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Asia » Vietnam » Red River Delta » Hanoi
January 31st 2010
Published: January 31st 2010
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Yesterday John and I took a very touristy trip to renowned Ha Long Bay. We had planned on spending several days there, but ended up only going for an afternoon for want of time. Tet, Vietnamese new year is February 14th and I plan on being out of the country by then. Tet is like our Christmas, more of family holiday than public celebration... and being in the country involves being stranded and having little choice of hotels or restaurants, cause everything is closed for days.

Ha Long Bay was nice, sort of like Yangshuo but in the water rather than the fields. We made friends with everyone on our bus- Angela and Lee from Britain and a big group from Saigon. It was a lovely afternoon.. even though it was the most touristy thing I've done since I've been gone. Vietnam is tourism central! I haven't seen so many white people since I left America. Hundreds and hundreds.

But with excellent reason. Vietnam is wonderful. The people are so friendly and happy... I thought they would resent all the tourists, particularly the American ones, but they are so warm and kind. Also, it is a beautiful country. Very tropical, sort of like what I imagine Cuba to look like. Old French buildings set off by palm trees and flowers, with pho stands and donut sellers beneath. Lots of pineapples, lychees, honey pomelos, and fruits I've never seen before.

Today we woke up early to pay Uncle Ho a little visit. He looks well, if a bit like a vampire.. the way he lies in a black gothic tomb with a little smile on his face. Much cooler than Mao. John and I plan on seeing the triumverate of preserved communist leaders.. One left! I got in trouble for having my hands in my pockets... disrespectful, I guess. Then I started thinking- isn't this whole thing sort of disrespectful? And isn't it beyond weird that communist countries preserve their dead leaders for display?

After Ho Chi Minh, we paid a visit the "Hanoi Hilton" prison. The reader will be pleased to note that while the Vietnamese prisoners were treated inhumanely by the French they treated the American prisoners undeservedly well. Pictures inside show the prisoners playing basketball, chess, playing guitar and singing along, making Christmas dinner, decorating their cells with Christmas decorations... Though one wonders what they were doing immediately before and after these pictures were taken........

All the backpackers are talking about buying old Soviet Minsk motorcycles and driving down the coast to Saigon. It sounds like fun, but also sort of dangerous and expensive. Anyway, it's better than the $40 open bus ticket John and I bought to Saigon. We will use it to stop in Hoi An and Dalat for a few days on the way.. but each leg is over 15 hours. 15 hours on a bus! Shoot me now.


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