Corona stories: Number 56: Vietnam 1995

會安 "peaceful meeting place"

If you look at the map of Hoi An in Google today, you find places with names like Belle Maison Hadana, Le Pavillion Luxury resort, Garden Palace and Spa, Venus hotel and Spa, Phu Thinh boutique resort, Rosemary boutique hotel, Hoi An waterway resort, Ancient house village resort and many more. Most have a pool and were catering for the chinese tourists flooding the town in pre-corona times. Nothing like that existed in 1995. When we arrived late in the evening the handful of lodging places in the town at the time were full. Eventually we found two beds in a four bed room we shared with a French girl and an American guy. And then we were lucky because the following night three guys had to sleep in the aisle before the rooms. The place was considerably run down. The second night our French roommate could not get into the room any more because the lock is broken and they have to drill it out.

Our room in Hoi An

The country had been closed for a long time and after opening, the nineties were a time of a touristic boom while infrastructure and knowledge how to treat foreigners had lagged behind after the country first had been at war for 20 years and then closed for another 20. The expectation for the future development were high and the country was already called the little tiger. So it was good to go there quickly before modernization hit and the original lifestyle had disappeared. Many of the visitors at the time were former GI’s who wanted their déjà-vu feeling. However, after a tour of almost three weeks we, like our new roommates, were quite fed up with the country. People were generally unfriendly, aggressively pushy and tried to cheat or even steal stuff. This was not particularly directed against foreigners, but the general attitude, because we observed that they behaved as unfriendly and rude against their compatriots. Government had decided that foreigners were charged the 10fold prices for train tickets or entrance fees. Their subjects copied the practice. While the prices did not particularly ruin us, it was annoying because it was in no way coming with a special service or treatment. In addition, eventually the high prices for the foreigners also would have an influence on the prices for the locals. More vexing was the constant attention we got from peddlers, touts and the many children who all tried to get their share from the newly arrived wealthy tourists. Eventually we became so annoyed that we decided to strike back in our own modest way….

Stop of the express to Da Nang

Hoi An is 40 km outside Danang, which had been one of the biggest american air bases in the Vietnam war. We had arrived in Danang by a belated northbound train in the morning. In front of the station was the usual crowd of touts intending to sell something we do not need. We were looking for the mini-bus station to go to Hoi An but nobody wants to help us. In the best case they want to put us including back bags onto the back of a motorbike and bring us there for 15$. Eventually a woman at a market stand wordlessly points in a direction which turns out to be the right one.

The bus to Hoi An

When we eventually find the station a guy walks up to us and offers us tickets for 20000 dong. That seems to be a lot for the short ride. Meanwhile we are wary about the prices we are charged and try to bargain. To no avail. Eventually we get on the bus, a kind of converted truck. The guy follows, says something like “I driver” and wants to get his money right away. Strangely enough he only wants to get money from us and not from the other passengers. When we point that out to him he talks to two of the others and they both give him 20000. So we also pay and he marches off with a triumphant smile. I guess the real driver only gets a fraction of what we have paid. It is not that we care about the money. The annoying thing is the way you are treated. Curious about the price I ask a guy next to me, who seems to understand some english. Instead of answering he starts to negotiate with the conductor. Obviously he also sees a chance to earn his share.

In the bus

Paying and departure are not related. The vehicle is loaded and reloaded, then, after a short ride, stops again for more loading and eventually picks up a couple of peasant women who seem to be the only friendly people here. They also begin a discussion about the price with the conductor. Suddenly the bus stops and the driver kicks one of them, who refuses to pay, off the bus and runs to a police guy to complain. When he is ready to continue the vehicle does not want to start again. Eventually we arrive in Hoi An really late. At the bus stop trishaws are waiting. We offer a fraction of the price they demand and continue walking. Eventually a guy accepts to take the two of us with back bags for 2000 each. That is a heavy load and the poor guy struggles hard. Eventually we have pity and give him 5000.

Streets of Hoi An

When we look for a place for dinner along the river in the old town center a couple of children with a dog try to drag us into their restaurant. In contrast to the few street dog their’s is well fed. So we ask whether we can have it for dinner. We have a lot of fun with the kids and finally, next to a lot of the local Bia Hoi, we get an excellent big fish. One good, entertaining evening usually is enough to make up for any bad experiences during traveling. So we are not much depressed by the constant complaints of a 61 year old German from the old squatter scene of West-Berlin. He seems to be a hypochondriac and wails about some pathogens he might have encountered while seeing a local woman.

One of the chinese family chapels

Already before the 10th century the Cham people controlled the spice trade in this part of Vietnam. Rivers were used for transport and Hoi-An, formerly called Faifo, at the mouth of the Thu Bon river evolved as a trading post. The Cham people controlled much of what is now central and south Vietnam between Hue and Nha Trang. Hoi An became the commercial capital of the empire, while close by My Son was the spiritual center. Interesting enough, even at the time Vietnam already was divided in a northern empire controlled by the Dai Viet and the Cham in the South. In the 14th and 15th century the area around Hoi An changed sides several times. After 1570 the Nguyễn lords took over control. Their ruler Nguyễn Hoàng had expanded their land far into Cham land and north where their rivals, the Dai Viet (Trinh) ruled. The Nguyễn were much interested in trade. Early in the 17th century the Portuguese established the first post in Hoi-An and helped the Nguyễn to build a foundry for casting Bronze canons. The Dutch also arrived, mainly to capture vietnamese slaves to bring them to their colony in Taiwan. Meanwhile the Chinese and the Japanese had set up a trading colony in Hoi An. Hoi An benefited much from a Chinese trade embargo against Japan under the Ming Dynasty. The trade embargo was circumvented by sailing down to Hoi An. The Japanese ships were sailing under a trading license called the Red seal to protect them from pirates. Occasionally this license was also given to other traders. That way British Captain William Adams arrived on a Red Seal Ship in Hoi An in 1617.

Reference to the trading history of Hoi An. Painting of japanese ships off the coast

Western visitor on top of a temple roof

Carpenter at the restoration works

Such was the importance of Hoi An as a trading town that ceramics from the area was found at as far away places as the Sinai peninsula. However, in 1777 the Nguyễn empire collapsed. Maybe also helped by the silting up of the river mouth, the importance of Hoi An as a trading town waned and was replaced by Da Nang further north. Da Nang also became the center of French settlement. The French had been invited by the Dai Viet in exchange for their help against their enemies. Hoi An became a backwater untouched by many of the developments in Vietnam in the next two centuries. However, many chinese traders continued to visit Hoi An.

The japanese bridge

After 1886 Indochina was part of the French colonial empire. The rediscovery of the town started with the initiative of the Polish architect Kazimierz Kwiatkowsk who initiated the revival and preservation of the old part of town. In 1999 the old town was declared an UNESCO world heritage site. UNESCO counts 1350 relics of heritage importance. The oldest surviving buildings are from the 18th century and the latest structures listed are from the French colonial period. The former Japanese and Chinese quarters of Hoi An were separated by a covered japanese bridge which still exists. Both quarters of town had their own proper governors and legislation. Most remarkable buildings are shophouses, family chapels, assembly halls, pagodas, temples and tombs. In 1995 the city displayed a morbid charm. The paint of the buildings was faded and molded. Many of the inhabitants went about on bicycles or on foot, wearing their traditional conical straw hats. The relation to the big chinese neighbor was tense and there were no chinese tourists around.

"Hot An is a big seaport, a meeting placefor merchants from many

countries. The main road, three to four leagues long, runs along the

bank of the river; it is bordered on both sides by closely built houses

inhabited by people who came from Fujian. The street ends ut the

Japanese bridge, in other words Cam Pho; on the other bank, at Tra

Nhieu, foreign vessels moored."

Thich Dai San (a Buddhist monk), Hoi An, 13 March 1695

One of the shophouses

In 1995 the recognition of Hoi An by UNESCO was still 2 years away. Although some Japanese were busy with one house restoration of historic buildings had barely started. A single western style French cafe had opened as harbinger of what was to come. The owners also offered organized trips to visit the ruins of My Son. The trip involved a boat tour upriver and then a trip of 10 km to the site on bicycles taken along. Our french roommate has warned us. She had left her bicycle at the entrance of the temple. On coming back the tires were flat and entirely by chance a guy showed up with a pump and offered to re-inflate the tires for 20 bucks. This would not happen to us.

Loading our bicycles on the boat to My Son

We share the boat with a German couple. After a pleasant but cold trip on the river we step on the bicycles and head in the direction of My Son. Any stop is nasty because we are immediately surrounded by aggressive kids. One who knows some more English than “money mister” starts a kind of interrogation. On the question where we come from I answer “From the moon”. But there are also friendly people here. When my friend looses one of the pedals of his bicycle a guy fixes it for free.

Boats in Hoi An

The road to My Son

The temple site announces itself by a collection of shacks where they sell “tickets” or want to guard bicycles. The road ends at a pond. The village has dammed the valley’s little creek to block the road. To continue you have to get on a pontoon which ferries you to the other side – not more than 20 m. The charge for the ferry is 10000 Dong without bidycles, the same amount as the bus from Da Nang to Hoi An. But there is a path across the hill which leads around the pond back to the road. There are a couple of signs with a skull and the word “mines” on it. Behind the signs a couple of cattle take care of the sparse grass.

The food stall where we left our bicycles

First we get rid of the bicycles. We go the one of the little food stalls, have a Coke each and then ask them to watch our bicycles while we visit the temples. Then we go back to the path and start walking around the pond. The touts at the ferry start to shout and scream. We hear the word “mine”, That is probably the reason why nobody follows us. We jump the creek, rejoin the road and pay the regular entrance fee at gate of the temples. There we meet the german couple, who have paid their way in. The entrance fee is another 10000 plus 5000 for each camera. This time we pay. After we also have managed to pass a one-legged guy, who tries to block a bridge, we have the chance to see the temples.

The blocked road

Guy searching with metal detector for mines

The Cham were Hindus. My Son was their spiritual center. The temples here were constructed between the 4th and 14th century and were dedicated to the god Shiva. Originally there were more than 70 temples as well as stele with inscriptions in Sanskrit and Cham. The site was also used for burials. It is one of the biggest archeological sites and comparable to places like Borobudur in Java, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Bagan in Myanmar or Ayutthaya in Thailand. That neither impressed the Vietcong nor the Americans. In the Vietnam war Vietcong fighters hid in the ruins. The response of the American command was to bomb the site into oblivion in only one week. Fortunately the French already had removed many of the sculptures to museums in France much earlier. In 1999 it was still declared a world heritage site by UNESCO.

The bombed out remainders of the ruins of My Son

The way back is unspectacular. We follow a herd of cattle in the hope they will fire any explosives left on the path. Meanwhile they have put down a guy with a metal detector to make the danger more obvious. The people in the food stall who have watched our bicycles seem to be really surprised when we give them 1000 Dong for their service.

On the Thu Bon river

Knocked out after an exhausting day

The quietness of dinner at the water front is initially disturbed by a pushy guy who doesn’t want to leave without selling something. Eventually we get up, grip him at his arms and legs and swing him across the waters edge. That earns us the sympathy of everybody around and under loud laughter the guy gets out of the place.

Mouth of the Thu Bon river at the beach near Hoi An

The next day we cycle to the beach. It is not a beach day. It is stormy. There is a long sandy beach with sand dunes. The only development was an expensive and bad restaurant built in the river. Quickly we are surrounded by kids. One is especially obnoxious. He only leaves after we throw a coconut at him. A sign of UNICEF in a rice paddy. We definitely would rather kill one of these kids… To top it all we get lost. Of course there is nobody who can or wants to show us the way. When we eventually find back the road a group of youngsters on motorcycles wants to organize a party for us.

Between 1997 and 2006 UNESCO reported the restoration of 1125 privately owned buildings in Hoi An. At the same time 168 publicly owned buildings were restored. Private owners got up to 60% of the costs in government subsidies for the restoration. Some buildings were bought by the government when the owners were unable to afford restoration. A common entrance ticket was established for all the historic sites. Foreigners pay 150% more than Vietnamese.

Not at least the declaration as UNESCO world heritage site led to a tourist boom. From 1997 to 2007 the number of visitors increased from 139982 to 1032797. The number of hotel rooms rose from 531 to 3009 between 1999 and 2007. Most of the beds are in three to five star hotels. The revenues earned from the tourists rose accordingly. The mid nineties were the worst years for tourists visiting Vietnam. The government recognized the economic value of tourism and started a campaign based on education and punishment. Friends who visited some years later had a pleasant time. The kids and touts are replaced by resorts and crowds of mainly chinese tourists. However, the level of income of a poor household in 2007 was still only 16.25 $ per month.

The name Hoi An means “restful meeting place”.