Vietnam 2005

19 February - 4 March 2005

Even though C.J. and I had not ever considered Vietnam a destination, when we heard that Jim and Cathy Reynolds were running a trip we were interested. It helped knowing that Jim had not only done several tours in 'Nam military-wise, but that he had had also been back to fly hang gliders with local pilots. This trip was billed as "exploratory" in the sense that we'd try to fly some established sites but also push into areas that either had not been flown before or had limited use. Also there was to be contact with government, mostly local or regional, to sell the idea of increasing tourism by developing hang gliding and paragliding sites. The final piece fell into place when we found out that the whole trip - airfare, lodging, guiding and food - would be $2000 per person for two weeks. Wa-hoo! Sign us up.

19 Feb Sat - It was 12 hours to Taipei and another three to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) on the EVA Airlines 747 (Taiwanese?). For a while we didn't know if Jim would make the flight with Cathy, Steve and Jaye Wilson and us because his passport was due to expire in less than six months.

20 Feb Sun - I'd been to Vietnam in 1968 and arrived at Tan Son Nhat Airport in what had then been Saigon, but that was 37 years ago and nothing looked at all familiar - a different world today, for sure; at least a different viewpoint. We were met by some local pilots and VieTravel guys as well (The government travel agency guys were with us for the whole trip - minders, maybe?) and loaded into a van for the trip through HCMC to our hotel, the Dai Nam in District One. After checking in and exchanging some money ($20 USD = 300,000 VN Dong approx.), we went our to wander through the nearby, huge Ben Thanh Market. Then, feeling reasonably brave, we headed for the Reunification Palace and caught a tour. Leaving, we ran into Jaye and Steve and walked another few blocks to the War Remnant Museum (once called the war atrocity museum - pretty grim propaganda about the "American War". By then the jet lag had caught up with us and we went back to the hotel for a shower and nap. Later the local pilots took us by taxi to the Little Saigon Restaurant where we had some not particularly memorable dishes.

21 Feb Mon - Our first hotel buffet breakfast was pretty much a prototype for all those to follow: a mix of Vietnamese(rice porridge, pho) and international (bread, cheese, eggs). We got to meet the rest of the group - all Californians: Gavin, Wes, Lyne, James and James Jr (videographer father and PG son), Fred and Alicia (young PG pilot and sister). Shortly after breakfast we were on our way in a new tour bus equipped with AC, DVD player and plenty of room for us each to have our own seat. We made a protracted stop at a bank for the Californians to get money then drove NE out of HCMC to do a tour of the Ozone paraglider factory. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant pavilion that was part of what seemed to be a cross between an amusement park and a cultural expo (Cong khu DL Suoi Tien, according to a photo on Google Earth) just south of the Dong Hai River (the border of HCMC). Driving along Hwy 20 we passed through town after town interspersed with typical lowland scenery - fields, latex plantations and a few big rock outcrops. We arrived in DaLat around 1900 and checked into the Cam Do Hotel.

22 Feb Tue - Breakfast was little different except for dragonfruit juice, very good. Since there was some time before we headed out C.J. and I walked up the hill to the upper market square where we could see the main market below and the replica Eifel Tower in the distance. Around 0900 we boarded the bus and drove N or NE to Lang Biang Mountain Park where we off loaded into Russian Jeeps and went to the 6300 ft. summit on a paved road through what looked like a ponderosa pine forest. There was a restaurant near the summit and there were Lat women weaving and selling crafts on the mostly bare summit itself. The wind was from an unusual direction (a problem on much of this trip) and only a couple of attempts were made (with one injury) on the secondary launch. Later the wind clocked around and made the NW side which was pretty smooth and sloping launchable. By the time I took off, people were getting to 10,000 ft but I only got a few hundred over and, after a few photos, landed on the knoll just above the parking lot at the base (4900'). I headed back to the hotel with the first group (I was already a bit sunburned) while C.J. went up for another flight (which never happened due to changing conditions). That evening the VietTravel guys directed us to a tourist-y restaurant on the main square where we had flambeed bananas for dessert. Afterward we drove around the lake checking out places for the x-c enthusiasts to land if they made it back to DaLat.


23 Feb Wed - In the morning C.J. and I walked up to the main market and took some photos and bought a couple of souvenirs. At 0900 we were again heading back to Lang Biang. Today the wind was clocking around counterclockwise and it got launchable earlier but then got very strong quite suddenly. I didn't launch until 1430 and, while Jim went to 12,000 ft on his hang, I sank out to the dry paddies below the parking lot and had to hike out. On my second flight, I managed to soar for a while and when I landed found out that Jim had clipped a wire landing "out" somewhere and had broken a bone in his wrist. Back at the hotel we had a mediocre meal in the dining room with Jim and Cathy who were definitely not pleased with the level of medical care. Later that night I became the first of our tour to come down with a probable viral infection with symptoms of diarrhea and nausea.


24 Feb Thu - I went down for breakfast but did not feel like eating and went back to bed. Around 1300 Jim, Cathy and Alicia invited me to go with them to Prenn Falls, a kitschy park south of DaLat. After dinner C.J. went out with Jaye and Steve and did some shopping at the night market (reportedly very buggy... and also batty!).

25 Feb Fri - Feeling better, I ate a normal breakfast then we embarked on the next leg of our trip - about 200 km to Nha Trang. We drove down out of the highlands back onto the coastal plain. There were a bunch of villages and rice paddies and the occasional water buffalo and other cattle. We drove by Cam Ranh Bay and, closer to Nha Trang, piles of salt, then fishing boats and nets hung up to dry. The Nha Trang beach,6 km long, was beautiful and we had lunch at the Coco Vert somewhere near the northern part. Then we returned to the center of the beach to the Que Huong Hotel where we were greeted with a fresh coconut and cool towels.

"Group Photo Op" at one-time Nha Trang China Sea site

(L to R) Jim, George, Cathy, Gavin, James, James Jr., Hal, Fred, Steve, (front: Jaye)

After a quick shower we got back on the bus for the drive to the flying site which overlooked the South China Sea north of Nha Trang. When we got near we found that the whole area had been totally changed by earthmovers to prepare for a new highway. There was no more launch.

That night we dined with the mayor of Nha Trang and the assistant governor of the province at the upper restaurant at Bao Dai's Villas. It was a very impressive meal with many courses and lots of seafood - big prawns, fish (with the head, of course) and cuttlefish. there were speeches and translations on both sides. Back at the hotel we walked around in the tourist area and tried to make email contact at an internet cafe but it was very slow and we never did get connected.


26 Feb Sat -The breakfast buffet at the Que Huong was larger and more international with good bread and even cheese. Later we took a taxi to the Dam Market (Cho Dam) with Steve, Jaye, Wes and Lyne. It was much larger than we expected and we saw only part of it that first day. After buying a couple of souvenirs we went up to the second floor fabric and sewing area where I bought a short sleeve shirt from a couple of very persistent ladies. When we got back around 1030 there was a big hue and cry from those who had arrived on time and wanted to go check out a newly-discovered site, but Jim had changed to time to noon. The loud ones commandeered the bus and drove out north past the bridge and Red Island to the next ridge (Son Mountain?). Fred and James, the youngsters of the group, had been exploring and had found what they thought would be a good launch and a beach to land on (very small) or a wide place alongside the main road. We all started up but C.J. and I got only far enough to see that it was steep and there wasn't really a trail up the thorn and brush scramble. We went back to the bus and then walked around the area a bit. Fred launched early and sank out to the small beach, overshot and landed in the water soaking all his equipment which I helped haul out. Launch conditions apparently were difficult and flights were 30 minutes or less. We were back at the hotel by 1630 and went to The Sailing Club, an Australian-run restaurant on the beach for Italian (!) food. In spite of all the teams of reporters and photographers covering the flying, there wasn't anything on the TV we watched. Our wannabe media stars were disappointed.

27 Feb Sun - After breakfast we took a taxi to Cho Dam and C.J. replaced her blown-out sport sandals. The woman selling the sandals convinced C.J. to go with her to visit her mother who had a dressmaking shop. After winding through a bunch of backstreets and looking at various fabrics and patterns C.J. ended up ordering a red silk tunic top and silk pants made to her measurements for $25 to be delivered that same day at 1800. Seeing how things were going, I bought a rolling carry-on suitcase for $18 to replace my tote bag. We got back to the hotel in time to catch the bus to the base of the same ridge most of the group had flown yesterday. This time Thieu had arranged for porters to carry our gear to launch for the equivalent of about $5. This was a great deal because C.J. and I got to fly and the soaring was good even if we didn’t get high (and we were, in fact, prohibited from getting much over launch and taking any photos in flight). I landed north of the ridge in a flat area that appeared to have a wall around it, but when I was on the ground it turned out to be a raised platform. Lots of people gathered to watch us land and pack up. [This was the first place, maybe the only place, where I spoke with an older man who said he had worked with the Americans during the war.] Back at the hotel we went across the boulevard to the beach where C.J., Jaye and Wes had hour-long massages. I wandered around the area then went back to the hotel where a lavish wedding was taking place with dancing girls and exploding balloons (apparently not only firearms but even fireworks have been outlawed). C.J. got back in time to take delivery of her new clothes and then most of us went to a nice-looking restaurant which turned out to be not so great with them losing our order and the whole meal taking a looong time.

28 Feb Mon – We left Nha Trang about 0800 to drive National Route 1 north to Da Nang, about 500 km or 10 hrs (took us about 12). We passed by the Cham Towers (Chap Ba) temple ruins on the way out of Nha Trang. There was plenty of scenery – coastal, mountain and rice paddy – on the way but we were pretty OD-ed on scenery so we watched probably pirated “The Incredibles” and “The Fellowship of the Ring” DVDs a good bit of the way. We stopped for lunch in Qui Nhon – looked like a good flying destination but we did not have permission to fly the coastal site or the nearby hills. Passing through one village we saw the aftermath of a grisly scooter-truck accident. After a good Chinese restaurant meal just down the street from our hotel we checked in to the Bamboo Green Harborview about 2100.

01 Mar Tue – Our hotel was on the quay and from our 5^th floor room we could see the harbor and the suspension bridge and all the fishing boats chugging out or in. After a more Vietnamese breakfast we went down the street a block or so to a relatively small market. Upstairs in the fabric and tailoring area C.J. found a silk panel that she liked but did not buy it (and Lyne did). Shortly afterward we loaded up on the bus and went out to Ba Na National Park where a big media event had been laid on for the first flights from the old French hill station. We were expecting a 1200 m walk to a clearing in the jungle; what we found was a 1200 m climb on a trail hacked out of the jungle to a likewise hacked-out clearing barely big enough to spread a wing and get full line extension. Everyone hiked up but no one brought their wings along. Conditions were iffy anyway with a very light breeze dying off and a long glide to the nearest LZ. The trip back to the hotel was filled with wild planning about flying back to DaLat to get in some more paragliding but that turned out to be impossible. In fact, it was going to be difficult to avoid getting bumped from our scheduled flight back to HCMC. Back at the hotel we all decided to make the best of it and go have lunch and kite on China Beach. Our Vietravel guides took us to Furama, the original (only, according to Lonely Planet) 5-star resort in Vietnam. We ate international dishes on the terrace between the pools near the beach. This was not what we had envisioned – we been thinking more of a little beach hooch and some pho for lunch. Later most of the group got their wings sandy kiting on the beach even though the wind was a bit light. Back at the hotel we skipped dinner and took a walk around the hotel block and along the quay. Others went to bars and discos returning late.

02 Mar Wed – After breakfast (where I studied the chef’s scrambled egg technique) we went back to the market. C.J. bought a panel of Vietnamese silk and commissioned an “ao dai” from one of the ladies working a treadle sewing machine behind the fabric booths. Afterward part of the group went with Jim and Cathy to Hoi An on the bus (others stayed in Danang and rented motorbikes). We toured several old building including the Assembly Hall of the Hainan Congregation, Quan Cong Temple, and an old house whose owner is of the 7^th generation to live there. We watched a woman making “white rose”, a thin dough covering a filling of pork, and teaching young girls how to do it in the courtyard of the house. The Japanese Bridge was the turnaround point so we headed back through town on a different street and had lunch at the Mermaid restaurant: cao lau, fried wonton, white rose, seafood salad (warm!) and banana fritters with a banana-lime shake. There were lots of shopping opportunities throughout the town from souvenirs to tailored clothing. We bought a bunch of souvenirs and a Lonely Planet Guide to replace the library copy we were using, and 2 m of cotton fabric. On the way back we stopped at Marble Mountain and viewed pagodas and caves with carved Buddha statues while climbing up and down the small mountain on stairs and paths. We went back to the same beach as yesterday for some more kiting and then folded up our wings for the last time (except for Gavin who was staying for another week or so at DaLat). The whole group went to dinner at Phi Lu Chinese restaurant near the hotel where Jaye and her helpers handed out VN children’s books with title like “Little Miss Trouble” as awards. Back at the hotel we packed up for our flight back to HCMC.

03 Mar Thu – We went right over to the market after breakfast but found that C.J.’s ao dai would not be ready until 1000. We bought some other souvenirs including a bottle of snake wine for Bob H, some green tea, and a strand of pearls. After a quick trip back to the hotel to check email, we returned to the market and C.J. got to try on her new dress – no dressing rooms; the girls just held up fabric to shield C.J. from passersby. The dress looked great and C.J. came away with it and a big smile. We bought a few more souvenirs and a $10 “Omega” watch (which we got for $5 since that was all the cash we had left). [The watch actually worked all the way to the airport in HCMC.] By now it was time for lunch and our whole group went to a nice restaurant on the quay just west of the new bridge. Jim had had boony hats made for us with “Viet Sky 2005 Tour” embroidered on them and he handed them out. After lunch we had a bit of time to kill so we wandered around trying to find a cheap DVD shop with no luck. Just before we got on the bus C.J. and I bought an embroidered shirt for each of us. One last bit of unfinished business – C.J. went back into the hotel and picked up the long sleeve silk shirt/jacket that the lobby gift shop owner had made for her when none of the ones in stock (which seemed to be labeled with random sizes) would fit her. Finally someone dragged Wes out of the foot massage parlor and we were off to the DaNang airport. All of our baggage turned out to be over the weight limit for a domestic flight so we had to pay an additional fee. In our case it was 20 kg over the 40 kg limit so we had to pay $16 (!). The flight arrived a bit late but in plenty of time to get the CA people to their 0100 flight home. First, though, we went all the way in to the hotel and found a little place around the corner to eat – except probably for Steve (and maybe James and Fred) who was/were sick with the same thing I had in DaLat.

04 Mar Fri - Since we did not have to leave before 1000 we came down late for breakfast then went over to the Ben Thanh market where we found the power was off. C.J. still managed to buy a couple of handbags and a pair of pants before getting “bargained out” By the time we got back to the Dai Nam, we had just enough time to get our luggage to the lobby. Despite getting to the airport 2 ½ hours early, we were still at the end of the check-in line. Jim was sounding more and more pessimistic all the time about getting on the flight, but we managed to get to the ticket counter before it closed and even got our probably overweight baggage on without a problem. (We had been concerned because we had watched Vietnamese passengers in front of us dumping stuff out of their bags and repacking, even leaving things behind when their bags were refused.) There was a delay of 45 minutes or so in Taipei but then we were on our way for the last long leg. Unfortunately, the illness that had bedeviled the rest of the group now finally struck C.J. and she actually had to use the airsick bags. The flight attendants let her lie on the floor in the rear of the airplane since there no other seats available – not the most comfortable way to return to the U.S. But barring that, it was a great trip with indelible memories.