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Published: August 30th 2008
After another long bus ride we finally arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam. The border crossing from China was not as bad as I expected it to be, but they did only have one person working the window with bus loads of people trying to get in. All the Chinese tourists were pushing in front of us and attempting to get their passports up to the front so they could get through first. The only problem is- we were all on the same bus so they were waiting either way! We decided not to push and sit back quietly and wait our turn. Of course this meant we were the last people back on the bus, but at least we got a chuckle about having to make everyone wait for us. I guess we figured that Vietnam was going to be a much better country considering the currency is the dong (leading to endless jokes that never get old) and their most revered leader is named Ho.
We arrived in Hanoi and after being warned about numerous scams with taxi drivers we decided to bargain a price and have him take us to a cathedral that was near our hostel. He was
New friends at the Irish pub
Me with the Aussie and the Britsa funny little man that kept saying he was driving us for "very cheap." Anyways, all went well and we checked in to Hanoi Backpackers just in time for a free keg on the roof top bar. Sounds good to us! We put our bags down and went straight upstairs. I think we arrived a few hours too late as by the time we got upstairs there were already drunk Australians pouring beer and water on each other. They also proceeded to hit each other with their sandals as hard as they could. Some of the boys literally had welts on their sides. I guess they thought this would impress the ladies or something. We decided to sit down, make some friends and have a couple beers. A couple turned into a few and before we knew it we were heading off to an Irish pub with the rest of the hostel crew. We were with a crew of people from the UK, Australia and everywhere else in between. It was actually really nice to be able to have a good conversation with some people who spoke English as their first language. I am very surprised at how many westerners
there are in Vietnam, but so far it was just what we needed after hardly any social contact with people in China.
The next morning we were off to a slow start, but did pretty well. We realized it was Monday and that all the museums were closed so we decided to spend our day walking around the old streets of Hanoi and just figuring out what Vietnam is all about. The streets are really busy and there are tons of motorbikes that race around everywhere. And I thought the traffic laws in China were bad?! Try crossing the street with 20 motorbikes coming straight at you. After the initial shock, I realized that if you just walk, they won't hit you! We spent some time checking out fake purses and sunglasses at the large market in town. Chris scored a pretty cool pair, but I have yet to find my perfect knock off!
That night the plan was to lay low since we were still tired from the previous night. The hostel has a BBQ on Monday nights and happy hour from 5-6pm so we thought about grabbing some cheap food at the BBQ and then maybe
a few beers at happy hour. While sitting there we met two girls from the DC area who were traveling a bit before returning back to the states after a year of teaching English in Japan. They were going to head to a Bia Hoi stand. Bia Hoi is a local beer that they sell dirt cheap on the streets. They have to drink it the same day it is brewed so it is super fresh and they sell it cheap so they can get rid of it. We got a glass for 3,000d (about $.20). They say it's the cheapest beer in the world. I can't imagine it getting much cheaper. A guy from Amsterdam and a Canada also joined us for the cheap beer. After a few glasses of Bia Hoi and some Pho (the local street noodle soup food) we were ready for another night out. The Canadian had been to this club the night before out on a boat. We thought that sounded cool so we piled a bunch of us into a cab and off we went. The club was literally on a bungalow in the middle of a lake. You had to walk on
an uneven dock to get there. The DJ was playing a good mix of songs that were 2-5 yrs old and we were dancing machines. The whole crew from the hostel ended up showing up as well so it made for a good party. We even had Vietnamese women (or prostitute- we couldn't tell) come dance with us. Chris was shaking it with her and I was just worried she would ask for some money afterwards!
After a night of dancing we headed back home. We had to get up early to see our good friend Ho the next morning. The preserved remains of Ho Chi Minh are on display every morning until 11am and being that we had already seen dead Mao in Beijing, we thought we had to continue the trend of seeing dead Asian leaders. We went out to the Mausoleum area and had to check all our cameras. We then continued in a straight line being led by guards to the entrance of the hall. After the guards did a short ceremony with some flowers we were let in to go see the dead Ho. He actually looked pretty good- better than Mao I thought.
It was also a bit more relaxed than the Mao situation in Beijing. From there we saw Uncle Ho's (that's what they call him) stilt house where he supposedly Ho lived off and on from 1958-1969. He really is portrayed as a man of the people and is very revered. It's very different from the way people view Mao in China. There are giant Mao statues everywhere in China, but so far I have seen more posters of Ho with children and the people of Vietnam rather than as a marble statue somewhere.
After our whole Ho experience, we went off to the army museum. The museum had a lot of artifacts on the early wars in Vietnam, especially with the French. What I think we found the most interesting was the stuff that had to do with the "American War" in Vietnam. The center courtyard of the museum had US tanks and planes that had been shot down or taken over during the war. The centerpiece of the exhibit was a huge airplane that is face down in the ground with plane pieces everywhere. The caption reads "The aircraft was shot down by the armed forces of Ha
Bac Province on 23rd August 1967." Well, yes it was- the plane is in a bunch of different pieces. Many pictures in the museum show the "progressive" American protesting the Vietnam War or Vietnamese people dead in the streets at the hands of US soldiers. It was just super interesting to read a different perspective on the war when all we are taught is the one side we learn in the states.
From there we headed to Hoa Lo Prison, which was a former prison to the Vietnamese when the French locked them up there and then became the "Hanoi Hilton" to US POW's during the Vietnam War. The prison museum was actually quite interesting and it was definitely very biased. There were tons of exhibits of Vietnam soldiers being locked up there when they were at war with France. Of course, it was a horrible place and they showed us all the horrible things that happened to the Vietnamese there at the hands of the French. Then, of course, they were forced to use the prison to hold US POW's during the war. The pictures we saw of that were of the soldiers making Christmas dinner, playing cards,
basketball and having a great time. Totally different from that of the Vietnamese oppression in the French war. I just wonder if our captured POW's would say it was that great! The most famous prisoner there was of course good ole John McCain. They had tons of pictures of him while he was there and even him getting pulled out of the water after his plane crashed.
The next day, we booked a 2 night tour through our hostel out to Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island. Some of our friends from the hostel we had met the few previous days were going as well and we knew it would be a good time. It's about a 3hr bus ride to the dock and from there, wearing bright colored sombreros; we all boarded our wonderful boat for two days of beautiful sights and sun. The weather was hot and humid and we were ready for some swimming. Unfortunately, we saw tons of jellyfish in the water. We didn't know yet, but this would become a theme of our trip. We were able to go kayaking that day in between the beautiful green islands of Halong Bay. We even kayaked
Little boys love tanks
The army museum, Hanoi
through caves that were so low at times I had to lie down in the kayak. Not to mention the bats we could hear above us! The huge islands were huge and just so nice and green! I can't really describe it in words. The locals say the islands of Halong Bay were created by a great dragon that lived in the mountains.
After our kayak we all decided it was way too hot and we would brave the jellies and do some jumping of the boat. The water was wonderful, but we all hurried to get back on the boat for fear of jellyfish. Everyone would keep an eye out for each other and we wouldn't jump if we spotted a jelly. Jeff, Chris and I were all in the water swimming back to the boat when I heard Chris say he got stung behind me. I swam my booty as fast as I could to get on the boat and in fact, Chris had a sting across his foot. That was it- our swimming time was over! 😞
That night, we had a karaoke party on board the boat. Everyone was a bit shy, but one
of the Aussie boys and I decided we would have a "bad singer" competition. We sang a duet of "Summer Loving" from Grease and brought down the house. I think people started singing only so they didn't have to hear us get up there again! The night continued, we had our palms read by a Vietnamese worker on the ship (I will have two careers in life and Jeff will cheat on me), and after a night swim two more people had been stung by jellyfish. It was just an all around great time. I can't even explain how well everyone got along. We were all instant friends!
Everyone was slow to wake the next am, but we knew we had another kayaking session ready for us so up we went. This kayak was a bit longer and against the current, but our reward was an amazing private beach with blue water and green hills (and no jellies!). The boys swam out to an island far off the sand and the rest of us just relaxed in the water. After some time, we kayaked back to the boat and it was off to our second private beach. I was
on the beach relaxing and the boat was docked a few feet away. We all decided to swim back to the boat since we hadn't seen any jellies. Just as Jeff and I were approaching the ladder THERE THEY WERE! From then on... it was the boys' mission to kill any jellyfish they saw. The found a large stick on the boat and slaughtered at least two, but were never able to actually bring them up to the boat. These stupid jellyfish were definitely the theme to the trip.
That night we spent at a hotel on Cat Ba Island in Halong Bay. Jeff and I had an amazing room with ocean views. We all had one last night together to have a great time. We all went out to dinner where we were offered street side massages for $3. We all partook and they were amazing. This man knew how to work his hands. From there we were off to a bar and just generally had a great last night together. Then we followed our guides to a beach for a late night swim, which soon turned into a skinny dip session. Since it was late and naked
swimming is not my thing I went back to the hotel around 3am- and I was the early one! The rest of the crew were out until 5 or 6am (we had breakfast at 7:30). Needless to say we were all a bit tired the next day although I don't think anyone would have traded the fun night.
It was just nice to be with some other travelers who were genuinely awesome people. We all got along so well and all vowed to keep in touch. We are sharing photos with each other via facebook. Who would have thought Vietnam would be so great so far? What an introduction!
We arrived back to Hanoi at 4pm and caught the 12 hour bus to Hue that night after saying goodbye to everyone. From here we are heading south down the coast of Vietnam into Cambodia. I hope the good times continue!
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mary
non-member comment
lovin the blogs!!
sounds sooo awesome...love hearing about it! never knew vietnam would be so fun but you're right...w/the dong and ho it's gotta be!!