Vladivostok

Vladivostok Harbour

Dobroye Votro!

We are in Russia, albeit the furthermost southern point but it’s still Russia.  Looking ashore I could see movement in the heavy morning mist. Tall, slim, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, square-jawed men and women that are the populace of this city were moving in and out of visibility in the early morning mist setting a scene reminiscent of a Steven King novel.

Lenin

They “the white ones” occasionally turned a head as a multi-coloured, passport-waving clatter of puttyish flesh and aluminium disability aids spewed down the gangways and streamed into the concourse of the shipping terminal and entrance to the Trans-Siberian Railway, cameras clicking and whirring in every direction. 

 

The territory on which modern Vladivostok is located had been part of many states, such as the Mohe, Bohai Kingdom, Goguryeo, Jon Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty, and various other Korean and Chinese dynasties. The Opium Wars between China and Britain had wide impacts. The 1860 Treaty of Beijing gave the far-flung territory to Russia and, not slow on the uptake, the Russians quickly sent a military supply ship into Golden Horn Bay to found an outpost naming it Vladivostok.

Russia is the largest country in the world with a population of over 140 million and has been closed to the outside world for most of the Soviet period. Vladivostok is situated on a rocky peninsula, 30 kilometres x 17 kilometres, near the Chinese and North Korean border. Vladivostok has only been receiving tourists since 1992 and has a paltry 500,000 Russians live here. Vladivostok is both a vital naval base and the hub for Russia’s whaling and fishing fleet.

Trans Siberian Railway - last stop Vladivostok

Vladivostok is also the final destination in the 9000 kilometre Trans-Siberian Railway built in 1880. Nicholas II, the last Czar of Russia, laid the cornerstone to the building. The Trans- Siberian is the longest continuous railway track in the world. It is over 6000 kilometres to St Petersburg and Moscow.

Shopping District

 As the ship is docked in the centre of the city, much like Circular Quay in Sydney, it was easy to step out and taste the local culture and sights. Vladivostok is a modern city with pedestrian underpasses and street front shopping mixed in with the architecture that is the city’s history. Most of the major points of interest could be reached by walking. 

Shopping however was a step into the past. Village handicrafts were dominant with local needs more the focus than international trends and matching trivialities.

Much of the city is being upgraded in readiness for the 2012 APEC Leaders conference including new bridges and monuments. 

In readiness for the APEC the international messages in the public amenities have been updated to include other nations' cultural habits.

South Korea – Busan

With a modest population of 49 million, modern South Korea is the size of the United Kingdom and Scotland. During the past 100 years Korea has survived four major wars, 40 years of Japanese occupation and a currently divisive north/south split. The nomadic Monguls who were warring with China and being kept at bay by the Great Wall, occupied Korea and used their resources to fund their ongoing war.  

The fall of the Monguls gave Korea had a few hundred years of Ming Dynasty influenced peace and calm but it was disturbed in 1876 when the Japanese, who were just passing, decided to stay in the seaport of Busan much longer than visitors should stay. The Japanese would not leave until 1945 when they were having a few troubles back home.  
 

As the Japanese ran out the back door, the Americans and Russians walked in the front door to lend a hand to the local government. They split it in half at the 38^th parallel and shared management. The Soviets pushed a communist lifestyle in the North and the United States fostered capitalism in the south. The Communists were so inspired by their beliefs that they wanted to share them with the Southern Koreans so they decided to march south to spread the word of communism and maybe convert a few.  

Of course the United States, supporting the southern Koreans, were not big on communism so called in their pals from the United Nations to help send the communists home. Twenty-one nations responded by providing troops, ships, aircraft and medical teams. The Chinese were offended that their communist North Korean friends were being pushed around so they sent a few divisions to assist the North as well. It all got messy with too many lives lost, most being locals.

 No-one was making any ground so in 1953 it was agreed to end the war so everyone could go home. Despite everyone agreeing that the war was over, the now North and South Koreans had a fundamental conflict of belief systems so the split became a sensitive point that is still unresolved today.

Today, Busan is an expanding tourist centre where most things can be reached by a short walk. There is no sign of their recent conflict. The shops are large and air-conditioned. There is also a large traditional outdoor market but be warned that the prices are not cheap by Asian standards.

The shopping is not world class and the few historical artefacts bear strong Chinese and Japanese overtones that you might have predicted.   We wandered around the port district and paid respects at the United Nations Memorial Cemetery, tasted the local fare and headed back to the ship.

Been there done that………might not be back

 

Code RED! – Luxury Ghost ship found drifting in Alaskan Sea!

The sun is radiating a warming 26 degree heat warming the teak decks of the sleek white Ocean Liner, a warm breeze sneaks around the glistening stainless steel railings to blow ripples across the topside pools and spa’s. The deck chairs are in perfect alignment with no evidence of recent habitation. In the buffet, perfectly laid out lobster tails sit next to cold prawns the size of rats, not a single one is missing to indicate human presence.  The colourful and creamy Petit Fours may never realize their purpose of titillating the human palate.

The only perceptible movement is the sharp left to right snapping of the eyes of the crew protecting the food from being infected by the potentially diseased hands of the few passengers brave enough to expose themselves to the tainted surfaces and air of the deathly quiet ship.

The normally bubble milieu of white dressed crew and less than appropriately dressed passengers is a distant memory captured in cheap digital cameras.

Alert eyes snap left as the high-pitched mechanical sound of the electronic dispenser of hand sanitizer breaks the silence to indicate that another brave soul is on deck in search of untainted food.

This is life on a ship with an escalating number of passengers now affected by the debilitating Noro Virus. There are over 70 passengers in cabin lock-down and an unspecified number of crew. Many live shows have been cancelled as several key singers are missing.

This virus has primary symptoms of gastroenteritis and vomiting and is highly infectious with a lifecycle of about three days. The loss of fluids and dehydration are the life threatening elements of the virus for the elderly that make up a large component of the passenger manifest. The frail have been asked to limit their time in public spaces for a few days but thankfully my comparative youth and fitness will now pay dividends.

Yesterday, across the usually busy Atrium foyer, we saw a passenger collapse to the ground, vomit a vegetable soupish fluid in an enlarging circle and then fall unconscious into its perimeter. The vigilant staff reaction was immediate to both assist the passenger medically and clean up ground zero. The level of illness of the passenger was such that an immediate medical evacuation was required. A Code “A” medical emergency rang out through the ship and passengers were asked to clear all corridors.  What passengers were in what corridors? I could see no-one

The arrival of a helicopter, some 40 minutes later, in the middle of the ocean was serious, sad and intriguing. For those familiar with the Dawn Princess, the helicopter approached the stern of the ship and hovered above the gym on deck 14. The sick person was winched up from the rear sun area outside the gym. To prepare for this, the stern section of the ship was completely evacuated from deck 14 to deck 10. All passengers, including those in the steerage cabins to the rear of the ship, had to move to the forward public areas but could not go on deck. This was risk mitigation in case the helicopter crashed into the rear of the ship during the evacuation. Whoever wrote the “Helicopter Evacuation Passenger Movement Policy” watches too much TV.

The helo-lift went without a problem. As a consequence of this passenger’s extreme level of illness the ship has moved to Code RED medical alert.

Further passenger restrictions and absolutely no contact with food or utensils in the restaurants are in place. You have to ask a waiter to salt your food, as there are no condiments on tables. If you want vegemite on your toast, a blue-gloved crew-member hands you a sealed pod of vegemite at the end of a long pair of black sterilized tongs. The entire ship is now being sterilized by washing down walls and floors etc. The deck chairs have had the cushions removed in fear of what they may harbour beyond old sweat and old people’s dead skin

The ship cannot land at any further ports until the virus is contained. 

The psychological pressure this environment builds is near boiling point. I have observed several passengers abuse staff about not being able to serve themselves or salt their own food. At a normally self serve coffee station, now staffed by a vigilant rubber gloved waiter, one passenger pushed the waiter out of the way to make their own coffee whilst delivering a tirade of abuse about the stupidity of the restrictions. The result of this was the whole coffee station was closed to be re- sterilized.

The above is certainly the way that the ships grapevine describes our medical lock down but the reality is that the ship has excellent procedures to contain and remove the virus with co-operation between the passengers and crew. 

In a few days it will be all over, Virus or humanity?

China - The Great Wall

Wow! I have just got back from a surreal experience that I recommend everyone put on his or her bucket list. I have been to The Great Wall of China and it is akin to visiting the Pyramids, the Taj Mahal, Ephesus and driving a Lexus. Apart from the Lexus, with air-conditioned seats, the others share a humid, hot climate that makes the experience sticky to say the least. By the time I climbed to the top of a steep section of the Wall there was not a dry part of my clothing.

The Great wall is three hours from the coast. We drove on six lane highways that had garden quality manicured shrubs and flowers bordering the road. Each village competes for the prettiest part of the highway and lovingly tends the roadside gardens. The journey was an excellent entrée to our destination.

Picture this; a few of us arrived at the bottom of part of the Great Wall and looked up. Anyone who had wheels or sticks of any sort went looking for souvenirs, the rest of us started up the steps. The Great Wall has not yet been made disabled friendly. The steps are uneven and different heights. Some are up to ½ a metre high per step in some of the steeper sections.

The climb became a fitness test as people slowed, sat and turned back. There was much back-slapping and encouragement with mixed success. Towards the top of the valley the chatter had stopped and wheezing was the noise of choice. For those who made it the view was breathtaking, literally, as you looked over the hill at the next section of the 6500km long wall. Going down was way harder than going up and back at the valley floor, “jelly legs” was a common description of how one felt but it was worth every rasping breath, every drop of sweat and the damp ride home.

Qin Shi Huangdi the first emperor of China built the Great Wall of China over 2,000 years ago. Amusingly, the Chinese name for the wall, "Wan-Li Qang-Qeng" is actually its measurement. It means 10,000-Li Long Wall (10,000 Li = about 5,000 km). Its purpose was to protect China from outside aggression, but also to preserve its culture from the customs of foreign barbarians.

Armies were stationed along the wall as a first line of defense against the invading nomadic Hsiung Nu tribes north of China (the Huns). The Huns were hunters and foragers and the Chinese were agriculturalist farmers hence the collision of cultures. Signal fires from the Wall provided early warning of an attack. One-fire meant 100 attackers, 2 fires meant 200 attackers.

The Great Wall is one of the largest building construction projects ever completed. It stretches across the mountains of northern China, winding north and northwest of Beijing. During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Great Wall was enlarged to 6,400 kilometers and renovated over a 200-year period, with watchtowers and cannons added.

The Great Wall can be seen from Earth orbit, but, contrary to legend, is not visible from the moon, according to recently deceased astronaut Neil Armstrong. The Great Wall was being built at the same time as the Egyptian Pyramids, the Amphitheatre of Turkey and the tombs of Petra, all of which I have had the good fortune to experience.

The wall is testimony to the far-sighted strategic thinking and mighty military and national defence forces of 2500-year-old empires in ancient China. As the Pyramids are to Egypt, the Great Wall is to China a demonstration of visionary architecture, technology and art. The Wall embodies unparalleled significance spanning thousands of years as a national symbol for safeguarding the security of the country, its people and it’s culture.

Over 1 million people died building the Great Wall and they were buried in the wall as a final honour. Local Chinese say that the Wall is also the world’s longest and largest tomb.

Made in China

Recent interruption to “At Sea with Nathan”

I have been travelling through China recently and after my last two posts I found that my blog had been taken down and I had been excluded from any access to any of my Google sites such as email.

I am now in Japan and have re-established access to my account albeit with a change of passwords and several confirming emails to Google about the name of my first cat, the colour of my car and my great grandmother’s maiden name.

Google then advised that my account had been “tampered” with hence the lockout.

When I re-gained access I noticed that my last blog which was a review of a bottle of wine was deleted and unable to be re-instated. The only conspiracy theory based answer for this, which I am sometimes prone to take, was that my prose offended the Government of the area I was travelling through. The particular blog post of concern that was deleted by persons unknown was a review of a bottle of a cheeky little Chinese 1995 Cabernet red wine. The label quite proudly boasts “Made in China”. I now repost a tempered version of my tasting notes.

This cheeky red wine, from the Great Wall Vineyards attracted my attention so I thought that when in Rome one should drink like a Roman, or middle class Chinese in this case. The cost of the wine and the year of make was an imposing $30,000 Yuan that suggested a good drop inside.

The bottle has an impressive label that catches the eye from a distance with fine charcoal etchings of the Great Wall of China. A closer inspection of the descriptor text did not auger well for an oral feast of finely fermented grapes whose vines have heritage of many centuries.

 To quote the label:

“The wine was made of best grapes in the world and with internal advanced technics, it is clarity and hasful- badie fruit smell, vinosity and longaftertaste”. … sic

Excited by these grand words I broke olive bread, warmed the Brie and aired the wine. The bread was crisp, the olives salty and the Brie melted across my knife. The wine however did not quite reach the fruitiness of a Californian cabernet or the acidic edge of a French Hermitage. Of course there was no similarity to the peppery, bold Australian reds.

In summary:

Sweet tones of summer fruits

Hints of mid palate moulds

Indications of potential to cellar to achieve potential

Tannin levels a little palate drying

I should have bought more, bugger !

Shanghai – fastest, longest and oldest

China has a population of 1.3 billion and rising. 

Shanghai is China’s largest city easily comparable to Tokyo and Mexico City. Shanghai is also the worlds’ busiest shipping port with at least a third of all exports passing through its docks. It has a colourful history that attracted every kind of fortune-hunter, gangster and smuggler. It was at one time known to be the wildest city on earth where every form of vice flourished. The city’s name is in English dictionaries as a verb meaning “to kidnap”.

When the communists took over in 1949, Shanghai was cleaned up and is now the most important economic corridor to the western nations for China.

There is so much to see that I had to prioritise so I chose the fastest, longest and oldest and added them to my bucket list.

Fastest – Maglev Train

I found something that goes faster than the Lamborghini I drove in Singapore, the Maglev train. It looks like a modern train (any train looks modern/futuristic compared to Australia) with no hint of what speed it can do. We arrived at the station for the short run and sat in conventional seats. The doors quietly closed and the train noiselessly slipped away from the station. Within minutes we were travelling at 400kph with no sense of it. The bullet trains of Japan are noisier and slower. This is an ABSOLUTE MUST DO on anyone’s bucket list.
The $US1.2 billion Shanghai Transrapid is a magnetic levitation train, or maglev line that is the first commercially operated high-speed magnetic levitation line in the world. Service commenced in 2004. The top operational speed of this train is 431 km, making it the world's fastest train in regular service, faster than TGV in France and faster than the top speed of any Formula One car, MotoGp and Lamborghini.
The train line connects Shanghai Pudong International Airport and the outskirts of central Pudong where passengers interchange to the Shanghai Metro to continue their trip to the city centre. China now has bullet trains as well that are much cheaper to build and maintain so there is no immediate plan to expand the maglev network. Work has commenced to connect Hong Kong and Beijing by bullet train.

Longest – Grand Canal

The Grand Canal of China is the world's oldest and longest canal, far surpassing the next two grand canals of the world: Suez and Panama Canal.
The building of the canal began in 486 B.C. during the Wu Dynasty to answer the concern that there was no easy transportation between north and south China. This restricted economic, cultural and political integration so Wu picked up a shovel and the rest is history. The canal is 1,795 Km (1,114 miles) long with 24 locks and some 60 bridges.

The Grand Canal connects a large number of rivers – the five natural water systems of Yangtze, Huaihe River, Yellow River, Haihe River, and Qiantang River, combining to form a grand network of water routes. In 2006, the Grand Canal was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Well, as grand as the Grand Canal might be, our tour on it was more akin to a Jetstar flight. I am sure that an entrepreneurial Chinese person bought an old coal barge and 40 old restaurant chairs, combined the two and began Grand Canal tours.  We wheezed and spluttered our way up the canal in anything but a straight line. There were no refreshments available in the un-airconditioned barge for the 35 degree 1.5 hour tour in the humid airless environs of the Canal. I am sure the tour operator had a sense of humour as the horn to alert other vessels of our approach to bridges was INSIDE the cabin. This at least restarted the hearts of several of the overheated passengers as we traversed some 10+ bridges.



I am sure we will laugh about it one day....

 Oldest – Humble Administrators Garden

The waterside City of Suzhou in Jiangsu Province is known as the “Venice” of China as it sits on a tapestry of some several hundred connected canals that feed into the Grand Canal. It is also most famous for it’s “Humble Administrator's Garden”, covering about 52,000 sq. meters, and is the largest and most renowned garden in China. It is listed as a World Cultural Heritage site and has also been designated as one of the Cultural Relics of National Importance under the Protection of the State as well as a Special Tourist Attraction of China.  

The pink lotus is the supreme lotus, it is often associated with the highest deity, the Buddha himself. Though often confused with the white lotus, it is the pink lotus that symbolizes Buddha where the white lotus is used for lesser holy figures.

The Humble Administrator's Garden was built in 1509 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It was initially a private garden of a former government servant who probably took an early voluntary redundancy. It was said he intended to build a garden after retirement and just do some gardening work like planting trees and vegetables, hence the name of the garden. The garden is home to pure strain Ming Dynasty varieties of the Lotus Flower. These are shipped all over the world. The garden includes original pavilions, halls and parlours of the Ming Dynasty building style.

This too was a little less desirable than the above paragraphs might have you visualise. Whilst the proliferation of Lotus varieties in multiple garden settings of original Ming fixtures was certainly breathtaking, there were 20,000+ other people in the gardens who also thought so. Our leisurely stroll through the gardens was more like a sweaty conga line at a boozy wedding, camera’s sweat, inappropriate touching by alleged relatives………. Ewww! 

A fast train, a long canal and a few old flowers managed to keep a smile on our face ans sweat on our brows for the day, now on to Tianjin and an old long wall that everyone is raving about. 

Hong Kong

Hong Kong at sunrise

Hong Kong meaning “fragrant harbour” was once a British Colony. The island became British soil in 1842 under the Treaty of Nanking. In 1860 the Kowloon Peninsular was added under the Convention of Peking and then the New Territories including 253 adjacent islands under a 99-year lease by the second Convention of Peking in 1898.

The Japanese, who were just passing in 1941, occupied the small sea trading port of Kong Kong till 1945. The biggest single growth of Hong Kong came when China became fully communist in 1949 and over 1 million refugees fled to Hong Kong as a result. The current population exceeds 7 million.

1n 1997, Hong Kong returned to China’s control. China has sensibly allowed Hong Kong to remain as a large tourism centre for world travellers. Hong Kong however is an ageing tourist shopping destination that is looking tired compared to other shopping destinations. There are now many equivalent or better shopping meccas around the world such as Dubai, Turkey and Kuala Lumpar that some might say are a better combination of sightseeing and edgy shopping.

Having been to Hong Kong many times and shopped at Stanley markets and taken the cable car to Victoria Peak I decided to visit Macau, located on the southeast coast of China to see what all the fuss is about.  

The name of Macau is derived from the word Magao (A-Ma Temple), which was the shrine dedicated to Mazu, a sacred sea goddess respected by the local people. The Portuguese ruled here prior to Macau's official return to the People's Republic of China in 1999.

The Macau fast ferry

The land of the city is quite small covering an area of just 27.5 square kilometres. The total population is 469,800 of which 95% are Chinese. You get to Macau by fast ferry from Hong Kong. I was pleased to find that there is a first class section on these ferries for only $HK30 more than economy. This gets you a better view, better seat and free champagne and nibbles if that is your fancy.

As a first time visitor, I decided to hit the tourist highlights.

Largo do Senado, the splendid main square with surrounding simple, elegant Portuguese and baroque style buildings is the busiest downtown area of the city.

St Pauls

A short walk north leads you to the Ruins of St. Paul's Church and the Monte Fort, one of the best-preserved forts in Macau. The Museum of Macau, to the right of the ruins, tells all stories on the city's past.

The ruined façade and staircase to the church of the Mother of God - St. Paul's - is the most famous landmark of Macau. Designed by an Italian Jesuit, and, with the assistance of Japanese Christian artisans who had fled from feudal persecution in Nagasaki, the church was built from 1602 to 1637. In 1835, a fire burned it to the ground, leaving only the façade, the staircase and portions of a wall. It remained unchanged until a restoration was undertaken and completed in the summer of 1991.

Monte Fort

The Monte Forte was built between 1617 and 1626 as part of the church of St. Paul's project and with the added purpose of defending the city from possible attacks. The Monte Fort's great moment of glory eventually came in 1622 when the Dutch attempted to invade Macau and were roundly defeated. It was also the only occasion that the cannon in the Fort was used. From the cannon terrace of the fort you can see China just across the estuary.

Ming Dynasty prayer cards

In the southwest part of the city is A-Ma Temple. It was constructed in the year of 1488 of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) to commemorate Mazu, the sacred sea goddess who blesses the fishermen of Macau. 

In the southern part of the Peninsular, the New Reclaimed Area and the Outer Harbor Area is where the casinos and many luxurious hotels can be found. One day this area may be world class but not for a while.

 I was not disappointed with my decision to visit, once, but there is not a lot other than gambling to do and see so I will not be back.

Nha Trang

Nha Trang, capital city of Khanh Province, is the “Woy Woy” of Vietnam nestled north of Ho Chi Minh City. (Woy Woy, despite it’s name suggesting some sort of Asian virus spoken by someone with a speech impediment, is a popular seaside town on the central coast of New South Wales north of Sydney).Nha Trang is a popular seaside town that shows its fishing heritage in a milieu of gaily-coloured fishing boats circling its rustic harbour. Approximately 300,000 people inhabit Nha Trang.

From the 2^nd century to the 15^th century AD, Nha Trang was the centre of the Kingdom of Champa until the Ly Dynasty Emporer and his army, who were just passing and thought they would drop in, sent the fish eating Champas’ packing and formed the beginnings of independent state of Vietnam.

Today, a few years on, its four-mile white-sanded beach and blue hued Caribbean like waters have made it a popular resort town with the richer peoples of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh.

I have a polarised view of Vietnam as a future holiday destination. I was not impressed with, or comfortable in, the dusty, dirty streets of Ho Chi Minh City and left with a mind to not return as the city has not quite captured a tourist friendly streetscape.  The shopping is ordinary as well. In contrast, I was immediately relaxed amongst the scattering of colonial-era beachfront hotels and sidewalk cafés that set the backdrop to the white beachfront of Nha Trang.

The day market behind the beach is a “must-do” where all the best fakes can be perused and bargained for amongst the usual local handicrafts and produce. A great time was had bargaining in the Asian equivalent of a Sydney “Paddys Market”, Hong Kong’s Stanley Market or a less grand version of the “Grand Bazaar” in Turkey. The Vietnamese are a jovial and welcoming culture and this played out in laughter, hard bargaining and many offers of hot green tea from the stall keepers once the final price was agreed.

Of course there is the usual smattering of temples and pagoda’s. I visited the Long Son pagoda where an enormous white Buddha reclines on the hill behind the pagoda. It commemorates Buddhist monks who protested the abuses of the Diem regime in the early 1960’s by setting themselves on fire.  Today, self-immolation, a protest against the Chinese rule of Tibet, is a current concern for the Buddhist faith as the practice is sadly undergoing a resurgence. Eleven monks have set themselves alight this year. Recently, the Dalai Lama questioned how effective the practice of immolation was, stating that “Courage alone is not the fullest expression of wisdom”. The pagoda and the Buddha are still worth visiting.

Now for the big secret of Nha Trang, Vin Pearl.

Not one mention of Vin Pearl or its connecting skyway was made by any of the tour guides on our ship. Nha Trang has a very modern cable car skway that allows stunning views back across the harbour. With no visual assurance of compliance with world safety standards we took to the sky for the grand sum of 150,000 Dong ($US20). We enjoyed a silent 15-minute journey above the harbour to a nearby island. We could see some sort of resort in front of us on the connecting island but were happy with the cable car views.

We got off the cable car and surprisingly stepped into a full-blown amusement park, included free in our 150,000 dong fare. There were many free and wild rides. They appeared to have an element of risk about riding them that made them all the more alluring.

The rides were as good as any in Disneyland, Universal Studios or Luna Park, sans safety features. One insane ride was sitting on a sled that is winched up a huge mountainside and then rolls, with manual breaking by yourself, on rails back down again in a zig zag pattern. There is no speed limiting on the sled and no brakes unless you apply them yourself.

There is absolutely nothing to stop you smashing into the sled in front of you at high speed other than your sense of survival and ability to operate machinery under extreme duress….. Absolutely crazy and we loved it.

You are visually and verbally warned (in broken English) that if you do smash into a sled in front you, any damage will be your responsibility and must be paid for. I took this ride several times as it was just so much fun.  (see the previous picture, the vertical track going up the mountain to the left of the “Vin Pearl” sign is the sled track !!)

There were other rides that were a bit more controlled but just as much fun. The fun park sits on the side of a mountain so the roller coaster was that much scarier as it twisted and turned out into the void of space with the ocean sparkling enticingly hundreds of metres beneath you.

With our testosterone levels returning to post teenage levels we jumped back into the cable car for the return trip, free of course. Nha Trang and the Vin Pearl fun park are a great combination. 

I will be back!    

Vietnam - Cu Chi Tunnels

Vietnam is a Communist country with a population of over 86 million people. The capital is Hanoi in the north but the largest city is Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) in the south. The reason for this lies in war and communist domination.

Ho Chi Minh dates back to the 1600’s as a Cambodian Khmer fishing village. As it is located strategically on the Mekong Delta it is an important trading hub. In 1859, the French, who were just passing and thought they would drop in, occupied Saigon to take control of the Mekong. This introduced western capitalist culture and some excellent architectural influences such as the 1876 Notre Dame Church and the French Colonial Post Office.

Notre Dame

Two Indochina wars fought in recent times then defined modern Vietnam.

The first Indochina war was fought in the 1950’s between the French government and Ho Chi Minh communist army. This first war was the direct successor leading to the second Indochina war; the Vietnamese people, concerned at declining numbers of snails and frogs, felt that the colonial powers were trying to control their country. The French government relinquished their control of Vietnam Cambodia and Laos in 1954.

Vietnam had been split into two, with a communist government in the north under Ho Chi Minh and a democratic government in the south under Ngo Dinh Diem. Ho launched a guerilla campaign in South Vietnam, led by Viet Cong units, with the goal of uniting the country under communist rule. The United States, seeking to stop the spread of communism, trained the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and provided military advisors to help combat the guerillas.

American, Australian and New Zealand military advisors were sent to the region in the late 50’s and early 60’s to assist the capitalist South Vietnamese government in their war against the communist north. It was realised by 1964 that the South Vietnamese government needed help in winning this battle so combat troops entered the region. The conflict reached its peak in 1969 where some 900,000 US solders were involved in the conflict.

In both wars, an important part of North Vietnamese military strategy was the building of the Cu Chi tunnel system, a 200 kilometre underground defensive system with many stratums, nooks and crannies. Thousands of people in the Vietnamese province of Cu Chi lived in this elaborate system of underground tunnels. Originally built in the time of the French war, the tunnels were enlarged during the American presence. When the Americans began bombing the villages of Cu Chi, the survivors went underground where they remained for the duration of the war.

There's still a few left in the tunnels !

The secret tunnels, which joined village to village and passed beneath American bases, were not only fortifications for Viet Cong guerrillas, but were also the centre of community life. Hidden beneath the destroyed villages, in these tunnels, were schools and public spaces, hospitals where children were born and surgery was performed on casualties of war. There were even theatres where performers entertained with song and dance and traditional stories.

“……. For the Viet Cong, life in the tunnels was life threatening. Air, food and water were scarce and the tunnels were infested with ants, poisonous centipedes, scorpions, spiders and vermin. Most of the time, guerrillas would spend the day in the tunnels working or resting and come out only at night to scavenge for supplies, tend their crops or engage the enemy in battle. Sickness was rampant, especially malaria, which was the second largest cause of death next to battle wounds. The tunnels still played a major role in North Vietnam winning the war.”

I visited the Cu Chi tunnel system by travelling up the Saigon River in a high-speed patrol boat. The driver, a former South Vietnamese soldier, emulated the zigzag patterns and defensive maneuvering a patrol boat would have followed during the war. We slowed down at all the military hardware and checkpoints along the riverbanks.

We arrived at Cu Chi and despite the colourful tourism flavour that pervades the site, the spectre of war is visible and haunting.  

The whole area was booby trapped with pits, spikes and other devices that would have delivered immeasurable pain and suffering but not death. These devices are still operational and on display to demonstrate their effectiveness. An atrocity by any civilised cultures’ measure.

Rolling trap usually covered in bamboo and grass with live scorpions in the base

The Vietnamese tour guide spoke too warmly of the Vietcong (communist north Vietnamese) strategy to maim, not kill, soldiers. The logic was that it would take at least two more soldiers to take the injured soldier back to medical aid thereby taking three soldiers out of action. 

In the middle of this fetid, steamy, sweaty, booby-trapped jungle I was offered live ammunition to shoot any number of high-powered weapons! Under other circumstances I might have seized the “Nick Darcy” moment as many might expect me to. In this atmosphere I felt that to pick up a weapon or shoot one more bullet was abhorrently disrespectful to those who did so for their cause, their country and their mates.   

Vietnam is a beautiful country with warm and welcoming people and a rich history, albeit with a few skeletons in the closet...... but don't most countries have the odd skeleton?  

This was Nathan reporting live from Vietnammmmmmm......