After departing Angkor, land of many wondrous carved pediments, we headed for Ha Noi. The first thing we noticed was the weather. It was chillier than most other places we'd been during the trip (except Nepal at 8000 feet) and it was pretty foggy. We got in at nighttime and hit the hay.
The next day, we headed out to walk around the city. First we went to the lake in the center of the city and walked around a temple. Then we headed to "Silk Road" so that Kristen could get a dress made for Mariko's wedding. It took us quite a while to find the right color, but eventually we did and put in the order. Kristen also got a dress shirt made and Mike found another place to make him a pair of pants. We definitely have been enjoying the affordable tailoring!
Afterwards, we weary shoppers went to lunch at Quan An Ngon, a place that served all the good Vietnamese street food, but in... how to put this... a more indisputably sanitary way. To this point, neither of us has gotten horribly sick and we hope to keep it that way. So, we took the safe option and gorged ourselves on one delicious choice after another. Yum. After all of the heavy flavors of the other countries we have visited, the lighter cuisine of Vietnam definitely hit the spot.
We took the afternoon to visit the fine arts museum. The first exhibit featured contemporary works by an artist depicting Vietnam's struggles to adapt to a modern world. They also had ancient all the way up to contemporary art including folk art. Very beautiful pieces! There were also a lot of works that addressed the American War (known in America as the Vietnam War), so it was interesting to see the war from the opposite perspective than we are used to. After we left the museum, it was time to get ready for our overnight train to Lo Cai on our way to Sa Pa.
We arrived in Lo Cai at 5am and it was pouring down rain. And it was even foggier and colder than Hanoi! We drove an hour to Sa Pa and then huddled by the fire until our room was ready at 9:00. Few things are as nice as a hot shower after an overnight train ride. Despite the fog and mist, we went with a guide to Cat Cat Village to see a waterfall and explore a Black Hmong village. The Black Hmong women have a very clever business model for selling their handicrafts. The tourists typically trek between villages and while doing so, the women pair themselves up with the tourists. They chat with you along the way and are very friendly. In slippery areas, they will help you so you don't fall. Then, once you reach your destination, they hope you will buy some of their beautiful embroidery. Our friend for the day was Mai. When we told her Mike's name she said, "Oh, it's the same as mine." We told her that she didn't have to walk all the way to Cat Cat with us, so hopefully she could meet up with some other people in Sa Pa who were potential customers, but she made sure to find us once we got back and we got some good stuff.
The next day, we headed out to walk around the city. First we went to the lake in the center of the city and walked around a temple. Then we headed to "Silk Road" so that Kristen could get a dress made for Mariko's wedding. It took us quite a while to find the right color, but eventually we did and put in the order. Kristen also got a dress shirt made and Mike found another place to make him a pair of pants. We definitely have been enjoying the affordable tailoring!
Afterwards, we weary shoppers went to lunch at Quan An Ngon, a place that served all the good Vietnamese street food, but in... how to put this... a more indisputably sanitary way. To this point, neither of us has gotten horribly sick and we hope to keep it that way. So, we took the safe option and gorged ourselves on one delicious choice after another. Yum. After all of the heavy flavors of the other countries we have visited, the lighter cuisine of Vietnam definitely hit the spot.
We took the afternoon to visit the fine arts museum. The first exhibit featured contemporary works by an artist depicting Vietnam's struggles to adapt to a modern world. They also had ancient all the way up to contemporary art including folk art. Very beautiful pieces! There were also a lot of works that addressed the American War (known in America as the Vietnam War), so it was interesting to see the war from the opposite perspective than we are used to. After we left the museum, it was time to get ready for our overnight train to Lo Cai on our way to Sa Pa.
We arrived in Lo Cai at 5am and it was pouring down rain. And it was even foggier and colder than Hanoi! We drove an hour to Sa Pa and then huddled by the fire until our room was ready at 9:00. Few things are as nice as a hot shower after an overnight train ride. Despite the fog and mist, we went with a guide to Cat Cat Village to see a waterfall and explore a Black Hmong village. The Black Hmong women have a very clever business model for selling their handicrafts. The tourists typically trek between villages and while doing so, the women pair themselves up with the tourists. They chat with you along the way and are very friendly. In slippery areas, they will help you so you don't fall. Then, once you reach your destination, they hope you will buy some of their beautiful embroidery. Our friend for the day was Mai. When we told her Mike's name she said, "Oh, it's the same as mine." We told her that she didn't have to walk all the way to Cat Cat with us, so hopefully she could meet up with some other people in Sa Pa who were potential customers, but she made sure to find us once we got back and we got some good stuff.
It also happened to be Thanksgiving our first day in Sa Pa. There aren't a lot of American tourists that go there (apparently Americans like to go to the beach, according to our guide), so we didn't see any signs that people were aware of the holiday. A few other places we had been we had seen signs advertising turkey dinners, but we didn't see any in Sa Pa. So, though we missed turkey and pie, we found a delicious alternative- Vietnamese hot pot. You get a big pot of boiling broth and then you add in all kinds of tasty veggies, meats and noodles. Great for a cold night and for celebrating what we are thankful for. And we gave thanks for many things- for each other, for the chance to be on such an amazing trip, and for you all.
On our second day in Sa Pa, the weather was only slightly better, but again we set out for some trekking through rice terraces and villages.
It was pretty amazing to walk along and just see a wall of white in the distance. We could hear cars, but couldn't see the road. But, we did get to see some beautiful scenary up close. Our Hmong friends for the day were Mai Mai and Pam. They were especially helpful as we slipped and slided along muddy buffalo trails. Soon our trek was over and it was time to get ready to get back on the train and head to Halong Bay.
Fortunately, Halong Bay was warmer and it didn't rain. But, it still had that hazy winter sky. Nonetheless, the many limestone karsts jutting out of the water were just amazing.
It's not hard to understand why there is a legend about how they were created- they are just so magnificent. The legend is that the Chinese were going to invade and so dragons spat pearls into the bay so the Chinese couldn't find their way to the Vietnamese shores and they had to turn around. We spent the first day on a junk sailing around and checking out a cave. We also went for a beautiful sunset swim. The second day we got to explore the karsts up close in a kayak. It was a lot of fun and Mike did an excellent job steering us throughout the bay. Being right in the middle of water and surrounded by floating fishing farms meant very tasty food on the boat- lots of fresh seafood. Delicious! We spent the second night at a resort on Cat Ba Island and saw our first sign of Christmas- there was a Christmas tree in the lobby. There was also a beautiful beach which we enjoyed, but Kristen was too wussy to go in the cold water while it was so windy out. Mike was hardier and braved the cold waters for a swim. We spent our last hours on the island trekking up to an overlook in a national park and visiting a cave that was turned into a hospital during the American War.
Hard to believe, we only had two days left on our trip and we spent them exploring Hanoi. We went to several sights with connections to the American War- the Army Museum, Hoa Loa Prison, and the Ho Chi Minh Museum. It was fascinating to see the exhibits and see such a different propaganda, uh... perspective.
Remember, Ho Chi Minh is made of radiant gold and came out of the sky, with his legs folded.
Our final activity in Hanoi was to have dinner and we did it up right. We went to Cha Ca La Vong, which only serves cha ca (fish cooked in tumeric and herbs served with rice noodles). The service isn't friendly and we didn't really know what we were doing or what was going on, but we sure did know that the food was delicious. It was a great way to start our journey home.
Random photograph of Kristen at one of the historic universities in Ha Noi.
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