Vietnam. It was only 35 years ago that Saigon fell and the U.S. embassy was evacuated. Even though Jim was young and I was not born yet, obviously the Vietnam War (called the American War here in Vietnam) affected us all from stories of friends and family to its influence on film, television and a generation. Today Vietnam is reestablishing relationships with former foes (US and Vietnam reestablished ties in 1995) and is becoming a major tourist destination due to its beauty and history. I had wanted to visit Vietnam ever since my sister visited the country when she was on Semester at Sea.
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We flew into Ha Noi and settled into our hostel after dodging the touts at the airport claiming that they were our driver to the hotel. It is a common scam in Ha Noi airport, a driver will claim they are from your hotel, but actually take you to a different hotel where they receive a commission. They are pretty amazingly good and the hotels will even have a card from your hotel to try and convince you that you are at the right spot!
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On the way from the airport (with our driver from our actual hotel) we witnessed Ha Noi streets. Simply, the streets are crazy. Small streets PACKED with motorcycles. It is pretty amazing how everyone gets around and you do not see more accidents. Every time you cross the street it is an adventure. After watching the locals, we realized that the best way to cross is simply to walk slowly and let the motorbikes dodge you.
Whole families can ride one bike. The record that we saw was five on a motorbike! Mom, dad and three kids!
We stayed in the Old Quarter of Ha Noi which is the historical center of the town. Near the Old Quarter is Hoan Kiem Lake which has a beautiful pagoda and a little respite from the craziness of the Ha Noi streets.
After dragging Jim to street food stalls all around the world, we finally found the street market made for Jim... Street beer!! Our friend Jed, knowing Jim is a beer geek, sent along a New York Times article "In Vietnam, Traveling an Unlikely Beer Trail" which pointed us to the intersection of Luong Ngoc Quyen and Ta Hien to try the bia hoi or "fresh beer." Bia hoi is brewed each night and delivered fresh by 8:00 AM each morning and scores of bia hoi joints pour the stuff from kegs right on the sidewalk for 4000 Vietnamese Dong or about 15 cents per glass.
Locals and tourists alike crowd the sidewalks sitting in tiny plastic chairs to drink the lager-like beer. We both agreed that it is much tastier and creamier than the large brewery stuff. Plus at 15 cents per beer and only about 2% alcohol you can enjoy several on a hot afternoon while watching the chaos on the streets in front of you.
While in Ha Noi we booked a trip to Halong Bay. Halong Bay is a beautiful bay surrounded by limestone islets. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and they are trying to get it voted as one of the 7 natural Wonders of the World.
There are a lot of tours that go to Halong Bay where you cruise around the Bay on a "junk" boat. We had heard from a lot of people and the Lonely Planet guide book that you get what you pay for when booking the junk boats. We even heard horror stories of rats on the boat and so on. However, we also heard from others that, it is just that the food is not THAT good (just tofu and sticky rice), but you could get the three day/two night (one night on the boat, one night on Cat Ba Island) for $45 (which includes transportation and all meals). Well, being the cheapskates we are, we figured we can deal with anything for two nights (even rats!) and all the boats go to basically the same spots on Halong Bay. So we searched out the cheapest tour we could find.
When the tour picked us up from our hotel, the guide took us aside and said, "I know how much you paid, so don't tell anyone else on the tour because some people paid $120." And that was for just two days/one night. Ha! Sooooo.... somehow we ended up on one of the nicer boats. Nice room on the boat and good seafood meals. So essentially we found out that we could have been on the cheap bad boats, but sometimes when the fancier boats have space, they fill them up with those who paid less. Just like on an airline you may have paid $300 whereas the guy next to you paid $100.
Cruising along the bay was beautiful and then we got to get out of the boat and do some kayaking. After that and before the sunset everyone on the boat swam and jumped off the top of thee boat.
We had a great group on the boat, and after dinner there was karaoke which was ... interesting.
The next morning the boat fired up and started moving at 7am. We headed to Cat Ba island and had a 2 hour hike in the National Park on the island. It was hot and humid, and Jim and I think it was possibly the most we have ever sweat in our lives. We had a quiet night on Cat Ba and headed back to Ha Noi the next day after another boat cruise on Halong Bay.
With Halong Bay being on everyone's must do list for Vietnam, the bay is packed with junk boats all going to the same spots. While the bay itself is certainly beautiful we definitely would have liked a less touristy experience.
So far we have loved Vietnam and the people here. Vietnam has the beautiful landscapes and open people who are always smiling. We head South after Ha Noi to Hoi An on a long overnight bus ride to continue our adventures.
Yes! Such a great post. Really, really makes me want to go and gives a great flavor of the experience you guys had. SO glad you got to try bia hoi, and happy to see you remembered! Although we are really missing you guys, I am so glad you are having this experience. It will give us lots to talk about when you get back!
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