Hanoi and Halong Bay

Hanoi is the capital city and a busy, crowded image of the little things we’ve noticed that make up Vietnam. Women are crouched over in a balancing act, carrying heavy baskets full of anything and everything with a wooden bar over the back of their shoulders. Young men sit on the back of their motorbikes waving and signaling for your attention for the chance to be your personal chauffer. Meanwhile, at all hours of the day you can find people sitting on teeny, backless plastic chairs crowded around miniature tables eating whatever local food is being cooked street side—noodle soup (pho), whole fish, or even steamed, fertilized duck egg (hot vit lon). If that isn’t tempting, food stalls or push carts sell dried squid, baguettes, large wontons, fruits and vegetables, or again, almost anything you can or can’t imagine. Other women are squatting in an uncomfortable-looking position in order to organize their produce for sale on the ground of a busy street or market. Motorbikes continue to honk and whiz by, some with oversized cargo strapped to the back seat. We enjoy playing spot the random object on the motorbike. So far we’ve witnessed a door frame, a melting block of ice, a family of four, and 6-foot long rolls of foam. We’ve even heard stories of cows and pigs riding on the backseat. Since we’re so close to China, shops here (and not the rest of Vietnam) are full of plastic crap, to be honest. We went to the three-story market expecting to come out with empty pockets, but quickly realized everything was “Made in China” and either plastic hairclips, toys, or junk that is mass produced and sprinkled all over the world. In other words, it was worse than Wal-Mart. Other shops in the area, though, feature ethnic styles from the northern region of Sapa. Either way, in almost every store or hotel corner, you’re guaranteed to find a religious shrine with red lights, burning incense, small gifts, and the statue of a god or photographs of ancestors.

We took an overnight boat trip of Halong Bay to escape the “organized” chaos that is Hanoi. We booked our tour with Sinh Café, a backpacker’s travel agency throughout Vietnam. Their success in the country has lead almost every single travel agency to copy the name and logo as an attempt to attract more business. We caught on quickly when every other booking agent claimed to be the “real” Sinh Café. We were fortunate to have a business card from Hoi An with the correct address. We boarded a typical, wooden Halong bay junk (boat) with three stories and a pagoda-like design. We lucked out with nice weather since northern Vietnam had just endured two grueling typhoons during the two weeks we were here. Vietnam’s most famous World Heritage Site and its biggest tourist destination, Halong Bay means descending dragon because of its 2,000+ islands of irregular shaped limestone formations that jut out of the ocean. Floating through the protruding rock cliffs was serene and mystical and its hazy and silent demeanor in the early morning was eerie. We stopped at two caves with probably fifty other junks, which made us realize this beautiful, natural site has been consumed by tourism. Lying out on the top deck and kayaking around smaller islands helped distract us from this unfortunate reality. There are floating communities in Halong Bay with families residing in old, small wooden boats and working on fish farms. They also enjoy the perks of small sales thanks to the daily foreigners that drop in. We stayed on board overnight with a group of about 15 and returned to Halong City the following morning.

Vietnam presented us with a bunch of new experiences and introduced us to a not-so-Western way of life. We've seen a variety of amazing places and enjoyed sampling the cuisine. Overall, you can say Vietnam left a great taste in our mouth.

Tomorrow, we're off to Laos!