On MOUs, Marble and Music

.
The recent drought of postings was because I've been busy travelling. This week I was back in Vietnam - two days in Hanoi, two days in Da Nang (where I am right now) and half a day stopover in HCMC.

Da Nang was the key focus of this trip. It's still one of my favourite cities in Vietnam and I've been engaging with various government agencies there for a number of years. The purpose of this trip was to oversee the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the People's Committee of Da Nang and Cisco. I had been working towards this for quite a while, and believed this to be a significant milestone in our partnership. More on this event can be read here.

After the official work was over, I had a chance to pay a visit to Marble Mountain, one of a cluster of five marble/limestone mountains located a few km south of Da Nang, that stretch from the coast inwards (in a westerly direction). The mountains are named after the five elements; Kim (metal), Thuy (water), Moc (wood), Hoa (fire) and Tho (earth). There are many caves and tunnels in the mountains and I read that they were used quite a bit during the Vietnam (or American, depending on which side you are on) War. The area is now famous for stone sculpture making and stone-cutting crafts.

Here's a shot of the area where the Marble Mountains are located. You can see three out of the five mountains ...

And here are some shots taken at one of the many stone sculpture shops.

So remember .... if you want to order some marble lions or dragons or deities or nude maidens or fountains for your grand mansions, you can place an order with me. Shipment to all corners of the world provided. I'll give you some good rates. LOL

Finally after dinner last night, I was invited to a music lounge to enjoy some traditional Vietnamese music and modern pop hits. I was impressed by the quality of the musicians (the white-haired violinist you see in the photo is particularly good!). And of course, there was a variety of singers doing everything from Vietnamese ballads to Lionel Richie's "Say You, Say Me". Alas, none attempted "Nobody".

All the lady singers I saw were lovely and had extremely powerful vocals. This was evident as each lass belted out soulful numbers one after the other with ease.

Da Nang and its surroundings are indeed fascinating places - ideal for relaxation and for exploring the real Vietnam. It is clean, safe, scenic and the people are mostly friendly. I have quite a number of friends in Da Nang and I'd certainly recommend it to all.
.

Vietnam - Part 3 (Danang)

I'm now in Danang, the third largest city in Vietnam. With a population of over a million people, Danang is located somewhat midway between the capital Hanoi in the north, and Ho Chi Minh City in the south. It's a coastal city located on the mouth of the Han river, and has beautiful beaches, relatively wide and well-planned roads, great seafood and a laid-back lifestyle (at least that's how it seems to an occasional visitor like me). This is my fourth visit to Danang.

A historical snippet is probably useful here. Danang was called Tourane during the period of French colonisation. That's why one can still see a lot of establishments still using that name - like Hotel Tourane, Sky Bar de Tourane, Tourane Spa, etc. But of course, Danang's dubious claim to fame came during the Vietnam War (or the American War, as most Vietnamese usually refer to it) when it was the landing point for the first major American troops sent to fight here. They landed on Red Beach near Danang in March 1965 (see picture). Danang quickly became a major American base. Well, we all know what happened in that war. Eventually all US troops were withdrawn, and the area was turned over to South Vietnamese (ARVN) troops by end 1972. After the final offensive, Danang fell without bloodshed to the North Vietnamese Army in March 1975, only a few days after the 10th anniversary of the initial US troops landing.

But looking at Danang today, one would never have a clue to that part of its history. I like Danang very much and have visited several times over the past three years for conferences and meetings. Usually I stay at the Royal Hotel Danang which is conveniently located (but rather spartan interior-wise), but this time I was in a much newer Green Plaza Hotel, which is just by the river. From the 19th floor that I am located, I have a great view of the river as well of the ocean somewhat further away.

Here's what the hotel looks like from across the street. Green Plaza is a 4-star hotel according to the travel brochures and websites. It's pretty good from what I've seen so far. There's a number of restaurants and cafes, a pool, a billairds room, a spa, a rooftop lounge,a disco (which I heard last night, but haven't actually seen) and a small row of shops.

Here are some of the nice views from my window and balcony.

Unfortunately it has been a little drizzly for the past two afternoons, so the skyline tends to be hazy.

There are a few sites that tourists like to visit in or around Danang City. These include Marble Mountain (one of five mountains south of Danang that stretch from the coast inland, and which have lots of caves and tunnels - see picture below), the Danang beaches and Hoi An (a UNESCO designated World Heritage site and example of a well-preserved South-East Asian trading port of the 15th-19th centuries, where the buildings are are blend of local and foreign architectures). Danang has great aspirations to become a regional tourism hub, and everywhere one can see new developments - offices, residences and many, many hotels (along the same stretch as the famous Furama Beach Resort, I saw at least five new hotel developments, including the Hyatt and Crown Prince).

I'd also like to mention the unique round, basket boats that fishermen in Danang use. Very quaint and cute looking vessel. Here's me with some of these boats.

Well, this entry is beginning to sound like a page from a Lonely Planet guide, so let me change focus a bit and talk about something else - like the people. I've found the residents of Danang generally very friendly. This place is not as culturally sophisticated as Hanoi, but at the same time it is not commercially adultrated like Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). There is still a small town "innocence" about it. In many ways it reminds me of the Malaysian town where I grew up - Kuching in the state of Sarawak. Danang, like Kuching, is the small town/city that is perceived as the backward cousin of its more progressive kins, the leading cities (Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi, HCMC). But I think Kuchingites and Danangites (don't know if that's the usual moniker for residents of Danang :) know that the real secret is to develop gradually but maintain the more relaxed habits that make for a higher quality of life. In other words, stay away from the rat race as long as we possibly can because, as an old bumper sticker I read said "Even when you win in the rat race, you're still a rat" ...

Vietnam: Colour, Culture & Community (Part 1)

My very first visit to Vietnam was in 2003 when I was invited to speak at eGovernment seminars in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). I didn't know it then, but this visit kickstarted a series of workshops and conferences I would find myself participating in over the next five years. In my current job*, I support various ASEAN countries, and as such I make fairly regular trips to Vietnam - mostly to Hanoi, occasionally to HCMC, and a couple of times to Danang.

It is probably true to say that Vietnam has become one of my firm favourite countries. I feel strangely comfortable there. The people are friendly, the local food agrees with me (it is usually vegetable or seafood based, which makes it healthy and tasty), there are many historical or culturally significant sites, and the place is relatively safe.

Despite its rapid economic growth over the past 7-8 years, Vietnam is still a developing country. I have lived most of they past 30 years in concrete jungles we call modern cities, mostly in supposedly developed economies, so I tend to find the pace of life in Vietnam a couple of notches lower than what I'm used to - which is absolutely great because it allows me more time for three important R's: reflection, relationship-building and relaxation.

I would like to share what I like about the three cities of Hanoi, HCMC and Danang. I will only cover Hanoi in today's blog, and continue with the other two cities in Part 2 another day.

The national capital HANOI, located in the north, tends to be more conservative, more official-like, with more protocol. It also feels more cultural (I might be wrong here, but to a visitor like me, there seems to be more cultural or historical sites to visit in Hanoi than in HCMC). Here's the Opera House, which is very close to the hotel I normally stay at.

To illustrate the pervasiveness of the local culture, consider for instance the Hoan Kiem Lake. The lake is located right in the centre of the city, and there's a fascinating legend associated with it. According to a tale that dates back to the 15th century, King Le Loi, also known as Le Thai To, the founder of the Le Dynasty, found a holy turtle during a cruise on the then Luc Thuy, or green lake. The turtle told the King to return the sacred sword that had helped him defeat the northern Ming aggressors now that peace had been restored to the land. Le Thai To unsheathed his sword and threw it to the turtle, which caught the sword in its mouth and dived into the depths of the lake. The King later renamed the lake "Hoan Kiem" which means "Lake of Returned Sword". This is a story passed from generation to generation.

The Old Quarter in Hanoi is another fascinating place, that I love to wander around when the weather is cool. I am told that the Old Quarter retains a bit of the ambience of ancient Hanoi. The Old Quarter consists of a network of 36 streets, which bear the names of the goods that were originally manufactured by the craftsmen living on that street in days gone by, eg. Silk Street, Paper Street, Bamboo Street, etc. The Old Quarter is a great place to buy souvenirs or gifts. I also like to hang around the cafes of the Old Quarter just to watch the community that lives, works and plays there (ahem, this sounds like a company slogan I'm rather familiar with!).

A unique & very colourful cultural experience in Vietnam is watching water puppetry. One can do this at the Thang Long theatre, at the edge of Hoan Kiem Lake. Backed by musical instruments such bamboo flutes, bronze drums, gongs, xylophones and other instruments I can't even name. The program includes ducks, snakes, dragons, buffalos and little people dancing and diving above and under the water surface. The themes played out reflect daily life of villagers such as farming, children playing, romance , as well as depictions of ancient legends.

Other places in Hanoi worth visiting are the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Temple of Literature, Museum of Fine Art, and the West lake area.

Well, that's it for today's posting. As mentioned earlier, I'll continue to share my thoughts on Vietnam in subsequent blogs. Do give me any feedback you have or share your own experience travelling in Vietnam.


* Some of you may know that I'm with the Asia Public Sector team at Cisco Systems, the global communications & collaboration company.

Note: All the photographs included in this blog were taken by Jemima Yong (jemimayong@hotmail.com)