Vietnam Ho....

As you can see from the pictures, Carries arrival in Shanghai coincided with the first real blast of winter, and the day she arrived our school closed down due to the weather, turning our two week Chinese New Years break turned into three!! So for the next six days after her across-the-world flight to Shanghai we introduced Carrie to Shanghai, and she then joined us on our holiday trip to North Vietnam. Even though we were worried that the ice storms which had crippled the train station in Guanghzhou would also affect our flight to Hanoi via Guangzhou, we were delighted to find that the airports were unaffected. So the following is a log of our travels through North and Central Vietnam....so Vietnam Ho...(Chi Minh, that is :-)

Sunday February 3, 2008 - Midnight

We arrive in Hanoi after a brief delay in Shanghai and a harrowing run through the airport in Guangzhou to meet our connecting flight. Arriving in Hanoi, we are met with the name "Amy" on a placard, and proceed for an hour long drive to our hotel through the dark city, where it is evident from every passing scooter bearing either flowers or huge kumquat trees on the back seat, that the Vietnamese love their flowers. This will be confirmed by a myriad of flower markets and stalls we will see everywhere during the next two weeks.

Our travels end for the day when we arrive at the hotel, but they are nothing, though, compared to Craigs trip...nevertheless hes there to greet us, wandering up, hands in pockets, looking very rested despite his recent arrival from Mytrle Beach via Taipei. All starving, we head for the only open restaurant, with the concierge leading us down a dark alley and up three flights of stairs in what appears to be someones home, but turns out to be a great restaurant -- albeit with no chairs -- with great Vietnamese do-it-yourself barbeque, and "Hanoi Beer"...a local brew that reportedly causes no headaches. It seems to live up to its name, or at least thats what Craig and Roel claim...in any case, they order it enough over the next two weeks to know.

We finally stumble back to our rooms around 3 a.m., happy to have finally arrived and all connected with each other from all ends of the globe.

Monday, February 4

Our booking at the "Namhai One" includes breakfast, which turns out to be an interesting buffet of delicacies, somewhat reminiscent of Cuba according to Carrie: canned corn, an omelette (a coolish, easy over egg) and "sausages" (which turn out to be cocktail hot dogs). Less than impressed, we all wonder if this is what Vietnams cuisine has in store for us...thankfully this would turn out to be the only meal we don enjoy on our entire holiday. But Craig is happy to report that he was able to see the entire Superbowl, televized via satellite to his room, with NO commercials...and all before breakfast!

After a myriad of emails, I finally get to meet my correspondent, Mr. Tuan Le -- the tour director at the hotel -- who introduces himself and then proceeds to arrange our entire day, and subsequent intinerary (thanks to Tuan and his other colleagues at the Namhai One, we would get a private tour that day of Hanoi and an impecabbly orchestrated schedule of hotels, cities and transportation for the rest of our stay.)

Our Hanoi tour on day one includes the Ho Chi Minh Museum, West Lake (a beautiful lake in the center of Hanoi that apparently is home to the legendary turtle of Vietnamese folklore) Hoa Lo Prison where the American P.O.W.s were kept (also known as "Hanoi Hilton") followed by a great lunch at a famous restaurant where we enjoy Pho and more Hanoi Beer, then tea at the "City View" which is a restaurant that lives up to its name, finally capped with an early evening water puppet show.

After the show, which turns out to be a delightful night of puppets operated seemingly by magic on top of a theatre filled with water, accompanied by amazing live Vietnamese traditional singing and music, we wander around Old Town and finally settle on dinner at an Internet Cafe. Craig, Roel and Amy proceed for a nightcap at a local pub that houses its own brewery, while Carrie calls it a night. Whew! Hanoi is a city with great food, history and people, and if day one is any example this promises to be an interestingly jam-packed holiday.

Tuesday, February 5

Up early for an 8:30 a.m. departure, we head for Halong Bay where we cruise, dine and drink in 5-star style, and all this whilst enjoying breathtaking scenery. Reaching a quiet bay, Roel and Amy choose to explore the caves by kayak, while Carrie and Craig opt to visit a floating village and report back that this was an incredible experience -- getting to see people who live their entire lives on the water. Invited to tea, they witness the family feeding the fish which live below their home and learn that the village includes a school from grades 1 to 5, its own temple, meeting house, and floating stores. These villagers are the only people who are legally allowed to live in the area, and we appreciated that the bay is indeed a pristine refuge from civilization.

Later on, dinner was another incredible experience. Thinking that we had to choose from the nine choices on the menu, we discover that we are to enjoy a nine-course meal prepared by a chef from Malaysia who treats us to some of the best meals we had EVER had!! The breakfast at the Namhai is now just a distant memory, as we chow down to such delectables as scrumptious spring rolls, pumpkin soup, melt in the mouth chicken, and fresh crab in tamarind sauce. We take our after dinner cognacs to the upper deck and watching the silent dark mountains surrounding our mooring toast, we toast Tuan for booking this for us...then we retire to our 5-star cabins and the boat settles down quickly...after all, apart from a family of four we have the boat -- and its entire staff -- all to ourselves.

The next day, after Tai Chi on the upper deck and fresh croissants and coffee we discover that another western-style breakfast is waiting for us. We get to work off some of the calories with a stop at "Surprising Cave" which is a cave discovered by the French at the turn of the last century, that is indeed surprising with its caverns filled with rock formations which the Vietnamese have all claimed and named: turtle, perfect heart, bear, budha and couple in love, to name a few. Our guide is another charming young man named Hong who is very happy taking us around and explaining the caves secrets and history. When we finally dock he leaves to go home for Tet (the Vietnamese new year) and we wish him well. Its obvious from all the happy smiles, and wishes for a "Happy New Year" from just about everyone we will meet over the next few days, that they are excited to be going home to their families, to celebrate together, around their kumquat trees decked out in coloured lights...and off work!! (Just like we are!!)

We say our good-byes and thanks for an amazing tour of Halong Bay, and take the four hour bus ride back to Hanoi to prepare for our overnight train to Hue. We arrive to a city in a frenzy...everyone in Hanoi who isn either eating dinner on the sidewalks is out on the streets riding around on their scooters, trailing bright red balloons. Announcements blair over loudspeakers from the corner lamp posts, and people are furiously washing down the sidewalks, and closing up their storefronts. As we grab a taxi for the airport we are caught up in all of the excitment...Tet is imminent!!

Thursday, February 7

Thanks to Tet we get our own private CAR on the train...but don think this means we are travelling in style! After our 5-star cruise, the train turns out to be a bumpy and noisy jolt back to reality. Only able to secure hard sleeper accomodation means very hard mattresses, with suspect cleanliness greet us as we arrive to an empty train station, and train!! It is now one hour before New Years and after the packed streets (which prove that everyone is now home for the holidays, and not travelling anywhere) we start to wonder if we are in the twilight zone, on a train to nowhere when it suddenly pulls out of the stations at 11:00 p.m. on the dot. The emptiness seems particularly strange after the CNN reports we had before we left about the mobs of people in the Guanghzhou train station, stranded due to ice storms and anxious to return home for their Chinese New Years. We think of them now, and hope they have all made it back to their families.

Our lonely state ends abruptly when two American girls pop their heads in and introduce themselves, and tell us about a club car that will open at midnight, so we all plan to meet them there for a celebratory new years drink. In the meantime, the conductor and three others come to our cabin with envelopes and presents, which contain Happy New Years cards and cookies. After hand shakes all around we settle down, and enjoy the sights of Hanoi at New Years slipping by our windows...sights of fireworks, and families around their kumquat trees slip by as we relax, realizing that once again we have practically private accommodation -- thanks to Tet!! We meet the girls at midnight, and hear that they are travelling on from Hue, our destination, to Nha Trang...which is double the distance. Since they only have vodka and the presents of cookies, we give them our store of baguettes, cheese and fruit the next day to carry them through. Since we have the car to ourselves, we invite them to move to our car, but they are happy close to the "soft sleepers" which are apparently full to capacity! So we retire to our private car, and Craig and Roel spread out, taking their own room....after all, they have their pick.

Next morning we are awoken with a lady delivering coffee, and our first introduction to the Vietnamese blend, which looks like a cup of mud but turns out to be strong and flavourful...sweetened with condensed milk and a wonderful surprise! We eat a breakfast of coffee with hot noodles, watching the lush green countryside slip by our windows in the early morning...rice paddies in the mist and mountains all the way to Hue. Very different from the concrete, high rises and ubiquitous development of China!!

Friday February 8

Twelves hours from departure, we are met at the train station with a taxi pre-arranged by Tuan, which takes us to our 2-star "Phu An" hotel in Hue. Also booked by Tuan, the hotel turns out to be all that he promised: no heat, but an elevator with CNN and HBO on the TV. We set out to find a restaurant from Carries guidebook, but the taxi driver gets lost and finally lets us out to walk and find our own way. As we soon discover, everything is closed for Tet so we dine al fresco...in other words, street food on the sidewalk. Despite the warnings against this in the guidebook, called "com bui", meaning "dusty food", its considered unsafe, we nevertheless heartily enjoy our chicken, beef and noodles, even though Craig and Amy almost choke on the spices. Apparently you
e only meant to use the juice from the chiles...not actually eat them!!

Afterwards we explore the Purple Forbidden City by foot. As you can see from the pictures, this turns out to be a huge area of shrines, tombs and gardens...still standing despite heavy damage from the French and American Wars, in 1947 and 1968. Upon leaving we even discover a row of American tanks on display, left over from the most recent one. To save Roels ankle, we jump on a couple of pedi-cabs to return to the hotel. Despite the drivers insistence that all four of us share one tiny seat, we split up into twos and still find it a tight fit! Once again we get lost, and the drivers let us out near our hotel. But walking the last few blocks turns out to be a good thing because we finally find what appears to be the only open restaurant in Hue....right near the "Phu An". Upon entering we discover a menu with both Vietnamese and Western choices, and walls covered in graffiti from a clientele of backpackers through the years, who we will see everywhere over the next week...along with a collection of tourists of all ages, but mostly older and mostly from Europe and Australia. In fact, the large number of decidedly older tourists makes us feel positively young at times...you do the math :-)

The music at the restaurant is definitely Western with disco choices the first night, and blues on the second...when we happily return to enjoy the food and slightly gritty ambience. Just like Hanoi, Hue it appears, is also cool", as in exotic and edgy...which again, is somewhat different from the glitziness and cosmopolitan atmosphere of Shanghai. This holiday is turning out to be very interesting on a number of fronts...historically, and culturally. We love this cool aspect of it, and the prospect of exploring even more of Hue by water, fills us with anticipation!

Saturday, February 9

We take a dragon boat tour of the Perfume River, and as the pictures show, we get a chance to see how the people live on their boats while witnessing the beautiful sights of the Perfume River up close. After stopping to explore another pagoda, we are asked if we want lunch and are treated to an amazing multi-course meal that rivals the 5-star junk of Halong Bay! To our utter astonishment, after debarking at one point and returning with a small bag of groceries, the captains wife proceeds to serve us mouth-watering spring rolls, spicy noodles, tofu, rice, and an incredible fish cooked in mushrooms, tomatoes and tasting exactly like tuna...and all for the exorbitant price of $5.00 US. Craig comments that after this he will definitely have to rachet up his cooking skills onboard his 40 ft. sailing sloop, "Westwind"...it is even doubly astonishing because the dragon boat appears to have no kitchen at all...the cook was creating all of this from only one wok on a burner situated on the floor.

After lunch Roel and Craig are dropped off in the middle of the jungle, and we
e somewhat relieved to see a driver who appears out of the bushes on the bank of the river. This time prearranged from a tour guide across from the hotel, the driver turns out to be another very helpful and friendly man named Dai (pronounced Duy, like buy) who takes the guys to see the Khai Dinh, Minh Mang and Tu Doc tombs. Craig reports back that they turned out, like the Purple City, to be more like palaces again, complete with gardens, lakes and even concubine quarters. Built in the 1800s, 1920s and 30s they are not so ancient, but still appearing so...probably thanks to erosion from the tropical climate. Speaking of which, the weather is warmer than what we left behind in Shanghai...but not exactly hot. Hopefully warmer temperatures await us further south, but today there is even a slight drizzle. Carrie and Amy go back with the Captain and his wife, who drop them at the market which turns out to be a rather disappointing array of only a few open stalls in a sea of mud. So they warm up with a Baileys Coffee in the Saigon Murin Hotel where they return at night with the guys for a nightcap and a glimpse of the Perfume River by night.

Sunday February 10

We leave after a great breakfast of omelettes (real and served sizzling in their own cast iron pots) French baguettes (crusty and fresh, and available everywhere around Vietnam) Vietnamese coffee (which is turning out to be Carrie and Amys drink of choice) and take a 10:00 am taxi ride to Hoi An.

Despite Craigs claims that the mountains they go through aren even foothills, compared to the mountains of Tennessee, they are high enough that Carrie and Amy are very nervous going over two passes...especially when Dai, now our official driver for today as well as yesterdays tomb tour guide, takes out his cell phone at the top of the last pass and proceeds to talk all the way up and down the mountain!

Nevertheless, after everything we arrive safe and sound for a three day stay of a little R & R in three funky little beach bungalows on Lang Co beach, from where we can watch and hear the ferocious surf of the Pacific Ocean. We spend the next few days "busy" at long walks on the beach and eating amazing seafood meals of barbequed snapper, cuttle fish and shrimp hot pots. Carrie and Amy even brave a dip in the neighbouring Lang Co Beach Resorts pool...which turns out to be practically empty and at our disposal for great lunches, massages, and karoke and pool at night. Happy hours are spent on Carries porch with rice vodka and pringles. Life is such a beach...:-)

After three days we awake to our first serious rain, so we pack up one day early. Once again, Dai drives us as we bid farewell to Lang Co and head for Danang and Hoi An.

Tuesday, February 12

We avoid the highest mountain of all by taking a 15 minute tunnel ride beneath the Hai Van Pass, and arrive to a sign of "Welcome to Danang"...and our first glimpse of sunshine and warm weather!! It seems that a waitresses promise for warmer weather past the Hai Van Pass was absolutely correct...but we wouldn trade the relaxing time spent in Lang Co for anything!

Thanks to Carries guidebook, "Eyewitness Travel", we arrange one night at the Royal Danang Hotel, and feel good about being in the city we plan to fly back from....having arranged a short flight from Danang back to Hanoi, since another 12 hours of hard sleeper is not only unwelcome, but impossible. It seems that all the trains and buses back to Hanoi are filled with people returning from their Tet holiday. So for only $78 US we plan to fly back to Hanoi tomorrow, and the airport is only three miles from our hotel. Secure in that knowledge, we head out.

Hoi An turns out to the most unique of all the cities yet. An ancient town, saved miraculously from bombing in the war, all of its narrow streets are intact and jostling for the tourist dollar with quaint markets, stores and cafes. At one of the guidebooks recommended restaurants, we enjoy a delectable lunch of white rose dumplings, barbequed pork, and a southern dish called, "bun ba nam boo". Hoi An will be our furthest point south, and the temperatures are the warmest weve experienced yet. Carrie and Amy set out to explore the city, while Dai picks up Roel and Craig for more tomb exploring at My Son -- after Ha Long Bay, Hoi An, the third of five UNESCO sights in Vietnam. Rather than "Tomb Raider" weve now dubbed the guys, "Tomb Explorers".

The girls enjoy shopping and sitting drinking Vietnamese coffees overlooking the canal, listening to French music, watching the tourists and locals pass by. Dai is waiting with the guys at the pre-arranged corner and the hour long ride back to Danang. After we give our heartfelt thanks to Dai and final good-byes, we spend our happy hour in the lounge at the hotel enjoying pringles, and rambutans, a local fruit reminiscent of li chi, picked up at the market in Hoi An. Later the evening is spent searching for a restaurant with a walk up the river, but it turns out the Royal Danang is in the club section...only drinks and dancing are available. So dinner is ordered in the entirely empty hotel restaurant...yet again, thanks to Tet, we have a venue all to ourselves, but after the hustle and bustle of Shanghai, Amy and Roel report that such emptiness is a nice respite!! After dinner we all say our goodnights...it will be a travelling day tomorrow.

Wednesday, February 13

Up early, Roel, Craig and Amy pass the time by exploring yet another museum filled with even more artifacts from My Son, and ancient transcripts on rock of chisselled Sanskrit...apparently the Vietnamese are a blend of ancient people mingling from India and China...then we all head for the airport and a quick flight back to Hanoi, where Tuan has a taxi awaiting us.

Arriving now for the third time back at the Namhai One, we feel that Hanoi and the Namhai hotel have become our home away from home. The restaurant "69 Bar", a place that Craig wanted us all to visit before that was closed for Tet, is now open...so we find a table perched high in the balcony, and enjoy a fantastic dinner in a restored ancient house. Roel orders a hot pot called "Cha Ca": originating from Hanoi it features fried fish, noodles, dill and peanuts. Since the temperatures are higher than when we left Hanoi the last time, but chilly compared to Hoi An, we enjoy the warmth that his glowing cast iron pot on burning coals brings to the table. Carrie and Amy order barbequed Hanoi duck, while Craig has Bun Cha...a Vietnamese delicacy of pork, noodles, lettuce and cilantro, all bathed in a bowl of herbs and spices. Simply delicious!!

Afterwards we walk back through the Old Quarter to the "City View" restaurant in order to enjoy the sights of the lake and traffic circle by night, and nightcaps of brandies for $2 US each. We then brave the traffic circle for a dessert of frozen Vietnamese yogurt at a cafe across the street. It takes a leap of faith to plunge into the sea of scooters, hoping they will part and let you through...however apart from a couple of scary encounters, we
e now starting to feel like old hands at it, on this the night before our departure. At least the drivers warn you with beeps on their horns...unlike in Shanghai where every street crossing is fraught with terror.

We make our way back to the Namhai, and say our goodnights, trying to forget that this is our 2nd last night.

Thursday, February 14

Carrie and Amy go shopping for souvenirs....and Amy loses $500,000 VND...and is very upset until Carrie reminds her that this is equivalent to only $30 US. Risking life and limb back through traffic to retrace their steps, they realize that the money is truly gone and hope that someone like the poor man with leprosy, who they had given money to earlier, has made the lucky find. Generally we were surprised that the number of people asking for money was very few, and the hawkers could take "no" for an answer. Both welcome changes from the streets of Shanghai.

Tuan takes the girls to the China Southern Airlines office to adjust their tickets...as Amy, Roel and Carries Saturday flight has sadly been moved up one day...and they take him to lunch at "Koto", which turns out to be a restaurant training under-privileged street youth. Carrie buys the cookbook for Chalo, who started "Banyan Tree" back home, which trains at-risk youths in home construction, thinking he may find some of the ideas helpful. The guys have gone for even more tomb exploring, so for the last night everyone meets up to look at all the photos on TV, and then head out to try to find an authentic Vietnamese restaurant that Craig has discovered in his travels. Because its Valentines Day the streets are alive again with traffic, and the search ends by settling on a closer venue, and enjoying Bun Cha of a different sort, and Bun Ba Nam Bo....a southern dish of barbeque pork, noodles and bean sprouts. Our last night ends early, because tomorrow Carrie, Amy and Roel are off to Guangzhou for their connecting flight back to Shanghai. After all weve done and seen, it feels sad..but all good things must come to an end, and so we say our goodnights and go back to our rooms to pack.

Friday, February 15

Up early, we check out for the last time at the Namhai, and Tuan is there to say good-bye.

We leave Craig on his own to explore Hanoi for one more day, and then he too is flying out on Saturday at 5:00 pm. His long flight will have him back in Myrtle Beach for Monday morning, and he plans to go right back to work! We wish him well, and hope to see him again this summer. As a parting gift, he gives us the book "The Quiet American", by Graham Green. Aptly titled, we tell him it will be a good souvenir or our trip together.

Carrie, Amy and Roel find that the last leg of their flight is on a huge 777 jet, and despite a delay of a few hours they still make it back to Shanhai before midnight. Speaking of books, Amy finishes the one she received from Carrie for Xmas, which she began on the flight over and finishes just before the plane lands, called "Eat, Prey, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. An excellent, aptly themed book about a womans travels through Italy, India and Bali...she recommends it as a great travel read.

So, thats the end of an amazing holiday of touring North and Central Vietnam. Hope you enjoyed it...this was a combined effort, and just a sampling of our "hi jinks and shananigans". as Chris put it.

Back to reality...and work tomorrow! Well be in touch again about Carries continuing holiday in Shanghai.

So, happy new year and...

...Chao tam biet! (good-bye)

Amy, Roel, Carrie and Craig.


PS...hey guys, we
e putting lots of TLC into this blog and we
e hoping you
e enjoying it. Since we
e so far away from home, you have no idea how important your comments are, so please feel free to comment away. Wed LOVE to hear from you...see you all soon!

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