Since the last post from Vang Vieng, Laos about a month ago we've done quite a bit...so bear with us here on this extra long post. If you have a very quick attention span, you can just skip to the pictures at this point in time. Otherwise, sit back, relax, and ease your mind into the Vietnam adventures of T&A.
Just after the last post, we headed down to our last stop in Laos, which was the capital city of Vientiane. Sort of underwhelming in things to see, but incredible food....both international and local. We managed to find a pool/spa/gym which was only $6 for the entire day....including an hour-long massage. Wow. We enjoyed that day a lot. Other than that, Vientiane was pretty much a blur and mostly just a stopping point to get our Vietnam visa.
We decided to treat ourselves to a very cushy and enjoyable flight over to Hanoi, Vietnam...care of Vietnam Airlines...which would have been a miserable ~24 hour bus ride otherwise. Right away we realized that Hanoi is a pretty amazing place. Motorbikes wizzing around from every direction on streets with no stop lights, stop signs, speed limits or traffic laws whatsoever. A challenge simply crossing the street.
On the first night, we saw the famous ancient tradition of water puppetry accompanied by local music (read: boring). Don't see it if you find yourself in Northern Vietnam. As much as it's nice to appreciate the ancient entertainment...it's also tough sitting through 90 minutes of dolls playing in water. Maybe something to throw on the NetFlix queue and watch in 2x speed sometime. The second day, we visited the Ho Chi Minh masoleum (pic below) and did a long walk around town to check out all the pagodas, markets and local behaviors/customs.
After just a couple days, we left on a journey to Ha Long Bay with the 'Hanoi Backpackers' hostel. Loved it. Liked it so much that we stayed a few extra days on Cat Ba Island and hitched a lift back to the mainland with the next group. On day 1, we drove to Ha Long City, caught a junk boat from the port, sailed around the bay, paddled some kayaks, had amazing meals on the boat, and slept in deluxe living quarters on a second boat that met up with us. The amazing part about this bay is the huge granite rock formations shooting out of the water everywhere (pic below). There must be about 500 islands in the area...amazing for rock climbing for those so inclined. At night, we dropped anchor in the middle of the bay and partied on the roof with the other 25 backpackers til the wee hours of the evening. A great start to the trip.
Day two was more sailing, more kayaking and more great eating...we just couldn't get enough of it. That night, we docked on Cat Ba Island and that's where we decided to extend the trip a few extra days so we could hang out and take in the island living for a while.
From Ha Long Bay, we went back to Hanoi...just long enough to catch "'The Day the Earth Stood Still' on the big screen and see BBQ'd dog in a restaurant front window. That's right DOG. The head (with teeth) and backside were prominently displayed for all to see from the sidewalk....though when I tried taking a photo for you guys, they told me to get lost :( And I know what you're all thinking right now --- did we (I) eat the dog?!?! Well the answer is no. I am friends with too many of them to eat a distant cousin of theirs.
One other thing that was interesting in Hanoi was seeing a line of barber's chairs right on the sidewalk. Hair all over the ground. Bizarre. Since my hair's getting a bit out of control (as you can see), I've made a pact that the next bizarre haircut place we see, I'm getting my hair chopped off...completely...so stay tuned for photos next time on how that looks.
Then it was off to a quick 50-minute flight to Hoi An...an amazing little town by the South China Sea. Tons of people making custom clothing and delicious restaurants. We had the pleasure of watching the final Thailand vs. Vietnam soccer game which determined the Asian conference champions. Vietnam won which created an AMAZING celebration in the streets until late at night. All the locals packed the streets on their mopeds honking, waving flags and screaming throughout the entire area. We happened to be watching the game in the heart of the celebration which was a ton of fun. I'd post the video we shot for you...but all the computers are so slow out here, it's hard enough to post photos, nevermind videos.
On day two, we rented a moped and took off for the Marble Mountains, which are completely comprised of marble. Apparently the villagers were cutting away so much at the mountains to create marble statues, that they don't allow it anymore...so they ship the marble in from China to create sculptures for sale. We climbed up the mountains and visited the pagodas and shrines all around them.
We celebrated an amazing New Years Eve in Hoi An with the other people from our guest house. The owner cooked a sit-down meal for about 20 of us....all of local food and drink....and all at no cost...simply for the sake of a big celebration. Very generous of her and a ton of fun for us. From there, we all went out on the town for dancing and merriment...and created our little melon friend, Marvin, to share with everyone. He was made with fruit we got at the market earlier that day (see pic) and inspired by the Australians we celebrated NYE with in Honduras last year.
From Hoi An, we hopped on a 8 hour train ride to Nha Trang. Another amazing city by the beach, this time in Southern Vietnam. Went to the mineral mud baths for a day (see pic). Soaked it up in the mud for a while, then the hot spring tubs...then off to the hot spring waterfall and swimming pools. It was a tough day for sure.
Day two, we went to the aquarium and marine science center. You'll see me investigating one of the specimens in the picture below. The next day was our fun adventure to Vinpearl Amusement/Water Park across the bay. We got there via gondola (mind you, the longest one in SE Asia) and spent the next 8 hours running around like 10-year olds at Disney World. On our last full day there, the sun finally came out...which felt amazing after gloom for the last week or two. We spent the entire day on the beach soaking in the rays (of course with sunscreen on, Moms) and swimming in the warm sea water.
Our next move was a luxury overnight train to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) which was only $25 for our own little room with two bunk-beds and a card table. We heard stories about Saigon being even more crazy than Hanoi which was hard to believe at the time, but after being there...we realized they're all true. Thousands of locals on mopeds (aka. moto or motobikes) criss-crossing in every direction. We didn't see many accidents, which is amazing. Somehow they know exactly how everyone else is moving in every direction and find some way to avoid them. Sort of like a swarm of gnats. Crazy stuff.
In Saigon, we visited the Vietnam War Remnants Museum which was very interesting to see the other side of the story. Never had we seen America to be portayed in such an awful and cruel light before. Pretty sad seeing all the details of Agent Orange, death tolls, as well as the after effects on society at large. The next day we visited the famous Cu Chi Tunnels which is where many Vietnamese soldiers and peasants hid from the war (pics below).
From there, we bounced over the border to Phnom Penh, Cambodia which was the central point of the horrible tortures and massacres in the late 70's. 1.7 million Cambodians were killed by the Khmer Regime (other Cambodians) during a very holocaust-type massacre. It also happens to be the capital of Cambodia where the tourism industry is beginning to pick up a bit by the river and lake in town. We visited "The Killing Fields" of which there is a book and movie, where most of the victims were killed and buried. A tall memorial filled with skulls stands there (pic below) which was pretty intense. There's also teeth, bones and clothing still laying all over the property for tourists to walk by...which is definitely something we're not used to seeing at a tourist destination. Next we saw S-21 (now stands as the Genocidal Museum), which is where most of the interrogation and torturing went on during the war. It was a school building converted into a prison as a stopping point before sending victims to the Killing Fields.
By then, we were ready to move on from the war-related sights....so off to Siem Reap, Cambodia...home of the highly coveted and widely recognized....ANGKOR WAT. The "8th wonder of the world" and probably the largest temple ever to be built. It was created for the King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. HUGE and very inspiring. We woke up the first morning at 5am to take our bikes in the dark to see the sunrise there. Very fun adventure and very worth it. We were joined there by a few hundred other tourists who were up to the same idea....though I must say we may have been the only ones who made the 4 mile journey by bicycle in the dark. Yes, we're slightly insane. For the remainder of the day, we visited about 10 other huge temple ruins in the area...all of which are amazing in their own unique way (those photos will be posted next time).
That was yesterday. Today, I'm here in an air-conditioned cyber-room called Wow Web Internet sipping on cold water and hiding from the 90 degree heat outside. If you're still reading this, congratulations and thank you. You must be family, because none of our friends have this long of an attention span.
We have one more day here, then off to the beaches of Southern Thailand for the next month...most likely in this order: Krabi, Ko Phi Phi, Ko Chang, Ko Tao and then end with the Feb 9th full moon party on Ko Phan Ngan. We're very excited for a lot of doing nothing on the beaches for while.
Until next time,
~T&A
