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Published: February 6th 2011
Today was our full day in Hanoi. Slept in til 9, I think. I headed down stairs of the new Hanoi Backpacker's hostel for the complimentary bread and jam breakfast with instant coffee/tea. Kim was my first sight as I exited the stairs and greeted her with a morning hug from behind. Then, one by one we convened around the breakfast picnic table as the intermittent morning chatter picked up. Our first order of business is to choose a Halong Bay tour. After much deliberation and pouring over details, we narrowed the tour down to 2 tours: a luxury one thru another tour company or a booze cruise thru the hostel. Alex was at the same time, thankfully, writing the 2 choices on paper to randomly pick. We picked the booze cruise – so it’s time to rally.
Soon after, we skipped out to check a shop for hats and then soon after split for a while so we could run errands/take showers. And they are lovely hot. We eventually reconvened down stairs. We needed to get to the ATMs to take out the $ for the cruise before the ATMs run out of cash from the Vietnamese emptying their bank
accounts to pay off their debts before Tet. Coordinating a larger group of 5 dynamic is definitely taking an adjustment from it being just margot and me and I’m sure we’ll soon find our groove.
Once we left the hostel, 5 ducks in a row made their way down the narrow and very crowded, pre-Tet buzzing rush of Hanoi streets. We made it to the ATM (they still had cash) and then soon after split up me and margot off to visit the prison and the rest in search of north face jackets for our expectedly cold halong bay tour. The prison was interesting – French built it during the colonization in the late 19th, early 20th centuries. Looked like females had it the worst, American pilots had it the best – but there was also a clear bias and definite propaganda of the presentation of info provided. But prisoners were shackled by one or both ankles on a large slab in long rows on a decline. Then, Margot and I went on to meet the others at the Opera house – we stopped for some hat shopping on the way and convened on the steps of the opera house
(no performances til Feb 11th due to Tet). After enjoying some kind of green jelly snack out of a clear plastic tube, we moved on to our reservations for the chocolate buffet (recommended by a traveller from the first weekend at Hoa’s) at the Metropole-Sofitel. I think we spent the next 2 hrs there soaking up the decadence. From the first step into the lobby it was pure luxury and the staff was impeccable – rich wood, marble carvings, their very on Tet tree. We found the resto and was promptly escorted to our waiting afternoon tea table in the back in the sun room looking out over the pristine intimate, clear pool surrounded by dark wooden cushioned chaises, large dark green canvas umbrellasa t one end;w hite lights illuminated all the banana trees and palms surrounding the area. The chocolate buffet was as ridiculously heavenly as promised and we had a perfectly relaxing afternoon sharing stories, talking shop while tasting as many treats as humanly possible: tropical real fruit smoothies, tropical fruit dipped in the chocolate fountain, chocolate crème brulee, various flavored truffles, mini chocolate mille feuilles, chocolate profiteroles, white chocolate cake, chocolate flan, chocolate mouse that tasted like
puffy airy heaven, chocolate crepes made to order with grand marnier, homemade chocolate and white chocolate ice cream in raspberry and mango coulis – I managed to fit a roast beef, cucumber and smoke salmon finger sandwiches in, washed down with a beautifully made milky latte. And we lingered over our food, lattes/coffees, scones, making multiple trips for more tastes. Conversation was, as expected, full-on, as there was no rush to move on to anything else or make any other obligations or appointments. We could freely talk shop to our hearts content, sharing funny hospital/work stories since we are health care professionals. It was, as cheesy as it may sound, a fantastic afternoon of tea with 5 ladies (altho we probably looked the part of disheveled backpackers). And after, we meandered throughout the hotel’s inside and outside taking in the luxury – even the bathroom was an enjoyable experience fit for a conversation. I do have to admit – at the beginning upon sitting down – it felt odd and I felt a little conflicted having just come from the prison that was built by the French during the oppression of the Vietnamese people – and then, there I was
on deck of the Jolly Roger
We are trying so hard to not imagine what this would be like with blue sunny skies and warmer temps.in this ridiculously luxurious French hotel, loving its beauty, grace and enjoying all of the edible gifts with abandon, getting silly with pleasure. It’s so weird, and part of me doesn’t like it or agree with it and here I am enjoying myself in influence/aftermath of the French colonization. Oh well, I guess it’s the nature of things? And I’m must a pawn of human nature at times?
After that we wandered our way north back to our hostel to pay bills, internet and each do our own thing. At around 8:30, alex, kat, margot and I met up downstairs for beer (tea for margot and me) and a game of darts an then it was back to our dorm rooms to pack for tomorrow.
Overall impressions of Hanoi since Da Nang: much busier, many more cars on the road whereas in Da Nang the road was dominated by bikes, much more stylish, i've witnessed my first bit of road rage here (2 guys that had apparently hit each other were locked in arms fighting on the ground on the express way on our way to the hostel from the air port), the smiles are not has easy or immediate
yogaing it up
still trying to squeeze what little yoga we can on this trip and there's chains and brand name stores: KFC, Aldo, etc. I already miss the food of Da Nang, I didn't realise it was so regional. The squid there was i think the best and freshest i've ever had.
So, now it's Feb 6, 2011. Since the last entry we 5 ladies went on our 2 night, 3 day Halong Bay tour, booze cruise: 35 people (10 of which are women), and we were definitely the oldest ones on the tour as everyone else was barely 20, backpackers from Australia and vairous european countries (one other american who's been teaching english in south korea) and the majority of the group seemed to be doing their best to not sober up during the 72 hours of this trip - I definitely felt my age 😊
The trip started out incredibly cold, gray, rainy. After a 4 hr bus ride to the bay, we loaded up on a skiff to take us to the Jolly Roger, one of the junk boats owned by the hostel. After which we mustered up (where the rules of the various drinking games and a loose itinerary was layed out for us) and soon at lunch. After that
is was a bunch of hanging out as we cruised for a couple hours to get to a various spot where the boats are allowed to anchor (to control the impact on the bay) and to do some jumping off the boat/swimming. Mind you the weather was in the 50's, misty, gray/rainy. I was surprised at how many people jumped in! Meanwhile, we 5 stayed completely clothed in all of our layers with hats, jackets and gloves on - i wonder if it was actually in the 40's, it was that cold. Then we all took off kayaking in the bay and stopped somewhere to go caving. The bay is beautiful - i think i got a more mysterious, misty-gray version of it than the crystal blue-green from the limestone version that is depicted in the brochures. After a couple more hours of cruising the bay, we stopped for dinner and then it essentially a "night at the bar" on the boat, or more accurately, a night at a fraternity party on a junk boat. We had to rise early the next morning - 25 of use loaded off to a smaller boat to go on to Castaway Island, a
The salon on the Jolly Roger
our tourguide, James, on the left private island owned by the hostel. It was almost like a scene out of The Beach (with leonardo, DiCaprio), the island was basically a small limestone slab probably with a max height of several hundred feet, with a little stretch of beach and vegetation where our open huts: one for the bar/food, one for the ping pong table and games, a few toilets and showers, and then a handfull of bigger ones to sleep in (think thatched roof, no walls and wooden planks with sleeping pads on them). Thankfully and miraculously, the sky broke into blue and the sun came out (the first i've seen in a month, how i miss seeing sunlight and shadows and what joy it brings when it returns!). After lunch, we hung out, kim, alex and I did a little yoga/pilates session on the beach - ahhhhh. And while the others continued their drinking and went tubing and wakeboarding in the bay, we went across to another island for an afternoon of excellent rock climbing. The best I've had so far (in my not-extensive experience rock climbing). Our rock climbing teachers/belayers were 2 american girls: Hannah, whose ~22-24, finished her undergrad in east asian studies,
Junk Boat
ps "Halong" means "dragon" in Viet but after studying chinese in american univ, felt she still couldn't carry a conversation, so she moved to china to study there last year. Sarah, around same age - has been travelling/living abroad going on 2 yrs now, also finished undergrad and has deferred law school at georgetown twice and now has a ticket home in a month and has to reapply. They were super friendly and nice. After rockclimbing,we returned to our castaway island and hung out on the beach, had dinner and reconvened celebrations for it was lunar new year's eve.
wake up call was 7am again the next morning, after breakfast, we loaded back up on the boat at 8 to return: 4hr cruise back to the bay village (switched back to the jolly roger half way thru and joined the group of people of the cruise after us that only stayed one night), then a 4 hr bus ride back to the hostel. I was exhausted and had an early night.
Alex woke up early to catch her early flight out to Laos - missed her goodbye and now miss her presence on the trip.
The remaining 4 of us, wandered the city (museums were closed
our first stop, for jumping/diving off the deck
for those who could block out the frigid temps (or who had the assistance of the alcohol blanket). I was surprised with how many people ended up jumping in. for Tet). post tet hanoi is such a different city: slower, quieter, mostly closed down, people hanging out lazily on the side of the street, dressed really well in new digs, children playing with their new toys, balloons, fire crackers. we booked spa services for later in the afternoon and spent up to that point hanging out on the 2nd floor of a cafe looking out over the street to read, write and enjoy some coffees.
After the spa, we had our last meal in Hanoi, i forget the name, it was pho-ish.
we hung out at the hostel until our 8:30 cab came to pick margot, kim and i up (kat flies out tomorrow) to take us to the airport for our flight to bangkok. Then 2 flights, with 1-5hr layover and a 2hr ferry ride later, we landedin koh tao ~10am the next morning . . . .
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