hi guys!
wow, i've really fallen behind in writing these emails. probably because i've been desperately distracted by the incredible SHOPPING to be had here in Hoi An!!! but, let me go back to the beginning.....
we booked a tour of the Mekong Delta from HCMC, $8 for a day of boating and ridiculously touristic stuff...but the area is still gorgeous. we visited a floating market, full of boats laden down with fruits and veggies ~ it was so DIFFERENT. watching women paddle up to the boat and haggle prices down, in the middle of the river ~ you can tell what each particular boat is vending because they hoist a sample to the top of a pole on the boat. drifting down the river is like going back in time....women in conical hats, men in black pyjamas, children riding 2 and 3 to a bike along the riverside paths...over arched bridges spanning the water....dugout boats drifting by, piloted by a lone vietnamese man with a single paddle. our guide was laughing at how many photos i took. well, YEAH!! we all know who I take after when we're talking photography (does anyone else remember the 9000 photos from Gros Morne?????ahahhha)
anyways, we stopped off numerous times along the river....we saw some locals make coconut candy, rice paper, snake wine (and had the chance to sample all of these!!) and played with some really adorable kids. the final 'attraction' was a demonstration of popping rice (like popcorn), for making rice cakes and sweet rice cookies. Hannah and i, however, got distracted by a myna bird in a cage who kept saying....something?....in vietnamese. but when we showed the video we took to our guide, he started laughing ~ the bird had been saying "f*$@ you!" to us. that definately took the sting out of following an organized tour group around...made our day!!
lunch was another stop ~ we had fried Mekong fish, served whole ~ as well as fresh spring rolls. so yummy. after lunch, we had the chance to bike along some beautiful palm-fringed dirt roads, over some of the bridges, and past some pretty gorgeous scenes of rural life. men fishing with huge nets in the river, children playing, women pedalling by on their own bikes. the women here ride the bicycles so gracefully....spine straight, regal tilt to their chin. we felt like great big western oafs (which is probably what we looked like...!)
after the bike riding, we stopped in at a local marketplace to take a look around. live pigs, mudpuppies, crab, frogs, crayfish, turtles, ....rats! all for sale ~ presumably for dinner. the rats were particularly disturbing...a crate full of swarming rats right beside a tray of skinned, disemboweled rat bodies. ew.
i feel particularly proud of myself for holding a snake long enough to pose for a picture...it was really wriggly and not so pleasant.
however, top prize for most disturbing event goes to the frog story. tons of them, all strung together (god knows through WHAT) ....and being plucked out of the pile, one by one....only to have their heads snipped off by scissors, and then chucked in a bag. the woman performing this gruesome ritual was, at the same time, carrying on a gossipy conversation with a friend. another day in the life...!!??
it was immediately following this that hannah and i became separated from our group. yes, we got lost. in a very strange, very non-touristy town....no other westerners, swarming with the average market crowd.....it was kinda exciting...since we knew we could always grab a bus back to saigon if need be.... however, it wasn't necessary ~ we finally spotted our tour group and rejoined package tour hell.
we left saigon the next day for Mui Ne ~ a sleepy little beach town a bit further up the coast of vietnam. this town is gorgeous. we got a little bungalow pretty much right on the beach, so we could fall asleep to waves crashing...and a great moto tour of the area the next day. the town is famous for both its red and white sand dunes, and production of fish sauce. so...gorgeous views, not so gorgeous smells. our lovely moto drivers drove like madmen, and took us to see a fishing village as well as a lovely 'river' they call the 'fairy stream'.
this fairy stream was the most beautiful place i've ever seen. the water was so shallow (maybe 2 inches, 5 in deep areas...)....and the riverbed was bright red. palm trees and bamboo formed an archway over the river as we walked upstream through the water, and then it opened up to bright blue skies, red sand cliffs on the left, and palm trees on the right. hannah said it was like arizona to the left, vietnam to the right. we walked for ages...with a little 12 year old boy as our guide. he showed us quicksand and told us there was a waterfall up ahead, but we opted out of trekking to it ~ we wanted to be at the red sand dunes for sunset so we had to hurry!
after an amazing moto ride along the coast, we plowed through several herds of cattle that were hanging out mid-highway, and headed to the white sand dunes...where we went sand-sledding on rented carpets! it was a good time...but nowhere near as speedy as i expected it to be!! and walking in the dunes can definately be counted as exercise. we were still finding sand in the most unexpected of places 2 days later...lets leave it at that.
the red sand dunes were kind of more of the same (except, so surprisingly, RED) and we contemplated leaving early...and then, the sun went down. as soon as it dipped below the horizon, the dunes were lit up as if from within. they GLOWED...and everyone/everything on them glowed, too. it was amazing. i'm so glad we stuck it out. later that night, we shared a bottle of vietnams finest red (from danang!!) and made plans to head further north to Nha Trang the next day.
let me tell you, the buses here are the most uncomfortable i've ever been on. well, ok ~ that 26h one in laos takes the cake ~ but this runs a VERY close second. the tickets are a great deal, or at least so it seems. we paid $16.50usd for an open ticket that we can hop on/off whenever we want, spending as much time as we wish in each place.... the route as follows, heading north..
ho chi minh city ~ mui ne ~ nha trang ~ hoi an ~ hue ~ hanoi
but the buses themselves are torture. hard seats, (which thankfully DO recline) and party-hardy busmates do not a comfortable trip make. ah well. it leaves me more money for SHOPPING!
which brings me to hoi an. the city itself is a Unesco world heritage site (vietnam seems to be full of them!) and is indeed gorgeous. at least, i think it is. we plan on checking that out a little more carefully tomorrow. so far, we've been spending a lot of time having clothes made ~ winter coats for $50, full suits for $60, fall jackets for $25. i think i'm in heaven. tomorrow i'm getting some silk pyjamas made for $20, too. ( www.http://:whc.unesco.org and look under hoi an ancient town for more info on this place!) the new year according to the lunar calendar has already started in Vietnam (same as Chinese New years ) and is known here as Tet. this makes travel a particular problem ~ so looks like we'll be staying here about a week or so. so long as i get to china before my friend leaves on feb 21st, i'm happy!
ok, thats enough for ANYONE to have to read in one sitting. oh, and i almost forgot ~ hi to Ali, Tamber and Lise, if you made it this far in your reading ~ welcome to my sporadic and lengthy emails!!!
miss you all lots,
xoxo laura
