Hanoi, Vietnam

After returning to Vietnam (the night train gets you in around 5am) we went back to the hotel to sleep a bit and to get some breakfast. After that, however, there was no rest for the wicked. It was time to do a city tour of Hanoi and actually learn a little bit about Vietnam culture.
We started our tour with a visit to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and museum. The security to get into the mausoleum was crazy. You could not carry any big bags (think bigger than a small fanny pack), you had to take your sunglasses and hats off; you couldn't walk with your hands in your pockets or behind you. You had to walk in twos and follow a red carpet on the floor. It was crazy because there were armed guards (with bayonets and automatic rifles) every couple of feet. You could not walk very slow because they kept you going through the highly protected room. It is actually kind of sad because I learned that Ho Chi Minh actually wanted to be cremated and laid to rest that way, but the government had other ideas.
The compound where he stays and where the museum is actually has a bunch of other stuff as well. It contains the house in which he lived and worked and the cars he drove. It was kind of cool to see and our guide (Ta - pronounced ti - the same guide we had for Sapa) has a great amount of information and really made the experience a learning one.
The museum was an interesting thing to see. It talks a bunch about Ho Chi Minh's philosophy, how he spoke, how he had a 99% approval rating in Vietnam (at least Northern Vietnam) and it told the story of the Vietnam war from the North Vietnamese side. It was very interesting to see Americans portrayed as the aggressors and as the enemy when I have grown up learning the exact opposite. There were some very interesting articles that came out when the war ended and how happy they were that the Vietnamese were victorious. A very odd perspective to see.
One of the most interesting things was to see what the most important vehicle for the North Vietnamese was during the war. There was a bicycle laden with faux guns and rice and tons of other things. It looked like it should not have been able to move because it was so over burdened, but it was how the N. Vietnamese got the supplies they needed. Crazy to think that the bicycle played such an important role and that the Ho Chi Minh trail was such an important means of transportation.
After the museum and all we went to the first university in Hanoi (started in the 11th century). Again Ta was very knowledgeable on the subject and it was nice to see the history of education and hear about the importance that is still placed upon it today. Many of the buildings are re-done (due to bombings and weather) but you still get the idea of it all. One more trip before lunch found us at a temple in the middle of one of the lakes in Hanoi. There is a red bridge that takes you out to the temple island and it is pretty cool to see. (I will try to put names to all of this later, but can not remember them at this time.)
Lunch was good and big (as usual) but it afforded us some good relaxation time. Then it was off to do a one hour bicycle tour of the city. We thought it was going to be us riding the bikes, but we were wrong. We were driven around the city on bicycles, but it was pretty cool to see the different streets that they have. Then it was off to the water puppet show. That was an interesting one, but it is hard to explain on a blog.
After walking around the night market Katie and I decided to call it a night. We got up the next morning and took it easy. We walked around another market for a while and then got some Pho (ok it was actually Bun, but the same idea). I had to get back to the hotel so I could make it to the airport so we took motorbikes. It was actually really fun and the driving was not as crazy as I had once thought. Ta was at the hotel when we got there so I ran up to the room to get my stuff, said my sad goodbyes to Katie and Patrick and hopped in the car. The next adventure is to meet up with Rob in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Sapa, Vietnam

Sapa is up in the mountains of Vietnam (very near the Chinese border - I heard that it was only about 7km away from the border of China, but don't know that for sure). After an over night train from Hanoi we arrived in Sapa around 5:30am. The car from the hotel where we stayed picked us up at the train station in Lao Cai (I am going to misspell many village names in this so just go by the way they sound instead - I will try to get the spellings correct at a later date) and drove us to our hotel. The drive was about an hour and 15 minutes long and up into the mountains.
As we climbed up into the mountains we were going past beautiful hill sides covered in stepped rice paddies. The green of the hills mixed with the steppes made for some breath taking scenery. As we would round a corner more would come up ahead of us. A sight to see in and of itself. The road was narrow, but had enough room for two trucks to pass if necessary, and pretty windy. It was kind of a blur of green scenery that was amazing.
We arrived at the hotel to find that it was one of the only safe "bases"in the Sapa area. As soon as you got out of the van you were mobbed by women (and young girls) asking you to buy something from them. At this point we were still sleepy and wanted to get our room so we did not notice all that much. This would change later. The room was ready at 7am when we got there so we got to check in and chill for an hour or two before heading off to a good breakfast (don't you love it when hotels provide a complimentary buffet brekkie?). The room was amazing with wood floors, our own private veranda that looked out over the mountains and a bathroom that was massive. Much more than any of us were expecting and much cushier than the train we had just come off of.
Around 9am we headed out to Cat Cat village (one of the local H'mong - one of the local "minority" peoples of Sapa) to see what it was like. Little did we know that we were going to be followed for much of the 6km walk by some of the ladies wanting to sell us stuff. The village itself was an interesting mix of old and new (as were all of the villages). The people were dressed in hand made clothing that they made themselves (we were told they even made the thread out of a local tree and dyed it with indigo and other extracts) and many families lived in one or two room "shacks"on the side of the hills. They were either weavers of rice paddy farmers (or both), still cooked with pit fires, and seemed to be very into the traditional life. Upon closer examination, however, you could spot the cell phones, satellite dishes, TV's, DVD players, and sometimes a karaoke machine. Like I said, it was an interesting mix of old and new.
After Cat Cat it was off to another 7-8 course meal (except for breakfast, I don't think we at less than 7 courses at any one meal and all of the meals were included in our trip cost - good deal). Then it was off to see the orchid gardens on the top of another hill near Sapa. Although the orchids were not in bloom (not the right time of year) there were plenty of other flowers to look at and there were some great views of the city. We hung around there for a while and then went to the outdoor market to see what kind of things that had to offer.
Markets in all of Vietnam are pretty crazy. The isles are fairly narrow and there are tons of people, vendor booths, motorbikes and bicycles trying to get through. The amount of fruits and vegetables are amazing and we saw some very interesting things to drink (wine that had snakes and scorpions and spiders in the bottles - crazy and teas that our guide referred to as the drink that "man drink, woman happy." I even saw a skinned and roasted dog (with head not attached, but it the same vicinity). Like I said it is an interesting experience, but one that I would not have missed.
During the beginning of our first day we were told by a foreigner that we would not go anywhere alone and that we would always be in a group. What he meant was that from the moment you step outside the hotel to the moment you step back inside you are constantly asked (and many times followed) by people who want to sell you something (mostly women and small girls). We got very used to the words "you buy from me?" and many other ploys to try to get you to buy. After a while it got annoying and Katie and I learned to just say no and keep going.
Patrick, on the other hand, could not say no and usually had a group of girls following him around. I think he secretly liked it, but I also think it got to be a little too much and frustrating after a while. It didn't, however, stop him from going to hang out with the cute little girls from different surrounding villages. Actually, the girls are very cute and incredibly friendly (when they are not trying to sell you things). We all got new names from them: Patrick is Ya Loo, Katie is Shun and I am Moo or Moo e Voo (I know I didn't spell any of that correctly). It was pretty fun to hang out with the locals, but when the "you buy from me" started again I usually backed out.
The second day was more visiting villages (Lao Chai, Ta Van) before heading to the train station. It was amazing to see the people transplanting rice and working the fields. The surroundings were amazing and vastly different from Ha Long Bay. I would recommend going to Sapa, but just be warned that you will have to bargain like crazy if you buy anything and get used to feeling like a schmuck when everyone tries to guilt you into buying something and you have to say no. The scenery, however, makes it worth it. And the overnight train from Hanoi and back is not bad either.

Again, can't do captions yet so here goes:

1 and 2 - scenes from Sapa. It was a gorgeous time of year with the rice paddies just starting to sprout.

3 - The three amigos - yes we still like each other.

4 - "You buy from me?" They would pick us out in the van as soon as we rolled up and this is what it looked like after we stepped out. Yes, they all followed us for the 2 or 3km trek through their villages.

5 - I got to pet a water buffalo. Pretty cool and very laid back. Kind of odd to touch and don't get them mad, but way fun.

6 - Another view of the Sapa area.

7 - Getting musical on the overnight train back to Hanoi. The instrument Patrick is playing is customarily played while the guy dances and is supposed to attract women to him - if they play well. Luckily it was not too late yet so the noise (can't say it was quite music) was well received and no banging on the door.

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

We spent a wonderful 4 days and 3 nights on a "junk" boat in Ha Long Bay. After and exciting 3.5 hour drive (I swear there are no traffic laws on most roads and the white lines are more of a suggestion than a rule) from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay City we got on our boat. It was more than any of us were expecting. There were 4 "state rooms" each with their own bathroom, a sun bathing deck (it was used well) a dining area and then a place to store the 4 double kayaks we took with us. There were 5 guests on the boat - our crazy group of 3 and 2 others (George and Markan from Rhode Island) and 6-7 staff to cater to almost every one of our whims - it was kind of weird and kind of nice at the same time. The harbor was pure chaos with "junk" boats and tourists everywhere, but our capitan was excellent and guided our boat without any mishaps.
Side note about the driving in Vietnam. There are motorbikes everywhere (there are 4 million people in Hanoi and 2 million motorbikes). They carry everything from a family of 4 (yes 4 people on the same motorbike) to live pigs (we saw a motorbike with 3 live pigs sleeping on their backs on the back of it going down the highway). It is like constantly playing chicken with other cars, motorbikes, trucks, bicycles, horse drawn carts and pedestrians. Needless to say it is a little nuts. We only had one time where we almost went into the ditch to avoid an oncoming bus that could not merge back into their lane and our driver was incredibly skilled so we were good.
On the way to the Bay we stopped at a pineapple stand where they have mini pineapples (at least by Hawaii's standards) and they skin them for you and leave you with a wonderful pineapple lollipop of sorts. The best part was you could get these great treats for 10,000 dong (about 60 cents). We got them on the way back as well because who can resist fresh shaved pineapple?
Ok, back to the bay. We did everything on the boat including showering, eating, sleeping, hanging out and having some very interesting chats with our guides - Binh, Thach (tyke), and Cuong. The only thing we did not do was kayak and swim. The water was like a warm bath in most places and when it was a little colder than that it was still worth a swim because of the hot days.
The kayaking was amazing and we did between 1 and 4 hours a day (depending on how much travel time we had to do that day) and we explored caves (both ones that you had to use a headlamp in and others where you could see all the way through). It was amazing to go into some of the caves while still on the water. On the other side of some of them was a lagoon where we saw many different species of flowers, trees, fish and birds. We saw eagles, hawks, bats (kind of creepy but pretty cool), tons of fish, coral, sea anenomies, orchids, butterfly trees, ginger flowers, palm trees and so much more. One day we even saw a family of monkeys.
The best part was that we would get done kayaking and then come back to the boat and jump in the water for a swim. And when I say jump, I mean jump. We would jump off the second story of the boat (about 15-20 feet off the water) and then just swim and float around in the water. We even had a later night swim and were in the water as the sun went down - all I can say is amazing!
The food on the boat heeds mentioning. We all thought that we were going to have little meals, but we ended up having huge meals with around 7-9 courses (different plates) for every lunch and dinner. The food was lots of seafood (squid, fish, shrimp, clams) pork, chicken and many vegetables. It was all quite good and I ate more fish than I ever have before (it is a good thing I like seafood). I don't think I have ever eaten that much fried food in my life, but it sure tasted good. Oh yeah, many different kinds of fruit for desert (pineapple, watermellon, dragonfruit - bright pink skin with white flesh and many little black seeds that you eat).
It was crazy to be out on the water each day and none of us wanted to leave on the last day (yesterday), but it was time to head out. I don't think I can describe the beauty of Ha Long Bay, but I will try to get pictures on when I can find a computer that has a USB port.
If you think the driving on the roads is bad you should see the port at Ha Long Bay. We almost got into many accidents coming back into the harbor, but we had a very skilled capitan. Others, however, were not so lucky and we got to see one "junk" boat rear end another with a loud crack. I don't think I can describe the mayhem so you will just have to go to Ha Long Bay and experience it for yourself (I highly recommend this).
After getting back to Hanoi we went to dinner at a nice restaurant. Even though we were hoping to finally have some pho (have not had any yet) we were happy to have the amazing 10 course meal that ensued. Yeah, I am not wanting for any food here. When dinner was over it was off to our over night sleeper train to Lao Cai and then a transfer to Sapa.

Side note - I can not figure out how to do captions yet so here are the pictures explained:

1. Katie and I chilling on the sun deck of our boat.

2. What a junk boat looks like (not our boat).

3 and 4. Pictures of Ha Long Bay.

5. The view from Drum Cave.

6. Kayaking through a cave.

7. Chilling on the beach after a hard couple of hours of kayaking.

First Thoughts On Hanoi

So far I am having a great time in Hanoi. Binh, one of the kayaking tour guides, met me at the airport, helped me get my official visa, showed me where to go through customs, helped me get my bad and then drove me to the hotel - not bad. On the ride over to the hotel (about 45 minutes) he was sharing some of the history of both Hanoi and Vietnam with me.
The houses here are incredibly narrow, but very tall. The reason is the land is so expensive in the area that people will buy a small lot and then build up - not enough land for the amount of people in the country (about 85 million people with 4 million in Hanoi during the day and 3 million at night). Binh was telling me that it could take someone as long as 20 years (sometimes longer) to save enough to buy a house. He says that his family still lives in their apartment together. Six people in the same apartment. The second reason is that the architecture of the buildings makes them act as a chimney which helps circulate air and keep the houses cooler in the summer heat (kind of a cool idea). You also see a lot of Chinese influence in some of the older architecture since the Chinese invaded Vietnam and stayed for 1000 years.
The drive from the airport to the hotel was interesting. We passed many rice fields (they line the roads and can be seen for a long time). There are also a ton of motor bikes on the roads. Binh says it is because cars are too expensive for most people and there is not enough room to park them. The motor bikes are handy because you can bring them into the house with you (that way they won't get stolen).
Along with the motor bikes you see bicycles, walkers (both bare foot and with shoes). I even saw someone walking their cow down the road. Very interesting.
I do like the architecture and am interested in how the old and the new live together (buildings I mean). We leave pretty early tomorrow morning for Ha Long Bay, but we will have a day at the end of the trip so I will try to get some pictures. I am excited for the rest of my time in Vietnam, but for now I am going to go chill out.

Made It

Well, after a really long trip I finally made it to Hanoi. I started this journey around 1pm on the 8th of May and I sit here I believe it is around 1am on the 10th of May. Yes, it did take me at least 36 hours of plane and airport time to get here. So, as you can imagine, I am very happy to be in my hotel and awaiting the Kern kids (they fly in about 4 hours after I did).
I can't complain too much about the trip because I lucked out with my seat assignments. On the 10 hour flight over to Tokyo I had a window seat, but in an exit row of a 777. For those of you who don't know what this means I will explain. What it means is that I did not have any seats in front of me for about two rows (now that is an exit isle done right). I got all of the leg room I could stand and got to watch a couple of movies. "27 Dresses" was cute, but it was a typical chick flick, romantic comedy. I must say that it was entertaining and I would watch it again (no snide comments from the peanut gallery). "Jumper" was entertaining as well, but I don't think I would watch that one again. It was not a bad movie, but I can now say that I have seen it and move on.
After a nice 3.5 hour layover in Tokyo I was on my 6 hour flight to Bangkok. Although I didn't get an exit row seat on this 777, I was bumped up to an isle seat in Economy Plus. Yes, it was still economy, but it came with about 4 extra inches of leg room (a great necessity for someone with my inseam). The flight went somewhat quick and I actually found myself sleeping for part of the flight. Granted it was in 10-15 minute cat naps and some really bad sleep, but I will take what I can get.
The next layover was not so pleasant, but the Bangkok airport is pretty cool. Not only is it huge, but it has glass everywhere and is very modern and pretty. They even provided the first Starbucks sighting of my Asian adventure. Spending 13 hours in any airport with all of your baggage is too much for any sane person. Luckily people frequently question my sanity so I was ok. I didn't sleep, but I did finish the book I had started on the flight over as well as another book. Both were good, but I am sad that I no longer have any books to read - I will have to find someone to trade with.
Bangkok to Hanoi also went off without a hitch and it found me back in the exit row. The plane was smaller but I still had a good extra half an isle to stretch my legs in. Not too bad for the long flights. All in all it was a good trip with little turbulence and very comfy (for a plane that is) seating.
Well, I am going to go back to the room and chill out for a while before the Kern's get here. A shower sounds wonderful right now and I only have to make it another 4 hours before I can go to bed. I think this will be the longest I have stayed up at one time (if you don't count the crappy plane sleep). All in all I will have been up for about 44 hours. Not bad for someone who just turned a whole year older (no, Keith and Joanna, I don't feel really old yet).