Good news, everyone! The lovely T and I made it back from Vietnam okay, with a couple of bags of souvenirs, a memory card full of pictures and a few hundred bucks less cash. We landed in Hanoi and after a night of sleep took a van to Halong Bay where we set sail on a Vietnamese Junk for a few more days. After zipping back to Hanoi, we jumped on a train to Sapa, where we spent a few more days before heading back to Hanoi to do some shopping and a bit of R & R.
Hanoi is a fantastic city, with approximately four katrillion motor scooters, amazing architecture and fantastic café vibe; think Paris filtered through Hong Kong with a few drops of Bangkok’s chaotic street action and a sprinkle of Tokyo’s shopping opportunities. The architecture – even newly built buildings – hearkens back to the days of French colonial rule, with a real effort made to make every building unique, be it through color or design. Many of the structures are tall and narrow, a throwback to the days when taxes were based on how wide a building was. Cafes are everywhere – most with free wifi – and there are plenty of places to walk, sit and relax.
Halong Bay, on the north-east coast of Vietnam, is a vast, rocky cove with deep-aqua water, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Our boat was called Victory, but the only victory I had was over my insomnia. Our room was small but comfortable, with a very hot shower and a wide bed. We met a few fellow travelers from around the globe, enjoyed some freshly-caught seafood and good wine, saw a few huge caves and some nice sunsets and just basically took it easy.
Sapa was a whole different story. Established by the French in the early 1900’s, it’s situated deep in the rocky north-west of the country, among misty mountains and steep rice terraces, only about 20 km from the Chinese border. The thing that was hard to ignore was the all-enveloping fog and the biting cold; early mornings saw visibility of about 20 feet and a temperature less than half that (in Celsius, natch).
We didn’t get down to the southern portion of the country - no time - but I’ve heard that while still beautiful, isn’t as exciting or historical. At any rate, it was a great trip and a fascinating country - the neighbourhood we we stayed in in Hanoi was around 1,000 years old! If you haven’t yet been, time to start saving.
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Hi Greg: I like he silhouette photo. Also liked your description of Hanoi. “Think Paris……..”
It’s probably a fantastic place to invest in right now - the Koreans think so anyway.
I look forward to seeing more photos.
Ciao - UT