Dark City, Bright Caves

Trip Start Apr 22, 2008
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Trip End Sep 01, 2008


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Flag of Vietnam  ,
Monday, June 16, 2008

Touching down in a thunderstorm it seemed like Hanoi was a city without any lights except of course for the countless stream of motorbikes stretching out from the airport into the darkness. We had finally made it to Nam and it was just as mysterious as before we landed.  Immediately exiting the airport we learned the first of many Lonely Planet lies about Vietnam: the chaos, hassling and aggressive taxi drivers that are of guide book legend were no where to be seen.  Was I just jaded from my other travels? No. Kate agreed with me and we were glad that we had arranged a taxi with our guest house because otherwise it would have been difficult to catch one into the city.  More of a gentle murmur than the purported buzz of activity.

Driving into the city it was DARK. Street after street of unlit thin cement buildings spreading 8 stories high in all directions. It seemed like a veritable model of a green city, but I'm guessing it has more to do with the amount of power available than an overarching eco-conscience.  We wandered in and out o a maze of narrow streets and one way alleys until we were finally dropped off at the end of an unnamed alley (walkway?) too small for the taxi to fit down.

Down the alley we went on foot, past families eating in the bottom floor of buildings 8 feet wide and 100 feet long.  Hanoi's Old Quarter previously taxed occupants based on the number of feet of street front occupied by the residence.  The loophole was the depth of the residence and voile, an entire neighborhood of tunnel houses. 

One night in this dark winding city (nope, its definitely not built on a grid) and we were off to Halong Bay.  Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Its about 4 hours outside of Hanoi and is the most stunning string o islands I've ever seen.  Islands sounds paltry in comparison to these rock formations.  These are towering limestone pinnacles that simply emerge from the ocean.  Seeing as how creationism is obviously true and evolution is science mumbo jumbo I definitely need to pay my respects to the creator because he/she/it (the angel Moroni?) broke the mold here.  The junk boat we took through the karsts is one of the only ways to see the islands.  They have no beaches and the only trekking available on most of this 4000 island chain would require ropes, carabiners and climbing shoes.  Random stops to take a dip in the South China Sea gave us a break from the heat.  This plunge in the sea was also essential for clearing your head after seeing how the Vietnamese made the most geologically amazing feature in this area "accessible".  Lets make this a game.  They took an unbelievably huge cave with mind boggling stalactites/stalagmites and other cave formations whose names escape me and they:
a. Left it preserved and inaccessible
b. Installed low impact walkways, limited the number of visitors per day and required a guide
c. Added purple, red and blue neon lights, put in a cement and tiled walkway, added fake fountains to imitate the sound of trickling water and then slapped on some red laser beams to a formation that looked vaguely like a dragon

If you picked "c" than ding, ding, ding, you are our big winner.  That being said, the caves were a site to leave you awestruck and I take some solace in the imaginary notion that there are countless caves like Halong Disney strewn about this paradise that are untouched by the glow of neon lights or the clatter of high heels on pavement and tile.  

Two days on the boat and it was back to Hanoi. We slipped into the cheapest beers on the planet (~15 cents) at roadside restaurants and watched its patrons ebb and flow in a tide of motorbikes.  Loud, chaotic, cheep and that ephemeral buzz that the Lonely Planet had promised.  
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