Hoi An
Trip Start
Aug 12, 2008
1
6
26
Trip End
Nov 21, 2008
Hoi An,
Vietnam
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Mon 1/Sept:
I woke up Monday morning on an overnight sleeper bus from Hanoi to Hue. They have an open bus ticket that you can purchase from Hanoi to Saigon or vice versa. It was 55 per person, and included 7 different stops, all on a sleeper bus, mostly overnight. So you skipped out of accomodations as well. 55.00 was the inflated price we paid for lack of proper research due to time constraints, and minimal risk for it was from the credible source. I guess security has a high price.
The morning stop in Hue brought me to an unexpected crossroads, the option to visit the DMZ (DeMilitiarized Zone) and only real spot on our trip that I'd have the chance to visit museums and sites of the Vietnam War (or The American War as they call it)
Ahhh, motorbikes!!!
. It was expensive, cause we were in the middle of nowhere when we were sold on it, but I decided to take it, Lauren opted out, b/c we needed a way to have the bus reserved for Hoi An, once it arrived in Hue. I'm glad I went.I'll skip all the history of the war stuff, and leave that for the infinite amount of sources on the matter, and give the perspective of all the spots I saw.
It was pretty intense. I've been to quite a few post-war historic sites in Europe, Hawaii, and the East Coast, but this was of a war much more recent than any of those, so it was just different. We saw the division lines between the North and South, the 17th Parallel, and the bridge over the river that ended up serving as the true divider between the two since the Geneva Convention. The museum in the North was just weird for me to see. I'd never seen old war relics and statues that claim victory over America, ever before. There were literally pictures of American retreat, and statues of American soldiers surrendering that kind of pissed me off. You just don't want to see stuff like that when it denounces your own country. I guess it just reinforced the whole notion that war is a bum deal, and generates an enormous, unfathomable amount of loss all around.
The cool part of the sites was a villlage right on the coast, I can't remember the name, but it's just north of the DMZ
Advanced telephone wiring
. They had devised a series of tunnels, worked into 3 levels with 13 different hidden entrances. We walked through the majority of them, and saw where the Vietnamese were living for over 10 months at a time. They were really impressive considering the tools they had, and it was just crazy to see how they weaved through the underground for so long. On the ground above, there were tons of bomb craters still remaining all around the paths, and right along side the ditches they dug that led from one village to another. They were like mini-canals, and served as the only travelling way from one village to another, for safety from landmines. Not safe from airplane gunfire or bombs, which the were the tunnels' utility. It was amazing to see this little village.This was obviously a very small portion of the palpable Vietnam War, but I'm glad I got to see it. It opened up that era for me, aside from the nostalgic rock n' roll songs I know so well, and countless Vietnam War movies. It's crazy to think our parents lived through that time, and that the lives lost still strike so close to all of our families. It makes you really think about the times we're living in now. I know that the current Iraq War is less covered than the Vietnam War was, and isn't the "Living Room War" that the latter was in the 60's, which is probably for the better. But here we are with the luxuries of travelling all over the world, casually talking about casualties, and our country is currently AT war
postal service
. I know I've fallen into the habit of criticizing my own country about it's current politics and policies, and it's so easy to get caught up in our own worlds of inconveniences and greed, but you see stuff like this, and it makes you appreciate what we are able to do. We are lucky, we are blessed. I'll leave it at that.Hoi An was really cool. It's situated along a little river, that continues out to the nearby beach. The first night, we cruised the night market, ate some streetside Vietnamese cuisine for incredibly cheap (the food in Vietnam is the cheapest we've had so far) prices, and Lauren went shopping. They have some great local tailors, and Lauren had some clothes made, I had some sandals made, which I wasn't too impressed with, they're bulky and don't mold to your feet. I was happy with my Reefs, but they broke. We got some shuteye pretty early.
Tues 2/Sept:
It was hot, and we were ready for the beach. We were having some communication problems with the locals, it was a kind of culture shock dealing with the Vietnamese. There is no sense of "customer service" or need to be tactful when dealing with customers, so for the most part, the women working the information booths and places that we stayed were short with us, and most of the time, we felt like we were being pushy, so didn't get the information we often needed
First night´s dinner, Hanoi
. It was a test in patience to say the least. This was not a problem in Thailand or Laos, so it was kind of annoying at first, but a constant reminder that YOU'RE the visitor. That being said, the locals were extremely friendly, smiling, and made for a good time, it was mostly the people selling stuff that got a little pushy.We rented bikes, opted to not get the motorbike to Lauren's demand, and cruised the streets for the beach. It really was cool, I would think that this spot would be way more impacted, because the neighborhoods were really charming, and the beach was incredibly nice, but it's yet to be completely spoiled, which was refreshing. The beach was endless white sand, and the water much more cool than Halong Bay, as well as a little clearer. I played soccer with the locals, and volleyball in the water, which was uneventful but still fun.
We had a great lunch in a restaurant gem right on the river, it was like a hidden paradise on a decaying dock, but still pulling off it's authentic ambiance and had killer food.
That night we all went out, one of our last nights with the group. Learned some new dance moves, the English girls had some good ones, the Irish took the cake, with Brian standing on the booth in the middle of the club
Bananas? Too Dallah?
. We had some 25 cents draft beer, I bought the first round for a dollar. They got me back at the club, it was a good move. Having good company is key when you're travelling, but the cool thing, is that it's so easy to meet people when you're away. No one knows a lot of people, so the guards are down, and the spirits up. Wed 3/Sept:
We rented bikes again, and cruised the art districts and bookstores. I bought Jack Kerouac's "On the Road", cliche I know, but I've never read it and always wanted to. It's a photocopied book, they're much cheaper in Vietnam. We bought some gifts (nothing for you Erik, I'm gonna get you a postcard from Hemit AFTER I get home), and had our last lunch there, our 2nd stop at Mr. Hung's. "Mr. Hung! I'd yell from my bike on the street everytime we passed, and he'd give a big ol' grin. He made the best won ton's and "cao lau", the local delicacy.
For the most part Hoi An was just relaxing, but seriously after doing overnight busses, boats and planes every other day, or 4 days in a row at some times, you need some down time... and banana shakes. We caught the evening bus on our open bus ticket and headed for Nha Trang, further south. These 5-6 Hour bus rides are becoming no problem. I don't want to speak to soon, but you read a book for a bit, listen to your favorite album, and gaze into the countryside, it's not too bad. Sure I'd rather be stomping around, but when it's 110 degrees out, and there's no breeze, I don't mind a/c and a little road to get some miles in. It beats watching Lauren shop for 2 hours...
Hoi An Day Market:
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k38/misajon/DSC03853.jpg
