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Published: July 26th 2006
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Tuesday, July 25 2006 It is with a heavy heart that I leave Hanoi this evening. This city is so amazing and I have loved every minute I've spent here. The people, the food, the shopping, the culture...I almost wish I had chosen to end my trip here instead of starting it here. There was no humidity today! Well, there was but much less than usual and it was actually bearable to walk around the city. Hanoi is full of wonderful art galleries so I spent most of my last day here visiting the galleries and studying the local art. I ate as much wonderful food as I could! I've resisted doing much shopping here, if you can believe it. The shopping is fabulous (silk clothing, handbags, bedding, jade and pearl jewellery!) but I have realized that I am a horrible bargainer when it comes to shopping. Embarrassing, really, given my profession. I just cannot get the hang of it which is unfortunate because the vendors expect you to negotiate a price; it's part of the culture. Often they'll ask me point blank how much I'll give them for something and I fumble for an answer. Pathetic, yes, but it's prevented
me from wasting cash so far. I'm still learning, though! I did buy myself a big blingy pearl ring but it was cheap and I didn't go crazy in the store (I wanted to, though!). Vietnamese pearls aren't perfectly round, almost more oblong shaped but very pretty. The best quality stuff was still expensive for what it was; over a hundred dollars US for a decent strand of pearls that were still slightly flawed. I'll try my luck further south and I'm sure by the time I get to Saigon I'll be a seasoned bargainer.
I am off to the central highlands of Vietnam tonight and the city of Hué (pronounced "Hway"), a city rich with history and culture. I am flying to Hué with the Irish couple I met on the boat to Halong Bay, Aine and John. We wanted to take the train but it was sold out! Apparently now is also Vietnamese holiday season so trains sell out quickly. We've heard very bad things about the bus trip so we opted to fly. The flight is cheap and quick, about an hour and a half, so we won't waste much time travelling down there. I'm a
bit disappointed that I won't see more of the northern Vietnamese countryside but that's how travelling goes sometimes. From Hué, we will visit the Demilitarized Zone, the Vinh Moc Tunnels, Danang and China Beach; all of which I am so excited about, I can hardly stand it. Then we'll travel down to Hoi An, another historical, colonial city that is known as the
the place in Vietnam to have clothing tailored! I'm already salivating at the thought of what I will have made!
Sunday, July 23-Monday, July 24 2006 - Halong Bay I took a two day boat trip out to Halong Bay, one of Vietnam's most beautiful spots and a designated UNESCO World Heritage site. We took a bus from Hanoi to Halong City, about three or so hours away, then boarded our boat at the harbour. I'm so glad I put a lot of research into this tour. I've read so much about agencies ripping people off on this trip, no air conditioning, little food, overcrowded boats, poor conditions, etc. It appears that ever since Halong Bay became a major tourist attraction in northern Vietnam, that many travel groups have started to take advantage of travellers. I
The Vietnamese countryside
Isn't it a beautiful colour? did a lot of research ahead of time and booked with a very reputable company. They were fantastic. Very professional (although the food was rather average, but not such a big deal) and our guide was this wonderful Vietnamese man named Son (means "mountain") whose English was excellent. He's studying tourism and English and was very knowledgeable about the bay. Turns out his English teacher is from Toronto so we had a bit to chat about. The drive out to Halong City was so lovely. The Vietnamese countryside is unlike anything I've ever seen. Jade green rice paddies as far as the eye can see, farmers hard at work in the heat, with their conical hats, tilling the rice. It was just so...peaceful yet so resilient at the same time. Our boat was the nicest place I've stayed in Asia so far! I had a lovely little cabin to myself, huge bathroom with lots of hot water and typical hotel amenities. And ice cold air conditioning!
Halong Bay is in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of northern Vietnam. It has about two thousand limestone structures stretching up out of the water towards the sky. They are truly
Soccer, the international sport
Local boys playing on the steps of the cathedral a beautiful, natural site. On the first day, we sailed to one of the bigger caves inside one of the limestone structures. I could've lived without seeing that. It was a tad boring and the hike up to it was pretty strenuous especially in the blistering heat. It was also pretty touristy with lots of groups going in and out, lots of crap for sale, but it was kinda cool I guess. We sailed around the bay for a bit longer, then the captain dropped anchor and we all jumped off the boat into the water. It was so lovely on the skin after a very hot and gross day. The water is this beautiful emerald colour. I took pictures but they don't do the colour any justice at all. My group had sixteen people from all over the world: Australia, Germany, Sweden, Argentina, Holland and Ireland; I was the only Canadian. We all got along famously. We stayed up late after dinner, chatting on the deck under the stars. I met a fantastic Irish couple with whom I'm going to travel south.
Actually, everyone I've met so far in Vietnam has been amazing and laidback. So different from
Thailand which was full of pretentious, unfriendly backpackers. We sailed back to Halong City on Monday afternoon and drove back to Hanoi. I could've probably done with another day on the boat. It was so peaceful and refreshing. It was just lovely to relax and chat with other people, compare itineraries, swap stories and...learn, for lack of a better word. I've learned so much from other travellers already. Suggestions on where to go and how to travel, of course, but so much about their lives, their countries, their experiences. It's very obvious right away that North Americans are much less well-travelled. I'm just blown away by how other countries (Australia, especially, and most of Europe) encourage their citizens to travel the world. This isn't to say, of course, that North Americans don't travel because they obviously do. But definitely not on the level I've seen already, and definitely not with the encouragement and support of their home countries. They are absolutey shocked when they hear of how little vacation time we get in North America. Five to six weeks is about the average in Europe and the rest of the world, it appears, usually more. I think they have it
Local artists
Want your own copy of The Last Supper or a painting of your favourite photo? These guys churn them out like clockwork. right.
Saturday, July 22 2006 All over Hanoi, on pretty much every street corner, is a local bar with a sign advertising "BIA HOI" (literally meaning "fresh beer"). These places are full of local people just enjoyed a beer at lunch, or hanging with friends after work and late into the night. You rarely see tourists in these places as they're rather unclean with no air conditioning and very different from typical western-style bars. Tonight, a few of us from my hostel decided to eschew the crappy backpacker bars and hit up one of the bia hois for a few drinks. The beer they serve is a Vietnamese microbrew made without preservatives so it must be consumed immediately after it's made. It costs about thirty cents a glass and it's really good. Pretty mild but refreshing and goes down really easily! Being the only white people in the bar wasn't intimidating at all. The locals were so curious to know where we were from, eager to practice their English and just chill with us. It was just amazing to watch everyone enjoying the company of their friends over drinks and be willing to include us. The Vietnamese have been the most welcoming people during my time here. I don't know if I'm just lucky or if it's their true nature but so far my time in Vietnam has been wonderful.
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Adam
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Saigon?
I thought Saigon was still Ho Chi Minh City?