Today is the last day of my 30 day Vietnamese visa, my bag is packed
and i am flying to Bangkok in a few hours. I have loved this month in
Vietnam, though a month seems hardly enough time to get to know such a
foreign and diverse place.
My last entry in this journal was
from Hue, about two weeks ago. I have made some wonderful friends and
seen some amazing places in that time- many memories and stories to
share in the future, i think. I can't possibly write it all now.
I
left off last with the intention of visiting Tu Kieu Pagoda and temple,
the 'alma mater' of one of my favorite people, Thich Nhat Hahn. My
time at Tu Kieu- that whole day of adventure, actually- was wonderful.
I rented a bike in the morning and set off on a 6 km ride to the
temple. On my way (very slowly and on a rediculously small bike) a woman on a motorbike invited me to follow her to her house for tea and a tour of some local tombs. I liked this woman, and though i was sure it would end with a request for money, i followed her to her house. The ride was scenic and memorable- 14 km of 'just a little farther'- her on a motorbike keeping the conversation alive, and me on my endearingly rediculous bicycle. Eventually i got to stop and enjoy some tea with this woman, meet her youngest son and catch a ride on her motorbike to the tombs. As the old imperial capital, Hue is home to a few old imperial tombs. This woman took me to Ming Mang tombs and waited outside for me. Ming Mang is probably about 150 years old, though it looks ancient. It is actually a collection of buildings with a variety of purposes. If i remember correctly, the emperor built it as his final resting place- a pagoda, temple and tomb built within a pine forest, and sitting on a lake- then decided that he should enjoy it a little while alive, built a house for his concubines and used it as a retreat. It was serene and beautiful with just the right amount of disrepair. I left Ming Mang very happy to have take the offer to see it and readied myself for the inevitable request for payment and long ride back towards Tu Kieu.
At Tu Kieu, I payed some local woman to guard my bicycle and began my walking tour of the grounds (wondering how likely it was that my locked bicycle would be stolen from a locked temple in the middle of the woods). I was pointed in the direction of a few building of interest by one of the woman merchants and found a large collection of bonsai trees within a courtyard bordered by temples and monks quarters. After wandering slowly around the courtyard, I made my way out and into what turned out to be a kind of a souvenier shop. I looked through the shop for a few minutes, with the lights turned off, until i was found by a dog who sounded the alarm. A monk soon came, turned on the lights and we talked. I wish i could remember his name. I ended up talking with this particular monk for the rest of the afternoon. We walked around the grounds, ate a meal, practiced english/ vietnamese and then- played soccer! I was really surprised to find a group of novice monks barefoot and robed playing soccer with their lay neighbors. During our walks we had missed the soccer field which lay between the ancient cemetary and the lotus ponds! You know you can't play soccer when 12 year buddhist monks beat you. I was glad when i turned towards the sideline and saw a monk ready to trade positions. Smiling and waving, i walked back towards my bike, enjoying the humanity of life in this place- a place devoted to furthering understanding and peace but not so aesthetic as to lose what is human. In fact, I returned for a couple of hours the next day and during a conversation another monk offered to buy my Ipod!
I spent a couple of more days in Hue, mostly in the company of a canadian and a belgian couple, riding motorbikes around city and crossing the tourist traps off of my list. It was in Hue that i discovered that you can rent a motorbike for $2 and just follow the tour busses to the out of the way places rather than being stuck on the actual bus.
From Hue I flew to Hanoi, found out that i had just missed seeing Ho Chi Minhs' embalmed body (which is headed to russia for a little touch up) and so moved on to Halong Bay.
I spent the last week in Halong Bay- a truly wonderful place. The first two days i was on my first and possibly last tour- the next five in a hotel on Cat Ba Island. The tour sounded nice- a night on a boat, a night on a private island, caving and kayaking- it turned out to be an alcoholic retreat/ training ground. A boat full of 20 somethings mostly oblivious to the supreme natural beauty around them.
Caving may never be a good idea for me... the last time i attempted it, was in Hawaii with my brother and sister in law, where three flashlights failed- the highlight of which was tears of fear turning to tears of relief.
More on that from Thailand- i've got a taxi coming momentarily.
