Traffic, rice fields & beaches

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First of all: happy new year everybody!! We wish you the best for 2007 and hope you're all doing great. We didn't get the usual holiday experience, but had a good time anyway. We were in Hanoi around Christmas and altough they don't celebrate it themselves, you do get the X-mas feeling here: streets are decorated, kids run around in little santa costumes and you hear cheesy christmas songs all the time. Because of our low budget we didn't go out for the traditional fancy dinner, but luckily enough we stumbled into a free dinner at our hotel. It was actually more like sharing some fingerfood and ricewine with the staff and other guests, but it set the atmosphere right for a fun christmas eve. Same story for new year: Vietnamese people actually celebrate Chinese new year but of course there's stuff to do for tourists.

So what about Vietnam itself? Again, it's very different from Thailand and Laos, and we love it. We arrived in Hanoi after a torturing 24 hour bus drive from Vientiane (Laos). It's impossible not to be impressed by the city of Hanoi. Traffic is totally crazy and it takes a lot of guts to just walk in the streets, not even to mention crossing. But the busy atmosphere with all the motorbikes, little shops, street markets mixed with some French architecture is exactly what gives Hanoi its special character.

The best known attraction in Hanoi is Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum. Here you can see the embalmed body of national hero Ho Chi Minh. Funny thing is that in his last will he asked to be cremated, but it looks like the Vietnamese people loved him too much and decided to keep him around... Another interesting site is the old prison used for members of the Vietnamese resistance during the French colonial time, and later for American prisoners of war (who called it 'Hanoi Hilton').

After Hanoi we went up north to Sapa for a couple of days. This town in the mountains is famous for its rice fields (or 'paddies') and traditional hill tribes that still live in the surrounding villages. Some rice paddies have more than 100 levels and are up to 1000 years old. We hiked trough the valley and enjoyed the impressive scenery. The women from the tribes come to Sapa to sell all their 'self made' stuff to tourists, but we also rented a motorbike to visit some villages ourselves. In Sapa we also encountered for the first time some real winter temperatures. (Okay, it was still 5 degrees at night but hey, we're spoiled here)

Next up was Ha Long Bay, maybe the biggest tourist attraction of Vietnam. This bay 4 hours east of Hanoi is known for all the rocky islands in the water. We hung around for a boat trip, some kayaking, enjoying the beach (with cold water though) and a hike to the top of one of the 2000 little islands.

Now we're moving south along the coast. First stops coming up are Hue and Hoi An.

Holiday greetings,
Nick & Steven

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Photos

Cags of Hanoi beer
This lady will get you a draft beer for 2000 vietnamese Dong (10 Euro cents)

Moving shop
Bikes are the way to get around here.

Badminton
Seems to be the national game here. They even have street courts all over the city.

Hanoi street food
Not for vegetarians.

Temples...
Of course they have them here too.

Mhong woman
Always trying to make a sale...

Sugar cane
Our guide on the trek in Sapa sliced us something to chew on during the walk.

Mhong boy
We met this little guy in one of the villages around Sapa.

Rice paddies
Amazing view on the many levels of rice paddies in the hazy valley of Sapa.

Ha Long Bay
Floating houses in Ha Long Bay.

Beaches in Ha Long Bay
Getting jealous yet?

Ha Long Bay
View from the top of one the islands.

Comments

[Poel]

Happy NewYear
First of all, a Happy NewYear to the both of you! As always I enjoy reading about your adventures in the Far East. I wish you lots of exciting things during trip... Keep us posted! Poel