Catching Up: Vietnam thus far.

Since I've decided to update this thing so late in the game (I've been traveling since June 30th), here are some highlights of my trip. Be forewarned this will be a long one but I will do my best to exercise brevity in my posts hereon. For those of you who don't know, I'm traveling with Hannah, whom you might remember from such posts as "Gay Paris" in December '06, and Reena, otherwise known as Renal Failure, but I'm the only person who calls her that and I actually know her from law school. Both formidable companions for this journey and to add some fun to the mix, I only introduced them once before we met up in Vietnam! Some might consider taking two strangers on a trip with you to be a risky move, but as you all know, I live on the edge. All kidding aside, we're all getting along very well. I suspect they will one day band against me in mutiny, but we'll see.

Anyway, back to the trip. We started in Ho Chi Minh City, more commonly (and formerly) referred to as Saigon. It was an insane place to start our travels. Here we learned very quickly that traffic laws are non-existent. You are likely to get hit by one of the city's million or so "motos" at any given moment. There are virtually no traffic lights and where there are, well they are blatantly ignored. People don't signal, they just honk. When you cross the street, don't expect anyone to stop. Just dogde traffic and hope for the best. Looking both ways is useless as people drive on whatever side of the street they like. Don't let the traffic light fool you in this picture either:

Here is one where we suffered a torrential downpour


Since HCMC, I've learned these same anti-rules apply all over this country. We also learned the importance of carrying some rain gear with you at all times after being drenched by a sudden downpour of monsoon proportions. Saigon is busy busy busy, so on our second night in, I managed to convince the girls that a massage would be a nice treat. The institute for the blind does hour long body massages for a mere $3USD. Sound questionable? Hannah and Reena thought so. Yet, in a moment of weakness, they agreed to give it a go. Rest assured, it was a lovely massage and Reena wanted to go back again. Best $3 I've ever spent.

From Saigon, we took a tour of the Mekong Delta and did a homestay with a local family. Met some cool people and experienced the floating markets. Interesting to see, but not sure I would recommend a trip there for anybody planning a visit.










We then headed north to Hoi An, a beautiful little town which is now a world heritage site. The thing to do in Hoi An is get clothes made by the gazillion tailors who line the streets. Hoi An's a bit more chill and was a welcome break from the insanity of Saigon. Although we didn't go, Hoi An is near the famous China Beach.






Next on our itinerary was Hanoi, in the north. Another bustling city. We tried to go and see Ho Chi Minh (now deceased communist leader/national hero)'s embalmed corpse (what's with the commies freezing their leaders?!) but unfortunately for us Fro-Ho was out of commission. Hanoi was very European in some areas, with wide tree lined boulevards.


Note the look of sheer joy on Hannah's face. She was as excited as I was to see Fro Ho in the flesh, despite the 35 degree temperature.




From Hanoi, we wanted to go to Sapa, which is in the North-Western part of the country, but when we went to the train station to book our overnight tickets for the 10 hour journey the following day, the train was sold out of sleepers. Our only option was to go for a "soft seat" and begrudgingly we agreed to do it. In retrospect, this was a mistake. I thought trains like that only existed in movies and in the slums of Mumbai or something. Apparently they thrive in Vietnam as well, where the communist version of luxury is questionable. Words cannot really describe the atmosphere or reality of this train ride. A "soft seat" consisted of a hard seat in a train with people sitting in the aisles and sleeping in doorways, windows covered in chains, people bringing full on trees with them, yelling, smells, I could go on but suffice to say we arrived safely after a very long night.
Hannah is putting on a very brave face here, I don't think the picture really does the filth of the train justice but it gives you an idea!

Luckily Sapa is so beautiful it is worth it. It is a mountainous region and the views are beautiful and breathtaking. There are local tribes here as well and as soon as you leave the hotel, the women swarm you by the dozens trying to sell you stuff--worse than when I was in Morocco, but they seem to be generally good natured. We went for a trek today to one of the local villages. I made Reena and Hannah take a motobike back---took some arm twisting with Reena, who ironically in the end loved it and didn't want to get off. It was a great way to experience the vastness of this countryside.

The internet connections here are weak so I'm not sure if I'll post pictures until later but I'm hesitant to do that regardless because I am a mess here. Humidity is insane and I am instantly hot and sweaty as soon as I step outside. This makes for lovely pictures. Until next time..