Backpacking

Chinese symbol for luck in Hoi An, Vietnam

We arrived in Hoi An, Vietnam via a surprisingly pleasant, reasonably priced bus from Hue. The journey took about four hours, and we arrived in the middle of a full-on downpour of rain. We had given our names to our guesthouse in advance of travelling to be sure that someone would meet us at the bus station. Somehow, though, through the magic Vietnamese travel gods that be, a representative FROM our accommodation showed up on our bus with a handwritten sign with our names on it, and proceeded to drive us straight to the guesthouse. Talk about door to door!

Hoi An is a lovely Vietnamese city, perhaps most famous, and rightly so, as the tailoring capital of SE Asia. The master tailors here can crank out made-to-measure clothes at a fraction of western prices in less than 24 hours... and as we were to discover, also provided the added benefit of a completely amusing and unique bargaining experience to boot. Catt's plan was to get a few tailor-made suits and shirts. Megan's plan was a little less practical- getting a few fun party dresses and a stylish winter coat (probably not to be worn for another 12 months, as we are following summer for a year, here. But practicality, schmacticality, right?)

We spent a few hours scouting out a good tailor (there are literally hundreds of shops, all offering seemingly similar prices and a mind-boggling amount of fabrics, buttons, options, etc) and finally decided upon a small shop run by some of the liveliest and most mischievous girls we'd ever encountered in our travels. Catt purchased two cashmere-blend suits (one in darker brown and one in thin white pinstripe on navy,) and some dress shirts, and Megan selected a black and white cotton dress, as well as a knee-length silver, silk dress with capped sleeves and a white, cowl-neck wool coat. After outlining on paper your choices, you are then taken upstairs to pick fabrics. We were like kids in a candy store. They literally bring you into a room with hundreds of fabric options, and you pick your lining, buttons, zippers, and just about everything else. Prices were negotiated, and then they proceed to try to goad you into buying more shirts, dresses, whatever. "Two more for YOU!" they'd shriek, slapping you on the butt, pinching your cheeks, etc, and then draping unwanted silk and wool over your head/arms/waist. The whole scene was quite comical, but worth it, because in the end, they did a fabulous job. We are really bummed that we didn't get any pictures with our salesgirls, because we got to know them quite well over the course of our few days in Hoi An.

"Old town" Hoi An was designated a UNESCO world heritage site as "a well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port of the 15th to 19th centuries, whose buildings display a unique blend of local and foreign influences." During our visit we also had a chance to explore some of the historical temples, homes and museums, as well as wander the charming alleyways enjoying delicious Vietnamese coffee and deserts, crafts, and fresh fruit. There is a very evident Chinese influence in Hoi An, primarily due to the large Chinese community there. Here are some pictures.

a to-die-for desert from a street-side cafe in Hoi An

The rains pretty much continued for the duration of our visit to Hoi An, which was okay, since thankfully most of our activities in Hoi An were indoors. The entire ancient portion of the port (water-front harbor) flooded in the evenings, making for a messy tangle of cyclos, dogs, vendors and tourists.

Hoi An street in the rain

Chinese assembly hall

conical-shaped spirals of incense, Chinese temple, Hoi An

alter in a Chinese temple, Hoi An

purple lotus flower, Hoi An

paintings for sale in Hoi An, Vietnam

waterfront view from the Japanese Bridge in the rain

Hoi An flooding in the rain

boat woman in Hoi An

some elderly ladies lighting up in Hoi An

the national symbol of Vietnam, the motorbike, was alive and well in Hoi An

carrying a palm tree through town... you know, normal stuff

Hoi An locals at the market

Hoi An local carrying baskets over her shoulder- this is a very common way to transport items- especially produce- in Vietnam

A great addition to our Hoi An experience was getting to spend time with our Spanish friends from Ha Long Bay, Jose, Valle, and Luis once more. We coincidently were staying at a guesthouse right next to theirs, and met up for coffee and a tasty buffet dinner one night. The spanglish and beer carried us to the wee hours, and it was a wonderful end to a relaxing few days of retail therapy on the coast of Vietnam.

After a few days in the north, we jumped on a sleeper train bound south for the imperial city of Hue on the banks of the aromatically named Perfume River. This time we had our guesthouse man arrange us a taxi (thankfully we got to the Hanoi train station without incident) and all was well again with the world. We elected to splash out on a sleeper compartment on the train, and had a pleasant night of rest, waking up in Hue.

Here is some lovely background information on Hue, courtesy of asiarooms.com:

Hue was the capital of Vietnam during the feudal rule from 1802 to 1945 under the Nguyen dynasty and subsequently the centre of architectural evolution of the era. Not surprisingly, it is known for the magnificent architecture of its citadels, palaces, royal tombs, pagodas and temples juxtaposed against a lush scenic background of greenery on the banks of the Perfume River, inspiring many poetries and eulogies for their spellbinding beauty.
The various structures that are a hallmark of the ancient architecture of the land are laid out in harmony with nature and in accordance with the principles of geomancy (feng shui). Apart from its splendid monuments that are a fond reminder of the past glory of the city, the ancient traditions and practices of the people of Hue are still an innate part of the modern day life today. One can get a vivid glimpse of the cultural traditions of Hue, as passed down from generations, in their daily routines and activities in religion, gastronomy, handicraft, music, the performing arts and traditional festivals.

It is due to these cultural treasures and vestiges that Hue became Vietnam's first World Cultural Heritage site recognized by UNESCO in 1993.

As described above, Hue turned out to be an incredibly preserved showcase of all things imperial and ornate. We took a $7 all day tour of the main sights (including lunch... how do they DO it?!) and visited the Imperial Citadel, several emperors' tombs, and the Thien Mu Pagoda on the banks of the Perfume River. Our day ended with a boat trip back up the river to the central part of the city. Enroute, we met a great New Zealander couple, too, Jenni and Graeme. Here are some pictures:

View of modern section of Hue from our guesthouse

Incense for sale in Hue

Making a conical hat in Hue... apparently, the city is most famous as a conical-hat making center for Vietnam

trees at the Emperor Tu Duc's tomb

Emperor Tu Duc's tomb

Emperor Minh Mang's tomb... apparently this guy had over 500 concubines! Their cemetary for THEM was in the back. No kidding.

interior of Minh Mang's tomb

schoolboy riding a bike in Hue, Vietnam

entry to the Citadel, or walled city within Hue

The largest flagpole in Vietnam (I don't know if the flag is the largest; they just said flagpole

within the Citadel in Hue, and our guide

After visiting the Citadel and the tombs of Emperors Tu Duc and Minh Mang, we headed over to the subdued and pretty banks of the Perfume River to visit Thien Mu Pagoda. The pagoda is situated on Ha Khe hill a few miles southwest of central Hue city. The temple complex stretches north from the river banks in seven successive tiers, each of which is dedicated to a human form taken by the Buddha or a step to enlightenment.

A complex of monastic buildings lies in the center of the temple complex, where the monks are usually involved in their daily routines of cooking, stacking wood, and whacking weeds, as well as the recitation of prayers at 5:00 PM, daily (catch our pictures, below).

Perhaps the most notoriously fascinating (and gruesome) event associated with Thien Mu is the protest self-immolation that took place next to a car housed here in the '60s. A building near the rear of the complex houses the car in which the monk Thich Quang Duc rode from his temple to Saigon on June 11, 1963. He stepped out of the car in a busy intersection, sat down on the pavement in the lotus position, and burned himself to death in protest against the then regime's violations of religious freedom. Below is a picture of the car, as well as the monk on fire. You may recognize the picture, too, as the cover of the self-titled 1992 Rage Against the Machine debut album.

Thien Mu Pagoda on the banks of the Perfume River

Car next to which Thich Quang Duc set himself on fire in protest to religious intolerance

For more on this story, check out this link at wikipedia. Very interesting, sobering stuff: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thich_Quang_Duc

...and here are some pictures of the young monks at Thien Mu Pagoda:

monks at Thien Mu Pagoda

Next stop, Hoi An!

Our three day tour of Ha Long Bay ended up being the best activity, bang for your buck, that we did in the whole of Asia. Feeling slightly guilty about dropping our reservation back in Hanoi, our guesthouse man hooked us up with a wonderful trip for only $45- all inclusive. We were picked up in typical SE Asia touring fashion by a super-crowded mini-bus the next morning which carted us off to Ha Long Bay. Apart from the strange old French man sleeping on Megan's shoulder for most of the ride, it passed without incident.

Here is a little bit of information, courtesy of wikipedia.com on weirdly beautiful Ha Long Bay, Vietnam:

Ha Long Bay (Vietnamese: Vịnh Hạ Long) is a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Quảng Ninh province, Vietnam. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and shapes.

Local legend says that long ago when the Vietnamese were fighting Chinese invaders, the gods sent a family of dragons to help defend the land. This family of dragons began spitting out jewels and jade. These jewels turned into the islands and islets dotting the bay, linking together to form a great wall against the invaders. The people kept their land safe and formed what later became the country of Vietnam. After that, dragons were interested in peaceful sightseeing of the Earth and decided to live here then. The place where Mother Dragon flew down was named Hạ Long (originally spelled 下龍), the place where the dragon children attended upon their mother was called Bái Tử Long island (Bái: attend upon, Tử: children, Long: dragon), and the place where the dragon children wriggled their tails violently was called Bạch Long Vỹ island (Bạch: white- colour of the foam made when Children Dragon wriggle, Long: dragon, Vỹ: tail).

Taking a "cruise" of Ha Long Bay is classified by just about every major guidebook as a "must-do" activity while in SE Asia, and practically everyone who visits Vietnam does it. The harbour is literally teeming with wooden triple-decker boats, all variations on the same theme- cabins on the ground level, a spacious, nicely-lit dining room on the second floor, and an open-air deck on top with lounge chairs and potted plants. The great news is that while the boats are pretty big, they only put about 15 people on each, which means lots of personal space- something you don't get very often in crowded Vietnam.

Ha Long bay boats jockeying for position in the harbour

floating houses with Ha Long Bay karst cliffs in the background

more floating homes

Megan with Vietnamese flag

Catt with Vietnamese flag

riding through a small passageway to a sheltered lagoon

in the lagoon

Catt and Megan in the lagoon

Ha Long Bay

this is what our boat looked like...

"chicken" or "kissing" rock formation (depending on which story you go with)

Our own personal ambassador of Halong Bay Fun was a small, overly-enthusiastic, effeminite guy named "Thanh." There is no way to possibly convey the way Thanh pronounces his own name through a weblog entry- just to say that it actually sounds more like "Daan" said in a really quick, shrill, nasal, high-pitched voice. Thanh was giggling all over all of us within minutes- he is the most energetic being I've ever encountered. He was really good-natured about being the source of amusement and butt of all jokes for all of us over the subsequent few days.

Our boat was entirely filled with travellers from Spain. This being the first time we had really encountered Spanish tourists in bulk (apart from Olga and Coral in Borneo,) we were thrilled to be able to practice our Spanish and learn more about a new country... after our tutorial on "The Donor Show" and the crazy lady who got attacked by a gorilla in the Netherlands, we were looking forward to offbeat news en español. There was one larger family group from Barcelona (their accents were almost impossible for us to understand) but we really hit it off with an awesome trio from Madrid and Valencia region- Jose and Valle, and Luis, Valle's younger brother. We pretty much hung out with them for the whole trip spending some fun times playing card games (bullshit and capitalism) over dinners of peanuts, odd looking greens and rice within the wood-panelled dining hall of our boat in the evening, singing karaoke in cat ba island at a bar run by thanh's friend (sweet caroline on a whole new level), avoiding a pack of rabid monkeys on the beaches, and climbing structurally dubious weather towers with broken floor boards on "hikes." Valle and I also did some research on local dance moves at the local disco while Catt used his Spanish to explain just how much he likes to "cantar y bailar." Ask him about it.

Anyway, I am completely ahead of myself. The trip began with some stunning views of the bay, followed by a trip to a cave (another one...) called "Surprise Cave" with an odd looking phallus stalagmite, featured prominently awash in reddish spotlight at the end of the journey through the passageways...surprise! Thanh dissolved into completely incomprehensible giggles when we got there. Later Catt and I relived our honeymoon magic (we had a little bit of a spat as to who should be steering, paddling harder, etc) on an ocean kayak through the funky karst formations on the bay. This time we paddled together in nautical bliss, though. See what longterm travel can do for a relationships? That evening we returned to the boat, took some (scary) dives, flips and jumps off the bow into the murky water, and had a cozy dinner onboard followed up with some card playing. All in all our best day in 'Nam so far.

surprise phallus cave formation... on lefthand side of picture

surprise cave ceiling

Megan jumping off the boat into Ha Long Bay

diningroom on the boat

The next morning we awoke early within our surprisingly plush, private cabin to beautiful views of the bay out the window. We enjoyed breakfast onboard before disembarking at Cat Ba Island, a UNESCO recognized site and Vietnamese National Park. As was the case for us, it is often used as an overnight hotel stop as part of the three-day Ha Long Bay cruises. We were taken to our hotel, a narrowly constructed (only two rooms per floor!), bizarrely decorated, but nice place with no elevator, but plenty of sea-view balconies. Apart from the eight story hike to our room and the gigantic photo of a naked chick on a beach hanging over the tub it was a good place. After going on a hike through the bush (which included some very nice views, minus the sketchy, metal weathertower at the end- see pictures,) we checked in and were taken on another boat, this time to Monkey Island, an island only occupied by primates (no permanent humans,) which is surprisingly NOT recommended in the Lonely Planet due to the resident pack of "extremely territorial, aggressive and vicious monkeys." By this point we had met a Dutch couple who had told us about the horrors of obtaining rabies vaccinations in Vietnam, so as soon as the monkeys started appearing on perches on the hills and clifftops over our little patch of sand in very Hitchcock "The Birds"-type formations, our group of five grabbed our stuff and made for the ocean. Sure enough, tourists in our group started feeding them, and it was only a matter of minutes before one little bastard ran up to an unsuspecting girl and took a bite out of her ankle. Good thing we read our guidebook!

boats sailing on Ha Long Bay in the morning

the top deck of our boat

view from the top of the sketchy tower during our hike

Cat Ba Island tower of terror

stairs to the top of the tower- note the missing steps, rotted out wood, etc

Valle, Jose, Luis, Megan and Catterson at the base of the Tower of Terror, Cat Ba Island

That evening after dinner us plus Valle, Luis and Jose decided to take Thanh up on his offer to take us to a bar and we went to his friend's place for some drinks and karaoke. It was pretty funny, and pretty soon about twenty more people showed up (an audience!) After that we went to a disco for some short-lived dancing and weird music before calling it quits and heading back to the hotel. Some great karaoke pics to be added- we've only got one uploaded right now.

Jose and Valle bringing down the house

The next day we set sail for our bus back to Hanoi, said farewell to Thanh and our new Spanish friends, and set our sights on our next spot... the ancient city of Hue.

Jose, Valle, and Luis, thanks again for your friendship and hospitality during our trip to Halong Bay. It was great seeing you again in Hoi An, too- and hopefully we can meet up in the States or Spain in the future. Until then, happy trails!