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Published: August 31st 2006
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I must apologise to those of you who have eagerly been anticipating this entry. I have been very busy, but here it is at long last, so need to worry!
Ho Chi Minh City
Vietnam = Motorcycles. There are about 200 motorbikes to every car here. There are no conventional taxis, and to get across the city you have no choice but to jump on the back of some stranger's bike, and hold on for your life! (This is especially tricky if you've got your enormous backpack with you as well!)
And the Highway Code (and red lights for example) are more guidelines than
actual laws, which makes crossing the road pretty difficult. There's a knack to it though:
Step slooowly off the pavement, and inch across the road, staring into the eyes of each motorcyclist that is speeding your way. This should just about be enough to encourage him or her to negotiate a path around you, and the other thousand or so motorists that whizz past you every second. It actually feels like you're stepping into a stampeding herd of wild buffaloes, with engines.
Also, it seems it is mandatory to honk your horn
all the time. This cacophony of beeping is the only way anyone knows where everyone else is. It's the worse noise I've ever heard....
The day we arrived in town, we went to see the Museum dedicated to the Vietnam War, and learned about all the atrocities performed by the American Army (look up Agent Orange and napalm), which was graphically portrayed in a series of horrendous photographs.
The next day we took a cruise down the Mekong Delta. Hundreds of leafy islands plonked in the murky brown water of the Mekong, which being near the sea, contains much of the waste released into it further upstream in China, Laos and Cambodia. Nice.
Mui Ne
The next town was right on a beautiful beach, which disappointingly lapped up a suspicious, filthy, white foam, so I didn't fancy swimming much. Mui Ne boasts a fantastic creek, which we walked up bare-footed, guided by three local boys who seemed to have taken the day off school to take a couple of tourists around.
With a dark cloud looming on the horizon, we arrived at the town's enormous sand dunes, patrolled by a thousand kids armed with boards to rent
out to tourists, enabling them to slide down the hill. We only had one go before the demon cloud suddenly arrived, bringing an unbelievable downpour and an end to our 'fun' (it was the third time I'd done it so far, so I wasn't really fussed).
Hanoi
After two overnight buses and a day in Hoi An - the tailor capital of Vietnam - we arrived in its proper capital at 6am, and due to time constraints immediately booked ourselves onto a cruise of Halong Bay.
Halong Bay
This is probably the highlight of Vietnam. Halong means 'where the dragon descends into the sea' (somehow!), and it alludes to the plethora of gorgeous limestone peaks dotted randomly in the vicinity of the coastline.
The boat was a triple-tiered wooden junk ship, with sleeping quarters down below, dining in the middle, and sunbathing on top. As we sailed out on to the bay we got our first view of the amazing scenery, with the lush limestone rocks awkwardly jutting from the dazzling blue sea, the clear blue sky hanging over it tenaciously.
After a quick visit to the famous limestone caves - helpfully made over by an
array of artificial coloured lights - we were taken to a top kayaking spot and paddled on the serene water. Floating around us were a dozen or so tiny houses inside which people actually lived. One even had a pool table (I don't really know how they played - the water could get quite choppy!). People sold things to each other, keeping fish in small netted areas attached to their houses; it was an entire community.
On the second day of the cruise, we were woken to be told that we'd have to leave the bay a whole day early: a typhoon was coming and all boats were instructed to return to shore. You may have heard about it, it is the storm that went on to destroy China and kill some of its citizens. Fortunately we were safely out of the way by the time it appeared, so I returned to Hanoi.
Hanoi.....again
I had one day to spend here, but the two things I wanted to do were closed on Fridays (see later) so I shopped for the afternoon, taking advantage of Vietnam's non-existent piracy laws.
That evening, I caught the night train to Sapa.
Sapa
After a great journey during which I was kindly entertained by the friendly Vietnamese sharing my cabin, playing cards and chatting all evening, I arrived in the mountains of Sapa, where I'd booked a three day trek.
The trek was amazing, as we hiked high along the valley running towards the hilltribe villages, surrounded by giant green mountains steeped by the ubiquitous rice fields, before descending to the bottom. Here water buffaloes bathed in the river, being looked after by children as young as five.
As is customary we stayed with a local family, and were provided with more food and rice whiskey than we could possibly manage. The next day we were off again, crossing a waterfall, scaling rocky hillsides and wobbling our way through narrow lanes, but it was the outstanding views that really made the trip. The photographs don't do them justice.
The next day was another short trek, and that evening I caught the train back to Hanoi. This time however, I was given a wicker beach mat (as opposed to a mattress as before), and given the top bunk, my forehead pressed against the ceiling. I didn't get much sleep that
night....
Hanoi.....last time
Arrived in Hanoi at 4am, and jumped on the back of a moto-taxi which whisked me through the dark empty streets to my hostel, where I kipped on the floor next to the owner till dawn. A quick walk to witness the early-risers performing Thai Chi, playing badminton and exercising, before I set out to do what I'd wanted several days earlier.
Ho Chi Minh was a Vietnamese revolutionary who went on to become Prime Minister and President. He was fluent in English, Chinese, French, German and Russian, and they love him over here. He had a city named after him, appears on all the country's currency, and they've embalmed him so that they can view his peaceful corpse forever. So I went for a look.
He resides in a mausoleum which overlooks a big square. Hundreds of people visit him every day, slowly filing through the building in a never-stopping line, and paying their respects while circling his body in a small but very well-guarded chamber. Inside a glass box he lay peacefully on his back, his arms crossed, and his skin reflecting the orange glow of the lights. A humbling sight.
Sandboarding dunes
Look at those clouds..... After seeing the man himself, I visited the museum dedicated to his life. However, most of it was in Vietnamese, so after a whistle-stop tour, it was time to go to the airport, to fly to my final destination....
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