Believe it or not, my travels in Vietnam are almost over! This is a bit of a bittersweet feeling for me, because I'm dying to get to Laos, but I've gotten pretty attached to this heavily-contrasted country, especially the northern part. Right now, I'm in Hanoi again, and tonight I take a night bus to the mountain village of Sapa. This is where you can buy unique handicrafts, walk
among terraced rice fields, and view the hill tribes walking around in retro-esque garb.After a day in Hoi An, I decided that it was time to move on. It would have been awesome to get some tailor-made shoes and clothing, but I was told that it would take a few days, and alas, I didn't have the time. It was a nice place to chill out for a day after the utter chaos of Saigon. I enjoyed walking through the narrow streets, among French colonial architecture, without worrying too much about being run down, or having my bag snatched by a moto-bandit. I also had the best baguette sandwich of my life!
Unfortunately, guesthouses in Hoi An aren't super cheap, unless you have a buddy, and at this point, I was completely solo. For me, Hoi An was more of a halfway point between Saigon and northern Vietnam, where most of the places I wanted to see were.
I booked a trip from Hoi An to Hanoi, which would stop halfway in Hue, where I would switch to a sleeper bus. The bus from Hanoi seemed to lack any sort of shock absorber, and I was fortunate enough to sit on the axle, being bumped and jostled around for hours. Not far from Hue, we drove down a hill which I can only describe as Asia's answer to Bolivia's "death road". Technically, it was a two-lane road, but the lanes were the tiniest I'd ever seen, an
d our bus often came face-to-face with a semi, and the driver had to maneuver around without hitting another vehicle, or driving us off the side of the cliff. Let me also say that it is beyond disconcerting when the lady in the seat next to you is gasping and screaming every five seconds.The redeeming factor to this leg of the journey was the landscape. The grass was almost a cartoon green, and as far as the eye could see were the rice fields, with people in traditional rice-farming hats peacefully went about their work. The palm trees lined the side of the road, and it was that perfect time of day where the sun hasn't set yet, but the light has changed, and the sky is hazy. The mere scenery of this ride was one of the major highlights of my trip.
I can't elaborate on the ride from Hue to Hanoi, as I passed out on the bus. Anyway.
Originally, I had planned to head straight to Ha Long Bay from Hanoi, and spend a night on a Chinese junk boat. Unfortunately, the bus getting into town was four hours late and I missed my ride. In a state of extreme panic, I ran to the travel company's office - heavy backpack and all - and pleaded my case. The woman there explained that if I came back the next morning, there would be space on a boat for me. Relieved, I headed to the Hanoi Backpackers Hostel, where I decided to crash for the night. Upon arrival at the hostel, I met Kirsten, also from Canada, and we spend the day attempting the Old Quarter walking tour. Although we found ourselves lost many a time, there were some amazing things that we stumbled upon.
One of my favorite parts of the city - although not officially on the walking tour - was an alley, which looked to be a locals' market. There were no tourists, just local people hanging out, selling things like amazing-looking vegetables and fruit, fish heads, a net bag of frogs (still hopping), and a pot of shrimp (still swimming). It was nice to see a group of locals just living their lives, without the influence of tourists. They were all incredibly friendly, and one lady really wanted me to buy some raw mystery-meat from her (which I declined with a somewhat forced smile).
I didn't know that the Vietnamese language used the same alphabet as English. Although the words don't mean a single thing to me, it's a nice change to be able to read the letters on a sign and from there figure out how lost I actually am.
The lady at the travel office was as good as her word, I discovered the next morning. I showed up bright and early, and within about fifteen minutes, a group of other travellers had accumulated (it's always nice to see that you're not the only one there). We were loaded onto a tight minibus, and driven to the Ha Long harbour. We ended up standing in the parking lot for a good hour, and no one bothered to tell us what the problem was. Finally, our guide returned, and we were able to get on our boat. It was a traditional wooden Chinese junk ship, with dragons decorating the sides. The bedrooms were basic, with two double beds and an ensuite. However, they were cozy, and really just a place to rest my head that night. Most of
the two days were spent on deck, camera in hand, snapping pictures like a madwoman.After a delicious lunch on board (mostly meat dishes, with two incredible veggie sides), we sailed to an island, where the largest cave in Ha Long Bay was located. After climbing a fair number of stairs, you can enter the cave. It has out-of-this world stalactites and stalagmites all over, and there are colourful lights placed strategically all over the cave. After walking out of the cave, you're high enough up to see an incredible panorama of the jade water and limestone karsts. Photo ops galore!
After that, we visited a fishing village, with tiny, colourful floating houses peppered throughout the small inlet. We got onto a rickety boat, and floated through two small arches in one of the cliffs (apparently the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies was filmed there), and all around the tiny houses.
The next morning, I woke up at 6:00, hoping to catch the sunrise. It didn't really happen, which was disappointing. Our guide then told us that we had an hour to kayak around the cliffs before breakfast - if we wanted. I was the first one off the boat. The water was calm, and because it was early, early, morning, we were the only people out and about. The water in the Bay was probably among the most beautiful I've ever seen, right up there with Railay.
Ha Long Bay was easily one of the highlights of my trip so far. I had seen pictures on the Internet, and thought that they were incredibly beautiful. What I learned was that they didn't do the real thing justice. The day was cooler and hazy, which added an amazing, mysterious ambiance to the place. Although I was a little chilly, I really enjoyed the mist, especially for the early morning kayak. There were tons of boats, but they were all spread out, so it didn't feel packed with tourists at all.
The only complaint I have about the Ha Long Bay tour is that there was a lot of sitting and waiting, and the guides never gave us a explanation of what was happening. However, for the (very) decent price I paid, I'm just glad I got a chance to see the Bay.
Now, I'm back in Hanoi. I think that today I'm going to take it easy and recharge before my night bus ride tonight. For the next two days, I'm going to be walking around Sapa. I've only heard good things so far, so I'm very excited. After that, I'm heading to Laos! Right now, I'm looking into booking a flight from Hanoi to Luang Prabang. It's more expensive, but it saves me a whole day. Why not?
Questions? Comments? Criticisms? I'd love to hear them all!
the-wanderingjew@hotmail.com
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