| Good morning Vietnam! I have had a great day here - I like this place, it has a nice vibe to it (similiar to China, hence why so good!), there is lots to see/do, things are cheap and there seems to loads of westerners! Today I got up early and went to see Uncle Ho. After queing for 10 mins with some other foreigners I wondered in with the masses. I was surprised at how small the masuleam was (Vs Mao's!) - but he looked great, a bit orange but alright. Don't these locals have jobs?? After, I checked out his house (pretty modest but nice!) and presidental palace. The museam in the same vicintiy was also good...kinda post-modernist/cubist/arty farty, but rather good. It talked about Uncle Ho's and his mates struggle for independence and effect of world events on country. Then the heavens opened and it rained for about 30 mins straight. The heaviest rain I have seen! I then walked to the Temple of Literature - a series of buildings that was built in 1050 for a uni in nam to teach ideals and Confucious's idea's to the select few. Splendid place - very similiar building/temples as China. Yesterday the 25th, I went to the Perfume pagoda. We waited in a bus here for 90mins for some frenchies who blamed someone else for their lateness. All the time I was urging the driver to go... Eventually we arrived there and walked along a muddy road with ankle high mud to jump in a boat rowed by super-women! The scenery along the boat ride was fab. Beautiful green hills over the river... We then walked 1hr up a mt; up steep, slippery stairs to see a huge cave with an average shrine inside it. Wasn't worth it - I was soaked in sweat and caked in mud... Headed down for some lunch - pretty darn good! Headed back via the boats and the muddy road. Then the rains started...it rained for about 15hrs straight - typhoons suck! I think the Vietnamese soldiers use the same tailors as the Chinese, as they are similiar, but with diff badges. Back from Sapa and an interesting few days there. Got the v comfy sleeper up there, and shared a carriage with a nice Irish girl and an American couple. I woke early and saw the beautiful countryside roll past me - in the rain. Arrived and caught a bus to Sapa. We climbed up to 1600m. Upon arrival our guide met us and moaned that we were late (our train was 3hrs late!), so we had little time for brekkie and none for a shower! We started to trek, in the rain, to some villages in the valley. Whilst trekking the muddy paths ,we were hounded by loads of kids trying to sell us blankets/chains and other tat...all afternoon. Rolled into our homestay place and sat and chilled/dried off in the afternoon sun. Chatted all nite - good group of people! We stayed in a local Black Hmong village - I was knackered so I headed to bed early. The trek was not that easy in the mud and that most of the paths were up or down slopes! The following day we trekked to some other tribal villages where their costumes/language and customs were totally diff. There I crossed the bridge of death...1 in every 4 slats was missing as it was under repair. Whilst I was walking a plank broke away and fell into the river. I lost my balance and landed on the bridge (unfortunately on a section that was just being painted!) So now my trousars were yucky! Caught a ride back into town and cleaned up. Said bye to the others and then wandered round the mkt. It was full of locals from the hill tribes. An amazing array of colours and custumes were on show there. The next day I just wandered round the small town and read my book. There wasn't much to see, so I read loads. I went to the Observatory restaurant for a shake - which was delish! I managed to sneak a couple of shots of the locals with all their gear on, I hope they come out! I caught the bus back to town at 4ish and then waited for the train at 8.30pm. I hopped on a bike and went 2ks up the rd to the Chinese border and waved at China. I was very tempted to hop across the river and claim asylum! I was supposed to be there in June...C'est la vie! Met the American couple again and chatted with them until I boarded the train. The folks in my berth were nice and we played some cards and chatted until it got late. 28th - After arriving early and re-checking into my hotel, I headed out to change some money into $$$. I then went to Hoa Lu Prison or the Hanoi Hilton as the American POW's called the prison. (met a guy from the train en route) Wandered round there for a while and saw how'humaely the Vietnamese treated the US POW's'. The French gullotine's were good though, as was Sen John McCain's jump suit. I went next door to the Melia hotel and got some semi decent views from the top floors. These buildings had ads for the Pru on them...spooky! Met the guy again for lunch (eat all u can pasta for 80p) and then went to a pagoda on the lake. I have confirmed my Halong Bay trip now (31st -2nd) with the Kangaroo cafe (a guy I met in Sapa said they were good!) and the weather looks ok for the next few days. Then on the 2nd I will catch the 7pm bus to Hue after arriving back in Hanoi at 5pm! Hue is about 700k south on the coast and 14hrs on a bus! Pretty good tkt though, it cost me $20 to go all the way to Saigon. There is a trip I can do on the Mekong from Saigon that on the last day goes into Cambodia - so it looks like that could be a winner. The next couple of days are for resting, laundry and finishing off any sightseeing that I need to do here. Greetings - Well today I decieded to do the LP old qtr walk (i had a map from the plane with route map on it). It was a good walk lasting about 3hrs - taking in the Hanoi Flag tower, statue of Lenin and all the goings on in the qtr. I went round a mkt and saw them chop up the meat and count the live chickens in baskets for the day's sale. I saw this funeral - a coffin was being loaded onto a hurst (transit van) and the family who all had white headbands on, cried for ages. They then walked behind bus for about 10mins... All the streets here mean something - one may be a basket weaving st, another may be metal stuff (you get the drift!) I noticed the same in S America...a reason or sheer coincedence. Also the tribal people up north, looked quite similair to the folks in Peru (costume etc)... Sat in a cafe after and tried to dry off as the sweat was intense - its v hot here this week! Wrote up my diary for about 40mins. I had a few hrs to kill, so i went to the history museam. It was your bog std one with prehistoric relics, pottery and ancient parts of buildings. 2% was in English, so it wasn't hard to rush thru it (the best bit was the first Vietnam flag hoisted by Uncle Ho in '45). Round the museam the nice Hilton Hanoi and the Opera hse were located. Halong Bay 31/7 I left Hanoi after meeting my comrades at the kangaroo cafe. We drove 3 hrs to Halong bay and then jumped on a nice boat to sail into the limestone mountains that jut out of the water. Amazing scenery - sat on deck, chatted and took some pics of it all. We then stopped for a swim at a secluded cove and then sailed for 25mins to another quiet bay for sunset. Watching the sunset with a cold beer was divine... Had a great meal that nite and some more beers. AS you swam in the darkness, the sea was lit up by phospherence (little plants/animals that give off light once disturbed!). Sat on deck and watched the star filled sky - saw three shooting stars! The following day we went to Cat Ba island and saw some nice caves with huge limestone stalagmites/tites in them. The caves were in the middle of fish/prawn farms which was interesting! After a picnic lunch (yummy!) we headed to monkey island to relax on the deserted beach. It was quiet until 2 boatloads of Vietnamese arrived and made such a racket! Then some monkeys arrived and we watched from afar, although the locals were openly antongonising the monkeys and they were getting distressed - I wished that the monkeys would have attacked them - I was ready with my camera in case! Back to Cat Ba for showers and to watch the lightning show over the bay. Went out for an average meal in a specialist seafood place that the seafood eaters raved over...nothing special though! Went out to the new city nite club after. I was manhandled in by the staff. We sat there over a beer and watched as a few locals danced over bad songs and families drank beer...bad club though! In Vietnam the tourist is not well treated - we are shouted at/pushed/scammed and lied to. They are not happy unless you spend money in their place. I went to a hotel today whose price I agreed on downstairs was $3 with the manager. Once I had walked the 4 flights to my room, the price magically rose...so I left...they don't understand the concept that a full bed is better than an empty bed as they think that there all loads of tourists arriving shortly, there never is. This is the theme in Asia. The final day we sailed for the mainland and then headed back to Hanoi. Caught a very busy bus to Hue which wasn't that pleasent. It was either too warm or cold on the bus - but thankfully I was moved to a seat with loads of leg room, so I slept pretty good! Arrived this morning (3/8) at 8.30am. Checked into a hotel after a struggle. Staying in a dorm with a guy I met on the bus and some Jap guy. Went to the Forbidden purple city here - rubbish...whole complex was appaling - not much to do it and overpriced! The ice cream we bought was the highlight! The town seems good - well catered for the tourist. Booked a trip for the morning to see some Vietcong tunnels and Ho Chi Minh Trail. Staying here till Weds when I will head south to Hoi An and get some shirts tailored up. I should be meeting up with some folks from the Halong bay trip there as well. |