Back from the Imperial City. Pretty cool. The grounds are humongous, and much of it is in disrepair. This was the North Vietnamese Army's furthest incursion into the south, and they held it for thirty-some days, before we bombed the crap out of them following the Tet offensive. So, a lot of the damage was done by our bombs, but mostly I think it's just disrepair. I promised Marjorie a place like it, someday.
Forgot to mention -- one of the money changers (I think the one at the airport on the way in) gave me a counterfeit 50,000 dong note (worth about $3.33), which was not noticed until I tried to spend it. The paper is splitting, like the front and back were printed separately and glued together, and the watermark picture of Ho Chi Minh looks different. It'll be a nice thing for the scrapbook.
Wednesday, December 18, 2002
Greetings from Hue'. We flew in relatively uneventfully today. Our head colds didn't give us the head-in-a-clamp effect they sometimes do when flying.
Only walked around a little bit. Nice weather here, and a less hectic pace, which is nice. We'll hit the Imperial City tomorrow. The thing we're most looking forward to, though, is clean laundry in the morning. Hooray! I'll spare you the gruesome details of the laundry situation. You have no idea.
In the gift section of the Hanoi airport today, amidst all the hooray-for-the-worker's-revolution books and others about Vietnam culture, I noticed a John Steinbeck book translated into Vietnamese. I had to ask the clerk for a translation of the title. He said, "The East of the Garden. No, The East of Heaven's Garden." Interesting.
Only walked around a little bit. Nice weather here, and a less hectic pace, which is nice. We'll hit the Imperial City tomorrow. The thing we're most looking forward to, though, is clean laundry in the morning. Hooray! I'll spare you the gruesome details of the laundry situation. You have no idea.
In the gift section of the Hanoi airport today, amidst all the hooray-for-the-worker's-revolution books and others about Vietnam culture, I noticed a John Steinbeck book translated into Vietnamese. I had to ask the clerk for a translation of the title. He said, "The East of the Garden. No, The East of Heaven's Garden." Interesting.
Tuesday, December 17, 2002
WAH! We are both sick today with a head cold we probably caught in Sapa. And we have to fly (to Hue). And we can't get a hotel reservation on the island we want to go to for xmas (Phu Quoc). And Mark accidentily used the tap water to brush his teeth today, getting a whole new influx of bacteria in his mouth (yum!) Life sucks right now. I want to go back to S'pore.
On a brighter note, Hue is supposed to be rather nice, as is Hoi An nearby.
On a brighter note, Hue is supposed to be rather nice, as is Hoi An nearby.
Another strange sighting on the streets here in Hanoi: the karaoke bar across the street from our hotel has what appears to be a small black bear in formaldehyde as its street display. Inside they seem to have other animals pickling in large jars. Really distasteful. Last night on the way back from Sapa we ate at a place that had a bottle of snake wine on display, which had a splayed-out cobra inside the bottle.
Went to the infamous Hoa Lo prison today, popularly known as the "Hanoi Hilton", of Vietnam war POW prison fame. It is now a museum. Its focus is on the tortures inflicted by the French occupying forces (who built it) on the Vietnamese people. There's a small section on its use during the "American war" to hold American POWs, and no mention is made -- at all -- of the tortures inflicted. In fact there's a room showing pictures of prisoners being treated well and an inscription that claims that all the Americans were treated according to the Geneva convention, despite the "untold crimes" we commited on their people. They even had a volleyball net that was supposedly used by the Americans during their internment. Chyeah right! Senator John McCain, what an exaggerator. He was playing volleyball the whole time.
Went to the infamous Hoa Lo prison today, popularly known as the "Hanoi Hilton", of Vietnam war POW prison fame. It is now a museum. Its focus is on the tortures inflicted by the French occupying forces (who built it) on the Vietnamese people. There's a small section on its use during the "American war" to hold American POWs, and no mention is made -- at all -- of the tortures inflicted. In fact there's a room showing pictures of prisoners being treated well and an inscription that claims that all the Americans were treated according to the Geneva convention, despite the "untold crimes" we commited on their people. They even had a volleyball net that was supposedly used by the Americans during their internment. Chyeah right! Senator John McCain, what an exaggerator. He was playing volleyball the whole time.
Monday, December 16, 2002
It occurs to us that we've seen no evidence at all that we're in a Communist country right now. If we were dropped here without any prior knowledge, we would think it was all just capitalist. The green military uniforms and the red flag make it look Communist, but there's nothing else that we've noticed.
We keep re-meeting fellow travelers and tour guides. It's like God is running out of extras in the movie of our lives.
Took the noisy, bumpy night train back from Lao Cai/Sapa last night, and arrived back here in Hanoi at around 5 am. Strange walking around the streets so early. Almost tranquil (but still stinky). Flying off to Hue tomorrow...
We keep re-meeting fellow travelers and tour guides. It's like God is running out of extras in the movie of our lives.
Took the noisy, bumpy night train back from Lao Cai/Sapa last night, and arrived back here in Hanoi at around 5 am. Strange walking around the streets so early. Almost tranquil (but still stinky). Flying off to Hue tomorrow...
Sunday, December 15, 2002
CELEBRITY GOSSIP You heard it hear first! Even in Vietnam we're in touch with celebrity dirt. Apparently Tim Roth ( Pulp Fiction, Reservior Dogs, Four Rooms..) is in Nha Trang filming a movie called "a beautiful place" or "a beautiful day" something like that. Anyway, he's apparently been hooking up with a different girl every night (he's married). A couple of the travellers we met in Halong Bay shared this tidbit with us and said some guy was going to try to sell the story to one of the British news-rags.
Still among the H'mong. I was embellishing the last blog last night when all the power in the city went out. Such is the way of life out in the middle of nowhere. Anyway, here are some random bits to fill in some of the gaps:
At one point some little H'mong boys yelled "Peh bah bah!" to us. We asked the guide what this meant, and it turns out they were saying "Pen! Bon Bon!". Lots of people give out pens or candies to the village children.
Our dinner last night at a restaurant in Sapa: two large bowls of noodle soup, stir fried chicken with peppers, fried noodles with mushrooms, garlic, and vegetables, a glass of Sapa wine (nasty, tasted like cooking sherry), and a Schweppes soda water. The total: 74000 dong, or a little less than $5.00.
After finishing up Clavell's "Tai Pan" and Hornsby's "High Fidelity", I traded in a few books a traveler's cafe for Graham Greene's The Quiet American. Marjorie laughed at me -- it seems to be such a cliche in the backpacker culture here to read it.
This is the hotel we stayed in last night. Not exactly rustic but then we've been OD'ing on rustic lately.
Apparently people selling goods in the market think we can't see their products unless they point to them. It's kind of surreal, all the attention you get. Makes you feel almost like a celebrity.
Advice for visitors: we were overcharged last night for internet service at Green Sapa. The cafe at the Auberge Hotel in Sapa is a much better place.
At our homestay, we didn't interact with the family much. Our guide told us we were going to do dinner with them, as we were the only guest staying there -- we were a little apprehensive, as we struggled to recall all the various courtesies we had read about (don't point the bottom of your feet at anyone; take food from the shared bowls with the back end of your chopsticks; always pass and accept items with both hands, etc.). But then another couple from Germany showed up, so we had to go eat at the "tourist's table". This was both relieving and disappointing. We did press our guide before we arrived on how to say "Thank you" ("chaw bye", sp?), and they did seem surprised and happy when we said it to them at the end of our stay.
Yes, we have been drinking from the firehose of experience here. Allow me to fill in a few gaps.
As we hadn't really planned on trekking, our shoes and clothes were, shall we say, atypical of most trekkers. Marjorie bought a beautiful velvety jacket in Hanoi before we came out here; as it was her only warm thing she wore it, and was the envy of most villagers. One Black H'mong woman even followed her around a bit to touch it and ask about it. I think she wanted to buy it and sell it to someone else. "H'mong" must be an ancient word meaning "persistent".
My shoes were far too slippery for the task. We had numerous sketchy moments; I ended up sinking my foot in mud the first day, and Marjorie the second. When they terrace the hillside to grow rice, they make a dirt wall between levels to hold the water; we had to walk along these dirt walls numerous times, and they were often six or eight inches wide and slippery with Georgia-like mud, with a pool of water on either side of you. I had only one real fall, and did a butt-slide for a short bit. Some of the paths required such intense concentration that I have no doubt I'll be trekking paths in my sleep tonight.
Uses for bamboo we noticed:
Water pipes
Walls and floors
Firewood
Smoking pipes
Bridges over muddy areas
Ladders
Clotheslines
Fertilizer (after burning)
Mudslide prevention (planting it on hillsides; it grows very quick)
Our guide Tung, on top of everything else, was an excellent chef, and cooked us almost embarassing amounts of food on several occasions. We're still being careful about what we eat though.
By the way, we are now back in the city of Sapa, which we didn't expect to have internet access, but here we are. We stay in a hotel tonight, which has hot water (variably hot, it seems, but still hot) but no room heat -- brrrr. It has a view out over the valley but we're high up enough here (3000+ meters, or over 9000 feet) that we've been in a cloud most of the time, so no real view. We start our trip back tomorrow at around 3:30 pm, when a bus will pick us up and take us to the train station which is about a mile from the China border. We then take the late train back into Hanoi.
We have so many pictures we're dying to show you all. These past two days have been incredible...
As we hadn't really planned on trekking, our shoes and clothes were, shall we say, atypical of most trekkers. Marjorie bought a beautiful velvety jacket in Hanoi before we came out here; as it was her only warm thing she wore it, and was the envy of most villagers. One Black H'mong woman even followed her around a bit to touch it and ask about it. I think she wanted to buy it and sell it to someone else. "H'mong" must be an ancient word meaning "persistent".
My shoes were far too slippery for the task. We had numerous sketchy moments; I ended up sinking my foot in mud the first day, and Marjorie the second. When they terrace the hillside to grow rice, they make a dirt wall between levels to hold the water; we had to walk along these dirt walls numerous times, and they were often six or eight inches wide and slippery with Georgia-like mud, with a pool of water on either side of you. I had only one real fall, and did a butt-slide for a short bit. Some of the paths required such intense concentration that I have no doubt I'll be trekking paths in my sleep tonight.
Uses for bamboo we noticed:
Our guide Tung, on top of everything else, was an excellent chef, and cooked us almost embarassing amounts of food on several occasions. We're still being careful about what we eat though.
By the way, we are now back in the city of Sapa, which we didn't expect to have internet access, but here we are. We stay in a hotel tonight, which has hot water (variably hot, it seems, but still hot) but no room heat -- brrrr. It has a view out over the valley but we're high up enough here (3000+ meters, or over 9000 feet) that we've been in a cloud most of the time, so no real view. We start our trip back tomorrow at around 3:30 pm, when a bus will pick us up and take us to the train station which is about a mile from the China border. We then take the late train back into Hanoi.
We have so many pictures we're dying to show you all. These past two days have been incredible...
IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN SAPA Yesterday we arrived here by night train and then spent four hours hiking through the mountains with a guide. We spent last night in a "home-stay" at one of the villager's homes. Today we hiked three more hours out of the valley then had a jeep bring us back to Sapa. The whole experience was incredible. Hiking throught the muddy mountains was a very Zen experience, no time to think or worry about anything other than what is happening NOW or otherwise end up in the mud.
We saw many of the ethnic minorities of the area including the Black Hmong, who dress beautifully in indigo clothing and persistently try to sell you their wares as you hike up muddy embankments (slipping the whole way, they'll laugh at you for that). We also saw the Red Dzao people, who dress beautifully in red, and also try to sell you their products, but not quite as aggressively. We spent the night with the Dzay people. Barn yard animals aplenty: ducks, chickens (including several very noisy roosters), dogs and puppies, a cat, and of course water buffalo.
Our guide, Tung (means "pine") was so knowledgeable. He showed us the dried up Hemp plant which is a boom crop for the summer, but not for the reasons you think; they use the hemp to make thread (and we saw a woman working the hemp so it's true). He showed us some wild coriander and used it making soup for our dinner. He showed us the 101 uses for bamboo, but I'll let Mark talk about this. Also showed us the amazing ingenuity of these farmers. They really maximize their use of the water and land, including using water to run generators. They place their outhouses on top of the streams (smartly) to carry away waste. Our bathroom last night was a little bamboo hut over the stream with a hole in the middle to squat over. No running water other than the stream and no electricity except what is created by the small generator (which in our house was a bare light bulb, one in each room).
The whole experience was wonderful. The reason I wanted to come here was to see how the other half lived and now I have, to some extent. Having a nice hot shower today was a luxury I don't take for granted. So is good medical care...a lot of the kids had hacking coughs, runny noses, and possible eye infections. That said, they are definitely beautiful people, much more attractive than the folks we've seen in Hanoi. And they are extremely fit. They must be to hike through the mountains every day like they do.
The scenery should be mentioned as well. It's like the images on every guidebook for Southeast Asia and China, rice patties on hillsides with water buffalo munching away....Amazing.
At the end of our journey we were "adopted" by a kitten (like Katherine for Mom, Dad, and Susan). She begged food from us, she was just skin and bone...and after acquiring a full belly from "dropped" ramen, she took refuge on my lap and under my shirt. If we had found her in Atlanta there's no doubt we'd have a cat now.
I'd like to say more, but Mark is looking over my shoulder waiting for his turn to blog, so.......
We saw many of the ethnic minorities of the area including the Black Hmong, who dress beautifully in indigo clothing and persistently try to sell you their wares as you hike up muddy embankments (slipping the whole way, they'll laugh at you for that). We also saw the Red Dzao people, who dress beautifully in red, and also try to sell you their products, but not quite as aggressively. We spent the night with the Dzay people. Barn yard animals aplenty: ducks, chickens (including several very noisy roosters), dogs and puppies, a cat, and of course water buffalo.
Our guide, Tung (means "pine") was so knowledgeable. He showed us the dried up Hemp plant which is a boom crop for the summer, but not for the reasons you think; they use the hemp to make thread (and we saw a woman working the hemp so it's true). He showed us some wild coriander and used it making soup for our dinner. He showed us the 101 uses for bamboo, but I'll let Mark talk about this. Also showed us the amazing ingenuity of these farmers. They really maximize their use of the water and land, including using water to run generators. They place their outhouses on top of the streams (smartly) to carry away waste. Our bathroom last night was a little bamboo hut over the stream with a hole in the middle to squat over. No running water other than the stream and no electricity except what is created by the small generator (which in our house was a bare light bulb, one in each room).
The whole experience was wonderful. The reason I wanted to come here was to see how the other half lived and now I have, to some extent. Having a nice hot shower today was a luxury I don't take for granted. So is good medical care...a lot of the kids had hacking coughs, runny noses, and possible eye infections. That said, they are definitely beautiful people, much more attractive than the folks we've seen in Hanoi. And they are extremely fit. They must be to hike through the mountains every day like they do.
The scenery should be mentioned as well. It's like the images on every guidebook for Southeast Asia and China, rice patties on hillsides with water buffalo munching away....Amazing.
At the end of our journey we were "adopted" by a kitten (like Katherine for Mom, Dad, and Susan). She begged food from us, she was just skin and bone...and after acquiring a full belly from "dropped" ramen, she took refuge on my lap and under my shirt. If we had found her in Atlanta there's no doubt we'd have a cat now.
I'd like to say more, but Mark is looking over my shoulder waiting for his turn to blog, so.......
Friday, December 13, 2002
One more quick check-in before we head out for the three day tour. Marjorie is (again) blogging at the same time so there might be repeat information.
We checked out the Temple of Literature today, which was mentioned, infamously, by Jane Fonda in her radio address to American troops as a place she visited here in the north. It was a beautiful, peaceful respite from the hectic pace of Hanoi. I'm used to "history" in America that dates back at most a few hundred years; this place was founded a thousand years ago. Hard to fathom.
Everything here is cheap, and the people are poor enough that you don't want to haggle. Still, I bought another warm sweater for our Sapa trip today; priced at 120000 dong, I offered 100000, and she accepted. That's about $6.50. We also bought groceries at the first grocery store we've seen (it was still tiny). We got a number of things -- two cans of Pringles, 9 bags of cashew nuts, some chocolates, toothpaste, a toothbrush, two bottled waters, some Chips Ahoy, and one or two other things. The total: 84000 dong, or a little more than $5. One could live here very cheap, if one could take it.
There is no McDonald's in Hanoi! First city of any size I've even been where that was the case. Plenty of Western products though.
We checked out the Temple of Literature today, which was mentioned, infamously, by Jane Fonda in her radio address to American troops as a place she visited here in the north. It was a beautiful, peaceful respite from the hectic pace of Hanoi. I'm used to "history" in America that dates back at most a few hundred years; this place was founded a thousand years ago. Hard to fathom.
Everything here is cheap, and the people are poor enough that you don't want to haggle. Still, I bought another warm sweater for our Sapa trip today; priced at 120000 dong, I offered 100000, and she accepted. That's about $6.50. We also bought groceries at the first grocery store we've seen (it was still tiny). We got a number of things -- two cans of Pringles, 9 bags of cashew nuts, some chocolates, toothpaste, a toothbrush, two bottled waters, some Chips Ahoy, and one or two other things. The total: 84000 dong, or a little more than $5. One could live here very cheap, if one could take it.
There is no McDonald's in Hanoi! First city of any size I've even been where that was the case. Plenty of Western products though.
Better Day We went to the Temple Of Literature today, which was very nice and got us away from the old quarter in Hanoi and into some nicer/cleaner areas of town.
As Mark said we'll be in Sapa for the next few days. Night train tonight, then trek for four hours tomorrow, spend tomorrow night in a "house stay", then trek two hours Sunday, then a free afternoon and spend the night in a hotel. Monday morning will be free then we'll take a night train back to Hanoi for one more day in Hanoi before flying off to Hue. Sapa's supposed to be fantastic so hopefully we'll enjoy ourselves. We're slowly starting to get over our initial culture shock, and therefore more likely to have a good time. We've discovered ways to take little breaks from the insanity and intensity of the streets so, unlike yesterday, I think we'll be able to manage three more weeks here. Yesterday I wasn't so sure.
As Mark said we'll be in Sapa for the next few days. Night train tonight, then trek for four hours tomorrow, spend tomorrow night in a "house stay", then trek two hours Sunday, then a free afternoon and spend the night in a hotel. Monday morning will be free then we'll take a night train back to Hanoi for one more day in Hanoi before flying off to Hue. Sapa's supposed to be fantastic so hopefully we'll enjoy ourselves. We're slowly starting to get over our initial culture shock, and therefore more likely to have a good time. We've discovered ways to take little breaks from the insanity and intensity of the streets so, unlike yesterday, I think we'll be able to manage three more weeks here. Yesterday I wasn't so sure.
Cripes, is internet access here slow. Good thing it's only something like $0.33 per hour. Don't think we'd even be able to upload pictures anyway at the bandwidth we get here.
Change of plans -- we're taking a tour of Sapa for the next two (maybe three) nights, starting with a night train out tonight. The tour is through HandSpan travel. We're going to sleep in a villagers house! At least, that's what they tell us. It will likely get changed around. We'll also be trekking for four hours the first day, two the second. Most mountain villagers don't have internet access, I think, so we won't be checking back in for a few days. Wish us luck!
Change of plans -- we're taking a tour of Sapa for the next two (maybe three) nights, starting with a night train out tonight. The tour is through HandSpan travel. We're going to sleep in a villagers house! At least, that's what they tell us. It will likely get changed around. We'll also be trekking for four hours the first day, two the second. Most mountain villagers don't have internet access, I think, so we won't be checking back in for a few days. Wish us luck!
Thursday, December 12, 2002
Things are brighter by the light of day Even with a hangover (due to a bottle of french bordeaux last night), things seem better today. We're getting better at ignoring the constant street attention (people constantly coming up to you trying to sell postcards, fruit, travel guides, anything) and have mastered crossing the road without flinching. We found a lovely place to eat brunch today (banana pancakes for me, french toast for Mark) and plan on booking a tour out to town today (maybe to one of the nearby national parks). We realized, after I put down the crackpipe, that we are not flying out on Monday, but are leaving Wednesday (the 18), so we have more time here than we realized.
For anyone interested the practice of serving up dogs as dinner is still ongoing in Hanoi and the surrounding area. Apparently they breed the dogs, keep them as pets for awhile, and then eat them. Look out Beau and Sadie! Dog meat is Thit cho or Thit cay. Also on the menu in many places are snakes, bat, muntjac, and frog. Unfortunately I don't know the Vietnamese words for these items. Comfortingly we've found a nice vegetarian restaurant in Hanoi.
Our hotel last night was rather nice and only $12. However the owner is a bit pushy and keeps trying to get us to book tours with him, but after our Halong bay experience, we'll be sticking to the tour bookers highly recommended by Lonely planet.
For anyone interested the practice of serving up dogs as dinner is still ongoing in Hanoi and the surrounding area. Apparently they breed the dogs, keep them as pets for awhile, and then eat them. Look out Beau and Sadie! Dog meat is Thit cho or Thit cay. Also on the menu in many places are snakes, bat, muntjac, and frog. Unfortunately I don't know the Vietnamese words for these items. Comfortingly we've found a nice vegetarian restaurant in Hanoi.
Our hotel last night was rather nice and only $12. However the owner is a bit pushy and keeps trying to get us to book tours with him, but after our Halong bay experience, we'll be sticking to the tour bookers highly recommended by Lonely planet.
For visitors to Hanoi, I offer the following words of advice:
Advice #1: When at a restaurant, ask to use the restroom (WC) first, because it will usually involve you going through the kitchen, which you can then scope out.
Advice #2: Ignore Advice #1, or you'll go hungry.
Actually, we found what seems to be a rather nice travel cafe, that seems to go all the others one better -- HandSpan travel. Clean, spacious, and friendly. And with full-sized seats -- nearly everywhere in town uses kindergarten-sized chairs, for some reason. Must have something to do with the fact that squatting seems to be the official Vietnamese stance (and I'm not just talking about the toilets). For some reason, you see people squatting around everywhere.
We've decreed today to be Casual Day. We're off to do some more casual things.
Advice #1: When at a restaurant, ask to use the restroom (WC) first, because it will usually involve you going through the kitchen, which you can then scope out.
Advice #2: Ignore Advice #1, or you'll go hungry.
Actually, we found what seems to be a rather nice travel cafe, that seems to go all the others one better -- HandSpan travel. Clean, spacious, and friendly. And with full-sized seats -- nearly everywhere in town uses kindergarten-sized chairs, for some reason. Must have something to do with the fact that squatting seems to be the official Vietnamese stance (and I'm not just talking about the toilets). For some reason, you see people squatting around everywhere.
We've decreed today to be Casual Day. We're off to do some more casual things.
Ha Long... Ha Long must we sing this song... Back in Hanoi now after spending last night in the Ha Long Bay vicinity. We had signed up to sleep on a boat on the bay, but we were informed -- after we were on the bus on the way there -- that for some police reason or other, that would not be possible. Uh huh. This sort of thing is apparently par for the course with tour companies in Vietnam. They would have to put us up in a hotel instead.
The bay itself is just magnificent. We took lots of pictures, and even some short movies, but unfortunately, the internet cafes here have ancient computers without USB connections, so I won't be able to upload any until we get home. Disappointing.
They took us onto one of the islands in the bay that had a gigantic cave inside, with countless formations of dripped limestone. Very cool. And (for a small extra fee) some young boys from the local floating village (!!!) took us on their boat through a tunnel into a small basin where we were surrounded on all sides by 500 ft cliffs.
They put us up for the night in on Cat Ba Island, a seedy island town that's about how you'd expect a tourist resort run by communists to be. Our hotel room had the following nice features:
A sopping wet roll of toilet paper.
A used and very dirty comb.
Leftover food wrappers from the last tenants.
A door of lightly frosted glass, which I guess eliminates the need for Soviet-era spy cameras.
We had a number of drinks with some fellow travelers at the Flightless Bird a few doors down from our hotel, then passed out. Today we breakfasted (baguettes with cheese, a banana, and tea), boated back (even more magnificent in the sunlight after the trip out with overcast skies), lunched (some fish dish; some chicken dish; steamed bok choi, tomatoes and cucumbers [avoided], french fries, spring rolls, rice), then took the van back into Hanoi. Tomorrow we have a relaxing day, then will probably do the Perfume Pagoda on Saturday.
I cannot stress enough what a chaotic place Hanoi is. The dust, the dirt, the waves of people clogging the streets, the smells (good and bad), the sounds. The other day we hung out our hotel room and listened to see if we could hear a full second without a horn beeping. We gave up after a few minutes. We have adjusted, however, and can now cross the street like old pros.
The bay itself is just magnificent. We took lots of pictures, and even some short movies, but unfortunately, the internet cafes here have ancient computers without USB connections, so I won't be able to upload any until we get home. Disappointing.
They took us onto one of the islands in the bay that had a gigantic cave inside, with countless formations of dripped limestone. Very cool. And (for a small extra fee) some young boys from the local floating village (!!!) took us on their boat through a tunnel into a small basin where we were surrounded on all sides by 500 ft cliffs.
They put us up for the night in on Cat Ba Island, a seedy island town that's about how you'd expect a tourist resort run by communists to be. Our hotel room had the following nice features:
We had a number of drinks with some fellow travelers at the Flightless Bird a few doors down from our hotel, then passed out. Today we breakfasted (baguettes with cheese, a banana, and tea), boated back (even more magnificent in the sunlight after the trip out with overcast skies), lunched (some fish dish; some chicken dish; steamed bok choi, tomatoes and cucumbers [avoided], french fries, spring rolls, rice), then took the van back into Hanoi. Tomorrow we have a relaxing day, then will probably do the Perfume Pagoda on Saturday.
I cannot stress enough what a chaotic place Hanoi is. The dust, the dirt, the waves of people clogging the streets, the smells (good and bad), the sounds. The other day we hung out our hotel room and listened to see if we could hear a full second without a horn beeping. We gave up after a few minutes. We have adjusted, however, and can now cross the street like old pros.
The reality fails to meet with the fantasy as things often do in real life. Ha Long bay was rather nice but Vietnam, so far, is largely disappointing (and frankly the dirtiest place I've ever seen). I imagined that by going here, Mark and I would automatically graduate into a "higher level" of traveler. That's partly true and largely not... we've experienced a third world country now, and somewhat uncomfortable travel, but I don't see myself going out of the way to be this uncomfortable again.
The discomfort is hard to pinpoint as well: You constantly feel as though someone is trying to shake you down, and often you are correct. You worry about your bags when you leave your room, and rightly so. You are constantly inundated with startling sights, sounds, and smells, it's sensory overload to the full extent possible (minus the sniper though Dad). This said it's not all bad either: It's amazingly easy to meet really interesting, very friendly people, often other travelers (we kinda stand out in the crowd), and you have an immediate bond with these people because it's so crazy all around you. Also, you attain maximum alertness most of the day simply because you need to be in order to cross the road without dying. You feel ALIVE, because you are so alert, but it's exhausting after awhile and honestly if we don't find some respite here, it will be a very draining experience.
We've heard from a couple of different people that Hoi An is really nice, so the plan at the moment is to fly to Hue on Monday, then slowly make our way down to Hoi An, stay there until the 27 or 28 and then fly to Ho Chi Minh city for the last few days of our trip. There's supposed to be a pretty nice beach in Hoi An, and it seems to be better (by reputation) then Nha Trang of Phan Tiet.
Keep the comments coming. We love hearing from you all
The discomfort is hard to pinpoint as well: You constantly feel as though someone is trying to shake you down, and often you are correct. You worry about your bags when you leave your room, and rightly so. You are constantly inundated with startling sights, sounds, and smells, it's sensory overload to the full extent possible (minus the sniper though Dad). This said it's not all bad either: It's amazingly easy to meet really interesting, very friendly people, often other travelers (we kinda stand out in the crowd), and you have an immediate bond with these people because it's so crazy all around you. Also, you attain maximum alertness most of the day simply because you need to be in order to cross the road without dying. You feel ALIVE, because you are so alert, but it's exhausting after awhile and honestly if we don't find some respite here, it will be a very draining experience.
We've heard from a couple of different people that Hoi An is really nice, so the plan at the moment is to fly to Hue on Monday, then slowly make our way down to Hoi An, stay there until the 27 or 28 and then fly to Ho Chi Minh city for the last few days of our trip. There's supposed to be a pretty nice beach in Hoi An, and it seems to be better (by reputation) then Nha Trang of Phan Tiet.
Keep the comments coming. We love hearing from you all
Tuesday, December 10, 2002
Back in the same place this evening for another entry... We just walked around much of the day; just soaking it all in is tourism enough. We did go see water puppetry tonight, which was pretty cool. I thought the accompanying band was amazing. It's not every day you see Vietnamese water puppetry.
We continued a tradition tonight, by having Indian food. We've now had Indian food in six countries!
Disturbing sight of the day: I knew they cut people's hair out on the streets, but I was not prepared for... STREET DENTISTRY! I kid you not.
Tomorrow we take a tour to Ha Long Bay, where we'll be spending the night on a boat.
We continued a tradition tonight, by having Indian food. We've now had Indian food in six countries!
Disturbing sight of the day: I knew they cut people's hair out on the streets, but I was not prepared for... STREET DENTISTRY! I kid you not.
Tomorrow we take a tour to Ha Long Bay, where we'll be spending the night on a boat.
Monday, December 09, 2002
WE ARE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE. Holy jeez... In an internet cafe in Hanoi now. This place'll totally make your head spin. Marjorie's next to me blogging so some of this information may be repeated.
We got off to a bad start when checking in on the plane. I convinced Marjorie not to check her bag -- just to take it carry-on -- not realizing that she had a Swiss army knife and a pair of scissors. So they tried to confiscate them, until we convinced them to let us check the bag anyway.
We stopped over in Ho Chi Minh City on the way to Hanoi, where we went through customs and changed money. The airport is pretty chaotic. It's 15,300 dong to the dollar, so when I changed $100.00, I ended up with a huge fat wad of money. That might come in handy if we find ourselves somewhere without toilet paper...
The drive into town from the airport in a minivan took a year from my life. Well, it's not really that bad, once you realize there's a system to it, but the drivers here pretty much honk their horns constantly, and bikes and mopeds are ubiquitous and dart in and out constantly. Often you'll see them just going the wrong way, against traffic.
Our hotel room is Western and comfortable, except for the bed, which is hard enough to bruise you if you jump in too fast.
We walked around the block last night after we arrived, and realized that one block of culture shock was plenty enough for a first night. Just down the street a woman was selling some sort of birds stuffed in discarded beer cans, their little feet being the only thing sticking out. We bought a few beers from a vendor with black teeth, presumably from chewing betel nut.
This morning we passed a woman with one of those over-the-shoulder "scales of justice" sort of carriers, with a half-dead bloody duck on it. Vendors and minibike cab drivers accost us pretty much constantly. More to follow soon...
We got off to a bad start when checking in on the plane. I convinced Marjorie not to check her bag -- just to take it carry-on -- not realizing that she had a Swiss army knife and a pair of scissors. So they tried to confiscate them, until we convinced them to let us check the bag anyway.
We stopped over in Ho Chi Minh City on the way to Hanoi, where we went through customs and changed money. The airport is pretty chaotic. It's 15,300 dong to the dollar, so when I changed $100.00, I ended up with a huge fat wad of money. That might come in handy if we find ourselves somewhere without toilet paper...
The drive into town from the airport in a minivan took a year from my life. Well, it's not really that bad, once you realize there's a system to it, but the drivers here pretty much honk their horns constantly, and bikes and mopeds are ubiquitous and dart in and out constantly. Often you'll see them just going the wrong way, against traffic.
Our hotel room is Western and comfortable, except for the bed, which is hard enough to bruise you if you jump in too fast.
We walked around the block last night after we arrived, and realized that one block of culture shock was plenty enough for a first night. Just down the street a woman was selling some sort of birds stuffed in discarded beer cans, their little feet being the only thing sticking out. We bought a few beers from a vendor with black teeth, presumably from chewing betel nut.
This morning we passed a woman with one of those over-the-shoulder "scales of justice" sort of carriers, with a half-dead bloody duck on it. Vendors and minibike cab drivers accost us pretty much constantly. More to follow soon...
WE'RE IN VIETNAM!!!! It's crazy here. Every guidebook printed warns you about the roads, but you've just got to experience it yourself to believe it. Horns honking constantly, mad chaos all around. A walk across the street is a blind leap of faith everytime. The hotel's okay, except for an extremely hard bed, but nice hot water tap.
Hanoi is totally intimidating. We got in after dark last night and wanted to explore, but got about a block in each direction before wimping out, buying some tiger beer, and retreating to the room to watch MTV Asia (foo fighters in Hanoi).
Thanks so much for all your comments!!!
We miss you all. Sorry if I haven't replied to an e-mail (mom, jen...) you pay by the minute for internet access and we're going for the maximum audience. No time for spell check either, so I apologize.
We're at a travel cafe now, we'll probably book a tour for Halong bay. Maybe go to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum and water puppets today.
We'll write more when we can.
Hanoi is totally intimidating. We got in after dark last night and wanted to explore, but got about a block in each direction before wimping out, buying some tiger beer, and retreating to the room to watch MTV Asia (foo fighters in Hanoi).
Thanks so much for all your comments!!!
We miss you all. Sorry if I haven't replied to an e-mail (mom, jen...) you pay by the minute for internet access and we're going for the maximum audience. No time for spell check either, so I apologize.
We're at a travel cafe now, we'll probably book a tour for Halong bay. Maybe go to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum and water puppets today.
We'll write more when we can.
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