Vivacious and Volatile Vietnam

With the luscious beauty of Laos behind us, we were now ready to face the hustle and bustle of the city once more. Unfortunately for us, to get there would require a 26 hour journey across the border on a sleeper bus...on my birthday!! The bus arrived late and by the time we had sorted our accommodation in Hanoi it was about 9.30pm and my birthday was fast running out.

The hunt for a nice place to eat didn't go quite as planned, mainly as most places were closed, and I ended up with a squished mush of a 'burger' in a cafe while the waitress forgot Sup's dinner altogether! We left in a huff, but were luckily saved on the way home by a group of

teens who kept us topped up with free Sangria-style punch while making spare ribs and chicken curry for us to take out. We had inadvertently arrived on the night of a street party full moon celebration, so the city was full to the max with colourful lights, overexcited locals and a million gazillion mopeds. Overwhelming to say the least!

The following day we were still becoming accustomed to the insanity that is Hanoi, and we took a walk down by the river before escaping to view the mayhem from a distance, chilling on the roof terrace of the local KFC!! Hanoi was to be revisited twice more after our initial stay as it is the hub from where we ventured North-West and East. In our subsequent trips, we found better food, were still harassed beyond belief by tuk tuks and taxi drivers and managed to fit in a visit to the Hoa Lo Prison Museum, aka the 'Hanoi Hilton'.

We walked around the prison learning of the brutal treatment of prisoners and seeing the disturbing remains of history, as well as reading about the bold escapes, and later of the captured American fighters who were kept at the prison during the Vietnam War, one of which was US Senator and former Presidential candidate John McCain.

Hanoi was most definitely defined by its chaotic nature, so it seemed fitting that our last moments before we moved on were spent on a hair raising moped ride through the town. We were rather taken by surprise when we were picked up from our guesthouse by a couple of guys on mopeds as we were expecting a minibus to take us to our sleeper bus.

I have to admit I was pretty reluctant and not in the most positive frame of mind. Sup, however, leapt at the experience, and in the end we both enjoyed one hell of a ride, despite almost getting our arms and legs ripped off as the bikes weaved in and out and around oncoming traffic. They certainly turned out to be preferable to the taxi drivers, who tried their very best to rip us off at every opportunity, as well as the women of the ticket counter at the train station who would be likely to spit in outrage at the very idea of customer service! We also had a lot of fun spotting the most insane moped drivers, carrying up to 6 passengers at a time, including babies and small children, and the more ambitious ones loaded with boxes and crates of beer – nothing fazes these guys at all. Complete and utter Moped Mania!

From our first stop in Hanoi, we headed to Sapa, in the North highlands of Vietnam. The sleeper train journey there was actually pretty cool and we shared our carriage with a nice couple who didn't steal our bags which was a bonus! Arriving in Sapa at 5am was an experience, and the hour minibus ride took us higher and higher through incredible black and white views before the sun came up and brought the land back to colour. The mysterious and beautiful mist that settled on the mountains, however, was there to stay, and when we later explored the town, barely able to see our hands in front of our faces, we were concerned that the promised spectacular landscape would remain hidden from view. The town was very sweet, with a European feel to it, and drinking super strong Vietnamese coffee and eating brownies at the French-style bakery was an excellent way to spend some time the next day while we waited for the sky to clear.

Our peaceful chill out time was unfortunately destroyed at other times by the persistent pestering of the village women who came to the town to sell their wares. They were charming, spoke fantastic English, and were very amusing at times, but being interrupted and approached constantly to buy the same things over and over again soon lost its novelty, and we began to long for the less intense vibe of Laos. Spending some time with the villagers outside of the town and on their own territory, however, proved to be a far better experience as we found the next day when we took the village tour to trek through the famous Sapa rice fields.

In a small group we were accompanied by a gaggle of villagers who practised their English with us eagerly and kept a tight grip on me as we waded through slippery mud on steep slopes. They made it look far too easy, while I was trying hard to keep my grip, and people were falling over left, right and centre. They even refrained from persuading us to part with our money in exchange for their handicrafts until the very last moment, so the trip was nice and stress-free! Walking through their village, we came across some interesting sights, from kids riding a water buffalo in the rice field, to a man sitting by a small fire looking suspiciously like he was about to start cooking a rather rigid looking dog... at that point I walked quickly on, afraid of being traumatised and of losing my lunch. The scenery backdrop to our little trek with the beauty of the lush green fields and mountains was outstanding.

After spending the afternoon admiring the lake nearby, we set off back to Hanoi once again on the sleeper train and spent far too long that night interviewing tour operators to establish which one we could actually trust, before embarking on our very first mini cruise – to the hauntingly beautiful Halong Bay.

We had selected a more upmarket tour in order to ensure that our experience was the best, so in true cruise style we began our journey with an amazing culinary feast on board our boat.

We had a great group of people sharing the experience with us, 18 of us in total, and we enjoyed sharing travel stories with two other couples from Brazil, America and Israel over lunch before we transferred to a smaller boat to take us to the 'Amazing Cave'. Having seen quite a few during our travels, we agreed that it was definitely a great cave, although the given name was perhaps a little ambitious...!

A sunset kayaking trip was the perfect end to the day and our guide took us to a stunning lagoon, where we were surrounded 360 degrees by looming limestone rocks.

Following another delicious feast, with seafood as the main attraction much to my delight, we tried our hand at squid fishing from the end of our boat. A lively 12 year old English boy provided the best entertainment of the night in the form of Vietnamese rock karaoke, a performance that had us in stitches and we were sorry not to have filmed it for the world to enjoy on YouTube!

The real excitement, however, started at bedtime. Relaxing in our rustic little boat cabin, the lights down low, we were congratulating each other for selecting the best cruise for our Halong Bay experience, when a surprise midnight visitor made themselves known to us. Lying under the air conditioning unit, I watched a rat with a body the size of a man's hand stomp across the slats in the unit and begin scratching away at something in the corner.

We stormed back up onto the deck to complain, but there was nothing that could be done. Thank goodness for Ipods to drown out the noise so we could forget about our furry little intruder and get some sleep. The feedback form they later gave us, however, was a delightful opportunity to vent!;-) Fortunately this was still an upgrade from the army of bed bugs that had attacked Sup in our hotel in Hanoi, leaving him with red itching lumps all over his back – curiously, they had absolutely no interest in me...evidently my blood is not up to bedbug standards!

The transfer from the boat to Cat Ba island for one day and night gave us the opportunity to experience the last National Park of our travels. A hike through mud in a cool little forest brought us to a tower with a sensational view of Cat Ba's finest greenery, although the view required a test of nerves. Only five people were supposed to be on the structure at one time, so naturally about twenty people surged forward at once to make the rusty climb

When our jelly legs finally got to the top, we were greeted with precariously placed wooden floorboards

with considerable gaps, and a corrugated iron roof, most of which looked like it had been ripped off in a strong wind – yikes! The remainder of our time on Cat Ba was spent together on a wonderful cliff-side walk to a beautiful beach, followed by a romantic stroll back to the hotel at sunset by the harbour.

The famous Fishing Village of Halong Bay, made known to the world through Top Gear (!)

was the last destination of our cruise adventure before we embarked on our journey back to Hanoi and straight on to our next destination Hoi An, with a short stop in Hue in the pouring train to make a connection.

The bus driver transporting us from Hue seemed like a sweet older man, until a car wouldn't move in his path and he began cursing in Vietnamese before pulling out a wrench from behind his seat and wielding it with conviction. At that point, we ceased complaining to each other about his questionable driving skills and kept our mouths firmly shut!

Hoi An was a nice bite-sized colonial town, so the one day we had allowed for exploration was perfect.

We walked along the pretty riverside, stopping for a relaxing drink on the way, and took some photos of the 500 year old Japanese bridge.

That night another long sleeper bus journey took us on to our last Vietnamese destination of Ho Chi Minh City, but not before throwing us out at 5.30am in Nha Trang while we waited for another transfer. We didn't mind too much though, as the couple of hours off the bus allowed us to enjoy sunrise on the beach and a nice breakfast. Many locals were up early engaging in Tai Chi, running and all manner of exercises in the park by the beach which put us to shame. Visiting Nha Trang also gave us the opportunity to see our first Vietnamese beach, although we both later agreed that the beach of Muni that we glimpsed out the window during our travels looked even better.

Ho Chi Minh City, previously known as Saigon, was a really nice surprise for us. Although still a hectic Vietnamese city, we felt it had a far better vibe than Hanoi and a real charm to it. Our accommodation was great and the street where we were staying had fantastic souvenirs, food and awesome donuts! Apart from eating and shopping though, our main aim was to learn more about the Vietnam War. This meant a trip to the War Remnants Museum. Twice. The museum was fascinating and gave us considerable insight into the complexities of the war, the involvement of the USA and the horrific consequences that still continue to this day.

Sup provided a quick background history for those who don't already know (including me!)...The French colonial domination in Vietnam lasted for nearly 100 years, until they surrendered to Ho Chi Minh's communist Viet Minh forces in 1954 and independence was granted to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Shortly after, Diem, the anticommunist leader of the southern zone, rejected the agreement for a unified government, questionning how 'free elections' could be expected to take place in the communist north. Vietnam was officially divided into North and South. The Vietnam War was fought between North Vietnam (supported by its communist allies) and the government of South Vietnam (supported by the anti-communist US who claimed to be helping the whole of South East Asia from communist takeover.). The Viet Cong, a Vietnamese communist guerilla group was founded to fight against Diem.

They had an impressive collection of aeroplanes, helicopters and tanks outside and we overheard an American family in high spirits loudly and proudly discussing which plane the father had flown in the war. Later walking through the gallery filled with photographic evidence of the devastation caused, we watched the same family leaving the room in quiet distress, holding their father up as he visibly struggled with the demons of his past.

A haunting photograph captured the moment when an ex-guard of the prison years later met with a man he had tortured daily for several years. The strength of the victim in facing his torturer, compared with the weakness of the man who was forced to face the horrors of what he had done was a moving image.

The barbed wire tiger cage was just one of the shocking torments prisoners were subjected to. Of particular interest was the use of chemical warfare, Agent Orange and Napalm, and many will recall the famous photograph of the young children running screaming as the planes soak them and their land in deadly chemicals. Many children of both Vietnamese and Americans who were exposed to these chemicals were born with severe deformities and unexploded land mines from the war still remain a serious threat. The photographs in the museum documented the chilling legacy of the war, including the Mai Lai massacre where an entire village of men, women and children were brutally murdered by soldiers. Most images were far too graphic to post.

In contrast, and in true Vietnamese spirit, there was also a whole area dedicated to presenting with pride the progress that Vietnam has made in the post-war period. It is amazing to see how the country has picked itself up in relatively little time and transformed its war torn landscape back to life. We certainly came away from the museum understanding a little more about the Vietnamese people's fierce pride and determination.

In between our museum visits, we took a tour to the Cu Chi Tunnels, stopping off at a fantastic little factory along the way where people with various disabilities made the most beautiful souvenirs, creating pictures using crushed eggshells and seashells.

The Cu Chi Tunnels were very informative, as well as interactive, and we had great fun experiencing the tight squeeze and marvelling at the genius of the villagers who created an entire habitation underground for protection. Their counter attack was savage and successful – using an advanced and deadly form of recycling, they turned the materials from the destroyed enemy war planes to make their own bombs and weapons, and set horrifying traps.

Our final day in Vietnam was spent at the Independence Palace, the site that marked the end of the Vietnam War as the North Vietnamese tanks rolled into the grounds and Saigon surrendered to the North.

It was a beautiful building, very grand and richly decorated and we enjoyed the sweeping views from the roof terrace while drinking our favourite drinks – Sup is Team Pepsi while I am a Coke girl for life! On the way to the souvenir market later on, the traffic started to build up on the roads and, hearing a loud noise a little bit closer than we would have liked, we turned to see a line of mopeds mounting the pavement without breaking speed and heading straight for us...!

We dodged the crazy locals as best we could, but once the rain came down, everyone was in a hurry and the pavement became the overtaking lane, at which point we were forced to leap into a nearby flowerbed for safety and let the insanity die down!

The market was as hectic as expected, filled with fantastic souvenirs and hardcore sellers noticeably less willing than the Thai marketeers to do favourable business. We had practised our technique well in Thailand and Malaysia however, so we were prepared for their games and came away with some nice surprises. We passed an outside stage on the walk home and stopped to watch the children rehearsing dance routines which was very sweet, before continuing our journey through the lovely local park.

Vietnam was without a doubt the most challenging country of our travels. We were exhausted at times by the effort we had to make to dodge the con artists and find legitimate travel and tour operators, exasperated by the attitude of some of the more defensive hostile natives, and exhilarated by the beauty and rich history and culture of the country. Vietnam was an eclectic mix of amazing highs and frustrating lows, a real rollercoaster ride that pushed us to the limits and delivered rich rewards. We had to work to get what we wanted out of Vietnam and we learned some valuable lessons along the way. If I could do it all again, I wouldn't change a thing.

written by

SupandNic on October 6, 2010 from Hanoi, Vietnam

from the travel blog: Sup and Nic's World Tour!

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