09/01/2012 6:31 PM
So I havnt had much time to write over the last day... well thats not quite true... I just didn’t feel like writing much when I got in last night. Yesterday was a pretty serious day and I was exhausted when I got in. Before I start about yesterday I need to say this and I know I have said it before, but you have no travelled until you have been to Asia. This place is just unbelievable.
So we did do a lot of traveling yesterday, but it was worth it. About three hours in a minibus, return, as well as three hours in a paddle boat, return, however, we did not have to row. Il keep this short and sweet because its pretty hard to describe so just look at the pictures when they come up. Imagine a slow moving river surrounded by rice paddy fields with tradition farm workers. The perfume pagoda is one of many temples in the complex that is only reachable by boat and is a huge thing for Buddhist pilgrims during the lunar new year. The temple itself lies at the top of a mountain that is now accessible both by gondola as well as by foot. Given the weather yesterday we took the gondola, but unlike North American resorts this gondola has in no way come close to destroying the country side.
On arrival at the top there are 184 steps to descend into the temple. The temple itself lies in the mouth of a giant cave where people come to worship. We had lunch up here, but I must admit, there is very little I can do to come close to describing. Pictures probably will not do it justice, however, I did take many, one must really be there to experience it.
We spent all together about 7 hours in transit yesterday, and my group was not as much fun as the previous day, but it was well worth it. I pretty much got home last night, had some dinner at a local place and went to bed knowing that today was going to be unbelievable, and it is.
The sun has just set and I'm sitting on the front deck of the ship watching the giant limestone islands float by. Its slightly chilly and the wind has picked up but it so peaceful. There are about 20 people on our boat and there are fortunately few Australians who have, for some reason or another, come to annoy me. Perhaps its their close proximaty and subsequent large tourist population here, perhaps its their accent, however, its not a big deal. Getting back to it, there are few boats here. Most are local village boats fishing at night from the surrounding floating villages. While it is slightly chilly, the tradeoff is, is that there are few people here. The bay is deserted and we are free to drift as we please. The fog is just setting in on the bay and the noise of a distant fishing boat makes a put-put noise with its single cylinder engine. Its spectacular, and while it would be beautiful to see this in warmer weather, the tranquility of the cold is well worth it. Its chilly with a somewhat strong breeze, but still warm enough to sit on the deck, enjoy a cocktail or two and write. I like it this way. Peaceful.
The trip here, however, was an experience in itself. I was picked up around eight this morning from my hotel. There were twelve of us altogether in our bus (there were two busses), and we left Hanoi around 8:45 given that it was rush hour and we still have a number of stops to make to pick up the rest of the other guests. The ride was supposed to take 3.5 hours with a twenty minute reststop halfway. However, it was closer to 5 hours. Why? Traffic jam! I'm not talking about an accident or problems with the traffic lights, but a traffic jam cause by the lack of respect for rules of the road. Far too many people trying to get through a two lane road. We were stopped for about and hour and a half but it was quite the experience... one that I am happy to live once. What did I take out of it? No matter how bad the traffic is in North America its nothing compared to here. How was it finally resolved you ask? The army was called in who seem to always be close at hand. While their methods are blunt, they are effective. Once they arrived it only took about 15 minuntes to sort things out.
So by the time we arrived, the boat had unfortunately left. Now its not what you are thinking.... they didn’t forget about us or choose to leave us behind. Its simply that the tide goes out around noon in the harbour and had they not left we would not have left port today. If we had made it here at the appropriate time, there would have been no issue. So what we ended up doing is taking a tender to our ship which was anchored about a kilometre away.
More to come latter, its getting cold and I'm going inside.
09/01/2012 9:17 PM
So we’ve just finished dinner which was quite nice; was about six courses. Dessert was somewhat unlike by most. It was some sort of sweet potato porridge. Pretty gross but everything else was good. So there is no internet nor are there TVs in the room, but after the electricity of everyday life in Hanoi, is very nice.
The boat really is beautiful. Its three decks, two of which are rooms, the top is the dinning room with two lower decks of rooms. Bed is for some reason incredibly hard, not sure as to why; we will see tomorrow morning. This trip out of Hanoi has done me some good. Yesterday I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by both the city and the amount of time I am planning to spend here. But don’t worry, I have absolutely ZERO intention of coming home any earlier than I planned. I truly do love it here, some days things are just a bit overwhelming. I’m beginning to think of these shifts in mentality to be normal.
I’ve pretty much decided that I am going to opt not to go to Sapa, both to save money and because at this time of year there is not much to see. Mt Fansipan is too cold and wet to climb, the rice patty fields have not yet been planted and the markets havn’t much life in them. I am very torn as to what to do in the next week. It is so easy to spend my mornings sitting drinking coffee and reading and so easy to spend my afternoons exploring the city and I have no qualms about doing this for many more days if not weeks. However, the friends I met a few nights ago are very fun and I think both I and they would enjoy travelling together. They left for Hue two days ago and are there now. So there I a possibility that I might catch up to them further south but it would mean pushing my plans a bit forward and spending more time in the south than in the North. Which I guess to some extent wouldn’t be so bad. I am getting a little sick of the grey cool days. The weather up north doesn’t change much: 15 degrees and cloudy... everyday. So I plan to spend another few days in Hanoi and most likely head south to Hue after that. With any luck I might meet up with them for the New Year in Danang around the 23rd.
I’ve made a few friends on board our ship. There is a family here, a couple with their son who is my age and from Montreal, as well as a couple of girls in their late twenties from New Zealand. People are nice here and easy to socialize with. Anywhooo I'm off to bed, excited about what tomorrow brings. Gnight!!
09/01/2012 8:42 AM
So its day two on the boat. Today is going to be a beautiful day. For the first time since I’ve arrived in Vietnam, its sunny and warm. I'm wearing only a teashit with my jeans rolled up. Its currently just before 10 AM and I'm sitting on my first Vietnamese beach. Its 28+ degrees and it is clear in Halong Bay. All the islands are visable – it truly is one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
So our big boat is anchored in the bay and we have planned to spend most of the afternoon on a day boat, which is pretty much the same as our big boat except smaller. So we are currently docked at a little island in Halong bay for the next hour. There is a staircase consisting of 427 stairs leading to the top of this island to some beautiful photos. This island is not so much an island but rather a giant limestone mountain protruding from the bay. Theres a beach which is only about 30 meters deep, but still the sand is warm and the weather is wonderful. Things just seem to get a lot better when you are not wearing shoes. Words cannot do justice this place, but I will attempt to show it with my pictures, but like many other parts of Vietnam, photos just don’t do it justice. One needs to be here to truly understand it. When I get back to Hanoi I will start posting pictures.
I’ve made my decision about Sapa. I will not be going. This is not necessarily to save money but rather I don’t feel like spending 25+ hours on a train, return, to spend a night or two in the cold and foggy mountains of the Northwest. As for what I will do when I get back to Hanoi... well I'm not really thinking about it too much. Too caught up enjoying this beautiful weather and Halong bay. It truly is beautiful. Maybe il rent a summer home in a floating village. They seem to be pretty well equipped. I am truly at peace with the world here.
I could really just sit here all day. Theres a little tiki bar with cheap cocktails, fresh coconuts and cheap BBQ and fried fish... probably caught this morning.
09/01/2012 11:41 AM
So the rest of my group of about 10 people has gone kyacking. I opted out as I went kyacking yesterday and wanted some peace and quiet. So I currently have the boat to myself along with the crew. I cannot say enough about this place, it truly is one of the most, if not the most, beautiful places I have ever been. The water is calm, a greenish-blue in colour and so warm even though its technically winter here. The sun in shinning and there are only a few clouds in the sky. The limestone mountains protruding from the water reflect themselves into the bay. It is something quite spectacular to say the least. I have already taken hundreds of photos, perhaps a few might come close to doing justice to the beauty of this place. Above is the View from the top deck of our day boat.
What a beautiful day
The boat gently rocks back and forth as we occasionally hear the put-put of a single cylinder engine go by. There are a few other boats here, but it is still quite deserted. Its calm, quiet and relaxing. Just what I needed after my time in Hanoi.
11/01/2012 6:27 PM
So I'm back in Hanoi at the cafe next door having a beer and responding to some emails. I didn’t write much last night; had a bit of a cold, but it seems to have cleared up mostly by this evening. I can actually say that coming back to Hanoi today felt like returning home from a vacation. This place really is beginning to feel like home. However, as much as I love it, I think I may move on. Not entirely sure yet. I’m considering flying to Nha Trang which is about halfway down the coast towards Saigon. My reasoning for this is that its cold up here and I want to spend the new year, the 23rd of January, with some friends who should be there around that time. If I can make plans to meet up with them I very well may head south a little early by plane and possibly backtrack to Hue afterwards by bus. Domestic flights are really cheap in Vietnam. It would cost me roughly $100 to fly one way to Nha Trang as opposed to spending 18+ hours on a night bus or 15 hours on a train.. Nha Trang is basically a little town with about 30 miles of sandy beaches and is much of a party resort for backpakers while at the same time maintaning its small town feel. Regardless of all the beaches this place has been relatively untouched by Western tourism. If I head down their early il either backtrack to Hue which is about 100km north, or head to Da lat, which is a hundred or so KM inland, maybe both, who knows? Either way, I love this place!
So Halong Bay was freaking awesome; it was introduced onto UNSECO’s list of Seven Natural Wonders of the World last year and it really is special. I have mixed feelings about doing two nights there as I think I would have been just as happy spending one night, but it gave me two full days to relax, enjoy the views and just chill out with no contact to the rest of the world. It really was ncie.
So I’ve finally got the appropriate prorame to allow me to access Facebook via my laptop as opposed to the cafe next door, however, I have no intention to stop coming here.
I’ve done a lot of exploring within the Old Quarter of Hanoi and through my tours have seen much of the outskirts of Hanoi as well as the country side, but I can pretty easily say, everything I need is either on my street or within a few blocks. I hit up a place tonight called 69 restaurant, it was a bit over my budget for dinner, but well worth going to. I had a soup to start, which possibly had the best stock I have tasted thus far. For my main I had a green papaya and dried beef salad with a spicy vinaigrette. This salad has become my new favorite dish. It was seriously the perfect balance between salty, sweet, spicy, crispy, chewy and fresh. It was a mixture of tangy green papaya (unripened papaya), cilantro, dried-jerky like beef with a vinaigrette that tasted like rice wine vinegar, red thai chillies and a few other things. Fantastic.
Not sure how much writing I'm going to get done tonight as I'm pretty tired, slightly sunburnt, slightly sick, but feeling absolutely fantastic about life! Tomorrow I think I'm just gonna chill out. Probably sleep in, have a late breakfast, drink some coffee and just chill out and explore the city some more. Gnight for now!
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