I've written a huge blob of information twice now and haven't been able to save them because the computers keep crappin' out at the last minute. Otherwise, internet in Vietnam is pretty fast, cheap, and actually free most places!
It has been a long week that started with a 24 hour bus ride from Luang Prabang to Vinh in which everyone (westerner) on the bus was told a different ETA (we were told 18 hours) and of course none of the bus employees could speak English. Nor were any of them even remotely friendly unless they were being too friendly, if you know what I mean. This was actually a first, in that Southeast Asians hold the concept of "saving face" as a high value so they never get mad or lose their patience because that would make them look bad, so coming across jackasses was a bit harsh. AND they all smoked on the bus and spit on the floor and sang Karaoke loudly and terribly. It was a fun 24 hours! More so because the bus was so (*sarcasm alert) comfortable... I'm 5'2" and my knees were crunched into the seat in front of me so to say that poor Brock didn't fit is not an exaggeration! He had his legs splayed out into the aisle, it was awful.
At about the halfway mark we arrived at the border, though none of us knew it because the drivers just yelled at us in Vietnamese and gestured violently. It was there that we met a Super Traveler. He was a tall gangly Russian in mini Hawaiian shorts with black socks and he had hitchhiked there from some unmapped village and has spent the last 6 months or so traveling willy nilly through SE Asia by hitchhiking to wherever the driver is going and staying wherever a family would welcome him! He even arrived at the border without a visa or even knowing he would need one, but didn't seem concerned in the least. So, I suppose it was no surprise to see him on the Vietnam side after determining that Russians don't need visas for Vietnam as the two countries have good (old school commie) relations! Anyways, someone like that is a Super Traveler. Most people don't have the desire or the cajones to travel like that so they're a rare breed.
We then spent one night in Vinh where not a single person could speak English. After repeatedly saying, miming, and drawing "train" our taxi driver cheerfully dropped us off at the bus station. Though, it worked out nicely because it's cheaper, faster, and more comfortable than the train!
So... Hanoi! The first day it seemed absolutely crazy as there is a constant (CONSTANT) stream of traffic on every street, lane, alley, and sidewalk, but by the end of our time there it became quite fun. There are no recognized crosswalks, nor is there ever a lull in traffic so pedestrians have to actually inch their way across the street. If I was back home in the middle of a 4 lane (-ish, because no one chooses to recognize lanes here) road with cars and motorcycles zipping past me in all directions I'd probably freak out! You just have to walk slow enough and they'll figure out whether to pass in front of you or behind.
It was pretty fun there, we discovered Vietnamese wine which is a bit hit and miss in that you can buy 3 bottles of exactly the same wine and they'll all taste different... but it's only $2 a bottle so I can't complain... sometimes it really is delicious!
We then took a 13 hour overnight bus ride to Hue, though it wasn't so bad because it was a sleeper bus so instead of having seats their are three rows of skinny little beds on the floor and then above. Very comfy and pretty cheap, it was $7! Hue was a cute place and we went on the DMZ Tour. The DeMilitarized Zone which is on the 17th parallel or no-mans-land during the American/Vietnam war, and which, ironically, became the most militarized zone in the world.
Our tour went to Khe San which was the battle that made the decisions for the Americans to end their participation in the war. It was fascinating in that the battleground was hell at the time and yet is now a beautiful and peaceful coffee plantation with a little museum and a few war relics like American helicopters and a gutted tank. There's also a few touts trying to sell "real" medals, dog tags and shrapnel that they've found in the area with metal detectors.
We also went to see the Vinh Moc tunnel system that the Viet Cong dug and OH MY GOD! I spent 7 minutes down there and felt awful... people lived down there for over 6 years all the while being bombed on. It was pretty elaborate though and shockingly impressive. I'm not sure quite how many families lived down there, though 64 babies were born there! The tour also went to various bomb craters and mass cemeteries. We were fortunate in that our guide spoke incredible English and was a flood of information regarding history, the war, and even the current situation in Vietnam pertaining to the differences that still exist between the North and the South. I'm assuming most of you have a basic foundation of knowledge about the war... if you don't, you should learn, it's fascinating!
