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Vietnam 2009: Ha Long Bay

This is a 2nd snippet about our November trip to Vietnam. To view my previous post about Hanoi, go here.

In between our days in Hanoi, we took an overnight trip to Ha Long Bay. The tour consisted of a 3 hour bus ride to Ha Long city’s port then we got on the boat and after a short ride were in the middle of a natural wonder. Ha Long Bay is a grouping of over 3000 natural limestone islands (or islets), rising majestically from the waters of Gulf of Tonkin. This place is a huge tourist destination, and a Unesco World Heritage site. The limestone in this bay has gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments.

But despite swarms of tourists, the boat tours here are so calm and peaceful (for now). Our big wooden boat glided gently to the central “area” while we ate delicious lunch (fish, fish, and more fish, with yummy local wine) admired views, and then later docked to take a cave tour.

 

Here I am, sitting in the boat's dining room, with Kurt's friends, Andrew and Stephen. They're the reason we went on this trip, months ago they sent us the email with an itinerary and we couldn't resist! 

 

And this is my cozy boat room. I didn't know what to expect when we were told of sleeping on a boat (and part of me didn't mind dozing off in a sleeping bag under the stars) - but this was a pleasant surprise! 

 

And this is the boat's upper deck, which seemed like the most relaxing place in the world. 

The cave tour at first seemed moderately interesting. The first room of the cave was medium sized and… pretty. But then we walked into the 2nd room and were amazed by the sheer size of this underground wonder. This cave was the size of a football field. It was illuminated by colored electric lights, and even though we walked on a paved path (I prefer unpaved hiking!!), the underground views were enjoyed by all.

Outside of the cave, the “boat vendors” try to get your attention. These ladies must have super strong arms – their boats are not motorized and they spend their days chasing tourists on water!

After the cave, we were taken to a “water village” for my favorite part – kayaking!!!! The water village is a settlement of houses (and boats) right here in the middle of Ha Long Bay. Its residents make money by selling fish and providing service to tourists (primarily, kayak / canoe rentals, food supplies and, I guess banking). Our guide, Tong, told us that they hardly ever step on land. Generations after generations of these villagers have made their home on water.

Kayaking was beyond spectacular. My husband is not happy about this one as he is an avid kayaker, but due to work has missed this part of the trip. And of course, if didn’t help that later I would taunt him with Ha Long Bay photos. So, my kayaking partner was Andrew. We rode off into the pink sunset between the majestic limestone towers. I could spend days doing this.

And after kayaking, out guide announced that “we will now go swimming!” . So they departed the village and anchored the boat in a different area, apparently designated for swimming. The only problem is, by now it was a pitch-black night. At first we wall hesitated – after all, we could barely see the water and all of its possible Asian creatures. But one by one, we jumped in the dark sea. It was very salty and very refreshing. I do love night swimming.

After dinner, all hung out on the upper deck, drank beer, and I chatted away, looking at the starts, with tourists from Europe and New Zealand. Back in my Boat room, falling asleep was very easy, as we rocked gently on the calm waters of Ha Long Bay. 

Waking up in this beauty was serene. Breakfast time was 7 am. This is why I LOVE jet lag. I can never, ever wake up at 6 on my own. But here in Vietnam it was a piece of cake. After breakfast, we went back to the “swimming area” for some daytime swimming.

 

This time, since I could actually see the water, I got more courageous and started jumping off various parts of the boat, climbing up and finding higher and higher points for “take off.” Neither our guide nor the boat crew stopped me (what liability? I love it). Later in the shower, I found an unexpected present. Turns out during one of my jumps on the way back up, I caught a small fish with my swimsuit pants.  And I DID take it to the kitchen and asked them to cook it. For some reason my request was not granted… could it be the size?....

One of my travel mates, Lydia, and I, managed to talk our guide into allowing us to go kayaking again. Since the 2nd kayaking event was not included in our tour, we had to pay a rental charge… about $3. And we were granted this amazing experience again, making our way in the water between limestone… oh, the memories….

And thus our Ha Long Bay experience came to an end. The boat took an hour to make its way back to the port. Our guide, who spoke very good English, told us stories of life in Vietnam. We ate lunch in Ha Long city – which is so much calmer, by the way, than Hanoi. And what was served for lunch? More delicious fish, of course. You better be a seafood eater if you come to Ha Long Bay. And then we took the 3 hour trip through countryside back to Hanoi. 

Just a note about this photo, below. This is the same exact location pictured in a photo here, that I randomly found on Google months ago, when looking for striking images of Vietnam. It is funny how distant and dreamy it seemed then. And before I knew it, Ha Long Bay became another familiar place on the globe.

Vietnam 2009: Hanoi

Little by little, I am starting to post stories about our trip to Vietnam, Cambodia and Bangkok that we took in November 2009. In case you never tried this before, writing about traveling is time consuming and not easy, so I'll throw out bits and pieces about all the cities we visited here and there. And YES, I know I still have to finish my Brazil posts. Geesh. So bear with me. First up is Hanoi.

I arrived at Hanoi late at night by myself after 20 hours of flying and met up with some of the people from our group. At night, Hanoi is pretty dead. Everything is dark, and hardly any people are roaming the streets. This city shuts down very early - a standard thing in communist Vietnam. However, what greeted us in the morning was a whole different picture. Hustle and bustle starting at 5-6 am, people gathering to eat pho (Vietnamese soup) at street stalls, grilling all kinds of meat on the streets, rushing to work, motorbikes everywhere, children running to school, honking, bicycle vendors selling everything from balloons to floor lams, noise, humidity, honking, honking…. That’s Hanoi, and if I may say it gently…. This place is not for a delicate novice traveler. 

 

We were staying at the Old Quarter, which means the space on the street is even tighter (than in the fancier French Quarter). All the life happens on the sidewalks here (from selling to eating to manufacturing and repairing), and each street is dedicated to one type of product is sells. Here’s, for example a toy street: 

Also, anything and everything can be sold or transported on a bike (or a motorbike). This lady is selling all kinds of flowers, but we observed much crazier things too. Like, fence... or other motorbikes... strapped to the guy's back as he tried to balance on the street. Maybe I should consider displaying my art on a bike and rolling with it through downtown Chicago?... Just a thought. 

If you’re a pedestrian in Hanoi, you’re kind of have to make your own walking path. Streets are full of cars, motorbikes and the occasional bicycles (oh, I wish I came to Vietnam at a time when bicycles still ruled!). Sidewalks are used for parking those motorbikes, selling food and goods, and eating. So you are forced to walk on the edge of the street but you have to watch your footing so you don’t trip over a parked bike or an occasional dog or child, and you have to watch the road so you don’t collide with a random motorist. And somehow, day after day, this flow works for everybody.

Ironically, the very first statue I saw in Vietnam was a statue of Lenin! For a second, it felt like I was back in the communist USSR. …and not too far, was a Ukrainian consulate.

After out first morning of exploring Hanoi (which meant endlessly walking the streets to get familiar with the city) we were a bit exhausted. Central Hanoi is rather small though, and even though the streets of the Old Quarter seemed incomprehensible and confusing  at first, by the end of the 1st day I could make my way around without looking at the map too much. But our lungs got overwhelmed by the fumes of the motorbikes, and it was a welcome break to sit down for lunch at an air conditioned cozy restaurant. For locals, such restaurants are a luxury, and it felt a bit odd to see these places full of white tourists. Locals mostly eat at street stalls. (however, read the comments for more on this topic). But, we shamelessly enjoyed our “expensive” and relaxing $5 meals.

Later on our first day we couldn’t resist a spa. 1 hour massage for a mere $10….need I say more? 

After a day in Hanoi, we took a 2-day trip to Ha Long Bay, and then returned to the crazy city for a couple more days, at which point Kurt joined us.

We spent much time walking around the central lake. As central Hanoi doesn’t have much green space, the lake is the Old Quarter's only oasis, and locals come here in droves to do their morning tai-chi, their evening runs, for romantic dates, and for wedding photos. 

This is the temple on the lake:

We also very much enjoyed viewing paintings at Hanoi’s Art Museum (or officially called Vietnam Fine Art Museum). Heavy on communist and war themes, Vietnam’s historic specialty is lacquer paintings, and I found their colors, blends and details to be fun and refreshing. Unlike the air in the museum, which was hot and humid (with the exception of a couple of fans) – but I highly recommend the museum anyway.

On our last day, we spent much time walking around French Quarter. In comparison with Old Quarter, it is a much calmer area with wider streets, fancier hotels and shops, and art galleries. It looks and feels more like Europe. Here's the Opera House:

 

I don't remember the name of this hole-in-the-wall but Kurt and I enjoyed sipping our morning coffee here and watching all kinds of characters and Hanoi life unfold on the street:

And this electrical wiring... reminds me of the favelas in Brazil. Not a big deal though, our Chicago alley wiring is only a tad bit less messy.

Last but not least: during the first couple of days each of us learned quite a lot about Vietnam traffic. First, there are no (or barely any) traffic lights. At the intersections, vehicles just… avoid each other. Miraculously, swarms of motorbikes usually don’t collide. But if you are a pedestrian, trying to cross the street, you may think you need nerves of steel. But the formula is simple: just go!  Don’t even look too much – there is always a motorbike coming right at you – just start walking. But once you are walking, whatever you do, do NOT stop. They know how to avoid you if you keep moving, but if you stop, you confuse them. I saw may near misses between tourists and bikes or cars simply because they were not walking consistently. Ok, I admit. Often I was one of those tourists.

Bye, Hanoi!

4 hours in Seoul, South Korea - 2009

While we've been back for a few weeks and still digesting our impressions of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Bangkok, here's a little post about our mini-tour of Seoul, South Korea.

One the way home from our big trip, we had an 8 hour layover in Incheon (Seoul) airport - way too long to stay in the airport and do nothing. Luckily, our awesome airline - Asiana - offered us a choice of a free city tour or a free hotel stay. So, we opted for the city tour, of course!

After spending weeks in a tropical and humid climate, Seoul greeted is with cold, Chicago-like weather. Unfortunately, I did not pack any scarves or sweaters on this trip and had to rely on my semi-warm leather jacket. On any other day, we would be eager to forget the tour and explore the city on our own (risking late arrival to the airport and missing our flight) but on a day like this we were so glad to be driven around in a warm and cozy bus!

Seoul is a huge sprawling city with a population of about 10 million. Almost half of South Korea lives in Seoul. Incheon airport is over an hour away from the center. This day was very foggy (and, did I mention cold?) - so foggy that is was hard to make out the surroundings on the bus ride to the city.

Our tour guide was a very cute, nice and bubbly girl (but who in Korea isn't? :). She tried to teach the whole bus some simple Korean words, bot I don't think any of us retained them for longer than just a few minutes. Korean words are LONG!

The first stop on the tour was the Blue House. "The Blue House is like your White House!". Official name is, actually Cheong Wa Dae, s the executive office and residence of the president of republic of Korea. We couldn't really go inside, or get close to the Blue House - at least not on this tour - so we hung out and snapped some photos in the "public area". Take a look at the traffic guard - they look so funny in their little boxes with their pink and white outfits. And they have to keep a serious face on!

Our next stop was the Joyge-sa Temple. This part of the tour was much more interesting. Inside the temple, it was a full house praying/chanting ceremony was in full progress yet nobody opposed us quietly walking around and taking photos. The "main monk" with a microphone was chanting away and creating rhythm with some wooden stick - it sounded very meditative and beautiful.

 

Outside of the temple, there was a full blown kimchi production! It was the largest kimchi-making operation I have even seen. Well, so far it is also the ONLY kimchi operation I've ever seen... Our guide explained to us that kimchi was being prepared to feed the homeless who come to the temple during the holiday season. She said that this kimchi will not be preserved by traditional methods - for months in a barrel, it will only be fermented for a day or two and then ready for consumption.

Our next stop was a meal at a Korean Barbeque restaurant (also provided, free of charge, by our airline - thanks, Asiana!). The meal consisted of beef bulgogi, rice, and various sides, including, of course, kimchi! We paired it well with a couple of glasses of Soju - Korean sake. Yum.

The last stop on our tour was a "shopping street". I was hoping for some unique outdoor market full of Korean crafts, but instead we were taken on a street full of pretty average mall-type retail stores. Needless to say, we didn't do much shopping, but used the opportunity to walk around on the side streets and peak inside houses and restaurants.

So, that summed up our 4 hour tour of Seoul. Defintely wet my appetite for returning to Korea some day, I really liked Seul! It is very hilly and in this climate had a bit of a Euro / Switzerland feel. The tour itself combined good and cheezy parts, but it was way more than we expected to get for free and from an airline!

Several hours later, righ before boarding our 12-hr flight to Chicago, we bought another bottle of soju at a duty-free store to take home. However, the airport security searched our bags at a boarding gate and did not allow us to bring the bottle on a plane. How does this make any sense!?! Well, we did not want to waste our precious Soju and proceeded to open the bottle and finish its contents right there in front of laughing Korean security personell. Koreans usually drink soju very very slowly, in small sips - it is really like rice vodka - so they got their entertainment for the day, and we had a very fun flight home!