they were willing to put their photo shoot aside while others are around. I give them props for that. So much of my travels were “sullied” by instagram models rudely blocking access to famous sights.

Mausoleum of Emperor Khai Dinh

The last monument stop is the mausoleum of Emperor Khai Dinh. He was a very unpopular ruler due to his extravagant spending and closeness to the French occupiers. His extravagant taste can be seen in the tomb he built for himself.

Look at all the designs!

incense stick village

Final stop is at an incense stick village shop. We get a demonstration on how the incense is made. I thought about buying some to ship home but it was hard to pick out scents that wouldn’t cause me to get a migraine. The incense village is an interesting stop to end the tour on.

The tour guide takes us back to our hotels and I take it easy the rest of the evening.

Arrived in Hanoi

I am in Hanoi Vietnam and things are going great. To be honest I am tired but I am still trekking along in my travels.

My original plans had me going to Sapa for a hike and a homestay but instead I break up my Hanoi visit with a Halong Bay crise (actually Bai Tu Long Bay )

My Hanoi visit begins at a Hilton hotel that I booked with some leftover points. It is nice to splurge and stay in a western style comfort hotel every once in a while .

I have only been in Hanoi for a short while and I am already a fan. I mean it is busy and the roads are super crowded with cars and motorbikes but something about it is magical. I am anxious to get to know the city better.

But first I need to take care of the sensor on my “fancy” camera. It has many spots on it. I watch sensor cleaning videos and it seems like there is no way I can safely clean it with what I have with me. I google camera repair shops in the area and find one a couple blocks from my hotel. I arrive at the small shop and there are two men working. They don’t speak much English but I get them to understand that my sensor has spots. One of the men cleans the spots for me. When I ask how much to pay for he says no charge for the service. I never get anything free anymore! This must be a good sign.

I spend the next day or so wandering aimlessly around town. I visit the Ngoc Son temple at Hoàn Kiem Lake. By the lake they have the walking streets (Pedestrian-only hours start from Friday 6 p.m until Sunday 12 p.m.). It is here I first experience school kids wanting to interview me to practice english. It is a common theme as I noticeably stand out in southeast asia with my light colored hair and bigger build. I guess look like a good person to practice with. I oblige as much as possible to be helpful but at one point in my travels it becomes quite frustrating (I’ll talk about that another time).

Ngoc Son temple

The turtle is significant. There is a story about a sword carrying turtle at the lake.

During the walking streets kids get to “drive” these amazing vehicles all over the streets. It is fun to watch the excitement.

More shots from around Hanoi

And as part of my series “Instagram ruins everything” I arrive to the famous Hanoi train street to find it blocked off for traffic. It has been closed just weeks prior to my arrival for safety reasons. Apparently people couldn’t stop doing dangerous poses and the government had enough. It would have been cool to see when it was full of life. A guard yells at me while I am trying to to take the photos below, although security is not consistent, a guard on one side of the street is strict and guard on other side doesn’t care how long you stand there to take pictures.

After wandering by train street I go back to my hotel to rest up a bit before my night food tour.

Pai

First full day in Pai (Thailand) is started with amazing breakfast at my hotel.

Day 2 of Pai starts off ambitious. I want to head out to the canyon for a hike but it ends up raining most of the day. I wander around town a bit but I mostly stay in my room and watch movies (I am taking many days “off” of traveling lately).

When I do hang out in the early evening I am not vibing with the other tourists; there are very few locals to be seen. Visitors are young and vagabond-like and some begging for money to travel. I need to find my tribe of older budget travelers – I guess it is difficult when I choose to stay in a nice villa for a couple nights. I try finding others to chat with but after a couple drinks I give up and go back to my room. I did make a doggie friend.

The next morning I think about renting and learning how to ride a motorbike and then ride to a waterfall. Travel forums say that Pai is one of the best places to learn how to ride a motorbike. A motorbike would be very handy for getting around in most south east asia.

But alas I arrive at the motorbike rental place and chicken out.

Instead I do the two mile walk up to the white Buddha statue.

Walking along the road. I change which shoulder I walk on based on car visibility.

Eventually I come across a set of stairs. I can keep walking up the windy road but it is probably safer as a pedestrian to use the stairs. There are lots of steps.

Once I finish this set of steps there is another set of steps. This set of steps leads to the temple complex.

I walk through the temple complex and arrive at the final set of steps. Here I stop to pay to rent a cover-up because I am dressed in shorts for the day.

Probably the only time I am able to get a photo of myself without other people in the photo.

After I climb up the million stairs up to the Buddha it is nice and relaxing. This is one of the few places I have visited that is not overcrowded with tourists (like me). I will have to remember Pai on my list for when I return to south east Asia.

I start my way down the stairs. I decide to skip one set of stairs and walk down the road since there is no traffic. I fail to notice the mud & moisture on the ground and slide down on my butt. Luckily my palm and butt are just a little sore. It could have been worse (and no one saw me!).

The rest of the walk to town is lovely. I look for the long neck Karen tribe that is nearby but I keep ending up down dead-ends roads. In addition I am hesitant to show up unplanned. Many of these tribes welcome visitors but I didn’t want to be that one tourist that shows up uninvited.

How motorbike fuel is sold on the side of the road.

Once arriving back in the main town I sit down for the best khao soi (Thai Coconut Curry Noodle Soup) at JUST EAT. It is my first time trying it. I am forever changed. It is the perfect comfort food – especially when it is made with fried chicken.

I spend my last evening wandering around town and find some very unique handmade jewelry Thadmala design. I am happy I buy some affordable pieces here and glad they have an etsy shop if I want more.

Back to Chiang Mai

They next day I am back to Chiang Mai overnight for my flight to Hanoi early morning.

I am not happy because I am once again assigned in the very back of the van for my ride to Chiang Mai. Luckily I made sure to purchase some extra motion sickness medicine this time (I mimed motion sickness at the pharmacy). Good traveler that I am I gave some to the guy in the seat next to me because the poor guy looked like he was ready to be miserable.

Some more credit card points are utilized to stay at the lovely Le Meridien Chiang Mai where I get a great view of town. I have a early flight the next morning so it is bed to early for me.

See you in Vietnam!

Chiang Mai Temples Day 2

Today I am traveling up to Doi Suthep Mountain to visit the big temple up there.

I heard there are some great nature trails and other places to visit on the mountain but I didn’t schedule my time wisely and missed out on most of that in favor of some downtime (self-care).

A songthaew needed and I hire one for the trip. Instead of hiring one of the ones down the street I flag one down on another street and negotiate a price with him.

He takes me on the long curvy trip up the mountain. The back is open so I have a great view to see the trip behind me.

We stop on the way up for the view of Chiang Mai below.

When we arrive at the top my driver tells me he will wait for me. As you can see there are many red trucks waiting. He gives me his card and I take a picture of his license just in case I can’t find him.

I climb the first set of stairs where there are a couple of statues.

As you can see, pretty foggy (smoggy) up here.

After the initial climb you will find another set of stairs, this one much longer.

A good number of stairs to get to the temple

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep

I pay the admission and I have to remove my shoes to enter the temple complex. The whole complex is very busy as most places I have visited in south east Asia. It is crowded with people who come to pray and other tourists like myself. I try to avoid as many humans as possible to get unobstructed photos but it is difficult. Even when no tourists are in my photos, a photography sales person will walk right into my frame trying to sell me their version of the photos. It is quite frustrating.

I do get a moment of peace when I walk into this temple, kneel down before the monk and receive a blessing. It is quite nice how accepting they are of visitors.

Holy water splashed on me and received a blessing here

Once I leave the temple complex I walk around and there is a terrace that has a nice view.

I climb back down the stairs to find my driver. I have him drop me off near another temple in town that is close enough that I can walk back later on my own.

Before moving on I stop for a great lunch at Chef Tao’s Thai Cuisine.

After lunch I walk down the street for one more temple for the day.

Wat Chiang Man

Wat Chiang Man is not crowded at all. I can leisurely walk around and check out the interesting Buddhist scenes depicted in the temple.

After the temple visit I wander through town. I happen to walk by a cat cafe which I must stop in.

Cat Brothers Cafe

Picked up some kitty food and a mango smoothie

Shoes need to be off before you visit the cats upstairs and you are required to sanitize your hands before entering.

Once I entered the staff member helped me with some plates and soon I had many best friends. None of the kitties looked like they were starving but they sure acted like it.

It was cute to watch all the chubby kitties eat. Once I ran out of kibbles though they were off to the next person who had food for them.

I sat around and finished my beverage and watched the kitties a bit before I decided to head back down Nimman. Later that evening I try some Pad Thai from the famous Pad Thai Mustache Style.

Luckily I am there early and there is not a long wait for my food. I pick up some good hipster pad thai to end my very good day.

Chiang Mai Temples Day 1

On my first full day in Chiang Mai I decided to go visit some of the temples in town. Some are in walking distance to my hotel but others are a bit further.

The key is to hire a songthaew or red pickup truck for the day to take you around or to catch it like a taxi around town. I didn’t have the confidence yet to negotiate a rate so I decided to go with a grab car instead (south east asia version of uber/lyft).

songthaew or red pickup truck at end of my street

Wat Umong Suan Phutthatham

My first stop is the Wat Umong Suan Phutthatham temple, a buddhist temple known for its monks and tunnels.

The temple is fun to walk around inside with all its little alcoves. Also on the grounds you can find signs with inspirational phrases. Finally on the grounds is a meditation pond with lots of birds. You can hear so many birds in the trees (waiting to poop on you, lol).

I didn’t arrange for a ride back therefore I had no way to get back into town. The red trucks in the parking lot are already paid to wait for existing visitors and I couldn’t get a grab to come out to get me as far as I am. I decided to just try to walk back to the main tourist area. It is a hot 45 minute to 1 hour walk but what choice did I have? I wandered through some neighborhoods and got to see a bit of local life. Maps.me and google maps seemed to be a bit loopy so I am sure I am not given a direct route.

I walk by a few temples viewed from the outside.

Soon there is a college campus in my way. I can’t find a good way to cut through. When I finally do find a cut through I end up walking through a learning mortuary. I keep hoping I won’t be presented with dead bodies during this stretch.

Finally I make it to the tourist area. The first temple I end up visiting is Wat Chedi Luang (Elephant Temple).

Wat Chedi Luang (Elephant Temple)

Wat Chedi Luang is fun due to all the elephants on the sides of the old temple.

All the temples require conservative dress. Additionally some you not able to visit if you are on your period (women) and for some women are not allowed at all (men only temples). I want to be respectful of culture norms but I would be lying if I said this didn’t upset me just a little bit.

Wat Phra Singh (Gold Temple)

Lastly for the day is a visit to the gold temple Wat Phra Singh, another buddhist temple.

Hot and tired I walk back toward my hotel. I have a craving for the fried chicken next door to my hotel so I order myself the best frozen mango drink and plate of fried chicken and I don’t regret it one bit. It is off to bed early because tomorrow is my day at the Elephant Sanctuary.