Where the Dragon Descends into the Sea
We ended up celebrating
the holidays in Vietnam, and
as a little Christmas treat to ourselves we took a two day tour of Halong Bay,
sleeping on the pretty junk boat ‘Oriental Sails’. A tour is by far the easiest way to experience
this wonder of nature, although you may have to stomach overly keen tour
leaders who want to play road games and what-not with the passengers of the bus
over to the bay. That’s four hours. Lars and I are not really big fans of forced
socializing, but we did find another couple wincing as they had to 'tell the group a little bit about themselves', and they became our dinner partners and accomplices, on the cruise and later on in Hanoi as well. We
actually ended up having a really great time, although the tour guide might
have felt slightly left out…
Halong Bay was just beautiful. The tippy landscape looks a
lot like the Chinese landscape around Guilin
and Yangshuo, only, here it’s set on water. These mountain-islands where
according to legend created by a clumsy dragon who tried to go for a swim and
messed up the earth in the process. We can only say thanks! It was a bit
overcast when we were there, but it was still breathtaking. We used kayaks to
reach hidden lagoons and we awed at the caves and grottoes. We also did a tour
of one huge cave with tons of lime stone art, and we visited a little fishing
village. Besides this, we partied with our tour group on board our junk! And
Lars had his first swim of this world tour of ours in the emerald waters of
this lovely bay. He claims it was warm. I didn’t and still don’t believe him!
Stitched Up
After a few lovely days
in Hanoi we took the night train to Hué, which
is a lovely relaxed city in central Vietnam with a really nice ol’
citadel. After a few uneventful days there, we took a bus to coastal town Hoi
An, a “ well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port of the
15th to 19th centuries, with buildings that display a unique blend of local and
foreign influences”, according to UNESCO. Spot on we’d say. It’s like stepping back in time! It’s
a very, very charming town with cute houses alongside the river, lovely little restaurants
and a beautiful beach 5 kilometers away. And smack full of tailors - some very
average and some very good. We tried out both, and now have little packages on
their way back to Sweden
and mummy’s storage.
We
had planned on staying two days in Hoi An, but as the holiday feeling struck we
ended up staying a week and celebrated New Years here, which was absolutely
lovely. Most days we borrowed bicycles (again, some average and some good) from
our hotel and - with our lives at risk, seriously! - ventured into the think fog of Vietnamese
motorcycles and scooters on the road to the beach, energetically trying to
defend our right to exist by ringing our cheerful bicycle bells. Don’t think
they noticed… It was a beautiful ride though, the little we saw of it that is –
we kept our eyes on the road and just occasionally glanced at rice paddies,
beautiful rivers, creeks, fields and bridges.
Hoi An is also a culinary
treat with loads of delicious local foods, like awesome shrimp dumplings called
white roses and a noodle dish called Cao Lau, which can only be made with water
from the Ba Le well situated in town, so you’d have to come here to try it. And
why not, the town has got it all. Food, beach, shopping – and culture. It’s not
far to the ancient Cham city My Son, filled with eerie ruins. We went up at
four thirty (this was the only morning it didn’t feel like we were on holiday…)
to be there when it opened, before the busloads of tourists arrived. And it was
worth it! Plus we were back in town before our hotel closed down breakfast, so
I still got my insanely delicious banana pancakes!
--(@
Louise
