Saigon

There definitely are many differences in the two biggest cities in Vietnam. Hanoi (the capital) is more chaotic, more dirty, many more lady swith cone hats that sell on the street, more street stalls to eat food, it's also a lot harder to cross a street in Hanoi, basically I think it's more old Asia than here in Saigon. Saigon is more orderly, although there are many motorbikes (4 million) they are much more orderly in their way of driving. They actually sto at streetlights which were non-existant in Hanoi. Saigon is much richer, hipper and modern. Skyscraper buildings, police and security at many street corners, expensive and international restaurants. Even though they are different they both have their own charm. So far, nothing beats Hoi An. Yes, there are many more tourists in Hoi An but it's totally normal, it's beautiful and friendly. At first I didn't even want to go to Hoi An because of all the tourists but I'm happy I went because I would've missed out on something really nice with the lantern festival. Why should we miss out on something just because it's touristy? Touristy doesn't necessarily mean bad, when I think of Mont Tremblant in Quebec it's also touristy but it's normal because it's nice.

Yesterday I saw the War Museum and it's hard to take it all in with the atrocities that happened but then again I came here to see the actual Vietnam but also to see the history in Vietnam and how they survived so many wars. I prefer not to put the horrific pictures on my blog. I also went to get to the Cambodian consulate to get my visa and I got it today... that's fast. Today was the Cu Chi tunnels where the Viet Cong lived in for almost 20 years. Just fitting into one (which has been modified for tourists ... read: bigger) is a challenge and many claustrophobic just didn't even try. That I have a picture of me entering the enlarged tourist tunnel but none inside because we basically have to walk on hands and knees. What an experience that was. Just to give you an insight on the tunnels, they were sophisticated and well built. Kitchens, maternity wards, emergency exits, a system of fume exit from the cooking and many other systems that need to be had in a village. If I remember correctly there were 17 different villages underground. Thousands of people, men and women soldiers and also young teenage soldiers. Everybody was put to work. When I came back from the tunnels I went to the Saigon zoo which seems to be the outing for Vietnamese families. The entrance fee is less than one canadian dollar, cheapy compared to all the other zoos that I've been to.

Tomorrow I'm going to exit Vietnam via the Mekong Delta by boat. I already have my Cambodian visa in hand but I'm a bit sad to leave Vietnam and also the family at my guesthouse are great. It's really intergenerational, they are so sweet.

Gotta go take my second shower of the day, it's hot and humid in the south!

Hoi An the beautiful - Saigon the rich city

I'm actually in Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh City depending on who you talk to) but I want to talk about Hoi An and the lantern festival. It was absolutely stunning, a once in a lifetime experience for me. The preparations were also good, I got the feel that the whole town was preparing for their New Lunar Year's Eve, they are welcoming the year of the buffalo. It's tne one town that I got to meet locals just to talk. Not to buy something or not because I was lost. Just to talk. In Hoi An, I also met two older men (83 and 79) who spoke French. I don't know how the heck they spotted me but they asked if I spoke French?! That was nice because one man wanted me to correct his letter (which was to a religious sister) and he said he's doing a family library of French books and that if I had any he would be greatful. Another old man I met was 79 but he looked much younger maybe 65. He spoke better French and I got the chance to meet him just before the festival started. I also had a man who rowed me on the river the next day. "The first day of the new lunar year!" I heard that phrase so many times. "I hope you bring me luck!" Chuc Mung Nam Moi! See the pictures to see the preparations and also the actual flying of the lanterns. Some fly, and some just burn. That was hilarious to see these Vietnamese girls laughing, screaming and running (and having fun) but the funniest was this tourist who wasn't paying attention and a burning lantern was going straight towards him, he heard the commotion and turned around and tried to back up... well he backed up and fell down (he wasn't having so much fun after that). I was laughing so hard (sorry but I'm like that) I turn around and see this Vietnamese guy laughing his head off so I think it's universal. I had some clothes made, two coats and one dress for 130$ US. I was sad to leave Hoi An but my journey must continue.



Yesterday night I arrived in Saigon and my hotel was really crappy so today I'm in a new guesthouse and it's more homey and clean. Last night I slept with the desk pushed against the door because the door didn't close correctly. The room was dirty and smelled bad, I slept in my newly bought silk sleeping bag and to top it all off it was freakin' noisy so I had my earplugs on and guess what??? I didn't hear my alarm this morning so I didn't get to see the Cu Chi tunnels.



Saigon is a nice big city, very very different for Hanoi. I'm off to dinner with a friend now who's waiting for me so I'll write later on Saigon and the War Museum (broughts tears to my eyes).

Feel the energy!

The energy is palpable here. It's the eve of the Tet, which is basically the start of the New Lunar Year. 2009 is the year of the buffalo. What it means is just about Christmas and New Year's Eve all in one. Many cum quat? trees on mopeds being transported to the homes, the flower market which makes the city beautiful, the different shapes and sizes of lanterns being prepared for tonight. Some are silk lanterns, some are rice paper, some are bamboo. It is a real treat for me seeing all this. The local people are also getting ready and I can feel the buzz going around. Tonight, I have a cooking class at 6:00 pm and it should finish at around 8:00 so after I'll go for the lantern festival. Hopefully the weather will be nice, I've already taken pictures and I'll take some more tonight to show you all how beautiful it is.

Don't have much time so I'll write later on. I love Hoi An but I'm leaving tomorrow for Saigon.

Memories from Sapa

So I finally was able to post the pictures of Sapa and some of Hoi An. Starting with Sapa, it was only 2 days, one homestay but I'm starting to think it made a huge difference in my way of seeing things. I don't know how this is possible but I erased or lost a picture I had taken of a little girl running down the mountain with a basket full of tree branches in it. She was running not like some girls run for fun, she was running in zigzags down the mountain in mud boots. The logs were probably much too heavy for her so I think that's why she was running, to make it easier. It literally put tears to my eyes seeing this and even if I lost that picture it is deep in my memory. The children in these villages play a big part, they either work or are left to themselves. The children that I've taken pictures of and children without supervision. I don't want to be judgemental but just trying to make a picture of what I saw, which is so very different than what I'm use to. The 3 children at the home we ate and slept at are some of the fortunate ones who can go to school and they weren't dirty like so many other I've seen. Most young girls work selling on the street in their hilltribe clothing, they speak quite good English and their usual sentenses are "Buy from me, buy from me!" "Where you from?" "How old are you?" "What's your name?" "Do you have brothers and sisters?" "Younger or older?". It can be overwhelming and I do not kid you when I say these sentences we hear many many many times. Yet, these little girls are so sweet and I couldn't help but feel sorry for them. Also, in a way, it was comforting to see them together and having what seemed to be great friendships with the other little girls in the same situation as them.

Now I am in Hoi An in a great hotel which was recommended by a Canadian I met in Halong Bay. The town is great, the people are more friendly than Hanoi and the temperature is warmer but now it is raining, a lot!

I am at a point in my trip that I need a peaceful night doing some cocooning so tonight, is the night!

Again, thanks for the comments and emails, I enjoy reading them.

The Amazing Race!

These past few days have been.... well... crazy! Just how I like it! I've been busy.

First my trip to Sapa which I cannot even start to tell you about or I would go on and on therefore I prefer to talk write about it later. To give you an idea how it was, I can say it was heart warming and heart breaking at the same time. Beautiful scenery, awesome travel companion, trekking in rice paddies and minority hilltribe villages, great strong cute children who play a big part in these communities, poverty, it was a wonderful experience. This is one type of emotion that I seek and that enriches me, therefore I must not forget that simple things are sometimes great things too. Just thinking about all this brings tears to my eyes.

Back to my craziness. At the start of our trek, Amy, my travel companion, was talking to me about the t.v. show The Amazing Race because it reminded her of what we were doing and the fact that her card was not working at the ATMs in Sapa, anyhow, so we started our trek laughing about it. The more things went on the more they started to ressemble the show. Amy, if you are reading this, you will learn a bit more of how I bring on some type of "in extremis" situations. So there we are absorbing the scenes, the trekking and learning a bit more about this community of minority in the hills. We also were in a village called Tavan where we experienced homestay with a family. Very different way of life than what I know of. On the trek back to Sapa I had to book my train back to Hanoi for that same night. First shop we enter there all out of tickets. Woah there! I get a bit nervous but decide to go to another place and everything works out fine. They have a train ticket for that night. We might as well take the bus ticket to go to Lao Cai (train station). OK, so everything is good, we just need to meet our guide and pay her but then, oups I forgot I wanted to buy some silk sleeping bags before I leave so there we go making another stop at the last minute. OK, now we're fine... on the bus ready to go to the train station. On the FULL minibus we go down to Lao Cai on swirling roads and I don't feel so good with all that turning and the lack of air on the bus. At the train station we have to get our boarding passes. So go to one office then the next, and decide to buy some fruit which served as our diner. The train ride is not bad but I didn't get much sleep. Amy and I are not on the same train so she will wait for me in Hanoi because we planned some things early morning. I arrive at 4:30 am in Hanoi and when I leave the train, the impressively huge amount of drivers start to ask me if I need a taxi or mototaxi. I try to find Amy without any succes so at 6:00 am decide to go to my hotel and see if I can get some sleep and figure out a way the reach Amy. To my surprise she calls me at 9:00 and we decide to meet for 9:30 at the school to see a children's Tet performance. I take a mototaxi to go and make it 30 minutes late because the school is quite far from my Hotel. At 11:00 we leave the school, me by moto taxi and Amy by taxi for a cooking class and to our surprise they have a place for us. There I am thinking after a long day everything works out just fine. Well guess again, tonight for my check out the machine for Visa payments doesn't work but I have to take my taxi to go to the airport. The girl at the counter tells me I can go to the ATM and what happens? My card doesn't work at that ATM so I hop on a mototaxi again and he brings me to another ATM and as usual the traffic is wacko. I finally make it to the airport thinking Amy and I shouldn't have joked about the Amazing Race because it's starting to look more and more like it. But it's all good, makes the experience all the more funny when you think of it after.

Now I'm in Hoi An and I'll make time to write about my Sapa experience which is hard to describe but I'll certainly try to.

Thanks for all the comments and emails you send me. I enjoy it because I have the impression I'm sharing my experiences even if I'm traveling solo most of the time.

Halong Bay

Cruise to Halong Bay from yesterday to today. Wonderful experience! They're talking about having Halong Bay as one of the 7 natural wonders of the world and honestly it would be so true. The temperature was wonderful so it added a bonus to the experience. The company was excellent as well, although I was the only one alone. It would have been so romantic if I'd had the chance to be with a lover, boyfriend or however you wanna call these things. The sunset, as you will see in the many pictures, was ro-man-tic!!! Nothing bad to say about that experience. I met great people who just came back from Sapa and they had only good things to say about it. That's nice because that's where I'm going tonight for a 12 hours night train. After Sapa it's down south I go so no more Hanoi.

Hanoi, how can I describe my experience here. Hectic and chaotic would be a good start. You can't go around the fact that you're in another country here. Asia in it's purest form. Kids here probably know how to bargain before they even walk, they probably know how to ride a motorbike before they know how to read. The Vietnamese are so-so in English so the communication can sometimes be hard but with a smile and a little book you can get around. There is street food and moto-taxis at every street corner. You can easily get around if you don't mind the motorbikes. Well.... easily is not exactly the way I should describe it because even walking is an experience here. Try crossing the street, that's a challenge!

That's it for now, my train is in 30 minutes so I have to hop on a moto-taxi to get to the station. I'm getting use to this, oh yeah!

Day 2 of Hanoi Vietnam

This morning, booked my Halong Bay trip for tomorrow morning. Two days one night on the boat. Unfortunately the temperature is not excellent but at least no rain (or so they say). I also have my train ticket for Sapa, leaving on Tuesday.

As for today, I had my breakfast with the delicious bread. I don't regularly like bread but this bread is excellent! Then went for a nice Vietnamese coffee with condensed hot milk. Again, delicious! Took my day slowly read at the cafe and built up my courage to ride a mototaxi to see the Ho Chi Minh Complex. 20 000 VND for a one-way ride, but the experience is priceless. My legs were shaking (Jo, you know what I mean, my legs shake when I ride on your huge motorcycle). Imagine, on a small moto in the Hanoi traffic. Priceless I tell you! On the way back I was much less nervous and I even took a picture of my driver. Motos are the way to go around here and they are impressive with what can be put on them. Examples of things I've seen on motos: animals, trees, mega surround sound system, food in big quantities and then some. OK, so for my visit at the Ho Chi Minh complex I was one of the rare white people there. A lot of asians especially Vietnamese. Actually, a group of four Vietnamese guys asked if they could take pictures with me?! Not with my camera, but with theirs. As if I'm the attraction. I said yes, they were polite. Other Vietnamese asked me to take pictures of them in front of the Ho Chi Minh statue. From what I heard I basically compare him to Che Guevara for the Cubans.

Gotta go, tonight I'm going to a tourist and expat restaurant to meet up with two American girls. One who lives here and the other one I met on the plane.

Arrived and survived

I've been in Hanoi for 24 hours now. I've had a good night's sleep and started my day with a fabulous breakfast included in my 28$ room. First off, must say that yesterday when I arrived in Tokyo for my layover I saw the beautiful sunset right next to Mount Fuji. One of the most beautiful things you can see while your plane is landing!!! Unfortunately, couldn't get a picture because my camera was in the overhead compartment but my mental picture will last me a lifetime.

OK, so for Hanoi Vietnam... what is there to say. I went exploring the city by foot on my own but met some nice people. The city is HECTIC, especially Old Quarters where I am staying. So after lunch, I needed a bit of refuge from the motorbike sounds and all the horns blowing. I went to west lake which is Hoan Kiem lake, with a temple in the middle of it. I sat there reading and met a German girl. We made plans to meet up for dinner so for dinner I was eating in a small yet hidden restaurant with 6 Germans. When I say hidden I'm not joking we had to go through tunnels and at times I wasn't sure where the heck we were going. The dinner was nice and cost me 65 000 Vietnamese Dongs which is a little less than 6$ but I'm not exactly sure how the money works just yet. I'm really not comfortable so I didn't buy much today in part because of that but also because it's only my first day here. Many more to go. After dinner the German girl, an Australian and I walked around the city at night. It's really different at night. The night market was still open and they sell soooo many stuff and a lot of beggers also. Not the usual beggers I know but children, crippled or really old people. They honestly try to get the pity money. I realised that I wouldn't be ready for India because of all the beggers. Vietnam has a few but it's apparently nothing compared to India. I also saw what looked like a tiny bird on a stick. It was grilled of course but I had already eaten and wouldn't have tried it anyhow. The beek is still on it. After our night time walking German girl (her name is Katarina) went to the water puppet theatre. That type of theatre is in Vietnamese folklore but as many folklore it's mostly tourists who go to see it :-) It was nice but I didn't understand a word they said. One hour of that was enough because if it had been any longer I would have slept. There were dragon boat puppets in the show... yahoo! That was the best part.

Off to sleep I go, it's 11h20 pm here which means it exactly 11h20 am for you in Canada. I'll try to keep you posted.

Comments or emails are appreciated!

Pictures

I've been able to set up a slide show of pictures before I leave. Of course, the pictures now are not of Vietnam (duh!) but I just wanted to make sure I was able to do it. Honestly, it was freakin' complicated (or maybe I just don't have much patience) so I don't guarantee pictures when I'm on my trip ... but yet again, if I have a lot of requests I might just have more will and patience to post them. :-) HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!

Countdown

10 days to go. I'm ready! 10.......