Feb 10, 2010 - "When I was in 'Nam..." Hanoi to Halong

Feb 10, 2010
"When I was in 'Nam..." Hanoi to Halong

We departed sceneic Sapa for an overnight train to Hanoi. The train, surprisingly, was a lot nicer then some of the hotels that we had been staying in. It was an exotic night on the orient express! The train had been completely refurbished in attempt to improve tourism. Unfortuneately, we didn't get to enjoy it for too long as our stop was at 5 am. We woke at 4:45 and quickly gathered our things. Still groggy from a poor nights sleep and over loaded with way too much baggage, I had a little mishap...I fell out of the train. Now I'm not talking about some little spill. I literally flew out - ass over tea kettle - on to the cement platform five feet below. Several men rushed over to my aid and roughly hauled me up by my backpack and put me back on my feet. I was definitly injured; I had road rash all over one of my legs and had managed to twist my other ankle. Holding back tears and blood, I collected my things and limped to the waiting taxi. At the hotel I was able to get some ice, antibacterial cream and few hours sleep.

Going from Sapa to Hanoi was like going from zero to sixty. We were staying right smack dab in the old quatre which supposedly has one of the highest population densities in the world. The noise, people, signs, animals and shops was overwhelming and over stimulating - you just didn't know where to look. The atmosphere hits you right in the face the moment you set foot from the hotel doors. Plus, everyone and their dog has a motorbike so crossing the street can be a deadly endevour. There are three rules to remember: 1) you don't wait for a break in traffic (because there never is one), 2) Walk very very slowly, 3) the most important - whatever you do, don't stop. Never ever hesitate or you will be hit. The drivers will calculate your speed and will swerve aroiund you - but if you stop or hesitate it throws them off and you could get hit. That being said, stepping off the curb as hundreds of motorbikes go whizzing past you, with only a few inches to spare, kinda feels like going bungee jumping without the cord. It's quite a rush. But, like every other aspect of culture shock that we've come across, we learned to adapt and pretty soon we were all pros. I would say a little prayer each time. It really got the adrenaline pumping - especially at rush hour.

We spent most of our time in Hanoi dodging traffic and visiting some of the minor sights that the city had to offer. It was about 36 degrees so Kels and I shipped home all our warm clothes which lightened our load considerably.

During one of our free days, Kelsea and I decided to visit the infamous "Hanoi Hilton." Masion Centrale (later nick named the Hanoi Hilton by American soldiers) was a prison originally built by the French during Vietnam's war for independence against the colonization. The French used the prison to hold and torture Veitnamese revolutionaries. After Vietnam had won it's independence, the prison was abandonned but the later used by the Vietnamese in the 1960s to hold American POWs. It was refered to as the "Hilton" because of it's fair, if not luxurious, treatment of American prisoners.

Kelsea and I were tired of walking all day so we had the bright idea of taking a cyclo to the prison. We sauntered up to a row of eager cyclo operators and said "Hanoi Hilton please - 20,000 dong." One man snatched us up immediately and we climbed aboard. It was a really enjoyable ride, that is until he pulled up to the palatial gates of the actual Hilton Hotel! Oops! I guess I should have been more specific. Cheeks red with embarassment we hoped off and paid the man. Now what? We didn't even know where we were. Another cyclo, this time with an older man in a funny hat, pulled up beside us and was snickering at our predicament. Apparently this sorta thing happens all the time. He offered to take us to the prison and after haggling over price we agreed and got back on and finally made it to the right place.

The rest of Hanoi will just have to remain a mystery. I got food poisoning and had to spend the entire last day in bed. I was feeling better the next morning and we all hopped a bus to Halong Bay.

This was definitly one of the highlights of the trips so far. The scenery along was outstanding. We boarded our own private pleasure cruiser and enjoyed a massive seafood lunch and some white wine. On the top deck there were some lovely loungers where we drapped ourselves for the entire four hour blissful journey to Cat Ba Island - where we would be staying for the night. Check out the pictures - this place was fabulous.

We spent our times there eating all the wonderful seafood and drinking cold beers - everything was so cheap. We ran into some fellow Canadians and in true Canadian style we got drunk on cheap draft beer from the street corner and went down to the beach. I lost a flip flop in the surf and had to walk all the way back to the hotel with only one. Enough beer for me.

The next day we all got up nice and early - ugh! - for a kayak trip out to monkey island. The ocean was really rough and our little kayaks were going up and down, up and down, up and down in the swells. Not good for our hangovers. But our guide kept us safe and we made it to the island - and nobody threw up! We got to feed the wild monkeys there and they were adorable: the highlight of the day. Hangover or not, who doesn't like monkeys?

We made it back just in time to shower and head back to Hanoi for another day - which we were all dreading. It's way too overstimulating there.