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Published: November 29th 2006
Good old Uncle Ho
Uncle Ho is the national hero of Vietnam and the father of the nation.Laos (Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang) Oct. 16-23
Vietnam (Hanoi, Halong Bay, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City) Oct. 23- Nov. 16
Laos and Vietnam- to me, they were a contrast in heart rates. You can feel your pulse slow to an almost monk-like relaxation in Laos, where the days tick slowly by and modern progress seems to be another day away. In Vietnam, with the buzz of scooters, honking and generally night and day activity, your pulse accelerates to match the energy level needed to navigate the maze of motor traffic mixed with sidewalk cooking but 5 feet away. With the hot weather and cheap prices, it was a great way to make my way across Southeast Asia.
It was a pretty long journey overnight bus journey just to get from Chiang Mai to Vientiene, the capital of Laos. It was a bit humorous for me to think of Vientiene as a capital city, as there are few streets and it appears smaller than the home town in which I grew up, which isn’t always included in maps of Ohio. But it did have the only ATM in Laos that would dispense kip, their currency- that is
Back with part of the safari gang
Half a world away here in Vang Vieng. valued at 10,000 kip to $1 US. The leisurely bus ride to Vang Vieng reminded me a bit of travel through Peru and Bolivia: through mountains at a slow pace, behind schedule and full of travelers chattering about the worries of flat tires or the discussions on the highlights of travel through SE Asia.
I came to learn that Laos is a pretty quiet place in which national law dictates that all businesses must close by 12 midnight and where most people are up before dawn to either farm or feed the monks (or both). Looking out the window at the countryside, it became clear in Laos is mainly rural and poor, with small villages clumped along the single-lane roads and half-naked children running through the streets. It is scenic as much of SE Asia, though, with palm trees soaring above the horizon or rice paddies where people made their daily living.
In Vang Vieng, I met back up with Dave, Min, Dave and Louise from my safari days in Africa (small world, isn’t it?) as some were returning from New Zealand and the others taking a break from Bangkok. As veterans to Laos, they knew about the
Vang Vieng river bars
A great way to kill a few days in Laos, relaxing by intertube and hitting the 'bars'. BeerLao! river that ran through the town and the relaxing atmosphere of floating down the river in an intertube. We spent our first 2 days lazing away, being pulled in by bar hands who enticed us with “BeerLao” chants to their bungalow bars where they’d play all the classic gringo music and serve their .60 cent cold beer to the backpackers. What I found most humorous, though, was the cafes throughout town that showed constant re-runs of Friends or The Simpsons to a backpacker crowd, who ate traditional curry dishes or western food on the couches throughout. It was an interesting little oasis: not big enough to be a full tourist destination (or a stop light, for that matter) but complete with internet cafes, western food and the TV re-runs. It was easy to let a few days go there with plenty of sunshine and a $4 hotel room. Luang Prabang, a few hours north by bus, is a more formal town (ie traffic lights) with a splash of French colonial architecture and thriving night market. It made for an interesting walk through the town with more modern buildings mixed with temples and wats. Luang Prabang did witness my first moped
Gringo hangout, Saigon
Saigon had a neat little backpacker area filled with travel agents, internet cafes and bars. accident there but came out pretty much unscathed.
While my pulse slowed considerably in Laos with days of sun and relaxation, it sped up quickly in Hanoi, the crowded capital of the north of Vietnam. I took the final leg of my journey into town (complete with big backpack on my back) on a scooter, the most popular vehicle in Vietnam. Staying in the heart of the Old Quarter was probably good for location but clearly kept my ability to sleep down as the Vietnamese get going early and go at it hard. I am still wondering if they drive with their eyes of with their horns as they are constantly honking and pushing for position. I thought Hanoi was a big small city, at first a bit intimidating because it seems so large but then much more manageable as time goes by. While I did go on a city tour and through a number of museums, I found the most interesting part to the city just walking around the old quarter, watching the fierce Vietnamese people work hard, cooking in the streets, making a deal for a book, repairing or making a shoe there or just generally doing
Beautiful Halong Bay, Vietnam
The top tourist destination of Vietnam is filled with islands and cliffs. what they could to make a buck. I also went through the Hoa Lo Prison, which was used extensively by the French against the freedom fighters of Vietnam early in the 20th century and consequently by the Vietnamese against the US. They had a small section dedicated to the Americans that were imprisoned there, which included John McCain and went to great pains to showcase how well they treated American POWs (perhaps we got a different version of things back home??). On my final days in Hanoi I took a small side trip to enchanting Ha Long Bay, a popular spot and UNESCO world site where thousands of tourists throng to from Hanoi. With limestone cliffs and calm, blue waters it reminded me a bit of southern Thailand.
Nha Trang was the next stop on my trip through Vietnam and is located on the southern half of the country on the China Sea. It is most noted as a cool little beach community with some of the most inexpensive scuba-diving in the world so I had to spend my first full day diving. I loved the prices in Vietnam- my beach hotel (50 meters from the beach) was all
An american encounter
I got to spend a few nights with my friends who were on their honeymoon. of $10 and included AC and cable TV! Meals were never more than a few bucks and a photocopied book could be purchased for $3. Some of their most popular haunts, however, are based on various popular cultural icons- Apocalypse Now and Good Morning Vietnam being 2 of the more popular cafes I found. And I maintained my jogging at sunset, this time cruising in to the poor neighborhoods and along the beach, where I got a real sense of the rural poverty and struggle of Vietnam- living day to day, eking out what they can out of life in which the popular, hopeful communist regime had won years ago but done little to improve the lives of their people.
Saigon was a pleasant surprise to me and the highlight of Vietnam. I had been reading some really good autobiographies by Vietnamese-Americans (Catfish and Mandala and Heaven and Earth Changed Places), which gave me a great primer to the culture and insight into the emotions of the people during the past few decades. And I met up with a good friend, Di and his wife, Jen, who were there on their honeymoon (we ONLY met for dinner- I did
Street life, Vietnam
They sell food and cook right on the sidewalks among traffic. not invade on their honeymoon!). His story was similar to the ones I had read about and he was the first in his family to return to Vietnam after emigration back in the late 70’s, so it was an emotional time for him but also a rewarding one. We got to enjoy some great Vietnamese food, drink good wine and reminisce of life both back in the US and his return to his home country. I also got to spend a day like a somewhat rich western, using their pool at the ritzy Hilton (while I was staying in the backpacker region that still had things like combined toilet/ shower) - so it was great to relax there for a day. We got to check out the cool haunts at night as well, like Mandarine, Saigon Saigon and Apocalypse Now.. great times, Di and Jen!
My most interesting day during my whole time in former Indochina was going on a tour of Saigon, which included a Catholic church, the Chinatown area, a number of religious sites, the former capital building and the notorious War Remnant Museum. The War Remnant Museum was a graphic, painful reminder of the American involvement
The most famous POW
John McCain was one of the POWs the Vietnamese displayed, highlighting how well they treated our POWs.. interesting. in what they termed ‘The American War’ during the 60’s and 70’s. In detail, it documented US involvement from the times of French rule through the conflict throughout the 60’s and the eventual withdrawal of American troops in the 70’s with the recapturing of Saigon in 1975. Some of the award-winning photography captured the struggle of the Vietnamese people during this time and the sharp divisions among them along with America’s lethal use of massive weaponry and such chemicals as napalm. While this was quite interesting and I was not expecting there to be any validation for the Americans, it was a depressing reminder of an ugly chapter in US history. We did end the tour on a better note, however, going through the complete and utter chaos of Saigon’s Chinatown- massive traffic, some horrific smells, throngs of people and movement everywhere.. Vietnam!
Another side tour was to the Cu Chi tunnels, a massive network of underground tunnels that were incredibly tiny (in order to keep those big Americans out) and contained complete kitchens, hospitals and the such where people would hide for days at a time. They even had a target range and I was able to shoot
Vietnamese survivors
The American War is an ugly chapter retold in Vietnam. an AK-47! It once again reminded me of the resilience of the Vietnamese people, who saw this war as their desperate hopes for independence and freedom from the outside occupying forces- and were willing to give up anything to do it. That same resilience now has put them on the hard-working track of a country quickly developing after years of war and the bad social experiment of Communism. I was also touched at how many of them seemed truly forgiving of the past and willing to move on to the future. With the last rays of tropical weather on a jog through the central park to watch the women do public ‘aerobics’, I packed up my tank tops and got ready to head north to Korea and Japan.
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Squirrel
non-member comment
'it reminded me of Southern Thailand...'
Rick, it is obvious, you have lost all touch with reality. Will this awesome adventure ever end? At least you aren't missing much with your Raiders!