Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73080
Tell us about it, we had another one last night but chose to stay inside as it was raining and a bit windy. It’s nice and cool afterwards, by cool I mean ~28c, but looking at the next two places the weather is expected to be a tad warmer, up to 37c. It’s going to be toastie!
Strange to think we’ve been away over 3 months, we really have to think hard to remember what we did in the beginning. Oh, and that’s 3 months of grass growth, plus the rest of the jolly, that’ll need to be tackled once back. Anyone got a combine harvester doing nothing?
11th Jun 2024 2:22 am
Gareth Site Moderator
Member Since: 07 Dec 2004
Location: Bramhall
Posts: 26774
Don’t rush back. It’s been the most awful spring, and the summer hasn’t started yet. We turned the heating on and lit the log fire yesterday! British weather at its most frustrating!
11th Jun 2024 6:00 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73080
You lot have a few weeks to get that sorted!! Both our cars are still on full winter tyres, upside of rubbish summer is I don’t have to change them over.
11th Jun 2024 7:08 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73080
A few pics from Hué, back in Sauff Vietnam. We’re in an old hotel right on the front with a view of the Perfume River. Needless to say it’s not that sweet smelling, nor is it the whiffiest river we’ve crossed on this jolly.
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A few pics from our travels over the last couple of days. It’s been pretty toastie so lots of stops for drinks and ice-creams. From Hué Citadel.
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SWEEEEEEEEET bat like critter on the toe of these imperial slippers.
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Scoff last night, and it was deeeeelish in a DIY kind of way.
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Today was a hike to a historical house. Getting hot so did that, failed to get to the next place on our agenda due to a grumpy dog dominating the access road.
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Talking of weather, temps back home looked a bit fresh. Just a little warmer here!!
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And a pic I found of our hotel from back in the day, specifically the Tet Offensive. Our room is just behind the Marine behind the one wielding the M-60.
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13th Jun 2024 9:23 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73080
Evening all, gratuitous sunset pano from Hué. It’s been hot, hot, hot today, 38c with lots of walking.
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And it’s going to be hotter tomorrow!
The most ingenious bottle opener EVER!! GENIOUS!
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The poor photographer was trying to get these ladies organised, no chance! Like herding cats!
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On way back to hotel for siesta stoped at a car park that has a lot of war relics that used to be in a park near the citadel. Some are being restored but most just rotting in the heat.
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A-1s are big!
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I did harbour a thought about climbing into this Huey but one touch of the floor persuaded me that it wasn’t a good idea. Shame we didn’t have any eggs to fry!
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And a big a$$ gun that’s had a fresh coat of paint.
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And in the afternoon another couple of temples. We were deffo wilting by the end but we had a car and driver from the hotel, and car came with serious supply of cold water.
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Day around town planned for tomorrow, and the forecast is due to be sunny and 39c!
14th Jun 2024 2:13 pm
kajtzu
Member Since: 10 Aug 2017
Location: Helsinki
Posts: 6753
Is it so that the citadel and surrounding areas were rebuilt? I remember reading that most of the city was destroyed in the Battle of Hue in 1968, hence the question.
Nice pictures as always
14th Jun 2024 4:48 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73080
There was a lot of fighting in and around the citadel and it still shows some scars, screen grabs if some pics from our visit to it in 2019.
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But there has been a lot of reconstruction with funding from lots of countries and Vietnam itself, UNESCO Heritage status doing its job.
There are very few signs of the war here, or indeed in most of Vietnam. A few museums, the odd bunker or bomb crater (sometimes with a water buffalo complete with egret on its back), or rusty bit of barbed wire, that’s about it. I clocked more battle scars from the Battle of/for Berlin on our last visit there than for the Tet Offensive here. Vietnam has been rapidly developing and that tends to erase the signs.
And yes, it’s another hot one! Sitting enjoying last Ca Phê Sua (bitter Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk) for breakie in hotel’s courtyard and it’s 35c. Might see the old four-zero number today. Luckily lots of shade, lots of cafes and vending machines for cold drinks. Shopping today, hope they’ve got big T-shirts in!! I’m after a GMV T-shirt with Mr Viet. Clocked them in Hanoi so hopefully they are here.
15th Jun 2024 2:10 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73080
And Gooooooooood Morning from Da Nang.
Our one and only Vietnam Railways trip of this jolly, pulling power provided by this chap.
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Forgot how slow Vietnam’s trains are, they have regained their Slug Trains of the Year title from Canada. And forgot how hot they are. It was only a couple of hours from Hué to Da Nang but it was a tad sweaty. Top number outside, lower one inside. And there was me thinking I might need my fleece as they are often over conditioned.
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Typical view for much of the trip, would have done better but our window was pretty rubbish and virtually everyone closes the curtains, even on the shady side.
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View items are often glimpsed through gaps and usually half a km back before I even get the phone awake. Was lucky with this giant(ish) Buddha.
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Da Nang is a bit of a beach strip place and we are right on the beach, bit of a culture shock cf Hanoi & Hué. And no, not going in for a dip in case the Vietnamese send a whaling ship after me as diet isn’t going too well.
And view from breakie while enjoying 2nd coconut coffee. It’s going to be a bleezer! If only I could post some back home, it would stop my Mum constantly complaining about the weather!
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17th Jun 2024 2:11 am
Moo D3 Decade
Member Since: 13 Aug 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 14387
Great pics and commentary.
Vietnam is definitely on my must visit list. I'm thinking of doing a bike packing tour around it when I retire.New Defender L663 110 SE (known as Noddy!)
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17th Jun 2024 7:45 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73080
Good place to start your back packing adventure. Just 2 pieces of advice, travel light and enjoy the cheap beer! Might try this place https://eastwestbrewing.vn/east-west-brewing/ later this afternoon as it’s happy hours until 6pm.
Oh, and a couple of pics. Another day, another Huey.
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And it’s hot, downright scorchio in this sun so brollies deployed. Well until the breeze picked up and threatened our brollies and cooled us down at the same time.
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Oh, and another piece of advice - when it’s super hot head to the nearest MickyDees, like we did today.
17th Jun 2024 8:45 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73080
Morning peeps, from another boooooooootiful day on Da Nang. What’s better than enjoying a scrummy breakie witching watching Mrs DSL dangling from a parachute! (Oops re Freudian slip that MrsDSL clocked instantly!!)
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And yes, before anyone asks, those chillies were hot and no, they were not eaten!!
And no, SWMBO is not that crazy!!
A few pics from Da Nang. We leave here today to head down to our last place in Vietnam, Hoi An. We’ll be there for a week before bugging out back to Thailand.
We didn’t do that much here, it was searingly hot with full sun so that limited what we did. One of the best museums we went to was about the Cham civilisation, which linked in with Siem Reap civilisations. Still not got our head around what happened when and where but we’re getting there! Lots of great carvings featuring elephants.
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And yet another military history museum, this one for the 5th District and on an active military base. I didn’t get shouted at this time (last time I went to take a pic of sensitive murals) but did start wandering towards what looked like the army conference centre. Needless to say my direction was corrected by fearsome VN army lady, but without shouting this time.
Lots of guns, missiles, tanks, aircraft, bulldozers and a crane! Bit of an eclectic mix of Soviet stuff and gear left by the imperialist Yankee occupiers and the lickspittal (not a word used but not for want of) puppet troops of Sth VN.
You can see the seasons play out here in the cammo.
Summer time is Huey Time.
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Autumn is the time the Dragonflies come out. The PAFVN inherited a load of them when Da Nang was captured, which the promptly started to use against Saigon’s main airbase, the present HCMC airport.
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And winter is for Bird Dogs playing in the snow.
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And MiGs are pretty in silver in all seasons!
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And a rare mention of the Chinese invasion of Vietnam in 1979. It’s almost as if it didn’t happen. The only time the present Chinese regime’s army has seen action and it didn’t work out well for them.
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Now it says “tank” but the bit on the left is light weight aluminium with a canvas cover, I’m thinking part of an a/c’. Bit on the right looks like the “mud guard” bit at the front where the track turns backwards.
And to end on, tanks a lot. Rather cute T-34.
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19th Jun 2024 2:09 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73080
Stuck in a pizza restaurant in Hoi An by a mahoooooosive thunder storm. No better place to be, at least until the vino runs out!
Pizzas were excellent.
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And the VC is on tap.
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Glad we had just another 1/2l pitcher, just before the heavens opened!
Just hope they don’t run out!
19th Jun 2024 11:59 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73080
And good morning from Hoi An again. We’re staying here for a week, not doing much other than wandering around, flopping and planning future jollies. It’s cheaper than being at home and the food is better!!
View from hotel balcony. So much quieter than Hanoi, Hué or Da Nang, sometimes we have to pinch ourselves when we get to a road and there is no traffic to dodge!
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Peeps prepping for the Lunar Festival last Friday. It was a real shame as everybody was ready for a busy night and the heavens opened!
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Mind you, the entrepreneurial spirit of the Vietnamese instantly kicked into play. Suddenly all the food vendors covered up the food and pulled out the brollies and long plastic raincoats. I have the feeling it wasn’t their first rain rodeo!
Re weather here, it has 4 seasons. Hot and hotter, wet and wetter.
Now that’s what I call a happy hour, more like a happy day!
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And a couple of scenic pics across the river to the old town.
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Finally, Mr Magoo’s Vietnamese cousin on a wall in the back streets.
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Prob the last pics from Vietnam, off to Bangkok on Wednesday for a bit of luxury and pampering.
24th Jun 2024 1:59 am
mark the spark
Member Since: 22 Jun 2011
Location: southampton
Posts: 2521
have you tried the frogs on sticks i was tempted but not quite brave enough ............im sure youve sussed it but if you wait for the tourist rush to die down you can cross the ornamental bridge for nothing
the night market was worth a look very prety all lit up with lanterns friendly down south but a bit different as you go northMY05 SE D3 Manual my first LR what a car
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25th Jun 2024 2:16 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73080
The only thing we’ve tried on sticks was kem, ice-cream. The locals may have the constitution of the proverbial ox but we don’t, plus we’ve seen all that lovely smelling bbq’ed food several hours before when it was sitting in 35c heat! I didn’t get any snaps of the food on sticks but there were frogs, little birds (complete with heads), squid and octopus. And it was hooching at night!
Mind you, no snakes or tarantulas that we’d seen in Phnom Penh a few years ago.
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And to relax after all that evening chaos, a Vietnamese drip coffee sitting watching the world go past and enjoying the toastiness. With condensed milk, of course!
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A week here in Bangkok, just hope the weather is better than this afternoon as it was tipping down when we travelled from the airport to the SkyTrain line, we got soaked just moving 30m!
View from the lounge here, cheers all.
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Oh, and the cute bridge in Hoi An is shrouded in scaffolding and cladding at the mo for renovations but saw it when we were there last. There were a few kiosks around to collect fees to go into the Old Town but the peeps in them seemed more interested than their phones than us so we didn’t want to disturb them.
Last edited by DSL on 26th Jun 2024 11:27 am. Edited 1 time in total
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