Halong Bay: One of the Natural Wonders of the World

Our one day and one night in Hanoi was not very eventful. Other than the campy but enjoyable water puppets show and wandering through the mass rush hour, motorbike confusion trying find a currency exchange, it wasn't too much fun. It's very busy and people aren't as open to tourists as other places we've been. Also, I failed horribly at food in Hanoi. I tried to get steamed rice wraps with vegetables and pointed to them and said "no meat?", they nodded and ended up bringing Simon and I steamed rice wraps with nothing inside (which is, I guess, what I asked for). Then at a street vendor, I assumed that I pointed at spring rolls and when I said "no meat?" They nodded. It was a deep fried pork stick. Ah well.... The hustle, bustle and tiresome city life of Hanoi gave easy way to one of the prettiest locations on our trip, Halong Bay.

Halong Bay consists of thousands of limestone rocks and mini-islands jutting around the Vietnamese coastline. It is definitely worthy of its placement in the seven natural wonders of the world. It's gorgeous.

A View of Halong Bay

We took a two day, one night cruise to explore the Bay. Our company, the Majestic has some flaws (on-board activities lacking direction, expensive drinks at $2/beer when we're used to 0.75) but it was pretty good otherwise.

The Majestic was... mostly majestic.

Our rooms and meals were amazing. We anchored in the bay at nighttime so it wasn't wavy at all. We had a triple and I'm pretty sure it was the nicest place we stayed all trip. The meals were gigantic portions and they really accommodated my vegetarianism more than anywhere else on this trip. I had just as many dishes as everyone else. Almost too many!

.....What a tourist.

We cruised to Sung Sot cave to explore the caverns there. I actually really like caves (fav episode of Planet Earth) so I revelled in it. It was the biggest one I've ever been in (not that I've been really in many caves in my lifetime) and although it was touristy (lights, well worn paths and ropes keeping you off the rocks), it was still impressive. Unfortunately, the pictures I took didn't do it justice because they can't show the depth of it.

Where's Alfred?

After the cave, our boat took us to a beach to go swimming. It's winter here so the locals think it's freezing but after the initial cold, the ocean was beautiful. It was like July cottage lake temperature. We swam for a bit before relaxing on the beach. It wasn't too sunny but after the mad heat in the south, it was a nice, breezy 24 degrees. 

By the sea, by the sea, by the marvellous sea!

There were these hilarious monkeys on the beach too and after being warned not to get too close, we enjoyed their antics from afar. One lady (a Darwin Award Applicant for sure) tried to climb a rock for a photo op and a monkey grabbed at her, she then tried again and it attempted to bite her! It was pretty funny (I am a horrible person).

I don't do it nearly enough at my cottage and never think to do it, but stargazing is one of my favourite activities. On our boat, I took some time to sit on the sun deck and watch the stars. Listening to music on my iPod in the background and getting lost up there. Unfortunately, I only got about 10 mins of good viewing before it clouded over. But there's something about sitting on a boat, slight breeze, listening to the national and looking up at the stars. I got a bit emotional. I know, I know... cut out the cheese, suze, yeesh! ;)

In the morning, we kayaked around a small fishing village (in the rain at points) and then cruised back. We didn't head back to Hanoi and instead switched off the bus to another car and went to the airport to catch our flight to Laos. Vietnam has been an interesting country to visit, with its mix of metropolitan and chilled out areas. I am looking forward to exploring some of Laos but I will miss my Vietnamese coffee in the morning!

Goodnight, Vietnam!

Chill out in Hoi An

In short, Hoi An is the exact opposite of Ho Chi Minh City and its a welcome relaxing breath. It's a small town, centred on the the tailor / custom clothes industry it's famous for. It's located near a beach, has a bunch of heritage sites and everyone seems more relaxed. Perhaps it's because I spent the afternoon on a leisurely bike ride pace. :)

A ride along the river to Old Town

The first stop we made was to the tailors to order some clothing. Simon ordered a full suit, Karen got some dresses, slacks, and a jumper while I ordered a winter coat (dark green peacoat) and a dress to wear to upcoming weddings (perhaps even to Simon and Karen's in February!). I spent $70 on the coat and $50 on the dress. Not bad for custom fit. We returned for re-sizing the following day and they turned out really well. Simon loves his suit, Karen had some great outfits (her jumpsuit is my fav) and I was super pleased with my coat. It's a bit more unique than your average peacoat (the flare out bottom and forest green colour). I wasn't as pleased with my dress, not because it didn't look good or fit well (it did), but more so I don't think it was worth $50. Ah well, you live you learn (thanks, Alanis Morisette).

Susan-sized clothing

We also rode around our bikes in the market area where I picked up some Christmas gifts for people back home and bought myself a "North Face" gortex raincoat for $30. Knock-off, Schmock-off... I needed a new raincoat.

We biked over to the nearby beach at sunset. But didn't stay long because it was getting dark. One of the girls who worked at our hostel, Lyna, took us out for the evening. Our hostel only had 12 beds and 10 of us went out. We went to a food stand near the night market and I tried a vegetarian cau lau (noodle dish). It was great and we washed it down with some Larue and Tiger beers. We decided to forgo the dancey clubby backpacker trail and headed to a karaoke room for the night! 

New friends bonding over beer!

I have never been to a karaoke room before and it was a lot of fun. The best part of the evening however, was biking home from the karaoke bar at 1am along the deserted streets of Hoi An. We looked like a little biker gang, monopolizing the road. There was a slight breeze in our hair but not enough to feel cold. We ran over rain puddles and past the closed shops. It was peaceful. Until... I had a moment where I probably laughed the longest and hardest on my trip. My new hostelmate Philip, unintentionally and unknowingly, ran over a rat on his bike. To be fair though, I saw the rat dart out basically straight into his front wheel. It then ricocheted to the back wheel, spin around, and fly out the side. I screamed and so did the two other girls with me. Philip didn't stop until about 15 seconds later when he jumped off his bike (in a delayed response to our shouts) thinking there was a snake on him or something. We could not stop laughing and I don't even know if this is even close to conveying how funny it was.

The next day was a hungover lazy day of naps and nursing a rumbly tummy. The evening we hit up an all-you-can-eat / make-your-own spring roll joint. Delicious and veggie friendly :). We biked to the night market and wandered through the stalls looking at brightly lit lanterns and cheap souveniers.

Lanterns in Hoi An's Night Market

We bought paper lanterns to let loose along the river. You make a wish and let your lantern float away. I obviously can't tell you my wish or it won't come true. :) A beautiful ending to our time in Hoi An.

A cruise along the Mekong Delta

Mekong Delta is a huge river that runs throughout Vietnam. Out of HCMC, there are loads of tours there and we settled on a 2 day, 1 night trip. 

The first day we took a fishing boat down a river, saw a place that made coconut candy and whisky, saw the Vietnamese way of harvesting honey, and listened to a traditional musical performance.The fishing boat or row boat we took was relaxing and calm. They gave us all rice hats to wear and we quietly rowed down the river.

On the hunt

The coconut candy was delicious (I'm bringing some home!) and the whisky was strong. Karen and I even tried the snake wine (rice wine distilled in a bottle with a dead snake in it) despite warnings that it was not for ladies because it made you too strong (well we HAD to do it then). It wasn't as strong or gross as I was expecting.

Bit of a Bite

The honeybees and traditional singing were alright but nothing to really be blown away by. We did learn a bit of a Vietnam anthem and we're all singing "Vietnam... Ho Chi Minh..." Over and over again. We may have been brainwashed.

I'm not a very big fan of organized bus tours so when we  separated into a smaller group with the other people who were staying at a home stay with us, it was great. We took a terrifying van ride outside the city to our homestay during a thunderstorm (this is how horror films start!). But once we got there and settled in, we enjoyed a nice dinner together. Actually nice is too simple of a word for this delicious highlight of my Mekong trip. We were taught how to make spring rolls with a spider-webby kind of rice paper and then deep fried them to crunchy deliciousness. Then we had fresh spring rolls, as well as a tofu/bean/rice dish and fish to add if you preferred. 

The coolest part was when they served us some rice wine. They served it in a plastic bag and opened it by poking a chop stick into the bag through two sides. You then pulled out the chopstick to pour out the wine and used it as a stopper when you were done! Ingenious!

Rice Wine, Vietnamese Stylz

The homestay itself was pretty sweet, even if I didn't get much sleep. It was more like individual cottages with a bathroom, two beds and mosquito nets. Simple but effective. Luckily we didn't have the same experience of the French couple who had a giant spider in their room! I kept waking up because of noises and worrying we'd sleep in and miss the connection with the rest of the group. Nevertheless, it was a cool experience and I really liked those mosquito nets. I felt fancy and a little hardcore at the same time. ;)

Our Homestay

Day two was a little more laid back. It started off with a small motorboat ride from our homestay to join a bigger boat with the rest of our group.  We visited the floating market where you bought produce from boats in the middle of the river. At the mast of the boat, they would tie the fruit/vegetables around it indicating what they were selling. We obviously didn't really buy anything, but small boats zipped up beside us and tried to sell us pineapples and coffee. 

The Floating Market

We then saw a noodle factory but I got distracted by cute puppies so I didn't really pay attention to the demonstrations. They didn't have enough bikes for everyone to join the bike tour portion so we just played with puppies and cards in the shade. Amy and Karen tried bbq-ed rat while the veggies of the trip, Simon and I, declined. 

The four hour bus ride back to HCMC was fairly uneventful, but dinner and drinks with our new friends Cheryl and Magnus was nice. On our last day in HCMC, we visited the Reunification Palace, the head of the south Vietnamese government during the war. We did a quick walking tour, admired and mocked it's 1960s design, and after visiting the market, said goodbye to Amy. She's heading back to Japan and its now just the three of us venturing on. Next stop, Hoi An!

Good Mooooorrrning, Vietnam!

This was my kind of day, the modern history nerd in me was incredibly happy. I once took a university course based just the Vietnam War, so it was pretty interesting to visit the War Remnants Museum and the Chu Chi Tunnels today. :)

The War Remnants Museum houses a whole whack of American bombers, helicopters, flame throwers, and tanks on the outside. I went a little photo happy. But when you go inside, you're hit with hundreds of pictures of the atrocities committed by US troops during the war. Made me feel a little gross that I took so many picture of the artillery outside.

American tanks leftover from the Vietnam War

One of the most interesting galleries was the one showcasing photos of victims of Agent Orange. Agent Orange was a chemical dropped on the Vietnamese by the Americans during the Vietnam War. It contains dioxin and causes many deformities and developmental problems to those directly and even indirectly through second generation exposure (passed on through the parents initial exposure, working in contaminated agriculture, etc). 4.8 million Vietnamese were exposed and I even saw a picture of a girl born with no arms/legs (just stumps) in 2008! While the museum didn't really capture my interest for too long, it was really interesting to see the war from solely at Vietnamese point-of-view. This was even more apparent at the Củ Chi Tunnels.

A tour to the Củ Chi tunnels was next on our Vietnam War History itinerary . The tunnels (which are in the Củ Chi area) are an example of and homage to the elaborate tunnel system and guerrilla warfare tactics that the Viet Cong used during the war. At the beginning of the tour, you were shown a very dated, propaganda film about Củ Chi and glorifying killing the "American Devils". Quite different than what would be in an American textbook, I bet.

A volunteer demonstrates how they popped in and out of the tunnels

They demonstrated how they popped out of the holes and camouflaged them. They showed us ways that the Viet Cog survived living underground to avoid detection (such as using termite mounds to disguise air holes and then using dead GI clothing and soap to throw off the scent of dogs trying  to sniff out the air holes). They even showed us the different types of booby traps they used and how they made them.

I couldn't believe how ingenuous they were. They only had AK-47s to combat against machine guns and tanks. So they had to use guerrilla tactics and booby traps to defeat their enemy. They sharpened metal taken off the enemy into sticks which they would then line the bottom of traps with. If they didn't have metal, they'd use sharpened bamboo. They'd take unexplored bombs, cut them open, take the bomb powder and make their own delayed mines to take down tanks. Even though they were slaughtered 10 Viet Cong to 1 GI, the fact that they even killed any seemed a great feat to me.

Bamboo spiked booby traps

I find it incredibly lucky that I am visiting a country and locations that I studied in university. It's amazing to physically be somewhere that you've read about. Facts keep flying into my head throughout the trip and as soon as I read something I go, oh yeah! I remember that! Once a (history) nerd, always a nerd it seems. :)

Ho Ho Ho Chi Minh, Ho Chi Minh is gonna win!

Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam! The formerly named city of Saigon, was a welcome relief after the kind of drudging, on-the-rise but still a bit dodgy, Phnom Penh. We had learned our lesson about taking cheap buses (the bus ride from Siem Reap to PP was in a word, Brutal) so our more expensive $14 ride was much nicer. We met some new travel friends along the way (hi Cheryl and Magnus!) and hung out with them later that evening at a fun bar up on the top floor of a hotel. It had a great view of the skyline and pretty cheap beer! Darts, Jenga and picking our own playlist were highlights.

Drinks with a view!

Our hotel is gorgeous compared to the last one. At $25 a night, it's a bit pricier than most but worth it. A/c, clean washrooms, super friendly staff and breakfast included. HCMC is a bustling town, with thousands of motorbikes racing around in a more organized fashion than in Cambodia. You have to be super careful about bag and camera snatching too, so more often than not, I left my camera back in the hotel and had my money/iPod in my bra.

Food wise, everyone seems super happy. I really liked the sandwiches (I had an amazing egg version) and the spring rolls. The buns they use here are incredible. Sometimes I just order a jam and baguette for breakfast.  I tried Banh Mi, a famous Vietnamese sandwich. Unfortunately for me, everytime I see pate, I think of cat food. If I got my mind around that, it was pretty good! I also tried Pho for the first time and while I'm not a big soup eater and didn't eat the pork part, it wasn't half bad! Unfortunately, the rest of the day I didn't feel great but that may have been a combo of hangover/sun/meat soup. Still haven't thrown up yet though! I think that's a record. My family always says "it's not a trip til Susan pukes". Ha.

Trying Pho for the first time!

Not many people seem to really enjoy HCMC because it's SO busy and a lot of the touristy type activities require you to leave the city on a bus tour. However, i like exporting cities and we have only been scammed once but at least he did it with a smile (we were overcharged at least 115% for coconut waters which we didn't even want). Also, we've found some cool public parks around the city with people playing badminton and greenery everywhere.

Eat your heart out, Edward Scissorhands

We visited some Vietnam War sites, as well as a Mekong River mini-trip, but I'll post more detailed ones about that later. I've reached the halfway point of my trip and cannot believe the reports of snow back home. I won't lie, I'm pretty pumped to be in a tank top and shorts right now.