Motocycles Everywhere!!!
Trip Start
Sep 05, 2007
1
6
7
Trip End
Oct 06, 2007
Where I stayed
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Thursday, September 20, 2007
After a flight to Hanoi, we checked into a completely wonderful, brand new guesthouse run by some of the friendliest folks I"ve ever met. They treated us like rock stars from the moment we stepped out of the cab. If anyone is planning a trip to Vietnam, Queen of Heart Hotel in the Old Quarter. Anyway, we were both still a little weak on our feet, but we set off to explore the Old Quarter of Hanoi. Quite simply, within a few hours, Hanoi won our hearts and took its place as our favorite city on the trip so far.
The architecture of the Old Quarter is French colonial and the city has remained much the same since the days of French rule. It's beautiful: crumbling, brightly colored, multi-story buildings that sort of tumble in on each other and down into the street. The streets are narrow, twisty, and jam-packed. If you multiplied the streets of New York City by 3, you have a sense of the go-go-go of Hanoi.
We didn't have much of a destination in mind. We simply wandered, letting the life of the city wash over us. It's a writhing, chaotic, wonderful mess. People crammed the sidewalks, sitting on tiny plastic stools, sipping beer and slirping noodle soups. Vendors wound their way through the traffic and the people, selling everything from balloons to pirated guidebooks to fruit. Many of them wore the traditional conical bamboo hats and carried their wares in baskets hung from a pole slung across their shoulders.
And everywhere, everywhere roared motorbikes. It's the main source of transportation, and we have passed our time in restaurants the last few days by staring out the windows to identify things carried on the back of motorbikes. Families of five with a baby or two strapped in the front and a toddler standing between his mothers's legs and holding onto his father's shoulders is a typical sight. We have seen furniture, fruit, barrels, baskets stacked 8 feet high, live animals, dead animals, a weeks worth of grocery shopping in plastic bags hanging off the bike every which way, metal rods, brooms, etc. etc. as these bikes roar down the road, driver carefully weaving, dodging, and honking his way to his destination.
I had been warned by friends before leaving on this trip of the proper way to cross the street in Vietnam. There are no traffic signals, and the traffic does not ease up. Therefore, the only way to cross the street is to simply start walking. "Whatever you do, don't stop walking or they'll hit you," my friend warned me. With her advice in hand, we observed the locals. Sure enough, they don't break stride, setting a slow steady pace that allows the drivers to gauge how fast they're walking and dodge around them. My thought process every time we have to cross a street is something akin to: "Keep walking. Slow and steady. Keep going. Praise to Buddha and Help me, Baby Jesus. Don't stop. OOOOO. Sh@t! That was close..... Made it! PHEW!"
After another day exploring the sights in Hanoi, we booked a two day, one night cruise to Halong Bay. Halong Bay is about 3 hours from Hanoi and a spectacular emerald green bay filled with limestone formations called karsts that jut out of the water, forming 4000 tiny islands. It's worth googling to see pictures; it's one of the most beautiful natural sights I've ever seen.
Anyway, it ended up being only 6 of us on a really nice boat with about 8 staff and crew members looking after us. The other passengers were two British girls and an older couple from Australia. We all got along quite well and had a wonderful time. We kayaked through the bay past fishing boats and other cruisers and through a small cave into a gorgeous, isolated cove. Hawks soared overhead, and we could hear their nestlings chirping high above. After kayaking, we went for a swim, had a huge dinner, and all six of us fell asleep quite early, disappointing the staff when we turned down karaoke. Oh well.
The staff on the boat were funny. They were very nice, but their English was limited. Therefore, everything came out as a command. "Now you will kayak for one hour!" "Now you will eat 4 course dinner!" "Tomorrow you will eat breakfast at 8 o'clock!" They split us up into two tables, one that sat 4 and one that sat 2. We were never sure why they couldn't give us 3 tables for each or 1 big table for everyone. But we confused them thoroughly by having each couple sit at a different table for every meal. Our tour guide, Sinh, was quite upset by it. "I think you don't do this..." he told us. "No, no it's fine, " we assured him. That way all of us got to eat together at least once.
We returned from our cruise in time to pick up some clothes we had tailored before we left. I had a dress and suit made, and Kelly had a suit made. It was a fun experience and ridiculously cheap. Then we hit the airport again from the 2 hour trip to Ho Chi Minh City. Unfortunately, our flight was delayed, and we ended up arriving at our guesthouse last night at 2 o'clock in the morning. We had to wake up the poor deskboy to check in, and we ended up sleeping in this morning instead of getting an early start on our tour here.
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) was a very pleasant surprise. It's a city of 6 million and seems to be a destination for Vietnamese as much as it is for tourists. All day as we toured, we saw many, many Vietnamese school groups and young people visiting the same sights. Rebuilt after the war, it's a modern city of skyscrapers and concrete. But it's also a city of green spaces and wide sidewalks and lots of money. The people here are very fashionable, very sophisticated. We had a truly terrific day today. After a splendid 4 course lunch at a restaurant run by a charity that pulls in street kids and gives them extensive training in restaurant and kitchen management, we went to the War Remnants Museum.
It was a haunting, chilling place--mostly pictures documenting the Vietnam War and the contributing factors that led to it. The museum assigned no blame (except it was very Anti-French) and treated American soldiers and casualties with as much grace and empathy as it did Vietnamese victims. As I sat outside decompressing from the experience, I watched people coming and going. Many stopped for pictures in front of a US Army helicopter that is on the grounds. As I watched, several Americans posed--all very serious. Several Vietnamese also posed--2 girls in traditional dress and a high school aged group. Both groups flashed peace signs and big smiles for the camera. Their hopes and expectations for peace around the world comforted me after the stark atrocities documented at the museum.
We were both in need of something familiar after the museum and decided on ice cream sundaes. After our treat, we did a lot of shopping (we purchased a large new duffel bag to hold all the purchases made on this trip) and returned to the hotel.
After almost a week in Vietnam, I can honestly say this is the only country on the trip so far that I want to return to. Thailand and Laos were so overrun with European and Australian tourists and their attendant cheezy bars, cafes, and tacky souvenoir shops. For the first time, we have escaped the hordes of Westerners and the begging and touting that accompanies them. We have found our reception in Vietnam to be the warmest and most genuine on the trip. The people are incredibly welcoming, friendly, eager to joke and quick to laugh with us. The food is fantastic--the French may be hated over here, but they did leave a fine hallmark with the fresh baguettes, pastries, and appreciation of fine cuisine that have elevated eating here to a sheer delight. And now, I've made myself hungry. Time to go find some dinner. Love to everyone and keep in touch.
