Things that begin with "H"

….Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hoi An, and Ho Chi Minh City!

These four cities were designated for the final two weeks of our trip, and each was extremely different from the other. We started in the northern city of Hanoi, and after a flight from tranquil, hot Laos we dove right into the chilly, wild capital city. Abbie and I had spent hours planning our backpacking trip, asking friends for advice and tips, looking up what to pack, etc. and neither of us had any idea that we would actually be somewhere COLD! (gasp from the audience). The first night we were scammed into staying at the “top-rated” hostel in Hanoi, only to find out that the employees had undoubtedly written every high recommendation of the place.  No windows, no hot water, almost no lighting, no heat…we put on all the clothes we owned and tried to make the best of it…only to go hostel searching for a legitimate place the next morning in the same layered beach clothes. Mad at the cold and the gray skies and the first of many scams in Vietnam, we barely talked to each other the next day as we wove in and out of motorcycles, children, animals, hundreds of people selling things, piles of food, and other tourists. We finally found an excellent hostel, vowed to change our moods, and set out to “see the sights”.

We first trekked to Hoan Kiem lake, the most popular tourist attraction of Hanoi, as it brings a touch of serenity to the otherwise frenzied city-center. A beautiful red bridge, temple, and pagoda make their homes in the center of this lake, and as I was snapping pictures of them I swore I heard my name coming from one of the many motorcycles passing by. Abbie claimed she did too but how would I ever know a motor-biking Vietnamese guy living in Hanoi?

We made our way across the lake to the “Water Puppet Theater” mentioned in all guidebooks and bought tickets to what we had been told was “one of the most bizarre performances you will ever see”. The stage was a pond of water at eye-level, and little Vietnamese puppets (dancers, farmers, dragons, city-dwellers) danced on top of the water for around an hour, telling an unusual story accompanied by the music of a “moon lute” which looks like the mix between a harp and guitar. I felt like I was watching one of those you-tube videos where you can’t figure out whether it is funny or weird.

The Tortoise Pagoda, Hanoi

The Hoa Lo Prison was another stop on our tour. The former prison housed political prisoners under French colonialism and later American POW’s during the Vietnam War. The Americans sarcastically called it the “Hanoi Hilton” to hide the otherwise torturous atmosphere of the somber penitentiary (Hoa Lo literally means “Hell’s hole”). Famous politicians such as John McCain and James Stockdale were imprisoned here and the prison now serves as a museum to inform visitors about Vietnam under French rule and American invasion.

After we were all Hanoid-out, we took the mandatory when-in-Vietnam 2 night, 3 day boat trip to Halong Bay from the city. Halong Bay is a UNESCO world heritage sight that is simply stunning….during the summer. Don’t get me wrong, I found it fascinating; however, the heavy fog made it difficult to completely enjoy the bright green water surrounding 2000 islets made mostly of limestone. Aboard the “Christina Cruise” we floated among the islands and made our way to some of the amazing caves to tour. We also had the opportunity to kayak in the bay which was very surreal…I felt so small paddling towards the looming islets and it was an amazing way to experience the bay from a different perspective. One night was spent on Cat Ba Island, and our tour guide told us we would be going on a small “walk”. One of the longest, steepest hikes I have ever done is more like it! At the end our unprepared shoes and clothes were soaked with mud and we were mildly perturbed at our smiling tour guide who was fanning us with big branches every 20 minutes or so. At the end of our trip we were tired but paradoxically re-energized. Halong Bay was different than anything we had seen or done on our trip, and I enjoyed staying active via cave exploring, kayaking, and hiking.

Halong Bay

Hoi An. Oh how I love you. We spent 1/6 of our entire trip here, testifying that we had a slight obsession with the quaint “textile town”. We only planned to stay a couple of days but were so exhausted from being on the move all the time that we stayed for 7 nights. Our days were filled with finding fabrics and styles to bring to our chatty tailors, eating delicious one-of-a-kind-Hoi-An food, lounging and journaling in cafes, and biking to the beach with the rest of the moped community. I ended up having 2 pairs of shoes, a maxi dress, and high-waisted trousers made. Picking a tailor shop in Hoi An is no easy task, as they all seem pretty similar: row after row of various fabrics, dozens of eager women showing you style books and patterns that “just arrived”, other tourists with overwhelmed looks on their faces…

Although I don’t consider the clothes and shoes I had made “quality craftsmanship” (the turnaround is less than 24 hours) the process of picking your own fabric, colors, patterns, styles, and sizing is great fun.

My dress fitting!

Long bike rides through the rice paddies surrounding Hoi An’s city center were one of the highlights of my stay as well. I felt like Julia Roberts in “Eat Pray Love” as she’s trekking through Bail in the beginning of the movie. I sometimes found myself a little too relaxed on the narrow roads I was sharing with hundreds of other mopeds, buses, taxis, and people…but I couldn’t have felt more mentally at ease.

Ho Chi Minh was to be our last new city of the trip, and Abbie and I were not expecting much considering everyone we had talked to did not have anything nice to say about it! We had even overheard an old British lady exclaiming to her friends on the streets of Hanoi, “Wow, this is nowhere NEAR as bad as Ho Chi Minh” (talking about the traffic/craziness/ability to move). We found it exciting, big, and eventful and ended up having a great time. A lot of recent history is packed into the city and its surroundings; we spent the first afternoon completely enthralled by the information at the War Remnants Museum, which basically explains the Vietnam War according to the Vietnamese. When it opened in 1975, it was named “The House for Displaying War Crimes of American Imperialism and the Puppet Government of South Vietnam”. As US-Vietnamese relations have improved, so has the decency of Vietnam’s museum names. As an American, I could not help being skeptical as I noticed that the museum is undoubtedly a propaganda museum for the Communist regime, but I found it so interesting to see a different side of the story I learned in High School.

Similarly, I found myself cringing the following day as we hiked through the Cu Chi Tunnels located around an hour from Ho Chi Minh. The Cu Chi Tunnels were used by the Vietcong to plant daunting boobie traps for and hide from American soldiers. We watched a documentary prior to seeing the tunnels, and a sweet girl’s voice commentated the entire time on the “invasion of the devilish Americans” and how Vietnamese soldiers received “the prestigious American-killer honor award” based on how many US soldiers he or she captured or killed. It prompted a strange reaction in me – I almost wanted to laugh at the sheer absurdity of it all, but felt that disrespectful. Then I would turn angry, then realize I should be more understanding, and then I would just finish confused. At the end I learned to take it all in objectively, and to leave my emotions back in the hostel.

The War Remnants Museum

During our last couple of days in Vietnam, Abbie and I realized we hadn’t completed two Asia staples: Karaoke-ing and getting manicures. It’s what Asia does! We spent around three hours the last night in our own private karaoke room singing at the top of our lungs to various favorites. In those parts, karaoke isn’t a drunken once-in-a-while thing you do in front of a ton of strangers at a random bar. Large groups (or 2 people…) get together and head to one of the thousand karaoke bars scattered around to rent large, personal rooms where you can drink and sing with your friends at an hourly rate. Genius! Also, the US should really follow Vietnam’s take on manicures…$2 for a perfect set of painted nails, yes please!

And so marks (basically) the end of our trip. We spent the final two days in Bangkok shopping our hearts out (we bought an extra suitcase and had shopper’s adrenaline for 24 hours at the amazing street stalls of cheap, cute, girly clothes). We also managed to get our last-minute Thai food fix and reminisce about the entire trip on the rooftop bar of Thailand’s tallest building, which was the perfect Asian send-off. 

Intriguing Vietnam

There are so many things about Vietnam that are amazing. There are so many things that are scary. There are so many things that are beautiful. So many things that are funny, twisted, and intriguing all at the same time. Vietnam is a dynamic country, and there were days when I would feel happy, frustrated, cold, hot, homesick, and in love – all within one hour. I guess you could say I have a love-hate relationship with the country. Here’s why!

Some of the Vietnamese are the most abrupt I have ever encountered in my life. Every day, people would come up to us, get in our faces, and yell, “ACCUSE ME, YOU BUY SOMETHING TODAY, LADYYYY, WHAT YOU WANT”. (Yes, I do “accuse you”…of getting WAY to close to me) Other times, such as in hotels, I would have to lean in to the receptionist because she was so soft-spoken and explained everything well below a whisper. I don’t know which speaking-style I prefer. One can tell the utter dominance of male over female as well. In every store or restaurant I would find one male owner yelling harshly at all of the female workers, sometimes sending a shiver down my spine at the sheer tone of his voice.

Tourism has increased exponentially in the country within the last 10 years, and locals are simply trying to capitalize on this income in the best way they know how. Therefore they believe that ripping off tourists every chance they get, lying to tourists to get an extra 5 cents, and having an expensive “tourist menu” v. dirt-cheap “local menu” in every restaurant is all in a day’s work.

Now, I may be painting a disagreeable picture of Vietnam, but I think the people of a country play a large part in what is seen on the final canvas. The sights, the food, the countryside, and the way-of-life within Vietnam are all so different and enchanting that they outweigh the poor treatment of visitors.

The food, for example, I have always heard is some of the best in the world. Anthony Bourdain himself said Vietnam is the first country he would move to based on the cuisine. Let’s start with the coffee (The Vietnamese kind is called “White Coffee”). I love it, but I couldn’t drink it every day because of its intensity and sweetness. Your coffee cup comes out with an inch of sweetened condensed milk in it and its own little filter on top of it. Taking around 5 minutes to fully filter, the coffee is then fresh and ready-to-go. I loved having my own personal filter every time I ordered a coffee, and the condensed milk made it seem more like candy than a caffeine drink. Another method is to blend the coffee and sweet milk, then shake it in a cocktail shaker with ice – delicious! I am definitely bringing that concoction back home…

Famous Vietnamese dishes include: Pho, Banh Mi, Vietnamese wontons, White Rose, Vietnamese spring rolls, Cao Lau, Ban Xeo, and mango salad….to name a few!

Pho: The standard “Vietnamese” food, it is basically chicken noodle soup – with spices and veggies that you add in on your own. You can find it at any street food stall, where it is much better than in any restaurant. There is a famous restaurant in Ho Chi Minh named “Pho 2000” where Bill Clinton tried his first Pho. Everyone talks about it.

Banh Mi: Quite possibly the best sandwich I have ever had! It includes tons of meats and vegetables and spices – I actually don’t understand how all the ingredients fit into the fresh French baguette. We went to the exact Banh Mi stand that Anthony Bourdain did on his show “No Reservations” in Hoi An and pretended we had a traveling cooking show of our own.

Vietnamese Wontons: These are small appetizers that look like flat tortillas and are topped with fresh cubed vegetables and cilantro-like spices (not your typical closed, fried wonton)

White Rose: Vietnam’s version of shrimp dumplings, these little gems are made with translucent dough and wrapped to look like roses…and are always topped with delicious fried garlic!

Vietnamese spring rolls: I had always heard this country had the best spring rolls in the world, and did not agree until I took a cooking class after one week of being in Vietnam. We made fresh rolls with bright orange shrimp, lettuce, and herbs…I think “fresh” is the consistent word of this post….?

Cao Lau: My favorite Vietnamese food. Only found in Hoi An, these noodles are mixed with soup, roast pork, dough fritters, fresh herbs, and veggies. I can slurp down a whole bowl in 2 minutes (and am a novice with chopsticks!)

Ban Xeo: aka HUGE fried pancakes filled with bean sprouts, onion, pork, and shrimp. They are bigger than my head, folded in half. You can eat them as they are or cut them in slivers and wrap them in rice paper to make a crunchy spring roll (best dipped in spicy, sweet, and sour sauce!)

Mango salad: pretty self-explanatory, but another amazing dish we learned to make at the cooking class. It consists of an entire mango cut into shreds and mixed with tons of herbs and peanuts – also very popular in Thailand.

People and Provisions – they often make dominant contributions to travel, right?

My next blog post is dedicated to the four cities we visiting during our 2 weeks in Vietnam, to give you more of a “play-by-play” of what we did and what we saw!

Laos, Short and Sweet

Anxious to get to Vietnam, Abbie and I reserved 6 days for the lesser-known country of Laos. Laos is sandwiched between Thailand and Vietnam, and is one of the five communist countries in the world with a substantial amount of French influence as it was once a colony. As first-timers in the region, we wanted to make sure we saw the most of Thailand and Vietnam, as we had heard amazing things mostly about these two countries. Therefore, we opted to hit only two cities in Laos: Vang Vien and Vientiane, both located in the north of the country.

Vang Vien is one of the most unique towns I have ever been. Not because of its crazy locals, or unparalleled cuisine, or endless amounts of activities to do. No, Vang Vien solely exists to supply drunken, dreamy, I-don’t-want-to-face-the-real-world backpackers an oasis. The infamous “tubing town” is insanely fun, but many are only able to handle it for a couple of days max. The typical day includes:

1. Waking up circa 11am so as not to miss the free “breakfast” of your local guesthouse… aka an entire loaf of French bread and Crisco-like butter

2. Putting on your bathing suit and stuffing Laos currency, or “kip”, and cameras into your purchased waterproof purse

3. Walking to the rent-a-tube station to rent your inner tube and to catch a ride with other tubers to the river

4. Piling on the back of a truck with your tube and heaps of other backpackers to bumpily make your way the 2km to the “starting point” of the tubing expedition

5. Taking a shot at the first of 15 bars along the river

6. Getting on your inner tube

7. Floating a few feet to the next bar

8. Drinking a beer

9. Floating a few feet to the next bar

10. Sharing a bucket of mojito with many new-found friends

11. Floating a few feet to the next bar

….I think you get the idea. The various bars are loads of fun, each with a different theme and pumping music. Tubing In Laos is a great way to meet people and certainly a backpacker “must-do” of the region. The end of the day is also pretty standard: after making it the end point of the river, everyone heads to one of the many TV bars of the small town. Every bar/restaurant is a sit-on-the-floor hangout place, with multiple TV’s playing either Friends or Family Guy! Whoever came up with the concept is a genius, and TV-deprived travelers spend hours lounging, ordering BeerLaos and stir-fry.

Abbie and I concurred that one day of tubing was enough, so the following day we asked around what other things there were to do in the city. Someone suggested the “blue lagoon” so we asked a tuk-tuk to take us to this mysterious hang-out. While the ride was the most uncomfortable, pot-hole-ridden journey we had, the scenery was stunning and took our minds off our rapidly-bruising fannies. Huge, marble mountains lined fields of rice paddies that stretched all the way to the dusty roads where we were trotting. The blue lagoon was just as stunning. Bright blue water filled a small pond, and people took turns on a rope swing all afternoon while we relaxed “lagoon-side”.

A relaxing day in Laos..

The next day we made the seemingly short journey to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Only about 100km away, the journey took 5 hours because of the horrible quality of the roads. I have never seen such a dysfunctional road system; pavement is simply unheard of! Finally in Vientiane, we checked out the night market and river walk, and ended up at a nice, quaint restaurant to test some Laotian food. A unique mix of French and Thai, food in Laos is unique; however, the cuisine is not yet very established and it is therefore difficult for it to truly make a culinary statement.

Our time in Vientiane was very relaxed, as it is a quiet city and all bars/restaurants are required to close at 11pm. We enjoyed exploring the town on foot, gathering Laotian souvenirs, and taking a little day trip to the Buddha Park. The Buddha Park is somewhat like the concrete world of Buddhism – giant, concrete replicas of the Buddhist religion have been donated to this park, including a huge pumpkin-like structure that is supposed to represent hell, earth, and heaven within. We got an eerie feeling when inside, as the bottom section is full of disturbing statues representing tortured souls in hell. Add to that, a little boy started subtly following us with a slingshot in one hand and a dead lizard in the other…after that instance we were done with the Buddha park and rushed to the safety of our tuk-tuk! Oh, the everyday life in SE Asia…

Buddha posing!

We had booked a flight from Vientiane to Hanoi, Vietnam, as we had heard horror stories of the 24-hour bus ride between the 2 cities. Eager to get to our last country of the trip, we boarded the plane excited and oblivious to the fact that continuous sweating would be replaced with continuous shivers in the chilly, northern region of Vietnam…