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.