|
|
|
Presenter: Justine Shapiro
Justine Shapiro travels to Vietnam, a country which stretches
1000 miles along the east coast of the Indochinese peninsula.
She begins her journey in Ho Chi Minh City (called Saigon
until the coming of communism in 1975), where she explores
the Cholon quarter, where a vibrant market
takes place every day. She’s in town for the
new years TET festival, and that evening
she joins the crowds letting off firecrackers in the streets
to scare away the evil spirits. |
|
Practicing Tai Chi on the beach at Nha Trang
|
|
No American can visit Vietnam without confronting the war
issue, and next morning Justine travels 22 miles northwest
of Ho Chi Minh to Cu Chi District. Here she
sees some chilling reminders of the conflict, such as the
100 mile network of underground rooms and passages where the
Viet Cong both hid and lived. She also visits Cao
Dai in the province of Tay Ninh – the centre
of one of Vietnam’s new religions, which combines the
beliefs of Buddhism with Cofuscism, Taoism, Christianity and
Islam. Their god is represented by one huge eye.
From Tay Ninh Justien travels by bus to Vietnam’s premier
seaside resort, Nha Trang. She finds a room
for the night at the Bao Di Villas, once the private seaside
residence of the Emperor. She takes an all day boat trip to
some of the islands off the coast, all including a fantastic
lunch, comprising squid, tofu, stir fry noodles and fresh
fruit. |
|
Justine travels into central Vietnam on the Reunification
Express. After North and South Vietnam united in
1975 one of the government’s first programmes was to
replace the rail system that had been destroyed in the war.
It takes 16 hours to reach her destination, a peninsular in
the middle of the country called Lang Co. It’s one of
the most tranquil spots in Vietnam with miles of unspoiled
beaches. She also visits the nearby city of Hue,
where the Emperors lived from the beginning of the 20th century
until the second world war, but most of the splendid buildings
they constructed were bombed during the Tet offensive of 1968.
Justine takes a day long trip down the Perfume River on an
old converted barge to see the way of life that the river
supports.
Justine flies from Hue to Hanoi, the political
capital of Vietnam. She hires a bike to see the sights, discovering
the soul of the city can still be found in the ancient town
centre. She then travel by bus to Halong Bay
on the Gulf of Tonkin. It’s Vietnam’s
most spectacular & surreal landscape, dotted with over
three thousand limestone islands. She meets a woman whose
family live on an old fishing boat, and they take her along
to visit a limestone cave three miles from shore which was
inhabited by a friend of theirs. |
