Scooter Gang Hits Hue...

Hue, Vietnam

June 14, 2007
N 16°28.114
E 107°35.480

We arrived at the tour boats around 8:15AM. The majority of the organized tours left promptly at 8:00 AM. At first we were a little worried we wouldn’t get to cruise the picturesque Perfume River, but Marc was able to negotiate a private tour for the five of us on a smaller, privately owned boat. Like Marc says, there’s always someone willing to help you in this country… all you have to do is ask; actually you don’t even need to ask most of the time.

Our private tour pushed off around 8:30 AM and headed up the river towards the Royal Tombs. Our first stop of the day was the colorful Thien Mu Pagoda which was very controversial during the mid 1960’s. In protest of the persecution of Buddhism by South Vietnam's Ngô Đình Dim administration Thich Quang Duc, a monk from the Pagoda, drove to Saigon, sat down in the middle of a busy intersection, doused himself with gasoline and lit a match, engulfing himself in flames. Today the Pagoda houses a memorial of sorts for the monk— the actual car he traveled to Saigon in resides in the temple.

After we departed from the Pagoda we continued our trip up the river. Our next stop lead us to a little dirt path at the edge of the river where a group of locals waited to take tourists to see the tombs. The kicker here is the only form of transportation they had were motor-scooters! We all looked at each other and figured what the Hell… lets go!

Each of us nervously climbed onto the back of a motorbike. The same kind Elise used to retrieve her bag just a day ago—the same scooters I just admitted to being terrified of riding. I swallowed my fear and jumped on the back and held on as we took off down country dirt roads. We were surrounded by rice patties, coconut trees, water buffalo and even little calves just wandering around, not even noticing the honking scooters as we zipped by. Initially, when I jumped on the bike, I thought I had lost my mind, but as we dashed through one remote village after another along the Vietnam countryside I realized I was seeing something special.

As Elise said, we were like a nerdy motorcycle gang zipping through the back roads of Vietnam in search of the Royal tombs. We arrived at a site, checked it out and hopped back on our bikes tearing off to the next site. Collectively we agreed that riding the scooter was at least half of the fun, knowing we wouldn’t have seen a third of the sites if we were crammed on a boat with an organized tour group.

The tombs were incredible, very intricate, yet classy. They weren’t dressed in garish gold-leaf like you see in several Asian countries; instead they were bejeweled in glass, marble, stone and maybe a few jewels. As we slowly walked through the 102F heat at each of the tombs we talked a little about the great experiences so far in Vietnam.

We have only been here for one week, but we have had several amazing experiences so far. We are really happy to share the experiences as a group, as a family.

A Big, Big Day in Hue...

Hue, Vietnam

June 13, 2007
N 16°28.114
E 107°35.480

The train pulled into the station in Hue a little before 9:00 AM. The plan was to walk from the train station directly to one of the recommended hotels in Lonely Planet. Elise did an excellent job scouting out the place on the internet and we all felt it would work perfectly.

The walk from the train station was about a mile in the blistering heat. Hue was supposed to be 10 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than Hanoi, but as we staggered down the street dripping in sweat I didn’t notice the difference. Maybe, just maybe, Hue had a little less humidity, so instead of 80% it is around 70%--maybe!

All of us checked into the little hotel, took cool showers, and headed out to explore the town. Hue was heavily damaged during the Vietnam War and was one of the only cities to be held by the North Vietnamese Army for more than a few days. The city lost at least 200,000 people during the bombings, the majority of them civilians. The history of the city was one of the draws for us.

We were able to make it down to the Perfume River and found a small patch of shade to protect us from the heat; Marc confirmed the temperature officially reached 100F. That was enough… the best place to be was inside our cool rooms with some water and air conditioning.

When we reached our hotel we discovered the market on the other side of the river closed at 5:00 PM. If we didn’t make it to the market today, we probably wouldn’t have a chance since we planned on taking a day long boat tour the following morning. Elise and I decided we could brave the heat and didn’t want to miss out on any deals, plus we heard good stories about Hue’s market.

The market resembled many of the .99 cent stores lining the streets of Chinatown in San Francisco. It appeared the majority of the goods were surplus items that ended up at this market to find a buyer. Each stall was piled as high as possible with hair accessories, plastic bowls, chopsticks, baskets, or whatever the stall was selling. If a particular stall was selling tin boxes, then every stall around it also sold tin boxes. Therefore, as soon as one person in the market knew what you were looking for, it quickly trickled back to everyone else until all of a sudden everyone had the perfect item for just for you!

Elise and I were looking for headbands to keep our hair out of our face, but along the way we were shown plenty of other items including, my personal favorite, girls underwear. The pink underwear decorated with super heros, kittens, etc. that looked like they might fit around one of my thighs, but the lady was making a hard sell. She may have made a sale if she didn’t start telling me “we have big, big for you” Thanks, I said… you just lost that sale for sure. Well, I guess there wasn’t really a chance in hell anyway.

We finally found headbands that might due the trick, looked for a few more small items and got out of the market before someone else tried to sell us more stuff we didn’t need. We made our way back across the bridge to the hotel… it was now our turn to cool off and rehydrate in our rooms.

Other notes: It's really a lot of fun traveling as a family. Since family is such a big part of the Vietnamese culture, we've received a lot of comments as to how nice it is to see us together. And of course, having a group helps us barter a little more when it comes to certain items such as tours.

My Baby Takes the Night Train...

Hanoi, Vietnam

June 12, 2007
N 21°01.811
E 105°51.082

We had tickets for the night train from Hanoi to Hue that departed at 7:00 PM, making it our last morning in Hanoi. Since the weather dipped to a balmy 95F we decided to head over to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. There were certain restrictions to get into the mausoleum including pants for the men, skirts for the women and shirts—no tank tops, making the trip impossible on the 105F days.

We arrived at the crypt just after 9:00AM where the line already stretched out for at least half a mile. A blue tarp stretched over the entire line providing a little protection from the harsh sun. After checking our bags and going through security, we lined up two by two and marched under the blue tarp to see Uncle Ho’s well preserved body.

There were guards every 20 meters, glaring, hushing and keeping everyone in two single file lines that constantly moved about 15 meters every minute. After about thirty minutes we walked into a dimly lit and frigid air-conditioned room holding Ho Chi Minh; the great hero of Vietnam. He looked very peaceful, under the golden lights illuminating his smooth skin, almost like he was taking a nap. He was enclosed in what appeared to be a bullet-proof glass case, four very stern looking armed guards at each corner. Our time with Uncle Ho was very short since the line kept moving and we weren’t allowed to stop.

After our time with Ho Chi Minh we figured we would attempt the full communist hero sweep and headed to the Lenin Monument, only a short distance from the Mausoleum. We cooled off in the park, under the scornful eye of Mr. Lenin, and enjoyed some local passion fruit. Feeling like we knew Hanoi and were more than ready to move onto a new city, but we still had several hours before our train left town.

After wandering around for a few more hours we decided the Bia Hoi beer garden was again calling our names. Sitting in miniature plastic chairs, enjoying 10 cent cool beers, can get you hungry so I asked the lady pumping the keg where we could get a sandwich. She looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language, so Elise pulled out the Lonely Planet and we did our best to say the words—we got our point across and the lady pointed to a stand a half block down the street. I quickly got up and headed down there.

After some negotiations we settled on a price for the five sandwiches, 50,000 dong (roughly $3). The meat sizzled on the coal barbeque, killing any bacteria that could possibly be on there. She heated the bread, cut it open, and slid the meat from two of the skewers in between the bread topping it off with soy and chili sauces.

Finally completing my mission, I headed back to the gang anxiously waiting for their first real Banh Mi sandwich. Since it was time to catch the train we paid our tab and headed back to the Hanoi Queen Hotel munching on our sandwiches as we walked.

Arriving at the hotel we started to gather our gear from the massive pile of luggage in the lobby. It was at this point Elise realized her backpack was missing, no longer in the mountain of packs. We looked everywhere, but the bag was nowhere to be found. One of the guys at the hotel grabbed Elise and started running towards a group who just left the hotel. Teddy headed out the door to help. They searched the luggage in the taxi, no luck.

The group that owns the Hanoi Queen Hotel owns a total of six hotels and when one fills up they send people to one of the others. We hoped one of the groups going to another hotel grabbed the bag, not someone going to the airport or train station.

A few minutes later, one of the guys grabbed me and told me to come with him. I motioned to Elise to go outside and I followed. He could only take one of us on his motor scooter. Elise went, thank goodness since I am very afraid of motorcycles—they quickly zipped away. Yet another one of the guys grabbed me to head to a hotel two doors down.

We burst through the door of the hotel and headed for the stairs. The guy, really more of a kid, told me to hurry. I ran up the stairs after him as fast as possible. He stopped at a door on the fourth floor, knocked on the door and waited. A lady opened the door, speaking Vietnamese, but the kid went right by her. I waited at the door until he yelled at me to hurry and look. I came in, looked at their bags—nope, not what we are looking for. We ran out of that room and up another flight of stairs. When the kid knocked on the door of this room, a German lady, fresh out of the shower, answered the door. The kid didn’t care and stormed right by her. Nope, no luck.

I flew down the stairs as fast as possible with the kid yelling at me the entire time, “faster, quick, quick…” When we got to the bottom, he crossed the lobby and headed up another set of stairs. I stayed behind him as we climbed two more flights. I was sweating profusely at this point, my head pounded, ready to burst. We exploded through the door of our target room, only to find an empty room. Defeated, we headed back down the stairs and to the Hanoi Queen.

In the meantime, Elise raced through the Hanoi streets on the back of the scooter, running red lights and narrowly avoiding accidents from every direction. They went to the first hotel, ran through the door without saying a word to anyone there, and ran to the stack of bags stored under the stairwell. No luck.

As quickly as they came in, they left, back on the scooter and through the streets of Hanoi to another hotel. Same thing… break through the doors, but this time sitting towards the front of the pile, was Elise’s pack. She grabbed it, they left, jumped back on the scooter and flew back to the Hanoi Queen.

The four of us stood anxiously in the lobby, not sure what to do about our train if we can’t find the bag. Moments later we saw Elise zip up on the back of the scooter with a big smile on her face and a thumbs-up. Whew… things turned out for the best!

The rest of us grabbed our gear and we quickly made our way down the alley to the waiting taxi. We would make our overnight train after all. Two minutes after we arrived at the train station thunder clouds burst open and rain started coming down in buckets. We boarded the train, got in our sleeping compartment and prepared for our 13 hour journey to Hue.

Happy to be out of Hanoi, we will see what tomorrow brings…

A Perfect Day, Ha Long Bay...

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

June 10 & 11, 2007
N 20°51.372
E 107°04.991

After a tasty bowl of Pho for breakfast, the five of us boarded an air conditioned minivan for HaLong Bay. Everyone seemed happy… we were off to see something we all heard was very impressive, we were getting out of Hanoi for a night, and most importantly, thunderstorms during the evening cooled the morning skies and the weather was bearable.

Weaving our way out of Hanoi, our very skilled driver did an excellent job of closely avoiding accidents with scooters, bicycles and pedestrians, but we did have a few extremely close calls as semi-trucks clogged the streets trying to make full u-turns on the two lane highway.

We arrived safely in Ha Long Bay and quickly boarded our lodging for the night—a brand new, beautiful junk boat. Elise was partnered in a room on the boat with Sara, an American currently living in Seoul, Korea; the two already got acquainted on the bus and hit-it-off like they had been friends for years. I am not sure why they refer to the boat as a junk boat, the wood work was perfectly polished and the rooms were immaculate.

Shortly after arriving on the boat, the crew fed us a fabulous lunch of shrimp, calamari, rice, cucumber salad and some kind of pork. We were amazed at the quality of service up to this point, not really sure what to expect from the tour on the bay. Between bites we would pause and stare out the window and snap a few pictures; islands and other junks passing by, provided an unimaginable backdrop. The bay is scattered with over 2000 small islands protruding through the calm water, each covered with lush, green vegetation; a perfect contrast to dark blue water. The weather was slightly overcast after the overnight thunderstorms, but this supplied much needed shelter from the brilliant sun.

Relaxing on the sundeck on the top of the boat, our heads were on a swivel, checking out the sites, as we cruised to our first landing at Surprise Caves. The massive caves looked man-made with perfect curves and contours on the ceilings and walls. The work of art evolved over thousands of years by crashing waves and subterranean rivers… all very natural—with Ha Long Bay winning a Geologic award in 2000.

After the caves we cruised to a small floating village located in a quiet cove where we jumped in kayaks to paddle around the bay at our own pace. We glided our way through caves in the islands and into little alcoves. As Marc and I floated in the kayak, occasionally bickering back and forth as to who was pulling the kayak to the right, we stopped to absorb the surreal surroundings. We were amazed we were actually sitting in the middle of a Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, no one else around except a few locals catching their dinner, occasionally glancing in our direction. We really felt a long way from home.

After returning our kayaks, the junk headed to the middle of a cove and dropped anchor, our final stop and where we would sleep for the night. We were given permission to swim in the Bay, even jump off the top of the junk boat. I think Bob was the first one in the water, quickly jumping from the second story—Elise quickly followed. As Marc was taking pictures of the sunset I took the opportunity to jump, almost chickening out before tightly closing my eyes and going for it. The water, although refreshing, still felt more like a bath than swimming in the middle of the bay. I swam around for a few minutes with Elise and Bob before Marc, and Teddy finally joined us.

After dinner the entire family (including Sara, who became an official member of the family) lounged around on the sun deck sipping wine, enjoying the serene surroundings without honking scooters and taking in the perfect weather. The evening air felt like a summer night along the Sacramento River, hot enough for a summer dress or a pair of shorts and a tank top, but not like the previous nights in Hanoi where there was no relief in site.

Overall, the tour to HaLong Bay far exceeded our expectations from all perspectives—natural beauty, sites, people, the boat and the food. As we headed to bed, I remembered something our tour guide told us during the day, “If you don’t see Ha Long Bay, you don’t see Vietnam.” I now understand what he meant...

The Entire Hot Sticky Family...

Hanoi, Vietnam

June 9, 2007
N 21°01.811
E 105°51.082

We headed out to dinner with Bob and Teddy after the sun went down in hopes the temperature dipped at least a few degrees. We had a little time to burn before meeting Elise who was flying into Hanoi around 6:00 PM; however, we weren’t sure she would find our place since the name, as well as the address, “mysteriously” changed since we booked on hostelworld.com.

I marked a few restaurants from Lonely Planet on a map to carry with us, but when we found a corner restaurant packed with locals, we didn’t go any further. The “restaurant” was outside on the sidewalk with rows of plastic tables and chairs typical in kindergarten classrooms. The “kitchen,” also outside, was in plain site ensuring there was nothing to hide.

We sat down with our knees in our chests, ordered some “Tiger” beers, and scanned through the menu. We settled with a vermicelli noodle dish, chicken wings, and a beef dish. The tender beef, mixed with green onions and greens, had a nice little kick to it thanks to the spicy red chili peppers.

The waitresses buzzed from table to table bringing out tons of food and beer while some of the men tried to cool the crowd down with a water mister that seemed to only add humidity to the already vapor filled air. All the while, a long line for the “restaurant” formed on the street as locals headed out for a Friday night meal, probably trying to cool off.

After dinner we stopped by our hostel to see if there was any sign of Elise. Since we didn’t see her, we sent another email with some additional information regarding our place, including the owner’s phone number, and headed to a local bar for one final beer before calling it a night. We could only hope Elise would check her email.

We returned a short time later to learn Elise called; I checked my email and found a recent email from her. We were happy to hear she arrived safely in Hanoi after leaving Sydney shortly after us. Unfortunately, we did not connect with Elise that evening, but had to wait until the following morning.

Everyone decided to head out early this morning to see the sights before the heat became unbearable. I don’t think it mattered what time we headed out—as we stepped out the door, the heat and humidity quickly engulfed us and we knew it would be another scorcher. The streets were empty compared to yesterday, but we weren’t sure if it was due to the fact that it was Saturday, the heat, or a little of both. All we knew was that beer was definitely in our future...