SUMMER 2005.qxd

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n January 2005, my wife and I spent our
annual holiday in Vietnam. We started
with an extensive sightseeing tour at
Hanoi and worked our way down south to
Ho Chi Minh city ending with a 10 day
beach holiday at Panthiet.
The country has a population of about 74 million
people and extends approximately 1700 km
north to south with about 3000 km coastline,
but only 50 km across at its narrowest point. It
borders with Laos and Cambodia in the West, in
the North with China, and the South China Sea
to the East and South. It is a diverse country with
a great variety of country scenery such as
mountains with peaks above 3000 metres, large
colourful rice paddys and picturesque beaches.
The South has a tropical climate like the rest of
Southeast Asia whilst the North has hot summers
from May to October and a moderate winter
season from November to April.
Hanoi - Vietnam's capital lies on the banks of the
Red River some 100 km off the sea with a lovely
landscape of lakes, spacious public parks,
pagodas, museums and historical houses. The city
has about 3.5 million inhabitants. Most
intriguing are the bustling streets jammed with
motorbikes. Large areas of present day Hanoi
were built during the French colonial time. It has
an enchanting “Old Quarter” with old alleys
dedicated to specific guilds.
Haiphong - Going by car from Hanoi to
Haiphong one can sense the fundamental changes
NORD NEWS Summer 2005
A HOLIDAY IN ....
By Claus Bröhan
happening in this country. There are large
industrial developments along the road with even
more under construction but you still pass green
rice fields with water buffalos ploughing the
fields and farmers doing the strenuous work of
transplanting rice plants by hand from one patch
to another one. Haiphong is the 3rd largest city
in Vietnam with bustling port and shipyard
facilities. There are several temples and pagodas to
see and strolling around the town you can still
notice the French colonial architecture.
Halong Bay - Going by car from Haiphong to
Halong Bay at the Gulf of Tonking you pass huge
rice fields and abundant open coal mines. The
name Halong means "where the dragon descends
into the sea" and the distinctive scenery is said to
have been created by the lashing tail of a
rampaging dragon. It is a major tourist attraction
and this part of the South China Sea is speckled
with thousands of beautiful limestone peaks. It is
also considered one of the natural wonders of
Vietnam and is listed as a World heritage site. It
covers an area of approximately 1500 square km
and consists of upto 3000 islands. Taking a boat
tour of the bay is the main activity, enjoying the
spectacular view of the bay and visiting some
caves full of magnificent stalactites and
stalagmites.
Hue - We went back by car from Halong Bay to
Hanoi, where we took a plane to Hue which was
Vietnam's capital under the emperors of the
Nguyen dynasty from 1802 until 1945. On the
northern banks of the Perfume River you find a