A Week of Northern Vietnam

We've spent the past week in Vietnam, and all I can say is that everyone needs to come here. The scenery, people and culture here are all so beautiful.

We spent the first few days in Hanoi - the capitol of the country. I was pretty much expecting it to be crowds and chaos, but it was quite charming (as well as crowded and chaotic). First of all, everyone drives motorbikes. I mean, probably about 5% of the motor vehicles in this country are non-motorbikes. And there are no road rules, hence why I have not tried to ride one. But there is organized chaos - when you cross the street, the motorists swerve around you and you feel pretty safe. Except that time we saw a young boy get hit by a car. But moving on. The people are absolutely amazing. Everyone smiles and says hello and makes you feel so welcome and at home. And you see all ages out and about - it makes you realize just what a lazy culture we are. Here, old ladies are carrying heavy loads of food down the streets, biking around the city, holding down their shops until late into the night, it is so impressive to see how hard-working everyone is. The setup of the city is interesting too - there are streets dedicated to certain types of stores. For example, there is a street where they sell hardware, one for paper goods, one for silk goods, and even one for gravestones (including an example of one with Britney Spears. She's not dead, right?).

Next we took a tour to Halong Bay. We took a tour out to these old-fashioned boats, ones that you think would be cruising down the Mississippi. Here's a photo to show what they are like.So we had a huge lunch of seafood on the boat, then spent the day kayaking and cruising around the bay, and later that night we slept on the boat. It was just amazing. So calm in the water. And we shared the boat with a group of really crazy, funny people.

The next day we went to the only inhabited island in the bay and did the hardest hike of my life. I'm not kidding. There were stairs for miles; I would even call it rock-climbing at one point. At the end we reached the top for some amazing views. I hiked up to the top of this old abandoned post, which I was quite proud of myself because I forgot how much I am scared of heights. Granted, it took me about ten minutes to get up (and it was only three flights of stairs) but nonetheless, I made it. Here's the view for you all to imagine just how scary it would be for me and how proud you are of me.
Anyways, next we headed to our hotel in the Cat Ba (the island's name) town. It was there that I had my first (and I am betting not last) experience with a karaoke bar. It was filled with westerners and the Vietnamese tour guides, and of course everyone sang TERRIBLY, but it was thoroughly entertaining. There were the usuals - I Will Survive, Country Road, You Can't Touch This (rapped by a girl). Yes, good times you can imagine. So you know, we did not take over the mic and sing, I am saving it for a time when I've had a few more drinks and have had some time to warm up (mentally). It will come though, don't you worry.

Now when I write about this next part of my trip, I know you will all think we are the biggest whimps when it comes to traveling, but I swear, we have been having the worst luck with transport here. We took the overnight bus to Hoi An, and it was four hours delayed (due to a few people not having tickets, which took about an hour to sort out, and then our bus shut down. Thankfully, after taking out something which looked like the engine and re-inserting it, it ran relatively fine). Another unfortunate fact of the bus ride I will make - no air-conditioning. I believe it was recirculated air from outside, and it was a hot night so I slept drenched in a layer of sweat. (Thank god for travel wipes!)

But we made it, better later than never, to Hoi An. And we absolutely love it here. We are paying $30 total for all three of us to be in this amazing hotel. Swimming pool, rice fields out back, free breakfast, it's like we're living in this mansion in the middle of the Mississippi delta. (Strange that I've now referred to Mississippi twice considering I've never been there) And it's a shopper's dream here. I'm getting shorts tailor made for $10, and I bought a bunch of stuff at a crafts workshop where they employ handicapped workers, and they are all working in the back so you can see them in action. It's an amazing place, it has a Mediterranean feel to it and narrow winding streets. I could stay here for a long long time. Here are some photos from today so you can imagine it.