SE Asia XXXVII - Into the North

Travellers often skip north Vietnam between Hanoi and Hue. Dong Ha and Dong Hoi do not have a great deal to offer unless you are interested in the DMZ battlefields. Ninh Binh on the other hand is a really beautiful area and a great place to relax for a few days.

Dong Ha is not the most pleasant place I have been to. It straddles the main north south highway. I stayed there because it is the closest town to the DMZ. The DMZ used to separate north and south Vietnam. It was the site of fierce battles. There are lots of sites associated with the Vietnam war scattered around the area. I went on a motorbike tour organised with DMZ Cafe costing $17. I went with Mr Khan we visited Doc Mieu Base, then to Vinh Moc, Hien Luong Bridge at Ben Hai River, Truong Son National Cemetary and then Con Tien Fire Base. The best part of the trip was visiting Vinh Moc for the tunnels. The tunnels were dug by the locals to escape the bombardment during the war. They are over 2 kms in length. The tunnels grew in complexity during the war to include kitchens and hospitals, 17 babies were born in the tunnels during the war. The rest of the sites are a bit difficult to appreciate because often there is not a great deal to see. The great advantage of having a motorbike tour was that my driver Mr Khan was an interpreter for the Americans so he was able to draw on his personal experiences in the area. He was bitter about how the Americans had cut and run. We drove along the Ben Hai river, the old border and he showed me the B52 craters sitting amongst the rice paddies. One of the sad legacies of the war is that there is no recognition of the sacrifice made by the South Vietnamese soldiers. South Vietnamese war cemeteries were bulldozed after the war or simply allowed to fall apart. We visited Truong Son National Cemetary which only has the remains of North Vietnamese soldiers. I arrived in Dong Ha from Hue by train hard seat 18,000 VND. A rather persistent moto driver took me to Ha Noi 2 Hotel 120,000 VND for an ensuite. I left Dong Ha for Dong Hoi by train which cost 26,000VND for a hard seat. A family had colonised my seat, with small children at my feet. Dong Hoi is a much more attractive town than Dong Ha. It sits on the coast across an estuary. There is not a great deal to see in the town, down to the American bombing campaign. There are the remains of the old city wall and a burnt out shell of a church. I did come across a guy who tried to speak to me in German, which he had learnt when living in East Germany in the 1980s. I didn't see any other Westerners while I was there. I stayed at Nam Lang in Dong Hoi which was new and was pretty good value at $10 for an ensuite.

One of the highlights of my stay in Vietnam was Ninh Binh. Ninh Binh has the famous limestone karst scenery that you will read alot about in my blog. It is a really pretty area and much less touristy than I expected. There are a couple of tourists spots that are over crowded but they are easy to avoid. I spent a few days cycling around the area enjoying the scenery. I enjoyed staying in Ninh Binh because it is a typical Vietnamese town. Not far from Ninh Binh is Phat Diem made famous by Graham's Green 'Quiet American'. It is a pretty little town with a bizarre looking cathedral. I was there for the Sunday service with huge crowds. I was targeted by a local nutter who wanted a fight with me. I wondered if it was because I stayed at Thanthuy's Guesthouse the main place for backpackers in town with a large dining area which is a good place to meet people. I didn't think the staff were great and certain things seemed to be priced highly. I hired bikes from Ngoc Anh Hotel the other side of the main highway. I caught the morning train from Ninh Binh to Hanoi, which cost 43,000VND.