Happy in Hanoi

After schlepping through the old quarter to 5 different hotels we finally found a little place to stay in Hanoi. A young boy and his friend took us there on motor bikes and checked us in assuring that the tea, coffee and bananas were free and that this was the place to be (at least for $15 a night it was). Hanoi is a bustling city much like Saigon with motorcycles every where and bustling dirty streets, but with a big difference...It has exquisite character! Unlike Saigon, you can see the French colonial influence; the architecture in the old quarter, the little old men with fu man chus in the park wearing berets, and, best of all, the pastries! The city is has much more cafe culture than Saigon and, while chaotic, it has peaceful little pockets with parks and temples.

This morning we took in a water puppet show. I have to admit, I didn't expect much for the $2.50 ticket but was pleasantly surprised with an entertaining little show including live traditional music and singing. The short puppet performances were silly and fun, definitely worth the price.

Tomorrow we're off on a two day boat cruise in Halong Bay. Hoping the weather gets a little nicer....it's been cold (around 60?) and gray since we've gotten to Hanoi.

Colonial Hue and War Reminders

Hue is a colonial city that's much more well-kept and clean (at least in parts) than the other cities we've visited so far, at least on the more touristed south bank of the river. On the north bank is the old Citadel and the Imperial City of the Nguyen Dynasty. Today we wandered throughout the old Citadel, Imperial City and the emperor's Forbidden City enclosure. It was beautiful but more striking was the daily life and residential area within the Citadel.

Throughout the trip so far, Mara and I have avoided the war era tourist attractions. We could have visited the tunnels outside of Saigon but chose not to. Here in Hue, we're only a few miles from the DMZ and China Beach but again, we've chosen not visit these places. However, everywhere you go, you're reminded of the atrocities of the war and our country's presence here. It was before my time but yet I'm struck by the history and what it might have been like. Today, walking along the street there were vendors selling old dug up paraphenalia from the war: canteens, badges and medals, detonated hand grenades and most disturbing, dog tags with American soldiers' names. As we walked to the Forbidden City we passed a museum with old tanks and guns out front. You can't help but wonder what life was like for these people as the Americans bombed much of the city. It's unavoidable.

The Train to/from Hell

I have taken trains on 4 continents in a variety of countries. After a disgusting night train experience in Thailand 6 years ago, I should have known better than to book a night train on Vietnam rails from Nha Trang to Hue. It was the most unsavory experience of the trip so far. Poor Mara was in utter disbelief when we boarded the disgusting car and saw that we would be sharing our dirty sleeping berth with two Vietnamese women and their crying baby. I at least had my sleep sack (instead of the stained linens provided) in which I was able to coccoon myself and try not to touch anything. The smell, the noise, the grime, and the flickering flourescent light above made sleep almost impossible.
In the morning we switched to a seat in another car which we thought would be better....it was not. It was even grimier and smellier with old men smoking and a questionable food cart wheeling through the aisles. Definitely an adventure. However, the morning views from the train were breathtaking. Reminiscent of the PCH and Big Sur, there were small secluded beaches and waves crashing in on the rocks. Small fishing boats dotted the horizon and water buffalo roamed through the rie paddies as the morning sun came up.....made it easy to forget the discomfort of the train.

Good (Christmas) Morning Vietnam!!

After our long day on the Mekong, we boarded a "luxury" night train to Nha Trang on Christmas eve. We had paid extra to take the "5 Star Express" overnight train for Christmas. For our $40 we got a private, relatively clean sleeping berth, a nicer bathroom facility (better than European trains), a piece of coconut cake and coffee service in the morning. It was a rather pleasant experience. Christmas morning we watched the sunrise over the rice paddies from the window as we ate our coconut cake.

We arrived in Nha Trang around 8am on Christmas morning and checked into our hotel. It was a comfortable little place with a gorgeous rooftop terrace, AC and satellite TV ($15 per night). We had a fantastic breakfast and spent the rest day between the beach and the rooftop terrace.

Nha Trang is a bigger city than expected. The beach is gorgeous but the motorcycles still buzz, honk, swerve through the streets there. It resembles any other small western beach resort (think Mexico). We found a great little cafe that we frequented during our two day stay (pretty much ate breakfast lunch and dinner there for two days). Cafe des Amis had delicious, fresh baked baguettes with eggs and cheese, fresh fruit salads, stir frys with lemon grass and chili, fried fish, spring rolls, fresh fruit shakes....and best of all, we discovered the banana pancakes with chocolate sauce and ice cream! The owner was nice, the food was superb and we made new friends at the "cafe of friends".

Christmas on the Mekong

On Christmas eve day we set out on a day trip on the Mekong River. It started with a bus ride that was supposed to be 1 1/2 hrs to the delta region south of Saigon. To our dismay, the bus was 1/2 hr late and the ride closer to 3 hrs. long. Finally we reached a small city along the river called My Tho where we boarded our boat. We were supposed to see a floating market along the river but we were so late that it had already ended.
On either side of the river were ramshackled and run down shacks on stilts where people live. There's laundry hanging out and children playing in the muddy water. The poverty is striking. In typical tour group fashion, we were carted about the town and fed information about the local population. We stopped to see coconut candy, rice paper and puffed rice being made by the local people. While interesting, it's overrun with tourists and hawkers.

We set out for our lunch destination on an island in the river but were quickly thwarted by the low tide. Our boat was stuck and required a slow and painful tow from another boat for over an hour. What started out as quite comical had turned sour in the hot afternoon sun. We got off our broken down boat and boarded small dug out row boats. Little Vietnamese women with conical hats rowed us down a small canal. We finally reached our lunch destination well into the afternoon. It may have just been our intense hunger but lunch was actually delicious! (fried pork with rice and steamed vegetables, chicken soup, spring rolls, and fresh fruit)

We bicycled from our lunch spot to the river where our boat was again waiting (with a tow boat) to take us back to the bus for a 3 hr. ride to Saigon. While interesting and photo worthy the day was a serious excercise of patience and "rolling with the punches". Lesson learned: Do not book full-day group tours of any sort.

Motorcycle Madness

Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) is by far the most chaotic and overwhelming place I have ever experienced. The sheer number of motos and scooters (many carrying a family of 3 or 4) is mind boggling and also a matter of death defiance when attempting to cross a 4 lane street. We wandered the city taking in the "sights" yesterday (unsure if you'd call the 70'style archtecture of the reunification palace a "sight") Silly (and sleep deprived) girls that we were, we got ripped off by the first pedi -cab ride we took. After that it was big bowls of bun at the famed Pho 2000 (Where President Clinton ate) and then $3 massages at the institute for the blind (they are trained in massage to make a living).
Thanks to Dylan for the reco about the Rex Hotel (an old war era hotel) rooftop. We had a fantastic cocktail at sundown and watched the motorcyle madness below.

I have always thought, and even prided myself on the idea that I could,and would, live and work anywhere in the world. That notion has now been challenged. It was a sad and startling realization for me that there are places in this world that I just couldn't hack it. Saigon is one of them.

Journey of 1000 sneezes (and one big snore)

After a grueling week of studying and finals (ie sleep deprivation) and the roller coaster of recruiting news it was finally time to begin our long journey around the world. Other than a little turbulence, an alarming number of sneezers that didn't cover and one VERY loud snorer we made it to Ho Chi Minh in relative comfort in roughly 24 hours.