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Published: February 26th 2007
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Communist regalia
In the Hanoi Old Quarter streets are themed- and this street sells regalia! Our New Year's eve for 2007 was a little anti-climactic - asleep on a train somewhere in Central Thailand. So it was fortunate that we ended up getting another New Year's Eve in the same year to get it right - in Hanoi as the Vietnamese celebrate "Tet". At the same time as Chinese New Year, moving into the year of the Golden Pig.
Unfortunately it was not easy to have a REALLY good time since poor Sarah was holed up in bed sick. By a cruel twist of fate she contracted the worst chronic headache of her life coinciding with Tet - when Vietnamese youths make it their personal mission to generate as much noise as possible. Firecrackers so loud they send shock-waves not to mention sore ears.
As a mark of solidarity I was even going to avoid the midnight festivities, so as not to abandon my stricken girlfriend. I was in bed, ear plugs in, and 12 o'clock rolled around - drumming, banging and... fireworks. Solidarity out the window, I got dressed and went down into the thick of it. The streets were packed with crowds of people and excited kids watching the display. Considering Vietnam
Tet decorations
Entire roads were filled with shops like this in the days before Tet. is so close to China, it was hardly surprising that it was an epic fireworks display, 15 minutes at least.
It was the first time in Vietnam that the roads were not dominated by traffic - that was definately something to savour. Instead of hoards of motorcyclists heavy on the loud honking, it was hoards of pedestrians heavy on richter-scale defying firecrackers. After milling around for a while I was content with the experience and headed back to our home.
In my hotel however, my 28 year old Hotel manager had other plans. He was celerating New Year - food and beverage - with his four long-term Nigerian guests. They were soccer players using Vietnam teams as a stepping stone in their careers. One was famous in Vietnam and another played for the Manchester City second team last season. I was shown my seat and my glass, and it would have been inauspicious for me to refuse. They were complaining about corruption in Asian soccer - the player who gives the translator the biggest back-hander in negotiation gets the contract.
We were drinking Vietnamese beer (rice based), Vietnamese vodka (rice based) and eating sweet sticky rice, rice
Sarah at The Emperor
A very snappy Hanoi restaurant - two storeys with verandahs, beautiful lights, palms, traditional Vietnamese music, NICE. wrapped in banana leaf and a tasty luncheon-like sausage - which was in fact made of rice. So it ended up being quite a long night, and in the morning I woke up with a headache of my own - ha ha!
Fortunately Sarah came right in the next few days, and Tet is three or four day celebration, so she got to see some of the later celebrations. We were strolling in town after wonderful meal at the Emperor Restaurant when we came apon two separate crowds watching free displays on large stages. The second one was circus displays- insane! Watch out for the photo of the roller-skate crew and the snake man.
It is lucky S and I have spent over a week in Hanoi because it has been slow to show its charms. It is a backpacker cliche to whinge about the traffic - it has been terrifying. But you get used to it - if old ladies can cross the road then surely we can. And Hanoi is a special place - mysterious allies, bustling street stalls and people praying in silence in old temples. In the Old Quarter many street names correspond to
the trade on that street: silversmith, blacksmith, buddhist prayer trinkets - trades which remain on those streets after centuries!
After Tet, we took a tour to Ha Long Bay. It really is a natural wonder, and hardly ruined by tourists at all considering the area covered by these beautiful limestone islands is so massive. We are the types of people that are always suspicious of package tours, but it ended up being great. We sailed through the area on a pretty, woodsy and quite sea-worthy boat and had a cute little cabin to stay the night in the bay.
We kayaked from where we were moored through a small cave which was the only entrance into an almost perfectly circular body of water, like a small lake with huge forested cliffs on every side. For a precious minute or two we were the only two people there. The area was filled with echoes from hawks and other birds. We were having a moment. And then the rest of the kayaks turned up, and the speed boats and the moment was gone.
Since then we stayed on Cat Ba Island for 2 days, sailed back to Terra Firma,
went back to Hanoi, and today we took the train to Sapa, 1600 metres above sea level nestled on the northern Highlands.
After leaving the train in Lau Cai - still 32km and from Sapa - we went through the expected theatrics negotiating the price for the mini-van. Refusing to believe we had to pay $10usd we eventually staunched them out down to $2.50nz, the usual price. Although the distance was short, we climbed 1000 metres, with massive terraced rice paddies cascading down the slopes beside us.
The Hmong and other tribes up here all wear their groovy deep blue traditional garb - the guys look like space people as imagined by a hip 1950's designer, and the girls wear multi-coloured harnesses for their babies and funky blue leg-warmer type things with sandals.
We checked into a hotel with a spectacular view as my belated christmas present to Sarah. Presently there is a thick blanket of fog outside so we look out the windows and it looks like our room is at the edge of the earth. Yesterday we could see deep down into the valley below us. Check out the fog 'before and after' photos out
I'm having so much fun!
We came across a stage by the lake in Hanoi one night showing circus acts. our window...
Signing off, we're off to India on Saturday -hoorah!-
P.S the night after writing this blog we experienced the biggest lightning storm of our lives - lightning almost every 10 seconds for a couple of hours. Considering Sapa is IN the clouds, it was kind of terrifying to be in our hotel room looking out the huge corner windows at the blinding white flashes that lit up the whole sky. A new fear has been added to my ever growing list... fear of being struck by lightning. It was totally awesome though (and not as in awesome dude). Sarah.
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Ronan
non-member comment
Jealous...
Hey looks great!!! Wish I was there... And chinese new year... I can't even imagine..! Well keep it up team. Big time. r