What could possibly top Saigon we wondered as we boarded our plane for Hoi An, our next destination. Fortunately the two places could not have been more different so we didn't have to compare. Hoi An is a town in the middle of Vietnam on the coast that is known best for two things: its beautiful old building and tailoring. Much of the town was saved during the war so old Chinese and French buildings are what make up the majority of the town. The fact that Hoi An is listed as a world heritage site has helped them preserve what they have and not tear down the old to build the new as we see in so many places. Walking down the streets of mustard-yellow buildings feels like being in an old French town; it is quite surreal and feels so removed from Vietnam until you are nearly run over by a motorbike or someone tries to sell you a pineapple. That helps bring you back to reality.
Inside every beautiful French building is a tailor shop, and we mean EVERY. There have got to be over 100 shops in what is a very small town. They range in price but pretty much all make the same exact thing. Walking into most shops you wake the owner from their nap and browse the materials and samples they have draped across every surface. It is overwhelming at best, so going in with a plan is a survival technique and a must. Travis needed to get a blazer made for the wedding (very important) so we set to work finding a place that knew what a blazer was. Apparently those haven't really hit Vietnam yet. We had a very distinct image in our heads of a standard blue blazer, but couldn't quite get that across so we googled the heck out of blue blazers and come up with several very preppy pictures to show our friends at the tailor shop. With the process set into motion, we set out to see things other than tailor shops though we did have to drop back in from time to time for fittings.
Although we were hot and sweaty in the south of Vietnam, we were wearing pants again for the first time here and feeling a bit chilly. It wasn't cold so much as damp, and the sun was not out. It just so happens that the day we rented bikes was the day it decided to rain, but it was a comforting and nostalgic rain that brought us back to our Pacific Northwest days, particularly when we found the South China Sea. For anyone who has been to the Oregon coast, it felt just like that only 20 degrees warmer. We made our way along several rivers and through small side paths that wove by homes, fields, graveyards, fish traps, and the like. Each and every field is plowed, planted and harvested by hand. Pretty amazing given the number of fields we did see. The countryside is void of horns, people trying to sell you things and tourists. It was a place we could go to be invisible and enjoy watching daily life go by.
Back in Hoi An our missions was accomplished. Travis had one heck of a suit to bring home so we could finally leave town (oh and Victoria got a few things made too). We took a bus along the coast to a city called Hue where we planned to drop in and out of. In the three times anyone from Victoria's family has visited this city, is has been cold and rainy the whole time. This time was no different so we didn't plan to doddle. The two things to do in Hue are to visit the tombs and the citadel, so that is just what we did. The Citadel, a walled complex of royal living quarters left from one of the more well known dynasties. It was mostly destroyed during the war but is slowly being rebuilt again. The buildings were very Chinese in style with a hint of French thrown into some buildings depending on who was in charge when they were build. It sounds kind of lame but wait until you see the pictures. It was one of Travis's favorite stops. We also visited several thousand year old tombs that line the Perfume River running through Hue. These are not just any old ordinary tomb like you would see in a cemetery, but huge complexes with lakes, bridges, gates, and multiple buildings. One of course had to have temples for ones concubines and eunuchs, right? Well, the answer is yes. The emperors would build their own tombs and hopefully complete them in the course of their lifetimes.
Having see what we came to Hue to see, we scooted along our way to our final city and the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi. Hanoi is far in the north of Vietnam and although it is further south than the U.S., it gets weather from China that cools it down considerably during the winter. Again, not that cold but we are now very much wimps. We wore our long underwear, hats, gloves, down jackets, and all the other layers we could find. Thank goodness for all of our cold weather clothes from Nepal!
Hanoi was our longest stop over so far on the trip, but we had a two day side excursion to kayak in Halong Bay planned as well. When we booked it in Colorado in the sunny warm fall weather, kayaking in the sea sounded like a great plan, but now we weren't so sure. We were, no surprise here, the only two signed up for the trip. We took that to be a sign that we were crazy, but went through with it anyway and were glad we did. As it turns out when we were kayaking we were the warmest we had or would be since leaving Hoi An. We paddled amongst the limestone islands that rose endlessly from the sea never giving you a clear line of sight. They were everywhere. The clouds gave it an eerie feeling that made us both think that a pirate ship would pop around the corner at any moment. This place was made for pirate movies! The name Ha Long means descending dragon. The legend is that when the Vietnamese were fighting foreign invaders, the gods sent a family of dragons to help defend their land. The dragons descended into the bay and began spitting out
jewels and jade. The jewels turned into the various
islands and islets and formed a fortress
against the invaders. The locals were able to keep their land safe and formed
what is now the country of Vietnam.
The water is flawlessly calm and shallow. There are about 10,000 people that live in villages out on the water fishing and farming muscles and oysters. They live on floating houses with their farms connected. They have guard dogs, satellite TV, and laundry that must never dry. We paddled through villages and through areas that were empty and peaceful. We even paddled with our headlamps through a cave that was none too high or wide for about 200 meters and came out in the middle of a lagoon ringed with rock, the cave being the only access. It was amazing! It can only be reached at middle tide by kayak so we were the only ones there. Life was pretty good...
We returned to Hanoi to "see the sights." We were staying in the chaotic old town area with hopelessly narrow streets that cars, vendors, motorbikes, pedestrians, and tourists fight over. The cars and motorbikes seem to win leaving the tourists high and dry. It was stressful at best to walk around the old town, but since it was our home for a few days we were left with little choice. There was a very nice mix of tourists and local life that didn't make it feel like all the other backpackers areas we had been to and the beautiful spacious lake was just a few stressful blocks away. There was a huge path to walk around and plenty of space there, you just had to make it! The lake is rumored to have giant tortoises that bring good luck if you see them; we only saw the dead one that had been found and preserved but we consider that to be some sort of luck.
One of our days brought us to the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, known as Uncle Ho to the Vietnamese. Within about two seconds of arriving on the premise we had had a whistle blown at us for walking on a path that was apparently off-limits. Who knew that "keep off the grass" signs also meant keep off the cement pathway that is clearly NOT the grass. So we walked about five blocks out of our way in a giant circle to avoid the off-limits pathway and were confronted with a line and our security check. We were told we had to dump our water and check our camera so we again, followed our marching orders. When we were returning from the camera drop we got another whistle blown at us for not walking on the correct side of the sidewalk. OMG. This was getting ridiculous. So we dutifully followed orders, crossed the sidewalk and walked silently in line with other tourists towards the mausoleum. Having been warned by our trip bible, we took off our winter hats and walked with our arms by our side as we shuffled along. The young lady in front of us got scolded for having her had in her pocket...tsk, tsk. Clearly she had not read the LP. For about 15 seconds we walked past the tiny, very white and frail-looking embalmed body of Uncle Ho while about ten guards watched us with their beady eyes, and then we were done. All of that for 15 seconds. It was worth it. He is the most revered person not only in Vietnam but other like-minded countries and a visit to see him is almost sacred. He however distinctly wrote that he wished to be cremated and not have a fancy grave; a man of simplicity and modestly. How the Vietnamese interpreted that to mean lets preserve you forever and build a monster marble building to put you in, we don't know.
We found plenty to do to fill our days in Hanoi. There were streets lined with embassies, beautiful French style buildings, parks scattered throughout, an endless supply of temples, a stunning Opera House and the bustle of life in the capital city. Our final day in Hanoi allowed us to take off our hats and gloves and gave us our nearly first glance of the sun since arriving in Vietnam several weeks ago. We took this day to experience public transportation and visit the Ethnology Museum to learn about all the tribes that make up Vietnam and SE Asia. We recognized quite a bit from our Laos and Cambodia days as well, but the bus ride was probably the most interesting culturally. We got onto an empty bus and slowly watched it fill up. Once it was full and a slightly elderly person stepped on, the young person nearest them would hop up and give them a seat. Amazing. These are the people who have been cutting us in every grocery store line and shoving us from behind the whole time we are waiting. Their consideration and courtesy towards the elderly is clearly a cultural thing but something we were so surprised to see given the lack of courtesy we had generally experienced. It was quite an amazing site to see repeated over and over again as the bus moved through the city.
Oh and we must discuss the orange trees. As part of the New Year, people like to have a orange tree in their house of office (like Christmas tress back home). But back home we all have cars that you can load up the tree on the roof and blaze back home with. Here the trees are transported on, the motorbike of course! During the final days in town we saw thousands of bikes zipping past us with 10ft of tree ladened with bright oranges strapped to the back as if that was completely normal everywhere in the World. To boot each tree was planted in a huge ceramic pot that itself must have weight 50lbs.
We were both very eager to move onto the warmth of Australia and the comfort of a real home! We stay the first five days with friends of Victoria's parents from their days in Saudi Arabia. They fortunately have seen Victoria since she was a baby and will have no troubles recognizing us when we step off the plane!
Vietnam by the Numbers:
$14: Average cost of food per day for the two of us.
$16: Average cost per night of hotels. Almost all included breakfast and internet.
4 million: Number of motorbikes in Saigon, we saw just about all of them if felt like.
3: Number of people legally allowed to ride a motorbike.
6: Number of people we actually saw riding on a motorbike.
13hrs: Number of hours each day most small restaurants are open.
$17.50: Most expensive meal to date that we have purchased (i.e. not with family)and it was a restaurant that Bill Clinton ate at! It was also for a good cause.
3: Number of days we wore sunglasses while in Vietnam. If you want a suntan in the winter, this is not the place to come.
100: Percentage of minivan rides we took with Vietnamese where somebody tossed their cookies.
100: Percent tax paid on cars in Vietnam. Which means that the many Porsche Cayennes we saw cost over $250,000!
Heading down under...
T&V
