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Published: March 18th 2007
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After a quick flight from Luang Prabang, I arrived in Vietnam's capitol city, Hanoi. Hanoi is a bustling city with an insane amount of motor bikes and plenty of crazy drivers to boot. Vietnam's rapid economic develop is especially evident here with a massive population of 20-something's racing around the city on their bikes. Because owning cars here is beyond the means of most of the population, motor bikes provide the quickest and most efficient way to get around. This hustling and bustling city is certainly a dramatic change from the laid-back and relaxing atmosphere I experienced in Laos.
I spent my first full day in Hanoi cruising the city on the back of a moto taxi and visiting the dozens of museums in the greater Hanoi area. Among them are numerous tributes to the most famous Vietnamese citizen in history, Ho Chi Minh. Ho Chi's body is housed in a massive tomb-like structure in the middle of a grand park. Near by is a massive museum documenting his life with numerous artifacts and shrines, sharing his life's history and the revolutionary philosophy he so prophetically preached. The highlight of my day was visiting the Army Museum, filled with captured
Hanoi City
A good depiction of the hustle and bustle of Vietnam's capitol city. US military helicoptors and war planes. It has been quite an experience to see different perspective the Vietnamese present about the nature of the war. They are insanely proud and honored that they fended off and eventually defeated the "imperialist" American invaders. While some of the stuff I have read here might not exactly be historically acurate, they certainly take winning the war as a serious matter of national pride. I finished off the day visting as many museums as I could fit in before they closed for the day. There were just too any for me to go into depth trying to explain them. Needless to say, in the span of a few short hours I got a whirlwind tour of Vietnam's cultural and historical monuments, helping to give me a better idea of the ideals and social attitudes that shape the nation.
Early the next morning I took off on a mini-bus headed to Ha Long Bay. One of Vietnam's top tourist destinations, Ha Long Bay is a breathtaking spot along Vietnam's northeastern coastline, filled with beautiful natural scenery set on the ocean. The first day was spent navigating the misty bay in hopes of not colliding
with one of the thousands of boats that cruise the area daily. Most of the time was spent visiting various caves and hiking trails on several of the thousands of islands. A group of about 15 other travelers and myself enjoyed a delicious Vietnamese dinner on the boat and many of us stayed up late into the night drinking Vietnamese beer and chatting about various places that we've traveled to. After waking up on the boat and finishing a quick breakfast, we were taken to Cat Ba Island for another day of sightseeing and exploring. Cat Ba Island has become a popular tourist destination for wealthy Vietnamese and their Chinese neighbors to the north. Luckily since the weather is still cold and misty, most of the island was quiet and very uncrowded. The current weather situation in northern Vietnam is a sharp contrast to any place I have visited thus far. Most days I've experienced so far have been misty with small patches of rain, with the temp hovering around 55 degrees. Not exactly the tropical heat of SE Asia but certainly a welcome relief from some of the insane heat I've encountered elswhere.
After taking the boat back
to Ha Long Bay city and then a bus back to Hanoi, I checked into my first real and true "backpacker" hostel since I began my trip. Most accommodation so far has been guest houses, meaning some local family rents out extra rooms in their home for people visiting. Owned by some Aussie's, Honoi's Backpacker Hostel is jam packed with backpacker's mostly from Australia, the US and parts of Europe. Since it happened to be St. Patrick's Day when I arrived, the Irish were in full swing and we spent the rest of the day having a BBQ party on the roof.
Today I meandered around Hanoi visiting some more local sights and relishing the French-inspired cafe scene that exists here. Good coffee in cold weather is a great combination. The old-quarter of the city is home ot some relatively impressive old French-colonial architecture and many of the places in Hanoi look like the sleepy, narrow alley ways of Paris.
Tomorrow I'm catching an overnight train to Sapa, a small mountainous city near the northwest border. The weather this time of the year is chilly with night temperatures nearing 35 degrees. There is supposed to be some beautiful
Confusious Writings
At the 1000 year old temple of literature you can see the actual incribed teachings of Confucious. trekking and great hiking trails in and around Sapa, so I'm hoping to spend the week or so exploring the area. As before, I'm doing great and as excited as ever to be exploring a new country and its extremely fascinating, up-and-coming society.
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SeeingTheWorld
Adam R. Smith
Motivation, Sacks
If reading my journals solidifies your desire to travel in a few years from now, start making some plans. Not putting the idea of going off will ensure that you will actually make it happen. Good to hear from my man.