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Published: January 3rd 2009
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Our next three days on tour in Vietnam were quite diverse. It began as we left Siem Reap for Hanoi; a late flight got us in at 9 PM, and it seemed to be a bad sign that no cab drivers would take us into town. One said 'There is big celebration, traffic is very bad.' But the mini-bus was going, so we hopped on, and, just like on our many trips to Israel, waited, and waited, and waited some more, until every last seat was full. After we paid, we noticed that subsequent riders were not forking over as many bills as we had for the 30 minute ride. Huh. We got ripped again? Shocking. (It was only $5 bucks each. But, oh, the humanity!)
We get close to the center of town, and things are not normal. The streets are just full of motorbikes- every available inch of street is filled with young Vietnamese on their bikes clutching flags, big ones, little ones, headbands, t-shirts, all red flags with yellow stars. I ask what happened and a guy says Vietnam beat Thailand in a big soccer match. Later I find out they actually tied the second leg, 1-1
Monday Morning in Hanoi
Pagoda on Hong Kiem Lake in the Center of Hanoi of a two leg final in the biggest SE Asia soccer tournament, the AFF Suzuki Cup. Having watched them win the first leg 2-1, I was suprised that they won- they just weren't that good and, the Thais just had no luck despite totally dominating the second half of the game I saw. Nevertheless, they won. Vietnam had never won the Suzuki before in 40 years of trying, despite some near misses. Anyhow, the ride is supposed to take 30 minutes but after and hour and a half, at some point near downtown, we just aren't moving at all. The driver just gives up and opens the door. We try to find out where we are and where our hotel is but the directions we get aren't too good. Fortunately, we figure out it is only three blocks away and head off to fight through the crowd, carrying suitcases and backpacks through half-paved sidewalks choked with motorbikes driving the wrong way. I tried to remind myself that they are just celebrating, not trying to run over my feet or test my patience. Cooler heads prevailed, and we made it to our hotel to crash.
The next day we finalized
our trip to Ha Long bay, walked around in the Old Quarter, and generally marvelled at how unbelievably busy Hanoi is- it's just nonstop people, all the time. Because everyone drives a motorbike, it's also really noisy. we wanted to catch Ho Chi Minh's mauseliem and some other museums, but it was Monday and almost everything was closed. Took afternoon naps, went out for dinner and beers, and packed for Ha Long Bay. I couldn't wait to go: the exhaust and the noise was giving me a constant headache.
We cabbed out to meet the bus that would take us to Haiphong for the ferry to Cat Ba Island (didja follow that?) The two-hour bus ride was not pretty. For about an hour, we passed factory after factory, giant steel warehouses with corporate labels, with hundreds, thousands, of women riding their bicycles along a four lane highway to work. The houses were all crowded right along the highway- behind, long stretches of flooded rice paddys lay fallow, waiting for the rainy reason to come again before being planted. Many were being covered over altogether with tons and tons of dirt- the beginnings of new factories. It was grey and
Music store in Old Quarter
I wasn't good at the recorder in 2nd grade either. cold outside, and work was starting at 6:30, 7 AM, 7:30. It made me sad. I know, people gotta work, and who's to say they were any less happy where they worked than I am in my work? But I think I can say objectively that these are the jobs that got exported because the labor is cheap (passing the Ford plant was an extra special kick in the balls on that note), and the result of cheap labor is a low living standard, and these folks probably would be doing way better in the same job in the US . There was something else, a thought that might be too pessimistic to write, but I will anyways. I had the thought that sometimes, travel is a way to outrun our sadnesses, forget life's troubles, but it turns out we just discover new sadnesses in new places. Ick.
And then the pretty things. We took the ferry with our guide, Duke, to an island off the coast. Duke did not have the charisma of Tuung, or of stucco plaster, for that matter, so he will not again me mentioned. Next we tranfered to a car, then to a junk
Cyclo around the Lake
There's nothing weirder than having a dude pedal you around. boat that cruised for 45 minutes through a limestone formed series of bays; like volcanic islands mixed with fjords, only covered in lush tropical forests. Just gorgeous- the photos speak for themselves. All around the bay, every 1/4 mile or so, were little house boats with bamboo and wood grids with pontoons and netting- each a fish farm of its own. Other men set out plastic baskets along the shallow bay sands to catch crabs. And we passed a vast pontoon boat village- a floating city with 3000 people, something I never thought I'd see.
We continued on to an out-of-the-way sandy beach with 10 thatched roof bungaloes and generator power for 3 hours at night only. There were only two other couples there at the time. That afternoon, we went kayaking around the bay and into lagoons. The food was great and plentiful; they piled tofu dishes and fish and eggs and more in front of us like it was pesach at my bubbies. In the morning, we kayaked into a cave that let out into another lagoon. That afternoon we went back to the mainland and got into Hanoi around 6:30PM, had dinner and watched a Pirates
The Road to Haiphong
As Noa said when we passed the Qua Trung Clothing Factory, "That in the US is The Gap." of the Caribbean marathon, kissed to welcome in 2009 and went to bed. Call us lame, but kayaking is hard work, and Noa goes way fast- it was hard for me to keep up. Even if we had gone out, someone else would have to lift the beer to my lips because my arms weren't working anymore.
In the morning, I discoved Halong Bay left me a lingering memory: dozens of sand fly bites that left me iching my legs the rest of the week. A fitting end, yet I can't tell what won out in the end, the dirty things or the pretty things.
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