Vietnam

Our border crossing into Vietnam was simple and easy, contradictory to any of the nonsense that the Lonely Planet tried to feed you, which by all accounts would have had us not even trying to cross at the “border rarely used by foreigners due to all the problems”! Of course, in usual HarkerClarker fashion we had no Vietnamese Dong so straight away got stung for a crazy expensive five minute taxi journey. In fact the driver was so chuffed with conning us out of three whole dollars that he started showing the money to everyone around! Arriving at the bus station just in time we jumped on a busy busy, full of bags and boxes and whatnot, for the journey down to Bai Tu Long Bay. It was easy enough and we managed to change buses down to the little one road fishing village, Van Don, relatively easily. Finding a cash machine wasn’t so easy mind you and meant we had to do a further two hour round trip just to get some money out! Van Don itself was a little gem. Not much was going on and it is far from the tourist trail, which is exactly what we loved about it! leading down to the village we passed through a lively market lining the sides of the streets, with fruit and vegetables and dog head, complete with bullet holes, for sale. Spending time in Van Don we were also introduced to the typical Vietnamese way. The Vietnamese lead their lives very differently from any other country I have been to and this was instantly visible, infact it is the one of the most visible things about the country. Everybody seems t live their lives very openly. Most people in Van Don (and as we later found out throughout all of Vietnam) live their lives very publicly. Their living rooms are nearly almost at the very front of their houses, opening up completely to the street so you can see everything that is going on, including evening meals and very often sleeping. For those who run businesses their living space also doubles up as their restaurant or shop or what not. Another significant similarity between everyone’s home is that pride and place in their main living room is their television, always placed on a magnificent unit which stands proud over the daily going ons.

With no other tourists in the village, we had the place to ourselves and found a wonderful lady, sharp as anything keen to do as much business with us as possible! She enticed us into her restaurant, which was just a simple room, which doubled up as their living space and her husband somehow managed to conjure up the most incredible chicken dish, on two little pans outside in the dark. It was immensely delicious so of course we went back for lunch and dinner the next day. We also hired a little fishing boat from them to take us around all the wonderful karst limestone formations that jutted right out of the sea, like something from a fairy tale. We had watched the sunset over the glimmering waters the night before, as the fishermen came in and it was truly gorgeous. When you think of Vietnam one of the instant images that comes to mind is that of Halong Bay and Bai Tu Long was exactly that image, but better than what we would later find Halong bay to be, as there was no-one else, other than fishermen, around. Sadly, much of the day was kind of gray but that just gave the scenery a more mythical rather than magical feel to it! We drifted for about five hours between the stunning formations, passing tiny floating communities (too small to be villages), sandy deserted beaches and fishermen drumming as they made their way back on their small long boats and even wading in the shallow waters, catching fish with spears! Not bad for a 20 dollar fishing boat trip and oh so special as it was just us around - perfection.

From Van Don we hopped on a five hour bus to Hanoi. One of the strange things about the busses in Vietnam, which we found throughout the country, was that their tend to be more staff than obviously necessary, howver when you think beyond the obvious you realise that you need one person to drive; one to collect money; one to check a police presence as they only issue tickets when they might get checked; another to deal with getting the bus full of people (often with slightly aggressive tactics) as they don’t like driving half empty; another person needs to jump off the bus (usually at full speed) to bribe people here and there and then jump back on; and then finally you need at least one other person to do something else equally as ludicrous as everyone else is doing, even if it is just hanging out the door as the bus drives along at full pelt.

Anyway, we did manage to reach Hanoi alive and in relative comfort in all fairness, and we even think that we paid the correct fair, which we would soon learn is a well and true novelty in a land where ‘ferrangis’ definitely pay more than is possibly fair for pretty much anything that doesn’t have a price written down.

We found a gorgeous looking guesthouse, tucked away from the main road and based around a courtyard, with it’s own cinamatique and as we would find out each night, its own cat that liked to scream in to the wee hours, right outside of our doorway. I am pretty certain that it was a direct attempt at both keeping me awake and sending me crazy. After checking in, dumping our bags and jumping in the shower we headed over the road for a delicious pizza before going for a walk into town. The first thing to strike you about Hanoi is the motorbikes. Traffic was utterly mental and the sheer number of motorbikes was like something that I have never seen before and that’s coming from someone who lived and worked in Bangalore, India!

As we walked around the central lake, Hoan Kiem we came across the most odd scene of three pretty girls, in traditional Vietnamese garb, posing sweetly, if slightly evocatively, for dozens of photographers, on the water’s edge, but bizzarely with a leaf in their hands and as the centre of attention. It turns out that the tree they were posing under is the only tree in the whole of Hanoi whose leaves turn brown and shed and this was the time of year that it was happening, though we are pretty certain that we saw other brown leaves on the ground elsewhere in the city! We ended up popping into a travellers’ bar, aptly named ‘Le Pub’, where we may as well have been in a bar back home! Anyway, we met a honeymooning Oz couple, who were great fun and ended up staying for several hours, instead of just a quick drink to relax and get our bearings! It was nice though and our first taste of the true traveller friendly lifestyle that flows through South East Asia.

In the evening we went for a short wander through the nearby streets which made up the shoe market, selling (quite obviously) shoes upon shoes on the curb side. We found a tiny little eatery between a few shoe stands and were promptly ripped off for some delicious little roll type things and sausage!

Next day we spent the whole day exploring the wonderfully crumbling old town, which simply oozed character and archaic beauty. Every street was full of striking old buildings falling into various states of disrepair, with some renovated for the sake of tourist and in the money locals, to enjoy fine dining in gorgeous surrounds. Full of art galleries and silk shops; busy middle of the road markets (where you can buy everything from frogs, head sliced off before your eyes to never before seen fish and turtles waiting to be taken to the oven, which is ironic paring in mind how revered they are); cycle rickshaws; the inevitable motorbike (making its way through the most inappropriate tiny space); street vendors selling fruits and vegetable from their baskets balanced on their shoulders; little hair dressers set up against a brick wall or tree; and hundreds of people going about their daily life, the streets of the old town were certainly a sight to behold. Around every street corner was something new, from a garlic shop selling tens of different types and ladies in the common conical hats selling flowers to loud wholesale fabric markets, where staff were either hectically busy or sleeping upon rolls of material, hiding amongst the swathes of colours. And as all of this was going on, home life was being lived in full of everyone around. Even here in Hanoi most people seem to live their lives very openly sleeping in their shops of the reception of their hotel. in fact, read an interesting magazine article about how the cost of housing is (relatively) some of the highest in the world and so people simply can’t afford to buy rent let alone buy and hence why they all have no choice but to combine their work and home space. Even shop workers who simply are employed rather than own the shop often sleep in the store as part of their package.

Having explored the old town by day we spent the next day doing some of the more historical and cultural monuments of the city, whilst by night we went back in to the old town to eat and enjoy the lively atmosphere (and of course to shop for beautiful silk dresses!) We took in the sights of the fascinating Literary Temple; the humbling Hanoi Hilton which was, for so long, a vicious home to freedom fighters and a long term stay for prisoners of the Veitnamese war; the city museum with its collection of art works, every day objects, photos and anthroplogical relics. We explored the further afield back streets of the city and ambled around the lake, which was always full of people doing exercise walks, usually in their pyjamas. That was one of the most odd things about Hanoi (which we later discovered ran through much of Vietnam) all the women went around their daily lives in their jim jams. From doing their shopping, to walking around the lake or doing their aerobics class in the outdoor spaces around the lake with hundred of other similarly dressed women, they had a real penchant for wearing PJs all day, every day. Odd, odd, odd! In fact an oddity we never quite got to the bottom of!

I was lucky enough to secure a luxury boat cruise in Halong Bay for two days and so after dropping our visa applications for India off at the embassy we met the transfer to Halong, passing much of the same route that we took coming into Hanoi from Van Don. After a few hours and a stop over at this art centre for the disabled, where they made incredible stitched art work, we arrived at Halong and were taken to our boat with two other couples, which made way for a quiet and relaxed stay. The boat was beautiful and we enjoyed delicious food and scrummy cocktails on board. Sadly the days were not the best, much like in Bai Tu Long Bay, but the views were none the less stunning despite the overcast skies. We visited an incredible (if exceptionally busy) cave with stalagmites and stalactites making all sorts of shapes and figures as well as a wonderful floating village which was amazing to see. I was expecting some kind of market like those in Bangkok but in fact it was just a small community of lots of floating houses, complete with all the modcons and dogs.

We spent the rest of our time just drifting between the wonderful karst formations jutting out of the waters. Stu and I jumped in for a very refreshing swim, and I came out with a jelly fish bite! Thank goodness the boat had some cream as I really didn’t fancy peeing on myself (though I would be impressed if I managed to pee on my own stomach!) In the evening Stuart had a massage and we spent some time fishing for squid, which was fun for about ten minutes and then for me rather tedious, but Stu was determined and about an hour later came running down the corridor with a bucket full of water and one little squid! What a proud moment! The chef cooked it up the next morning for his breakfast, scrumptious!

When we got back to Hanoi we still had plenty of time to kill in Hanoi as we needed to wait five days to get our Indian visas so we decided to spend a few days trekking in stunning Bac Ha. After a pleasant overnight train to Lai Cai, we went one way, whilst all the other tourists headed in the other direction to more visited Sapa. We found our bus easily enough, which was a relief as it was five in the morning and we had a further few hours to travel before we would get to Bac Ha in time for the Tuesday morning market of the Dsong Flower tribe that we so wanted to see. Unfortunately, in what we would soon learn was true Vietnamese style, the bus wanted to charge us 300 dong, rather than the actual 50 that it was. Of course we fought this, after all the prices are written on the bus but they point blank refused to take us for less than 150, so having payed three times as much as we should have done (it was five in the morning after all so they had us over a barrel) we got under way for the ride through the countryside. On arrival in the smallest and most peaceful town ever we found a little guest house and promptly showered, overlooked by a naughty nude lady centre piece in the bathroom, before hiring a motorbike driver to drive us over the crazy bumpy roads to the market. yes that would be one motorbike for three fully grown adults! heck they do it all the time in Asia, so when in Rome and all that..... We drove through glorious countryside and finally ended up at this rickety old bridge which, no joke, was twisted so that half of it was sideways over the river, making for an adventurous walk over to the other side! The locals didn’t seem to care, mind you, and with a hop, skip and jump they were over in a jiffy, so of course we couldn’t show ourselves up! Over on the other side we were met with the most incredible scene. It seemed as if the entire tribe of Dsong Flower People had come together for the market (which they probably had). The whole market was alive with the most colourful costumes I have ever seen. With bright head scarves, incredibly beautiful intricately embroidered jackets, pleated rainbow skirts and aprons, and even special leg warmer type things (though why their legs need warming in this heat is beyond me!) It is quite literally impossible to describe how glorious the scene was. I only feel sorry for the men who miss out on all the fun and simply where whatever they want, a dull existence compared to the women and girls. What made the outfits even more beautiful was that thy were all accessorised with stunning smiles and gorgeously characterful faces. We bought a few colourful treats including bags and skirts for back home and then reluctantly left the market, which was possibly the best I have ever seen, simply for the people watching. We headed back to the town and had a wander round, before arranging our trekking trip for the next day.

We were so looking forward to our trek but I was aghast to find out just how hard it was from the very word go. We had a lovely guide and for the entire trip it was just us, which was incredible. Certainly if we had gone to Sapa there would have been many other tourists who we passed by. Unfortunately from the word go I struggled to handle the heat and the hills! I was determined to work through it though and carried on, before relenting and believing that something was just not right, at which point I was promptly violently sick! That said, I felt a hundred times better and was able to carry on! Thank goodness too as we passed through the most stunning scenery of terraced rice fields, complete with workers dressed in their full Dsong Flower People regalia. We also passed tiny little houses on the fields and met local tribes people which was incredible. To see the local tribes people at work in their daily lives was quite something and the setting was more than glorious. Wet hen passed a tiny little village school, with gorgeous little children, before Vin, our guide, decided that I simply couldn’t carry on (I was, afterall, continuing to be sick). So he called a bike to come and get me and take me to the homestay where we were spending the night, where upon arrival I promptly fell fast asleep. As we waited for the bike to pick me up we were at the end of this long old man made wooden bridge, where a family was moving a house, wooden piece by wooden piece across from one side of the gauge to the other to rebuild it. Old men, young women in their tribal clothes and kids were all involved in the incredibly hard physical job, but low me did they have a good location!

The homestay that we were staying at was in the middle of nowhere, in a tiny village and so was a wonderful place to see, though I felt so rude just rocking up and going to sleep! By the time Stu and Vin arrived I felt a little better and was forced to eat some of the huge dinner that they cooked for us. I kept saying that I simply couldn’t eat it and lo and behold when Stu and Vin made me carry on, it didn’t stay in me too long! I had been up and down to the outside toilet, down some rickety stairs and out in the dark, where scary dogs lurked and thankfully on the last occasion asked Stu to come out with me. Not so thankfully for him I never made it to the toilet before I was sick half over myself and all over their outside space, just a meter away form the toilet! Bless him though for being such a good husband and cleaning up after me, in the pitch black and all!

I felt a little better the next day, though Vin was convinced that I ‘had a baby inside’!!!! I tried in ernest to convince him that it was more likely something I ate but he was having none of it! He opted for a slightly easier route back than we would have taken, which in all honesty was fine by me. We passed through a number of villages which too us looked so picture perfect but I am sure that their lives aren’t easy. In one we went into a blacksmith’s studio, where the heat from the red hot utensils was incredible and where the women were working just as hard as the men. It was like stepping back in time and very cool to see. The countryside was not quite as spectacular as the day before but none the less it was a wonderful part of the walk and the trek was simply incredible, more so as we were well and truly on our own.

After Bac Ha we headed back on the journey to Hanoi where we had one last day enjoying the old town and took in a cookery class, which was brilliant. We took a trip through the market and then donned our aprons and chef hats and learnt to cook the most delicious and totally unhealthy chicken and much more healthy fresh spring rolls and a weird little desert. It was really good and put me right in the mood to become a proper little housewife!

We left Hanoi to go to Hoi-An, which we fell in love with. We were only going to stay a couple of days but stayed for the full week that we had left in Vietnam. We just adored the relaxed pace, the pretty river side old town, the lovely beaches and all the great food that we ate! We had a pleasant enough hotel and spent a few hours in the heat of the day chilling out watching movies and Discovery (this was the point of the start of our Discovery addiction). We spent a few days just wondering around the old town and through the markets relaxing in little coffee shops on the water’s edge of this idyllic town. We hired bikes to cycle around the back streets, through villages and fields and water fronted side streets. Every nook and cranny was perfect! One day we hired a scooter to drive to the ruins of My Son which was wonderful. We loved being on the bike, though we ended up riving far further than we needed to as we got quite lost! We passed stunning scenery of workers in conical hats tending to the rice paddies; water buffalo wallowing in the paddies and little stretches of water; hundreds of school children cycling home or to school (different ages go in the morning or afternoon as there is not enough space to have them all study together at the same time); and lively market scenes. The ruins themselves were wonderful. We practically had the place to ourselves, save for a few other tourists and so it was really peaceful and at some points erie taking in the different monuments, all covered in dewy cobwebs, complete with silvery spiders. One of the things that I find most strange about this abandoned ruins (along with all others) is not only that they were abandoned after so much work and love was put into them, but that they were always built in the most obscure and hard to reach places. It was like they never wanted to be found and wanted all the construction to be as hard as humanly possible.

We also had clothes made for us in Hoi-An. We met a lovely lady who ran a tailors and I had a few summer items whipped up and Stuart got too lovely suits that made him look deliciously handsome! It was good fun choosing what we were going to get made as the tailors all just hand you catalogues and magazine to look through and then you simply point at what you want. I got really fussy with Stu’s suits as the first was was great (after they took out the eighties shoulder pads!) but the second one was too short, too tight and generally not right. However, after half an hour it was perfect! We spent quite a lot of time talking to the two ladies in the tailors and it was interesting to hear their views on men. One was married and the other single but neither had much good t say about men, which was the case for most girls, who were quick to point out that men were useless and they were better off without them. To be fair, this does very much seem to be the case. Whilst all the women are hard at work, the men seem to be lolling around drinking and playing cards in the street, with their mates.

After a few days hanging on the beach and spending evenings eating delicious seafood we had to leave or else we might never have, in order to get to Laos.