Hey friends and family!
I haven't forgotten about you all... I am almost done updating my Thailand portion and will have it posted this weekend, I promise!
Stay tuned - Love you all! xo
Friday, August 31, 2012
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Vietnam
Ok friends and family... I've finally gotten settled and been able to make some time to update this thing. Keep in mind: I'm writing this as much for you as I am for me so I can remember all the crazy adventures... Enjoy!
Sunday, July 29: Early bus ride from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay. We passed hundreds of rice patty fields with people working in and maintaining them. I thought it would be cool to try it out myself, but unfortunately we didn't have enough time in our schedule. A reason to come back! The motorbikes are everywhere. Honestly, there are more motorbikes than cars; I even saw a family of 5 on one bike! Our bus to Ha Long Bay was a small one packed with 12 of us, all couples from Amsterdam, Italy, China, and Singapore. After 4 hours we finally made it to Ha Long bay. Our boat was one of the biggest out there with approximately 20 cabins, and ours had a small private balcony. It was such an incredible boat, but unfortunate that the government made all of the tour companies paint the gorgeous natural wood color white. It made the boats look so old and rundown, but at least the inside still had the beautiful wood. Apparently the government wanted to develop a new image for the cruises so all of the boats were ordered to paint them white. Such a shame.
There were literally hundreds of boats cruising around Ha Long bay (who's name means "Descending Dragon"). Our tour company was Indochina Sails - I would highly recommend it and would do it again in a heartbeat. The rooms were really nice and the food was exceptional! Honestly, the best food I've had probably my entire time in Asia. And the best part, it was considerably cheap!
Ha Long Bay is so incredibly beautiful; I would call it the Lake Powell of the South China Sea. You can see the mountain islands for miles and miles - It truly is spectacular. I would also suggest splurging for the three day/two night tour instead of just two day/one night. It just isn't enough time out there. We boarded the boat at noon, had a delicious 6 course lunch complete with shrimp, and curry. Then we went kayaking and saw Monkeys!! They were so small and cute! We paddled around for a while and then made our way back to the boat. We then headed to our second destination where we climbed the 400+ stairs to the top of the Pagoda and had an unbelievable 360 degree view of Ha Long Bay. After we took in the sights, we returned to the beach for a quick swim and then back on the boat for the night. Unfortunately, the water in Vietnam tends to have quite a bit of trash in it and the beaches are pretty cluttered too. It's really a shame that the people here don't take more pride in their beautiful country because it really is amazing. However, the locals are the nicest I've met; they're so willing and eager to help and appreciative of tourists being here. The only down side is that we've been scammed a few times, which has put us on edge a little bit, but for the most part everyone is great. Our first night on the boat we enjoyed wine tasting (10 glasses for $15 - can't beat that!) then had another amazing meal. Happy hour started at 9pm with buy one get one free drinks and then we tried our hand at squid fishing. We're pretty sure it was a joke and no one has ever caught one since it was just off the side of the boat using bamboo rods with a hook attached to the end no longer than four feet from the boat. It was pretty ridiculous, fun for a few minutes, but then we decided to head up to the top deck for some star gazing. The weather had been good, but we knew rain was coming that night.
Monday, July 30: Sure enough, a huge rain storm hit in the middle of the night with lightening, but by morning it was absolutely gorgeous! The bluest sky next to the greenest mountains was the most incredible thing to wake up to. I even enjoyed Thai Chi on the sundeck! It was so peaceful. I was just excited that I finally got to do it after telling myself I was going to every morning with the old ladies in the park across the street from my apartment. Oops.
We ate breakfast and headed off on the day boat until 4pm. The tours here are so incredibly efficient: On our boat they have both two day and three day travelers, however you would never even realize it if you weren't paying close attention. The only way we even noticed was because some people we had been talking to said they were on the two day, asked if we were going to the cave, we said yes we were later, and then they were gone. They shuttled the two day people off the boat for a different tour and then back to the pier, while the three day people, (only us and a couple from Italy), had a huge day boat all to ourselves. It was amazing -- Felt like our own private tour! We boarded the boat, sailed for 30 minutes or so and arrived at the largest fishing village in Ha Long. It has 600 people living there, a school house, etc. it really is remarkable, not to mention an interesting way to live. We visited the museum and learned so much about life in a fishing village, i.e. children learn to swim before they can talk.
Back on the boat, we headed to a swimming area and a place where we kayaked to the "bat cave". It was amazing paddling through the cave not much taller than your head and then have it open up into a gorgeous lake with the beautiful mountains surrounding you. There was even a cave we wouldn't have found without our guide as it was completely hidden and you literally had to duck to get through. So fun! Unfortunately, our camera battery died so we don't have pictures of it or the rest of our day, but if you can just imagine the most incredible kayaking and tropical landscape then that's where we were :-) Hot from our paddle, we immediately dove in the water from the top deck, careful to look for jellyfish before jumping in. The water was so warm and inviting! We swam for 30 minutes and then we were served another incredible 6 course meal with Vietnamese clam chowder (different than ours; less creamy, more brothy), shrimp, squid, cashew chicken, and of course like every meal, my favorite, white rice :-) We laid out and took in the sun rays I had been so deprived of this summer and finally got some color. We then arrived at the Pearl Market where they make and sell pearls. We saw the entire process of taking the oyster, using another to cut the cells into 24 small pieces and then insert one piece into another oyster along with something that looks like a pearl into its membrane. Only 30% will accept the pearl and three years later they will open it to see if it has accepted and developed a beautiful pearl. The farm was huge!
Back on the boat, we enjoyed some beers, sun, and a nap and then finally we're brought back to our original boat for the rest of the night. And as expected, there were new people on there that were just starting day one of two. So really, the two day people do days 1 and 3, they don't do the day 2 of our tour, which I thought was the best one. The rest of our night was the same minus squid fishing: wine tasting, great dinner, happy hour and then bed.
Tuesday, July 31: We woke up early again for Thai chi, but no one else wanted to do it so it was cancelled. Bummer. Breakfast and off the boat we went to the Surprise Cave. It was a huge cavern! After the cave, it was back on the boat to pack and relax before we arrived back at the pier. Our next adventure was about to begin... We had to get from Ha Long to Monkey Island in Cat Ba Bay. However, our lonely planet guide book told us to be wary as a lot of travelers get ripped off or it takes them 4 hours to get there. This seemed absurd to us so we contacted the hotel and were told to take a taxi to the harbor, where a boat would pick us up and then a bus would take us to Cat Ba where we would jump on another boat to get to Monkey Island. Basically we just had to wing it. Which I love!
The boat we ended up taking from the harbor was just us and the driver; it was an old speed boat, which zoomed us through Ha Long and passed the beautiful mountain islands. We loved it! It was fun to see a different side of Ha Long Bay. Once we docked, a small bus picked us up (again the only ones on it) and we drove through Cat Ba National Park, again, stunning. After 20 minutes we made it to where our last boat was set to pick us up. Right on time, there he was. A very small boat, just us and the driver, which took us through the fishing village, and right up to his house where he jumped out and his wife jumped in -- Too funny! We were slowly cruising through the water, anticipating Monkey Island. After we turned the corner and saw it it looked like paradise. Private bungalows, sandy beach, palm trees, lounge chairs, etc. We were ecstatic!
Off the boat, checked into our room and we took it all in... The room was exactly how I pictured a small Vietnamese beach resort to be (complete with mosquito nets and all). We went to the restaurant and then headed to the beach for a swim. Another boat full of tourists came in and we knew it was going to be a fun night. We were scheduled to stay at Monkey Island for three nights - Relaxation awaited. There were also a number of day tours you could enjoy as well so I knew we wouldn't be bored... Motorbike tour through Cat Ba National Park, rock climbing, kayaking, fishing, etc. we were really excited, but that excitement seemed to disappear not long after we arrived. The disappointing thing was that we knew this resort could be paradise with just a little bit of effort and better amenities. I'm not one to complain especially after my living experience in Hong Kong, aka my slum. But as soon as I saw a cockroach in our room and stains on the sheets, we sadly decided to cut our trip there a night short. We enjoyed our first night, eating dinner and chatting with the other tourists. They were all on a 2 day cruise, young 20s and backpacking through Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. They weren't all together, just happened to get on the same tour together. Most of them Brits, since I've realized that young Brits love to travel, which I think more young Americans need to take advantage of. Otherwise, I'm going to have to become friends with some of the girls I met so I have a travel buddy :-) All joking aside, they really were inspiring to me. Traveling for 2-3 months either solo or with one other friend, backpacking, staying in hostels, etc. They said the best way to figure out where to go, what to see, and where to stay was by talking to other travelers. Most people do the Asia loop so when you run into people, they want your info and you want theirs so it makes for great conversation and a fun way to plan the next leg of your journey. I would love to do that someday! We stayed up late chatting with the 10 other girls and then finally headed to bed.
Wednesday, August 1: After sleeping in a little, our new friends had left, we had an interesting breakfast and officially decided that today would be our last on Monkey Island. We picked a day tour, the motorbikes of course, caught the boat back to Cat Ba and ventured around the town and National Park. We found a sign for a Hospital Cave that we walked up to, after trusting a family to watch our rented bike. We peaked into the cave and were surprisingly greeted by a man wearing a Vietnamese military hat and pointing a (fake) gun at us. For a moment, I thought we were in serious trouble. Then he smiled and laughed and welcomed us to the cave. In all seriousness, he probably shouldn't greet unsuspecting tourists like that in case he does that to the wrong person. Plus, all during the tour I was slightly on edge. It ended up being fine and the cave was incredible. Obviously, used during the Vietnam War for doctors to treat patients/soldiers. It was three stories tall, and included a HUGE room on the second floor complete with a swimming pool.
After the tour we got back on our motorbike and continued to explore the countryside. It really is a fun way to get around. We passed by mountains, valleys, the beach, rice patties, and goats (random). Just like in Hanoi, there appear to be no traffic laws in Cat Ba either. People sure do love to honk though. They honk when they pass, when they don't pass, to get out of the way, to allow someone else to pass, etc. It sure seems confusing for us, but everyone else gets it so that's all that matters - We just followed suit. We road around for 2 hours, had lunch then explored more. This time to Cannon Fort, an old military fort, again used during the Vietnam War. It was so interesting to see; there's so much history here. Back on the bike, we returned to Monkey Island for our last night (one night shorter than we initially booked); it's just such a shame they don't clean up the streets and land. There was trash everywhere, very sad. We got back to Monkey Island and a new group of tourists had arrived. They were young like the last group, but we were exhausted from our late night before and our full day adventuring in the sun that we just didn't have the energy to socialize again. We took a dip in the water, read our books, and napped before dinner. For dinner that night, we enjoyed the BBQ that they have every night with oysters, clams, and beef. We got a Thai Hot Pot the night before with fish, squid, shrimp, and chicken that was much better. Oh well.
Thursday, August 2: We woke up to a rooster at 6:30am, which was kind of a fun way to welcome the morning. We never saw a monkey on Monkey Island (which I think is false advertisement), but there were adorable puppies! So tempted to take one home, but knew we couldn't. There were definitely plenty of Mosquitoes though. My legs looked like a mine field... Oh the island life. Needless to say, we were happy to get off the island and head back to Hanoi. Our plan now was to explore Hanoi and the rich history it offers. If we had more time we would have ventured up to Sepa to see the rice fields, but that's another reason to come back! We're really excited for Thailand...
Although leaving Monkey Island was even more difficult than getting there; at least getting there we had our private transportation. Leaving was another story -- We took a boat from Monkey Island to Cat Ba, had two motorbikes and scooters waiting for us. We each jumped on the back of one with our backpacks strapped to our backs and the driver took us to the harbor where we caught the bus to Hanoi. That bus actually took us to another boat, which then took us to another bus which finally took us back to Hanoi. This is the part of traveling I enjoy the most - winging it and going along for the ride. Its all a big adventure!
The rest of Thursday we checked into our hotel and almost got in two accidents in the cab from the bus depot to the hotel. Also, thank goodness we chose to use our backpacks. EVERYONE travels with backpacks in Asia. Transferring from boat to bus to boat and back it would have been a nightmare with anything else. Plus we look like awesome travelers ;-)
So we got to the hotel and set out exploring more of Hanoi since we didn't have much time our first night. We toured the Ho Loa Prison aka Honai Hilton where our pilots were held as prisoners during the Vietnam War not too long ago. I didn't realize that John McCain was a POW until now (there were pictures of him in the US section). It was really eye opening to me. I know I'm naive but I always envisioned Americans being the hero, beating the bad guy; but as I'm learning more about the Vietnam War I'm beginning to understand why so many Americans were against it in the first place. The strangest thing to me though was touring the prison and seeing the pictures of how the Vietnamese portrayed the Americans as being treated in their camp. They're all smiling, smoking cigarettes, playing basketball, decorating Christmas trees, etc. like it was just some extended holiday for them. After researching more when I got back to the hotel, I realized how wrong that was. How they were all beaten, and punished, and how they were made to say bad things about America in order to avoid the torture. They all agreed to endure as much torture as they could without losing their healthy mindset, then they would give in and comply - a very interesting tactic used by the Vietnamese. After the prison, we made our way to the lake and saw the temple on the water then headed back to the hotel to freshen up for dinner. We ate dinner at the Green Mango, a very good French restaurant that made me feel like I time traveled to Paris.
Friday, August 3: I was really hoping to go to Tam Coc, the Ha Long Bay of the land, but with me being sick and the weather forecasting rain, we decided against it. Instead, we walked to the Temple of Literature which was pretty interesting - temples, gardens, a giant gong, live traditional music with a cool instrument I had never seen, and monks. From there we went to the Ho Chi Min Museolin, to see the embalmed body of Ho Chi Min, but they're closed on Fridays (for whatever reason). We walked around the Museolin; the square was enormous and there were guards dressed in white guarding the main entrance. Apparently the architectures tried to make the building resemble a lotus flower, but it looked nothing of the sort to me, unless lotus flowers are suddenly square. By then it was noon, so we grab lunch (and beer) at a lakefront restaurant to rest our tired feet. After lunch we bought tickets to the Water Puppet Theater, walked around the entire lake, enjoyed some ice cream (it was really hot out!) and made it back for the start of the show. The Water Puppet Theater was like nothing I had seen before - There was live music/band, and singers, but the rest of the performers were puppets. It was an interesting story about a fish turning into a dragon along with all of the other traditional rice, farming, etc. songs as well. Very cool show! We checked into our next hotel for the night (a sister hotel to the previous night), relaxed, had the only room with a balcony that was $50 US (gotta love cheap Vietnam) and went for dinner. The restaurant in the hotel was on the top floor and is claimed to be one of the best in Vietnam. Let's just say it definitely lived up to its name... For starters, an avocado salad, shrimp spring rolls, and these delicious fish rice rolls that you make yourself! So good! Then we enjoyed our main courses and dessert looking out over the city lights of Hanoi. It really is a beautiful city. Before calling it a night, we decided to check out the "Night Market" one last time and then had a good nights sleep for our trip to Thailand in the morning...
[Also the cool thing here for backpackers is to have a bracelet from
everywhere you've been. I just started mine in Vietnam, wish I had some
from Hong Kong and China, but oh well. I'll just have to make up for it
in
Thailand, and look like a hippie :-) On to our next adventure!!]
Note: To see all of my pictures from Vietnam, visit my Facebook page.
---
Saturday, July 28: We flew from HK to Vietnam on Vietnamese Airlines; it was a quick
hour and a half flight (I think it took longer to get my visa in the airport), but we finally made it! The entire drive from the airport to
our hotel it was pouring rain, thunder and lightening. The motorbikes
were even covered with ponchos (See photo below). We had an early, and fairly uneventful night walking around Hanoi before we headed to bed for an early wake up call and off to Ha Long Bay.
Hello Vietnam!
Ponchos!
Vietnam Rooftops
Who has the right of way??
Sunday, July 29: Early bus ride from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay. We passed hundreds of rice patty fields with people working in and maintaining them. I thought it would be cool to try it out myself, but unfortunately we didn't have enough time in our schedule. A reason to come back! The motorbikes are everywhere. Honestly, there are more motorbikes than cars; I even saw a family of 5 on one bike! Our bus to Ha Long Bay was a small one packed with 12 of us, all couples from Amsterdam, Italy, China, and Singapore. After 4 hours we finally made it to Ha Long bay. Our boat was one of the biggest out there with approximately 20 cabins, and ours had a small private balcony. It was such an incredible boat, but unfortunate that the government made all of the tour companies paint the gorgeous natural wood color white. It made the boats look so old and rundown, but at least the inside still had the beautiful wood. Apparently the government wanted to develop a new image for the cruises so all of the boats were ordered to paint them white. Such a shame.
There were literally hundreds of boats cruising around Ha Long bay (who's name means "Descending Dragon"). Our tour company was Indochina Sails - I would highly recommend it and would do it again in a heartbeat. The rooms were really nice and the food was exceptional! Honestly, the best food I've had probably my entire time in Asia. And the best part, it was considerably cheap!
Ha Long Bay is so incredibly beautiful; I would call it the Lake Powell of the South China Sea. You can see the mountain islands for miles and miles - It truly is spectacular. I would also suggest splurging for the three day/two night tour instead of just two day/one night. It just isn't enough time out there. We boarded the boat at noon, had a delicious 6 course lunch complete with shrimp, and curry. Then we went kayaking and saw Monkeys!! They were so small and cute! We paddled around for a while and then made our way back to the boat. We then headed to our second destination where we climbed the 400+ stairs to the top of the Pagoda and had an unbelievable 360 degree view of Ha Long Bay. After we took in the sights, we returned to the beach for a quick swim and then back on the boat for the night. Unfortunately, the water in Vietnam tends to have quite a bit of trash in it and the beaches are pretty cluttered too. It's really a shame that the people here don't take more pride in their beautiful country because it really is amazing. However, the locals are the nicest I've met; they're so willing and eager to help and appreciative of tourists being here. The only down side is that we've been scammed a few times, which has put us on edge a little bit, but for the most part everyone is great. Our first night on the boat we enjoyed wine tasting (10 glasses for $15 - can't beat that!) then had another amazing meal. Happy hour started at 9pm with buy one get one free drinks and then we tried our hand at squid fishing. We're pretty sure it was a joke and no one has ever caught one since it was just off the side of the boat using bamboo rods with a hook attached to the end no longer than four feet from the boat. It was pretty ridiculous, fun for a few minutes, but then we decided to head up to the top deck for some star gazing. The weather had been good, but we knew rain was coming that night.
The Boat! - Indochina Sails
Ha Long Bay
Kayaking
Pagoda
Wine Tasting
Squid Fishing
Monday, July 30: Sure enough, a huge rain storm hit in the middle of the night with lightening, but by morning it was absolutely gorgeous! The bluest sky next to the greenest mountains was the most incredible thing to wake up to. I even enjoyed Thai Chi on the sundeck! It was so peaceful. I was just excited that I finally got to do it after telling myself I was going to every morning with the old ladies in the park across the street from my apartment. Oops.
We ate breakfast and headed off on the day boat until 4pm. The tours here are so incredibly efficient: On our boat they have both two day and three day travelers, however you would never even realize it if you weren't paying close attention. The only way we even noticed was because some people we had been talking to said they were on the two day, asked if we were going to the cave, we said yes we were later, and then they were gone. They shuttled the two day people off the boat for a different tour and then back to the pier, while the three day people, (only us and a couple from Italy), had a huge day boat all to ourselves. It was amazing -- Felt like our own private tour! We boarded the boat, sailed for 30 minutes or so and arrived at the largest fishing village in Ha Long. It has 600 people living there, a school house, etc. it really is remarkable, not to mention an interesting way to live. We visited the museum and learned so much about life in a fishing village, i.e. children learn to swim before they can talk.
Back on the boat, we headed to a swimming area and a place where we kayaked to the "bat cave". It was amazing paddling through the cave not much taller than your head and then have it open up into a gorgeous lake with the beautiful mountains surrounding you. There was even a cave we wouldn't have found without our guide as it was completely hidden and you literally had to duck to get through. So fun! Unfortunately, our camera battery died so we don't have pictures of it or the rest of our day, but if you can just imagine the most incredible kayaking and tropical landscape then that's where we were :-) Hot from our paddle, we immediately dove in the water from the top deck, careful to look for jellyfish before jumping in. The water was so warm and inviting! We swam for 30 minutes and then we were served another incredible 6 course meal with Vietnamese clam chowder (different than ours; less creamy, more brothy), shrimp, squid, cashew chicken, and of course like every meal, my favorite, white rice :-) We laid out and took in the sun rays I had been so deprived of this summer and finally got some color. We then arrived at the Pearl Market where they make and sell pearls. We saw the entire process of taking the oyster, using another to cut the cells into 24 small pieces and then insert one piece into another oyster along with something that looks like a pearl into its membrane. Only 30% will accept the pearl and three years later they will open it to see if it has accepted and developed a beautiful pearl. The farm was huge!
Back on the boat, we enjoyed some beers, sun, and a nap and then finally we're brought back to our original boat for the rest of the night. And as expected, there were new people on there that were just starting day one of two. So really, the two day people do days 1 and 3, they don't do the day 2 of our tour, which I thought was the best one. The rest of our night was the same minus squid fishing: wine tasting, great dinner, happy hour and then bed.
Thai Chi
Our Day Boat
Floating Fishing Village
Tuesday, July 31: We woke up early again for Thai chi, but no one else wanted to do it so it was cancelled. Bummer. Breakfast and off the boat we went to the Surprise Cave. It was a huge cavern! After the cave, it was back on the boat to pack and relax before we arrived back at the pier. Our next adventure was about to begin... We had to get from Ha Long to Monkey Island in Cat Ba Bay. However, our lonely planet guide book told us to be wary as a lot of travelers get ripped off or it takes them 4 hours to get there. This seemed absurd to us so we contacted the hotel and were told to take a taxi to the harbor, where a boat would pick us up and then a bus would take us to Cat Ba where we would jump on another boat to get to Monkey Island. Basically we just had to wing it. Which I love!
The boat we ended up taking from the harbor was just us and the driver; it was an old speed boat, which zoomed us through Ha Long and passed the beautiful mountain islands. We loved it! It was fun to see a different side of Ha Long Bay. Once we docked, a small bus picked us up (again the only ones on it) and we drove through Cat Ba National Park, again, stunning. After 20 minutes we made it to where our last boat was set to pick us up. Right on time, there he was. A very small boat, just us and the driver, which took us through the fishing village, and right up to his house where he jumped out and his wife jumped in -- Too funny! We were slowly cruising through the water, anticipating Monkey Island. After we turned the corner and saw it it looked like paradise. Private bungalows, sandy beach, palm trees, lounge chairs, etc. We were ecstatic!
Off the boat, checked into our room and we took it all in... The room was exactly how I pictured a small Vietnamese beach resort to be (complete with mosquito nets and all). We went to the restaurant and then headed to the beach for a swim. Another boat full of tourists came in and we knew it was going to be a fun night. We were scheduled to stay at Monkey Island for three nights - Relaxation awaited. There were also a number of day tours you could enjoy as well so I knew we wouldn't be bored... Motorbike tour through Cat Ba National Park, rock climbing, kayaking, fishing, etc. we were really excited, but that excitement seemed to disappear not long after we arrived. The disappointing thing was that we knew this resort could be paradise with just a little bit of effort and better amenities. I'm not one to complain especially after my living experience in Hong Kong, aka my slum. But as soon as I saw a cockroach in our room and stains on the sheets, we sadly decided to cut our trip there a night short. We enjoyed our first night, eating dinner and chatting with the other tourists. They were all on a 2 day cruise, young 20s and backpacking through Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. They weren't all together, just happened to get on the same tour together. Most of them Brits, since I've realized that young Brits love to travel, which I think more young Americans need to take advantage of. Otherwise, I'm going to have to become friends with some of the girls I met so I have a travel buddy :-) All joking aside, they really were inspiring to me. Traveling for 2-3 months either solo or with one other friend, backpacking, staying in hostels, etc. They said the best way to figure out where to go, what to see, and where to stay was by talking to other travelers. Most people do the Asia loop so when you run into people, they want your info and you want theirs so it makes for great conversation and a fun way to plan the next leg of your journey. I would love to do that someday! We stayed up late chatting with the 10 other girls and then finally headed to bed.
Let the adventure begin to Cat Ba Island...
Hello Monkey Island!
Wonderful New Friends!
Wednesday, August 1: After sleeping in a little, our new friends had left, we had an interesting breakfast and officially decided that today would be our last on Monkey Island. We picked a day tour, the motorbikes of course, caught the boat back to Cat Ba and ventured around the town and National Park. We found a sign for a Hospital Cave that we walked up to, after trusting a family to watch our rented bike. We peaked into the cave and were surprisingly greeted by a man wearing a Vietnamese military hat and pointing a (fake) gun at us. For a moment, I thought we were in serious trouble. Then he smiled and laughed and welcomed us to the cave. In all seriousness, he probably shouldn't greet unsuspecting tourists like that in case he does that to the wrong person. Plus, all during the tour I was slightly on edge. It ended up being fine and the cave was incredible. Obviously, used during the Vietnam War for doctors to treat patients/soldiers. It was three stories tall, and included a HUGE room on the second floor complete with a swimming pool.
After the tour we got back on our motorbike and continued to explore the countryside. It really is a fun way to get around. We passed by mountains, valleys, the beach, rice patties, and goats (random). Just like in Hanoi, there appear to be no traffic laws in Cat Ba either. People sure do love to honk though. They honk when they pass, when they don't pass, to get out of the way, to allow someone else to pass, etc. It sure seems confusing for us, but everyone else gets it so that's all that matters - We just followed suit. We road around for 2 hours, had lunch then explored more. This time to Cannon Fort, an old military fort, again used during the Vietnam War. It was so interesting to see; there's so much history here. Back on the bike, we returned to Monkey Island for our last night (one night shorter than we initially booked); it's just such a shame they don't clean up the streets and land. There was trash everywhere, very sad. We got back to Monkey Island and a new group of tourists had arrived. They were young like the last group, but we were exhausted from our late night before and our full day adventuring in the sun that we just didn't have the energy to socialize again. We took a dip in the water, read our books, and napped before dinner. For dinner that night, we enjoyed the BBQ that they have every night with oysters, clams, and beef. We got a Thai Hot Pot the night before with fish, squid, shrimp, and chicken that was much better. Oh well.
Motorbike Adventure around Cat Ba Island!
Hospital Cave
Cannon Fort
Thursday, August 2: We woke up to a rooster at 6:30am, which was kind of a fun way to welcome the morning. We never saw a monkey on Monkey Island (which I think is false advertisement), but there were adorable puppies! So tempted to take one home, but knew we couldn't. There were definitely plenty of Mosquitoes though. My legs looked like a mine field... Oh the island life. Needless to say, we were happy to get off the island and head back to Hanoi. Our plan now was to explore Hanoi and the rich history it offers. If we had more time we would have ventured up to Sepa to see the rice fields, but that's another reason to come back! We're really excited for Thailand...
Although leaving Monkey Island was even more difficult than getting there; at least getting there we had our private transportation. Leaving was another story -- We took a boat from Monkey Island to Cat Ba, had two motorbikes and scooters waiting for us. We each jumped on the back of one with our backpacks strapped to our backs and the driver took us to the harbor where we caught the bus to Hanoi. That bus actually took us to another boat, which then took us to another bus which finally took us back to Hanoi. This is the part of traveling I enjoy the most - winging it and going along for the ride. Its all a big adventure!
The rest of Thursday we checked into our hotel and almost got in two accidents in the cab from the bus depot to the hotel. Also, thank goodness we chose to use our backpacks. EVERYONE travels with backpacks in Asia. Transferring from boat to bus to boat and back it would have been a nightmare with anything else. Plus we look like awesome travelers ;-)
So we got to the hotel and set out exploring more of Hanoi since we didn't have much time our first night. We toured the Ho Loa Prison aka Honai Hilton where our pilots were held as prisoners during the Vietnam War not too long ago. I didn't realize that John McCain was a POW until now (there were pictures of him in the US section). It was really eye opening to me. I know I'm naive but I always envisioned Americans being the hero, beating the bad guy; but as I'm learning more about the Vietnam War I'm beginning to understand why so many Americans were against it in the first place. The strangest thing to me though was touring the prison and seeing the pictures of how the Vietnamese portrayed the Americans as being treated in their camp. They're all smiling, smoking cigarettes, playing basketball, decorating Christmas trees, etc. like it was just some extended holiday for them. After researching more when I got back to the hotel, I realized how wrong that was. How they were all beaten, and punished, and how they were made to say bad things about America in order to avoid the torture. They all agreed to endure as much torture as they could without losing their healthy mindset, then they would give in and comply - a very interesting tactic used by the Vietnamese. After the prison, we made our way to the lake and saw the temple on the water then headed back to the hotel to freshen up for dinner. We ate dinner at the Green Mango, a very good French restaurant that made me feel like I time traveled to Paris.
Traveling like a rock star
Ho Loa Prison (aka
Honai Hilton)
John McCain's pilot uniform
Just hold your hand up when you want to cross the street...
Green Mango Restaurant
Friday, August 3: I was really hoping to go to Tam Coc, the Ha Long Bay of the land, but with me being sick and the weather forecasting rain, we decided against it. Instead, we walked to the Temple of Literature which was pretty interesting - temples, gardens, a giant gong, live traditional music with a cool instrument I had never seen, and monks. From there we went to the Ho Chi Min Museolin, to see the embalmed body of Ho Chi Min, but they're closed on Fridays (for whatever reason). We walked around the Museolin; the square was enormous and there were guards dressed in white guarding the main entrance. Apparently the architectures tried to make the building resemble a lotus flower, but it looked nothing of the sort to me, unless lotus flowers are suddenly square. By then it was noon, so we grab lunch (and beer) at a lakefront restaurant to rest our tired feet. After lunch we bought tickets to the Water Puppet Theater, walked around the entire lake, enjoyed some ice cream (it was really hot out!) and made it back for the start of the show. The Water Puppet Theater was like nothing I had seen before - There was live music/band, and singers, but the rest of the performers were puppets. It was an interesting story about a fish turning into a dragon along with all of the other traditional rice, farming, etc. songs as well. Very cool show! We checked into our next hotel for the night (a sister hotel to the previous night), relaxed, had the only room with a balcony that was $50 US (gotta love cheap Vietnam) and went for dinner. The restaurant in the hotel was on the top floor and is claimed to be one of the best in Vietnam. Let's just say it definitely lived up to its name... For starters, an avocado salad, shrimp spring rolls, and these delicious fish rice rolls that you make yourself! So good! Then we enjoyed our main courses and dessert looking out over the city lights of Hanoi. It really is a beautiful city. Before calling it a night, we decided to check out the "Night Market" one last time and then had a good nights sleep for our trip to Thailand in the morning...
Motorbikes are EVERYWHERE!
Temple of Literature
Ho Chi Min
Museolin
Water Puppet Theater
Last delicious Vietnamese meal
Goodbye Vietnam!
Note: To see all of my pictures from Vietnam, visit my Facebook page.
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