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Published: April 9th 2009
Hoan Kiem Lake
Where it all happens in Hanoi.After a small catastrophe at the airport in Cambodia and making it onto our plane with only minutes to spare, we arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam in the late afternoon. We used the remainder of the day to roam around the Hoan Kiem Lake and the rest of this vibrant city. Not sure of the exact figure, but it seems like 98% of the people here travel by motor scooter, which is not dissimilar to Thailand and Cambodia, except that here the streets are pure chaos. They will drive in their lane, in your lane, in and around oncoming traffic, on the sidewalks, basically anywhere there is room for them to get by and they will honk their horns the whole time. The city is loud with the buzz of scooter engines and the blasting of horns and the most exciting activity is crossing the street. The easiest way to do this is to put your head down and walk at a slow, predictable pace and let the scooters whip around you until you make it to the curb on the other side. Betty basically closed her eyes and held my hand, squealing the entire way across. By the way, in Vietnam,
if it walks, flies or swims, they will eat it, so we saw plenty of roasted dogs and heard about other delicacies like cat and bear gall bladder, but did not partake.
Our first day sightseeing was spent at the Duong Lam Ancient Village. We were greeted by two of the villages’ elders who sat down with us for a cup of tea and told us stories, translated through our guide, about their involvement with the French, the Russians and the Americans throughout the generations. Then we took a stroll through the village and witnessed the hard, yet simple life these people still lead by tending to their rice fields and keeping up their homes. We were invited into the home of Mr. Ha Huu The, who’s house has been in his family for over 300 years. Now his family grows peanuts to supply the local candy makers (a specialty of this village), and he ferments his own soya sauce and rice wine. After I showed interest in his Cobra Fermented Rice Wine, he let us try a few of his varieties, most of them from large jars with some kind of snake, sea horse or star fish inside
Tea
With the elders at Duong Lam Ancint Village. them. Another flavor that s a delicacy here, although he did not have the space to do this, is to ferment rice wine in a huge barrel with a full size bear in it; hair, claws and all! After I was good and tipsy, we made our way back to the city where we killed the evening walking through the French Quarter and tried our luck crossing the streets.
The next day we got up early to visit the Ho Chi Mihn Mausoleum, where the ‘Father of Vietnam’ is preserved and displayed. Ho Chi Mihn led Vietnam’s revolution from French colonialization and brought communism to the country. He also was the President of North Vietnam during the ‘Anti-American War.’ The infamous ‘Hanoi Hilton,’ was another destination, where we had a chance to see the (comparably) plush quarters of former Presidential nominee John McCain and the other American pilots that were POW’s during the Vietnam War. A quick visit to the Presidential Palace, One-Pillar Pagoda and the Temple of Literature and we were exhausted. We finished the day with a traditional Vietnamese Water Puppet Show and we were both ready to pass out.
After a 3 ½ hour drive
Black Teeth
It was considered attractive back when she was... attractive. from Hanoi we arrived in Halong Bay, where we boarded a traditional junk for our three days at sea. A slow chug through breathtaking scenery to some famous caves and mountain top huts and we were ready to settle into a massive nine-course seafood dinner. Shrimp, crab, fish, those praying mantis looking things and every other kind of seafood you can imagine was on the menu tonight! We shared this boat with a group of French tourists who were just into the sights and the food, so we transferred to our own private junk to see the bay a bit more intimately. Our Captain navigated the cliffs and rocks to get us to some great locations where we could hop in a kayak and paddle through some tunnel-like caves to reach lagoons and beaches that were unreachable by the Frenchies. A quick dip in the frigid water and we were back at the harbor to transfer to the airport for a quick flight to Hue.
Another close call at the airport and the absolute worst landing in history, but we managed to get to our hotel in Hue on time and as planned for a quick bite and an
early bedtime for a full day of sightseeing. The following day included a cruise down the Perfume River in a Dragon Boat, Thien Mu Pagoda or the Pagoda for the Heavenly Lady, Tu Duc King’s Tomb, and the Citadel which encloses the Purple Forbidden City. All were massive, awesome, gorgeous structures ranging from 400 to just under 200 years old.
We also must mention that while in Vietnam we took the opportunity to get some of our favorite dishes including Pho and Bun Cha, which were delicious.
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Cheryl
non-member comment
Viet Nam
Wow. Your adventures just seem to get better. I think the kayaking in the cave would have made me a little claustrophobic but other than that, awesome. Don't think I'd bring Sadie with me though-she'd probably be a meal for a large family...Can't wait 'til the next stop.