Vietnam: Hanoi & Halong Bay
Our explorations into Southeast Asia continued last week when we eagerly alighted on spring break to northern Vietnam and the contrasting destinations of Hanoi and Halong Bay. Hanoi provided the energetic and pulsating city while Halong Bay gave us an incredibly unique natural experience. The sun did not make an appearance all week in either destination, but Marianella and I did not mind-in fact, the refreshing spring temperatures and light rain showers were a welcome respite from the steamy temperatures and humidity which have settled upon Dhaka and promise to last until we exit in mid-June.
Hanoi
On the second day of wandering around the Old Quarter of Hanoi, where we spent almost our entire time while in the city, Marianella and I were again lost. On our first day in Hanoi we had went on a walking tour through the Old Quarter with a lovely tour guide who volunteered for an organization called Hanoi Free Tour Guides. The idea behind that initial tour was to orientate ourselves to the city under a local's guidance and avoid getting lost as we strolled the city's streets. While she provided a wonderful and thorough tour, it did not keep us, two directionally challenged individuals, from getting lost in the spiderweb of streets and alleys that comprise the Old Quarter.
But what a city to get lost in-with each block we came upon we were greeted with an array of shops, delicious scents, and intriguing architecture. Vietnam had been colonized by France in the early 20th century and many of the buildings and homes remain standing, in various states of disrepair, with the upper floors housing families while the first floor operates some type of business. I am speaking literally-we cannot recall a single building, besides St. Joseph's Cathedral, that was not open for business on the ground floor. Neither of us have had a city experience quite like Hanoi's Old Quarter; if we had to live there, it might be overwhelming, but for our visit it was intoxicating. Whether the morning, afternoon or the night, a vibrancy existed at all times, never allowing us to cross a street without heeding the endless stream of motor scooters nor walk down a sidewalk without having to dodge around street vendors hawking a wide variety of products. Yet it was never difficult to step away from the orderly chaos, with park benches, little cafes, and charming shops beckoning constantly.
If you're walking the streets of Hanoi, this is what you contend with:
Some architectural examples from the Old Quarter:
A sampling of the street vendors:
Haircuts available on the street:
A bird's eye view of a geese transaction:
Marianella with a couple of our favorite shop owners, after some hard bargaining was done:
While being frequently lost in a foreign city is never a comforting feeling, there was never a hint of menace attached to our misdirection. On our trip to Cambodia, I spoke of the genuine warmth that exuded from the locals and the same occurred for us in Vietnam. It's a kindness and openness that is startling; we were approached on more than one occasion by young college students who asked politely if they could speak with us to improve their English skills and after our ingrained suspicion subsided, we had wonderful conversations with these curious and sweet natured students.
Chatting with our new friend Trang at a coffee house:
A common scene of alfresco dining:
At an old cafe next to St. Joseph Cathedral:
Art class on Saturday morning, by the lake:
Eventually, on day three of our walks, Marianella and I got our bearings on the city and figured out where we were going and for the most part, got from point A to point B with minimal diversion. I mentioned earlier the wonderful scents that guided us along-directing ourselves to the restaurants helped greatly with our orientation. Neither of us had really experienced Vietnamese food before, but we are irretrievably fans now. As I type, my mouth waters at the memory of the barbeque pork, spring rolls, satay, and pho (a ramen-like soup, but so much better) that highlighted the evenings for us.
Pho:
BBQ Pork with Hanoi Beer:
The food selections at our favorite restaurant:
Halong Bay
Sandwiched between our stay in Hanoi was our trip out to Halong Bay, a truly amazing natural landscape consisting of over 1600 limestone islands, jutting upward from the water towards the sky. Roughly a four hour van ride from Hanoi to Halong, we had made the decision to do a 2 day, 1 night stay on a "junk" boat which was much nicer than it sounded. Initially, we were disappointed with the overcast skies that permeated through our entire time at Halong Bay, but we quickly decided that the kayaking and hiking activities we engaged in would have been pretty sweltering under a clear sky and we also were quite thankful that the skies did not open up beyond a light rain in the evening.
I will let the pictures do most of the talking for this part of the trip, but it should be noted that the cave we visited was immense and while it was the largest cave in Halong Bay, there are evidently several others throughout Vietnam larger than this one, so if spelunking is your thing, check out Vietnam.
Typical-Marianella posing for pictures while I do all the work ;-):
What to do at night without TV or internet? Karoake! Here I am serenading Marianella with her song, "I Will Survive" (with our tour guide Peter providing backing vocals). The next morning, an elderly Malaysian man told me I was the best singer from the night before, which either means the bar was set quite low or that I'd be a rock star in Malaysia:
The big cave of Halong Bay:
As Marianella and I were at the airport returning from Hanoi to Dhaka, we recapped our first year of travel together through Southeast Asia-Nepal, Cambodia, and Vietnam were a wonderful trio of countries to begin with and each would be wonderful to return to; however, there is so much more to see over here-India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bali, Borneo, etc. etc. etc. Too many places, too little time, but we sure are excited to jump into next year's travel planning. It also warmed our hearts to consider that the next time we are at an airport together will be in less than two months when we will be returning to Peru and then Minnesota for our summer break. I feel like we are to the point where we can legitimately say, "see you soon". Take care everyone and. . .wait for it. . .see you soon :-).
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