Author: admin (Page 34 of 35)

Caves of Nerja, Burriana Beach and Last Dinner

27 March 2015 / admin

Friday 13 March 2015 & Saturday 14 March 2015

We have until today enjoyed warm sunshine but the sky is overcast today and there is a strong wind blowing. Luckily we have planned to spend the morning visiting the famous Caves of Nerja which were discovered in 1959 by some local teenagers. Today there is a rather more formal entrance and descent using stairs and a tour around a small number of caves. There are a further number which are not publically accessible where research and study is undertaken.

The caves contain many fantastic examples of stalactites and stalagmites many formed into columns which have taken millenina to come together. Indeed in the fifty years since discovery the shape and extent of them has probably hardly changed to the visible eye.

The accompanying audio tour gives a good explanation of the discovery but also of the history. The caves were occupied from about 40,000 years ago until about 4,000 years ago and are now known to contain some of the oldest cave paintings in the world.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caves_of_Nerja

http://www.thenerjacaves.com

I find the caves to be drier and warmer than I had expected, indeed on emerging I feel a greater need for a coat than I had experienced underground.

Getting good photos in the Caves is not easy – so the number here are limited.

And it is now colder although it would be even chillier at home. So that puts paid to the sunbathing and getting browner and also kills off any idea of more sugar free ice cream!

So we head over to the other beach at Burriana – all good going and near the end there is a massive long downhill zig zag to sea level. On the edge of the beach are numerous restaurants and all are doing some form of barbecue. “Ayo” is recommended and is famous in that the owner is one of the five boys who nearly 60 years ago discovered the caves we visited earlier. We take a look at the others but decide to eat in Ayo. As we wander past it they are cooking the most enormous paella – the pan is so large that it takes two people to lift it off the fire (which is being fed broken down wooden pallets!). And it is clearly hot and well liked as we see numerous portions being delivered from the pan.

We are always contrary – I wanted some prawns and I receive five of the largest prawns I have ever seen. A plate of the paella was €6.75; my prawns were €15 which was about the most expensive item on the menu. But plenty for lunch as we have dinner booked.

Going back to our hotel seemed a lot harder – that nice zig zag down is a much harder crawl back up the hill.

Come Saturday night it is time for our last restaurant outing, this time to Bakus in Calle Caballero. This is about half way to Burriana without the descent to sea level. Indeed most of Nerja is fairly flat, but way above sea level.

It does not open at lunchtime and not all evenings – so checking in advance and booking is essential – particularly as it was full on the evening we were there. The highlight of the evening was undoubtedly the steak which was just right and a good piece of meat. The lowlight was my head! I stood up to go to the gents and my head collided with a low flying lampshade. Which my wife then noticed was missing a piece of the glass of the lampshade. I spent several moments looking for the missing piece and finding nothing before going on my original errand.

On my return my wife advised that in fact the piece had been broken some months ago with a wine bottle and not with my head that evening. I think they need to be a little higher!

The wine list had a range of wines from about €10 to €30 – very different to UK prices. Not really recognising any of the listed offers we asked the waiter for a suitable red to go with the steaks we had ordered and he pointed at us at a Tempranillo for €15. Bear in mind this is about £12 at present. Tell me of a restaurant that even sells a wine at that price in the UK.

Having had a good week on the food and drink we also enjoyed this final meal and the total bill was around €90 including the tip. This maybe expensive for Nerja, but is exceedingly good value for money in most parts of the world. We enjoyed our meal and it was noticeable that even at this relatively quiet time of the year the restaurant was full by the time we left (we always eat early).

On the way back into town we stopped off at a little bar my wife had been eyeing up all week. Basic – but a good Rioja is €2 for a glass. They also cook flaming sausages at the barrel top in front of you. We did not partake have already eaten well, but I think it will force my wife to return to this part of the world.

Great food, great wine and good value prices. Must be time to go home.

More soon.

Nerja 2 – Restaurant Jacky

19 March 2015 / admin

Thursday 12 March 2015

Having had a relatively long day on the Wednesday we had decided that Thursday would be a relatively quiet day and so much of it is spent displaying large amounts of unsightly white flesh to the sun in the hope that it might decide to go a slightly less white colour. And it gives me a chance to catch up on sundry listening such as the rural fly on the wall documentary – The Archers – plus a related podcast entitled Dum Tee Dum. The former is at present coping with the aftermath of the Great Flood without the assistance of Noah and an Ark to save the animals and it will all be forgotten in the blink of an eye.

Having done her research my wife has booked us into the Thursday night dinner at Restaurant Jacky where the chef provides a single (and ever changing no doubt) menu for all diners. Eight courses plus white and red wine. €22 each plus 10% tax plus a tip. My wife left a total of €60 at the end of our dining experience which more than covered the bill and a decent tip. This was the best value for money ever I would suggest.

This was the menu for the evening and obviously needs a little translation. Bouchée a la reina is a simple vol au vent containing a tasty combination of chicken and mushroom in a sauce. A great way to start. And good enough to justify mopping up the sauce using some bread.

Crema de calabaza led to some discussion at the time as to content of the soup. Later use of modern technology provides the answer – a large winter squash which resembles a pumpkin. I had the opportunity to eat half of my wife’s portion as she was already concerned about the size of the meal, initial portions being decently sized.

Even we managed to work out that foie gras was next on the menu; this came with morello cherries. Whilst not the best we have ever had this was very good. It is one of the few foods not to my wife’s taste so I was able to have an extra half portion of this as well. About here we were asked how we wanted the steak cooked and made our usual choices – medium rare for me and medium for my wife.

The next course caused the upset of the evening. We asked for an indication of the meaning and were advised that it was “sea horses” which meant that I again got to eat much of a second portion as my wife believed it. The correct translation is “sea urchins” and I found it quite tasty – just a good sea soup.

The sorbet was raspberry with seven up. On the sweet side for me – but I did try it and it was certainly setup to do the job that a sorbet should; my wife was able to finish it off.

All the way when our glasses seemed to be going down they were topped up – only with white wine at this stage – but without obvious limit as we go through the meal.

We could translate the next one – white fish in a green sauce and that was an accurate description. A nice solid piece of fish and a green sauce! My wife’s comment was “Yum” and I cannot disagree.

The steaks were not large (but we were pretty full by this point in any event) but certainly of good quality and tasty with a good mushroom sauce. To accompany the steak we are poured a glass of red wine; unlike the white there are no top ups on this – but then at these prices it is all amazing.

And to round off the meal a piece of cake with chocolate on the top. Simple – but nice; again I relinquished much of this.

After eating so much I felt more like some fresh air rather than coffee and so we decided to head back towards our hotel. However during the meal we heard at least one table book for next Thursday and another table discussing that the last time they were all together was in the same restaurant – I think most of the voices were English!

On the way back to the hotel we had to pass MarBella as mentioned earlier this week so we wandered in and through into the chill out bar at the back. Time for a liquer coffee for my wife and (in my case) a Johnnie Walker Black Label whisky. And another one a bit later. When I first reached an age to drink I was told how you could only buy Black Label abroad with Red Label (supposedly markedly inferior) at home. So I still make a point of digesting some Black Label when the opportunity arises. The next stage is to avoid a hangover!

Summary report on the restaurant – the best value for money bar none plus the best food at any price this week. I really cannot understand how they can afford to produce such an excellent meal at this price without losing money. Absolutely outstanding and recommended to anyone going to Nerja.

Granada, not the TV station

19 March 2015 / admin

Wednesday 11 March 2015

So just to clear up the heading we are off to the City of Granada and the Bernsteins used that name for their chain of cinemas based in southern England and later for their bid for the northern ITV franchises originally offered, so there is a link between the two. Granada is the Spanish for pomegranate which is also the symbol of the city.

An early start this morning as the outing has to be planned around the availability of the limited tickets for the Alhambra which was the last strong hold of Muslims in western Europe and is the main purpose of our visit. Collected at 8am we drift off to sleep for much of the journey, with one 20 minute stop for refreshments we reach the unloading point in Granada around 10:20.

Our guide leads us into the city centre and indicates where the local attractions can be found within walking distance and the need to regroup at 12:20 to return to the coach to be taken to the Alhambra Palace – a red fort on top of the hill.

Much of the area we saw in Granada (which was limited) looked like typical 19th century construction and there was little of huge architectural merit in the buildings around the centre. Exceptions to this are of course the Cathedral (but hemmed in by more buildings) and the architecture in the Arab market (which is tiny, with no more than five entrances); sadly the shops within the market area no longer reflect the Arab inheritance.

The highlight is the Alhambra Palaces and these were largely the construction of the Islamic Nasrid rulers largely developed in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries when this was a great centre of Moorish power in the west which eventually succumbed to Spanish rule in 1492. Thereafter the Islamic people were driven from the area by various degrees and use of force.

Once the Catholics had gained control they also ruled from here and changes were made to reflect the new religion without obliviating the Muslim writings already on the wall. In that sense it follows what happened at Angkor Wat where the new religion coming did not remove the previous Hindu carvings, but merely added new to reflect the change to Buddhism. At the Alhambra this is first seen at the Justice Gate where a statue of the Madonna and Jesus has been installed above the entrance.

Like many places we have seen there is no furniture or any other evidence of how the rulers lived within the palaces. The guide taking us around was fairly clear in which were the male quarters and the female quarters but evidence and knowledge of what lies behind the decoration and how the palaces operated is simply non-existent. And there is now no method for finding answers to those questions.

Within the palaces there are however some marvellous decoration, although much of the colours have faded with perhaps only the blue surviving. Like the temples of Siem Reap the site fell into disuse and was only rediscovered in the nineteenth century and the restoration and reworking of parts of the buildings means that many ceilings are completely new and other changes have been made.

As ever I would refer your to Wikipedia for a far better description than mine of what we saw. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra

When sorted and labelled I will add a link to my Flickr photos of the Palaces.

Linked to the main Palaces but outside the walls is the Summer Palace which occupies a position on an adjacent hillside. This was built later and in summer no doubt provides a cooler outlook on the world. Later in the 1930’s a formal garden was designed and added to the outside of the Palace and this was extended in the 1960’s with a small amphitheatre for outdoor productions. The entire area now needs a large number of maintenance staff to maintain the gardens. Whilst simple the gardens and Summer Palace should not be missed; so save some of your strength as this always comes at the end of the tour.

We are collected at 16:30 and as we leave Granada we can see the snow laden hills of the Sierra Nevada in the distance. In the old days probably not worth a photo, but with modern digitals we are all clicking away madly in the hope of getting a single good shot. Manage to remain awake for much of the journey – which interestingly requires the coach engine to work hard as a brake as significant parts of the journey are downhill and it is all good motorway for much of the trip including some significant lengths of tunnelling. We are back in Nerja before 6 – much faster than the outward journey and reflective no doubt of the slow climb of the hills. No doubt the motorways are of modern construction which led me to wonder if say 30 years ago it would even have been possible to do the entire trip in a single day.

No special meals today, but uniquely we did consume ham and cheese in some form at each of our three meals today.

Frigiliana

13 March 2015 / admin

Tuesday 10 March 2015

Not far from Nerja is Frigiliana – a small town a little way up in the hills from Nerja. There is a bus service with a simple fare structure – €1 for the ride there and the same back later. It takes about 15 minutes from the Nerja “bus station” – a somewhat overblown description as there is one stop on each side of the road and the buses do not stop anywhere else in the town! I suppose they are stationary whilst at the stop.

Waiting the other side of the road when we arrive in Frigiliana is a road train and this costs €3 each (that seems expensive after the bus ride) for a trip around the lower part of the town with a running commentary and some stunning views in all directions – we failed to spot the oft mentioned pink chapel, however. If we return we might see it – anyone got any pictures? Tell us what we missed. The caves of Nerja are famous (and we will be going there later in the week), but we are also pointed at some local cave entrances in the distance.

Now it is time to climb up into the old town. Almost immediately we are climbing up steps – fairly gently – but we are heading upwards. My wife has been here before and tells me that “Le Mirador” restaurant is at the top of the old town and before long we pick up signs telling us which way to go. As we ascend we see some carefully maintained corners and areas of plants and flowers. Hopefully some of the photographs have made their way onto my Flickr page.

We are still going upwards when we pass a nice looking restaurant sign – but it is not lunchtime just yet; a little further up there is a guitarist playing outside another restaurant with signs to other bars and so on. Anyway the steps seem to lead upwards, but then suddenly we are on a little slope downwards and just a bit further we reach ‘Le Mirador’ and it is on the dot twelve. So could be lunchtime. We ask for a menu but we are advised that food does not become available until 1. If we just sit in the sun and drink it might be overdoing it by the time lunch arrives. So we decide to go for a bit more of a wander and we find another restaurant but the wife was unimpressed by the smell so we depart and find we are going down and not along the way we came up.

Going down is easy, too easy. We end up below the level at which we started this exercise and way, way out of town and as we walk back towards the town centre there is no access back into the old town. And time is passing. Eventually a huge set of steps and steep and UPWARDS. We are heading in the right direction and eventually start picking up the signs for Le Mirador again but long before we get there we reach Oshun and seeing the sign we reckon this might be worth trying. So we stumble in the front door and out the back onto a very nice terrace and a wonderful view. And it is very definitely lunch time!

So go and look at the photos which are here.

The menu is studied but we are also offered some specials of the day and mostly this sounds better than the menu. Our waiter has spent some time working in London and has pretty good English. My wife orders the rabbit salad, with the rabbit wrapped around asparagus and then an outer wrapping of bacon and cut into about eight slices. I order the octopus in galician style and this is just my cup of tea – slices of octopus in olive oil with some paprika.

The main courses selected were cod baked in the oven for me and because she has so enjoyed the seea bass the previous evening in Nerja my wife ordered it again for lunch. What she forgot to check was the filletting situation. When it came the sea bass still had all of its bones. Luckily foresight (never order the same meal as the wife just in case) meant that there was a solution. I got to eat the sea bass and my wife consumed the cod. Inevitably I got the odd mouthful of bony bits and sadly my wife always thinks cod is fairly tasteless; but I felt both pieces of fish were well cooked and well presented and I had no problems at all eating the sea bass – it just saved me have to order it somewhere else during the holiday.

The waiter recommended a rather good bottle of white wine a rueda verdejo which comes from Northern Spain and this provides a very good accompaniment to the meal we had chosen.

A word about the waiter, when we sat down he kindly moved a chair for us to put bags and hats and so on to the side – in full view but also off the floor so that he did not tread on them. Very thoughtful. Also his English may not have been perfect but he tried very hard to ensure he described the food – and no doubt it was those explanations which led to us largely eating the say’s specials.

A cup of coffee each.

The bill including tip was €90 which for the quality of the food and service was excellent value. If you can find it without getting lost first then I am sure it will be equally enjoyable!

We walked down the steps again and visited the local art exhibition and museum. On her visit last year my wife nearly bought a painting and hoped it might still be there. However the exhibits had all changed and so that opportunity had gone.

Time for the bus back to Nerja and a wander down through the streets which at 4pm are just coming awake again after the siesta break. We have enjoyed a wonderful day in the sun shine (for the time of year the temperature is probably well above normal) but we pass the local residents still wearing the overcoats and woollies – we have been in T shirts and shorts all day.

Nerja

13 March 2015 / admin

Monday 9 March 2015

The day opens slightly overcast – have we made a mistake? Down to level four (this hotel is slightly confused, reception is on level six and the pool is accessed from level five but is actually up some steps; far from ideal for the disabled, although there are ramps and lifts to get around) for breakfast. The choice is amazing and everything I eat is good or very good.

Porridge is my staple breakfast and is readily available here. Then a fried egg with bacon and mushrooms. Good coffee and fruit juice and today is off to a much better start than yesterday.

We then descend to level zero again and take to sunbeds with the intention of getting brown; this is accompanied by either reading, listening (the last week of The Archers has been very wet) or snoozing, with occasional turning to prevent anything getting too burnt.

By mid afternoon that is enough for one day so the late lunch is now an ice-cream from the shop selling “sin azucar” – without sugar. Another wander around a different bit of the town shows a variety of shops and restaurants including a Japanese tenpanyaki which I am advised by my wife who has been here before was not here last May when she visited.

My photos of the Balcony of Europe are here

This evening we are not eating in the hotel but are instead going around the corner. We emerge from the hotel into the main square as the church is emptying. There has been a funeral, huge flower displays and we respectfully wait until the funeral cars depart with the entire church attendees following behind.

Our destination is MarBella which is an interesting place. Approached from the front it looks like a nice place to sit in the shade in the main square; but as we wish to see the entertainment later (flamenco) we enter and are shown to a table; then the poor waiter moves us because he needs to build a stage for the entertainment. Then after some discussion we move back so that we can see the new stage. But MarBella is deceptive. Whilst we eat (see below) people walk in and through the bar where we are sitting to look at a terrace and then come back out again! We had not seen this and so a bit later we wander through – and there is a nice enough courtyard and then a bit further on there is a well appointed chill out bar and then beyond this there is a huge dining area with wonderful view out to sea! It could be the Tardis as it is definitely larger on the inside than the outside.

Dining options are varied. A Gastronomic menu is offered for €22 or there is extensive carte at a variety of prices, although generally higher than most of the neighboroughing establishments and indeed several times during the evening we heard potential and actual diners complain about the prices – but that is simply because of the low level of prices around the town.

My wife convinces the slightly reluctant staff that she should have the mushroom soup from the Menu Gastronomique even though it is not on the ordinary menu. As usual she succeeds. I chose to start with a delicious shellfish soup – after all by the sea one should eat fresh fish.

In my case I choose to follow this with a leg of lamb – which turns out to be much larger than I had expected. On the other side of the table a filletted sea bass is delivered and we both enjoy our main courses. Empty plates are a sign of the enjoyment of the eaters.

A bottle of red wine (Marques de Caceres) accompanies the meal. Subsequently we consume a glass of the house red (not so good) and a decent cup of coffee whilst we enjoy the flamenco display. The group consists of two male guitarists and a female dancer who dances the last number in each set. The younger guitarist is particularly good.

We wander back to our hotel. A good start to our holiday.

Hey Viva Espana

9 March 2015 / admin

Sunday 8 March 2015

March. Winter sun. Last year Lanzarote, the year before Marrakech. Always good to get away. Except the day before we go the sun puts it hat on and comes out for a glorious warm sunny day. Which seems a faint memory at 2:45 in the morning when the alarm goes off. Gatwick here we come – except that thanks to some unexpected and unwarned road closures we end up closer to Heathrow than Gatwick in the first instance.

Now Thomson may be the best travel company in the world but they have really not got the hang of online check in. We all do it so we are checked in. So all we need to do at Gatwick is hand the bags over to an airline person for weighing and labelling – 30 seconds per bag. What we do not need under any circumstances is a 30 minute check in queue, where because Thomson cannot have enough check in clerks staff are instead walking up and down the lines calling for people on flights which are currently close to boarding. This meant I did NOT get my promised breakfast at the Caviar House. Thomson – this was not a busy day. Please get it sorted either doonline check in and mean it – or make sure all the desks are (wo)manned.

Also to my fellow travellers – wake up – even if it is six in the morning. Getting through security requires you to get your bag and laptop in the boxes and yourself through the portal so that the security team can either pat you down or wave you through. Not being ready to go through security so that the security people can stand around chatting and causing a queue behind you is unforgiveable, especially when my blood sugar levels are already falling and I have not had a proper night’s sleep and I am not going to get my breakfast.

Great flight down to Malaga where we are through passport control and in the hall waiting before the conveyor belt starts up. Onto the coach and an hour’s journey along the coast to Nerja. Bit of fooling around with being dropped off and then collected by a minibus to get close to the hotel and then a walk through the pedestrianised plaza to Hotel Balcon d’Europa.

Descending to level zero in the hotel brings us to the sea and lunch. A couple of beers and the local fried fish. The sun is shining brightly and we are at the seaside. What more could you want?

Unpack and then a snooze. Then a bit of walk around some of the town but we return to the hotel as it is time for “happy hour”. Two glasses of Rioja. And a bill for two Euros plus nuts. So another two glasses of red and this time two plates of olives. Total bill four Euros. Clearly inflation has not yet got out of hand in Spain.

Downstairs to the restaurant for dinner. Nothing special or outstanding – good solid fare.

Looking Around and Ahead

25 February 2015 / admin

Just a few semi-random thoughts.

Between holidays we still try to get out and about and rather than write up here in the blog section you will find new articles being added under the menu item above of “Culinary Delights” as we get around London (and there is even one in Kent) and eat at a variety of restaurants. Hopefully this will prove interesting and may even help other diners find somewhere to eat.

Further holidays are planned. I obviously do not want to give too many details in advance but before long I hope to add some posts from Nerja in Spain and there are a further five holidays booked beyond that – so there is plenty to anticipate!

And if you have any suggestions of things we might do in Nerja then do let us know.

Homeward Bound

8 January 2015 / admin

Day 21 Monday 5 January 2015 arriving Tuesday 6 January 2015

Collection is not until 5pm so we have most of a day to kill before transferring to HCM airport; local flight to Hanoi and then onto London Gatwick. The only excitement is that since we arrived in Hanoi three weeks earlier they have opened the new International terminal and so we are bussed between the domestic and international terminals. I assume in the longer term this will be a little better organised as they were not really able to explain what was happening (and clearly no-one has planned a proper shuttle between the two).

From hotel door to our front door is getting close to 24 hours, especially as the incompetence of FGW to run a proper service locally means we have to go to Wokingham and use the new lifts and come back again. This line needs electrification and a proper “Southern” regular interval service – two slow trains and a fast each hour and it might be approaching the standards of Sir Herbert Walker.

Time for some summaries:

Operators
VJV – they normally operate this tour in the reverse direction but the date we wanted was not available, so my experiences are slightly non-standard. However the tour content was first class; the arrangements all worked and we have thanked them for their efforts.
Asian Trails provided the guides and drivers except when we were on the Mekong Prestige II and all went well with them – helpful and willing and able to make variations as we wished – adding the tour in Hanoi and changing the itinerary at Cai Be was not a problem at all.
Rivages du Monde are responsible for the Mekong Prestige II. Their Cambodian guide for the English group was not great and definitely fell a notch below the skills seen elsewhere. OTOH everything on the cruiser and on the shore visits went well. Matthias was their on board representative and I owe him an apology for a being a little short on arrival – his efforts during the rest of the week were outstanding and I hope he enjoyed the trip.

Hotels
A wonderful selection – Movenpick in Hanoi, Palais Juliana in Luang Prabang, Grand in HCM being outstanding. Tara Angkor in Siem Reap and the eco-friendly hotel in Cai Be fell short of the levels achieved in the other three. At Cai Be the main problem, inevitable due to local recruitment, was poor English and in my view inadequate staff training. A lovely location. The Tara Angkor seemed a little odd – I have detailed our problems in our time at Siem Reap. I am hopeful that it was one of those where once it went wrong, it just kept going wrong for us and other visitors may have a perfect visit. Revision of the breakfast offering (no bacon two days, no meats) for western tastes would help a lot (as would solid whites as well as solid yolks on hard boiled eggs).

Locations
Everything we saw felt worthwhile and made for a wonderful holiday. There are no doubt many other sites worth seeing and places worth visiting in this part of the world – but to get a real feel of the countries we felt that we had a great time and those following the photos the wife was posting have agreed.

Endurance
Physically there was only one “hard” bit – ascending Phousi Hill in Luang Praabang – and frankly that is down to this traveller being out of condition. We did not visit the upper cave for similar reasons. Otherwise the walking was easy and the temperatures were decent (a lot warmer in the south).

Grand Summary
In case you have not already guessed we had a great time and would recommend this trip to anyone. We might not have got answers to all the questions on events over the last 30 years – but the internet can provide those answers!

Finally this blog will be back with further travels. A grand trip across large parts of Canada is booked along with a visit to Sicily. If you have read it, then thank you very much. I will be tarting up and improving the blog as time allows (and if anyone spots any errors I will be putting them right as well).

Be back soon.

Cu Chi Tunnels and Cao Daisim

8 January 2015 / admin

Day 20 Sunday 4 January 2015

An early start as we travelling north today to see the preserved parts of the Cu Chi tunnels which formed a part of the Ho Chi Minh trails used to supply the fighters in south Vietnam during the wars against the French and later the Americans.

The tunnels were extensive around Cu Chi and ran at several levels. First a metre underground allowed the guerillas to move around to confront ground troops, whilst a lower level permitted protection from falling bombs. Within the tunnels there were other facilities to provide for some hospitals, areas to protect women and children, cooking and dining facilities as well preparing weapons.

And the album of photographs: https://flic.kr/s/aHsk7oYiA5

The average Vietnamese at the time of the wars was between 120cm and 150cm tall and this meant that the tunnels could be fairly small and easily excavated in the soil around the Saigon river as there were no rocks or other impediments to the tunnelling. The tunnels were originally commenced simply as undergound bunkers during the French war of independence to provide safety and protection and over a period of time they were linked together to provide something entirely more functional and useful. These tunnels were built by local people who were working with the North Vietnamese and essentially were not directly part of any north Vietnamese army. They wanted communism and were therefore fighting the war, supported by supplies from the north.

In one direction they also allowed access to the river bank and up into the country into deep forest. They had very small access points which could easily be hidden with dry leaves to allow the guerillas to confront a force of ground troops and also to appear behind them easily.

Foreign news correspondents captured some evidence on film of the tunnels and this is played to us together with an explanation of the size of the tunnels and their usage before we inspect the physical remains. Some of the pictures demonstrate the tunnels and also some of the traps which were used against the ground forces. Typically the traps were developed by the villagers for use against animals and vermin and then scaled up to be used against the army. Some of them look pretty painful and were no doubt effective.

When it comes to entering the tunnel I can get down to the first level but looking down I can see that the only way I could progress would be on my hands and knees and even then it would probably not help my back when I came to climb out the far end. I therefore retreat before I get stuck. After all Winnie-the-Pooh had to give up hunny for days before he could be freed from being stuck in Rabbit’s hole. I might miss the plane home!

The underground fires for cooking had their own tunnels so that the smoke would issue at a distance and even if spotted an attack would not be on the kitchen itself.

Quite often the US troops would abandon armaments and these would be carefully stripped to remove explosives so that they could be re-used in weapons against the Americans. Shoewear (sandals) were made by deconstructing rubber tyres and re-using them. This practice was also adopted by the Khmer Rouge in Campuchea.

I believe in total there was over 1000 km of tunnels and whilst the US brought in extra heavy tanks to effectively compress them, this only worked on those immediately under the surface and not those at a lower level. And of course B52 bombing had some impact – but not enough to stop the supplies coming through.

We head away from the tunnel area and further away from HCM City to Tay Ninh where the master Cao Dai temple is located. We arrive just before 12:00 in time for the chanting ceremony (which happens in total 4 times per day). Visitors are allowed to observe from the rear of the temple and some photographs were taken. In decoration the temple is very similar to the one already seen in Sa Dec but much larger. It is a physically impressive building with the same use of bright colours.

As we do not understand the chanting a fifteen minute observation is adequate and we repair to a local restaurant in the town nearby (along with, I note, many of the other tourists seen earlier!). This time we do not quite get all of the meal at once (it is a fixed menu) and the soup arrives first; then just about everything else, apart from the rice which turns up a determined ten minutes later just as most of what had arrived before had been consumed. Not too spicy and all very fresh – both in terms of the ingredients and obviously the cooking!

It is quite a long journey back to our hotel but we are dropped off outside the Notre Dame cathedral and opposite the Post Office. These are two of the buildings which have survived and not been redeveloped. Both attractive in their own ways, although we do not enter either. We then have a nice wander back to our hotel observing at least one bride being photographed with the cathedral as a backdrop,

Dinner is on the 20th floor of the Grand Hotel where we consume a modest pizza and caesar salad, both well prepared and enjoy the view over the harbour and of the surrounding neighbourhood. Our sightseeing is over.

Ho Chi Minh City and Port

8 January 2015 / admin

Day 19 Saturday 3 January 2015

This morning commences with a trip to what is now known as the “Re-Unification Palace” but was originally the Preseidential Palace from the time of construction in the early 1960’s until the end of South Vietnam in 1975.

For a period post 1975 some of the contents were sold and so some aspects of the private quarters are reconstructions. The main presidential offices however are as they were at the time of the later Presidents whilst South Vietnam existed. The President’s office and the main meeting rooms are as they were then – and how they were used to greet visitors – domestic and international.

In an interesting echo of our visit nearly three weeks ago to the Ho Chi Minh residence and adjacent bunker used during the war periods when bombs were being dropped on Hanoi, there is a similarly well defended area under the Re-unification Palace for the South Vietnamese President. There is a direct route from the President’s office to the underground bunker – which has two levels and the level one metre underground has been opened to visitors. There is a command room, a president’s room (and bedroom) and a security and communication rooms. There was also a deeper level which was believed could not be reached by exploding bombs but this has not been opened up.

The photographs can be found here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsk7jecMA

Looking at the building externally the architecture is clearly of that era and given the nature of the concrete I hope that it will be maintained for the future. Therer are maps both in the security council room above ground and in the command bunker below showing the battle areas and reminding us of the Ho Chi Minh trails which led from north to south. Peak US soldier deployment was 1969/70, at which point the army losses were so heavy and the US forces decided to adopt a new approach – described by one of the senior officers that they intended to bomb North Vietnam “back to the Stone Age”.

Our next visit is to the musem which is now called “War Remnants” which earlier had the name “War Crimes” and the thrust of the place really reflects the latter approach. It lays out the story of US involvement – which started far sooner than I realised – in Vietnam from the late Forties through to 1975.

For those as ignorant as myself it turns out that the Americans were largely funding the activities of the French in seeking to restore colonial power after the declaration on independence as the Americans were at the time dependent on supplies of Tin and Tungsten from the area. Once the French had failed at Dien Bien Phu, the Geneva convention separated the country into two, ostensibly for a short period. In that period those in charge in the South became heavily influenced by the Americans and so the planned elections and re-unification never happened.

The War Remnants Museum mainly exposes the illegal activities of the US forces, their brutality and of course the application of napalm and agent orange for the defoliation of the forested areas. There are tributes to the reporters who covered the conflict and many of the telling photographs which made an impression then are visible. This includes the famous print of Phan Thi Kim Phuc, the naked girl running from a napalm attack.

There is an entire room dedicated to the after effects of the use of agent orange (dioxin) and the impact on subsequent generations, causing numerous deformities and other defects in those descended from people who suffered exposure. Room is also given to the work undertaken post war by Vietnamese to recover and identify their lost compatriots.

When I was taught history I was told that the winners always write the history books and this museum is a perfect representation of that theory. The guerilla war had already been lost by the French in 1953 and consequently the Americans were (in hindsight) on a hiding to nothing throughout the sixties and seventies (a theory made stronger by what we are told at the Cu Chi tunnels – see tomorrow).

By way of providing some balance the land mines laid by the Vietnamese in Laos to protect the northern part of the trail which are still there and are not identified is not mentioned and yet it is one of the highest concentrations of land mines in the world.

We have time for a brief visit to the Central Market and this is even more packed than some of the others we have visited. Were I still working as this is one of those places that reckons they can make a suit in 24 hours I would have done so. Looking at the fabrics the quality seemed good and it was one of those things that I simply wanted to try. But now I might wear a suit once a month and probably the ones I have will last a lifetime. After some hunting around the wife buys some hazelnut coffee, neither of us fancy the squirrel or weasel coffee. And some further hunting produces a “Mont Blanc” bag with a zip along the top for me and a new baseball style “Vietnam” cap as the old one is filthy. It will be interesting to see how long the real leather bag lasts. The sales woman proved it was real leather by use of a lighter – so at least she has confidence in her products. I doubt it is real “Mont Blanc” however.

In the evening we have a great time. We board a boat of fun to go around the Saigon river and there is lots of good food being cooked and a real mix of entertainment. The band playing are very competent and the singers perform well – upbeat and far more fun than the singers on Xmas Eve, There are also dancers who not only do a local dance but also belly dancing and lead a conga around the ship! A magician appears at our table – wearing a short sleeved shirt, so there is clearly nothing hidden up his sleeves – and he is able, under our noses to make pieces of string change length become interlocked, and then revert to single pieces and makes little balls vanish and re-appear. Whilst all basic staples of the close up magician his misdirection and skill mean that there is not the faintest clue as to how it is all done. And for some of the tricks it is the second time we have seen them this week. Amazing skills. We really feel that this evening was a great entertainment and it certainly put a smile on our faces.

From the river we could also see the other boats and some of the waterfront and sadly the pictures cannot do that justice but the buildings which have been developed in recent years certainly give the City a status and whilst perhaps not quite as clean as Hanoi, it is certainly a very modern city.