The recent drought of postings was because I've been busy travelling. Back to 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 and here and here and 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 guys, 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, we went 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 had extremely BIG ......... lungs (what were you thinking?). Powerful vocals indeed, as each lass belted out soulful numbers one after the other with ease.
After I post this, I'm heading straight to Da Nang Airport, bound for HCMC. Will post further if anything relevant catches my attention ... Ciao !
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Jimmy, great pics! I hope to visit there.
ReplyDeleteOne thing for sure, Jimmy, we have similar hair style and 'color'. I guess the mustache as well. LOL
Gerard, those early years that we spent together at St Joe Primary must have given us this common supurb sense of style and fashion. LOL.
ReplyDeleteWe want more pictures on the "MUSIC" part, WJ !
ReplyDeleteMaybe Dr Kuo needs some marble maidens to adorn his UK mansion .
ReplyDeleteNext reunion in Danang !!!
ReplyDeleteAir Asia got fly to Danang or not? Silk Air does a 3 point route - Sing, Siem Reap & Danang - on some days.
ReplyDeleteu can make a statue of yourself? WJ?
ReplyDeleteTuan WJ,
ReplyDeleteCongrats, my man for your lastest achievement.
Have not been to Danang yet but I am pretty sure it's a nice place as per your description. Yes, the singer....
More stories plse after the show !!
Rgds,
what were you guys toasting with, WJ?
ReplyDeleteJimmy,
ReplyDeleteWell...did you sing too?
Looking great! a job well done!
May be Da Nang the town we should visit in August?
Lipp Kee, Da Nang would be swelteringly hot in August. July & August are the hottest months. Probably not a very good idea. And no, I didn't want to clear the house with my singing.
ReplyDeleteAnon 10.25AM, it was bubbly ... Russian champagne. Good stuff. So sayang the first bit that popped out of each bottle and splashed on the carpet.
WJ, pic 2, everyone's looking at the fellow affixing his singature, but your eyes were focussed elsewhere. probbly at the very pretty photographer?
ReplyDeleteMany pretty photographers, Anon. Jealous kah?
ReplyDeleteIf you'd like more info on Da Nang, check out an earlier posting of mine on the Asian Observer website:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.asian-observer.com/2008/10/vietnam-part-3-danang-city.html
Would be nice to make 12 marble status of the animals of the zodiac & put in my garden. My order is in the mail, WJ !!!! hehehe
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kuching Big Shot :)
ReplyDeletePerhaps our lawyer friend will also consider ordering 12 statues of nude Grecian beauties (all carrying the scales of justice of course) to line the road leading to his legal office.
Sounds like a good idea, WJ. Ada jalan, kah? Maybe I need to go to Danang with you on your next trip to suss things out ...
ReplyDeleteSure, Georgie boy. Yup, you should join me on one of my trips ... you may want to make sure the Grecian beauties have all the right vital statistics. The invite applies to all the other guys.
ReplyDeleteThat's actually an idea, Jimmy. When and where are you going to next? Give us your travel schedule in SEA for the next 6 months and we try to plan a little 'follow the leader' jaunt.
ReplyDeleteAnyone interested can just buy their own ticket and meet you there or meet up with you in Singapore first.
so WJ like Danang cos of the blue ocean or rather Ocean Blue. hehehe
ReplyDeleteMr Chieh can drive his yacht straight to Da Nang. ha ha
ReplyDeleteI think Mr. Chieh prefers to sail his yatch to Da Nang. He will not want to fix wheels to the yatch. Hehehe.
ReplyDeleteok, ok ... i'm obviously not a seafaring man :(
ReplyDeletewhat else is Da Nang famous for, WJ?
ReplyDeleteSun, sand, sea, seafood ...
ReplyDeleteI was born in Dalat, but not in Vietnam...Dalat, Sarawak. ;-)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, WJ (James). Well done.
ReplyDeleteDalat, Vietnam is famous for its flower industry. It has a unique temperate climate in a largely tropical region.
ReplyDeleteDalat, Sarawak is famous for its church by the river (St Bernard Church).
ReplyDeleteI will be going to Lundu and Sematan this morning. Have not been there for donkey years. Will have a picnic with family and perhaps seafood lunch. Yummy! Hmmmm...beware the cholesterol..LOL Well eating in moderation.
Cheers.
P.S. George, will call on you tomorrow.
Don't worry about seafood dietary cholesterol, Gerard. It's saturated fats [pork leg and lamb chop] and trans fats [margarine and cookies] you have to worry about. Enjoy your crabs and prawns - :-)
ReplyDeleteDon't believe me? Check out this CNN report:
http://edition.cnn.com/HEALTH/indepth.food/meat/seafood/healthful.shrimp/index.html
See you tomorrow, Gerard. I will be in Court the whole morning but I expect to be back in the office by lunchtime.
Jimmy, how hot can Danang be in August? You live in the tropics where everyday is "sweltering hot", no? Danang is pretty far north compared to Singapore. I imagine it should be cooler.
ReplyDeleteThere's school hols from 4 - 12 Sept. How about organising a trip to Danang and Hanoi in that week, Jimmy?
Please take photos of the G & G Reunion ...
ReplyDeleteGeorge, in Aug the daytime temp for Da Nang can range between 35 to 39 degreesC. I dunno about you, but that's in the "chow tah" range for me!Even tho' the beaches may be very appealing, you won't want to be out there for too long. It gets slightly better in Sep, but the temp range is in the mid 30s range.
ReplyDeleteOK lah. How about 20 Nov? That's the start of the year end hols for Sarawak. Should be nice weather then, no?
ReplyDeleteNow you're talking ... Yeah, Oct is ideal but Nov will be pretty nice too. Hanoi will be starting to get chilly, but Da Nang will be in the mid 20s (degreeC).
ReplyDeleteGeorge, we just got back from Sematan/Lundu. It was nice talking to you on the phone. OK, tomorrow 1.30pm then.
ReplyDeleteNo crabs in Sematan because of full moon... However, the fish and prawns were ideal replacement. Very fresh one...yummy! yummy!
Cheers!
Sun, Sand,Sea, Seafood - did u miss another S, WJ ? hehehe
ReplyDeleteAnon 7.30, WJ missed out SEX - Sleep, Eat & eXercise. Or is it Sematan?
ReplyDeleteYa, the couple of S that i missed were Sightseeing, Souvenir-hunting, Swimming, Sauna and Spa ... :)
ReplyDeletethis Da Nang mountain looks a little bit like Guilin in China, no?
ReplyDeleteWJ, where are the photos of the Hanoi hostesses, Da Nang damsels, Miss Saigon's ?????
ReplyDeletewhat about Sematan, Leo?
ReplyDeleteAny of our classmates residing in Da Nang? Nick already back, that I'm sure of or else we can drop by at his place.
ReplyDeleteI don't know of any from Class of 76 residing in Da Nang. Not surprising. Da Nang is a small city compared to Hanoi and HCMC.
ReplyDeleteWJ, why are not not visiting My Lai? And how about some mention of it here?
ReplyDeleteWhat's the history of Da Nang?
ReplyDeleteAre there any tornados or water spouts there?
Any flights between Da Nang and London?
What kinds of art or designs can one find there?
I think Ho Chi Minh City should be good enough, yes? No? Or maybe Hanoi...just a suggestion.
ReplyDeleteDepends on how many days you want to spend in Vietnam. If you got 4 days, you should do either Hanoi or HCMC, AND Da Nang. If 6 days, you can do all three locations (2 days each).
ReplyDeleteAnon Apr 30 5:40PM > I've not been to My Lai myself. As you may know, it was a very tragic place during the Vietnam War when more than 500 Viet civilians were massacred by American military. Those who have visited My Lai report that it is a rather emotional trip for them.
ReplyDeleteRE: My Lai
ReplyDeleteThey were not just civilians, they were not just unarmed.
They were women and children - totally unarmed, totally defenceless.
What justifications were there for them to be massacred in cold blood by armed solders war or not?
That's right, Anon 5:40PM. The My Lai massacre was totally unjustifiable. It was just plain mass murder and will remain forever as an event of shame for the US military.
ReplyDeleteWasn't Da Nang where American military forces had a base during the war?
ReplyDelete