I've been lazy and have not posted anything in a while, so this post will cover the rest of Halong Bay, from July 21st up til now, July 24th. It is pretty long.
The rest of Halong Bay went fairly smoothly. On day two we went to an island to go bike riding through a small village. The ride was cool and the scenery awesome but the bikes sucked. When we got on the bikes the guide said not to change gears, but with all the hills changing gears was required. We rode 3km out to a small stopping point, grabbed some water and then went for a hike into the jungle. We were headed towards what we all thought was "Rat Cave" but what turned out instead to be "Bat Cave". It was a small tunnel that ran through the mountain with bats all over the inside. At least one guy, a 6 foot 5 British kid, almost didn't go through he was so scared. After the hike, we jumped on the bikes to ride back to the boat. On the way Justin's bike chain fell off and he had to walk. Halfway back a motorbike pulled over and traded a 1950s girl bike, with a basket and bell, to Justin which he triumphantly rode back to the dock. After the bikes it was over to a floating fishing village for lunch and kayaks. We kayaked into an archway in the rocks that would be hidden during high tide. Inside was a lagoon completely surrounded by limestone cliffs. As one girl on the trip put it "this is the type of stuff you see on travel shows". It was pretty amazing but since we were kayacking we had no camera with us, so you will have to use your imagination or go there yourself.
Next stop was the Monkey Island for some swimming and monkey watching. The monkeys come down from the hills at dusk for the cooler weather and to be fed by the locals. After the island it was back to Cat Ba Island to check into the hotel. Rather oddly we were staying in a different hotel than the rest of the group. So when everyone else got out we were told to wait out front for our hotel bus to pick us up. We were a little skeptical but eventually a car showed up and drove us to a secluded resort on the other side of the island. It was 3 star quality but it was really nice after the hostels and boat. We immediately jumped into the pool which was one of the most relaxing points of the trip thus far. We were then treated to a 5 course meal and we splurged on a bottle of wine ($15). After the sun set we walked back over to the main part of the island to see what there was to do. There were lots of people out walking, biking and just goofing around. We had a beer in one of the tourist bars, Green Mango, and then grabbed rides on the back of motorbikes to our resort. Not the safest mode of transportation but it was quick and saved us a 1km walk. Back home we fell asleep knowing we had to get up early the next day to catch the boat back.
The next morning we were up at 7 and out the door by 730 to meet the tour group. We took an hour bus ride to the other side of the island and waited in the heat for our boat to arrive. About 30 minutes later it showed up and we set sail (by motor) to the harbor, 2 hours away. Most people were tired from getting up so early so they sat inside or slept on the benches. After arriving at the harbor we had to wait another hour and a half for the van to show up. It was hotter than hell and everyone was pretty miserable. Eventually the van showed, piled everyone in and headed to the restaurant for lunch. Lunch was less than spectacular and somehow we picked up 4 locals in our van for the ride back to Hanoi, making the already crowded bus even more crowded. 3 hours and 1 porcelain factory stop later we were back in Hanoi, sitting the lobby of our hotel waiting for the train.
The lesson learned on this Halong Bay trip was to spend the extra money for a nice trip. As we found out later we paid for the nice trip, which gave us the nice hotel but we actually got the cheap trip tour. This is why everyone else stayed in a different hotel than us. Our whole trip felt rushed with limited time at every spot and no activities from the boat. We were only allowed to swim once from the boat the entire three days. The nicer trips and the one we should have been on had kayaks on the boat that you could use in the mornings and after dinner to do individual exploring. So while Halong Bay is pretty spectacular the overall trip wasn't the best. The nice hotel with the secluded feel, private beach and look out point to watch the sunrise was the best part of the trip.
We left the hotel in Hanoi for the train station around 9:45pm hoping to be early enough to find the train and get situated. We were a little overly cautious since we arrived at the train station at 9:50 and were on the train by 9:55. Since this is our last train ride and we went a little over budget in China we decided not to buy all 4 beds in the cabin like last time. This opened us up to having 2 random people in the cabin with us. So for the next hour we sat around waiting for our Vietnamese farmers to show up. As the train began to fill up I noticed it was mostly white people. Next to us on one side was a group of Germans and further down were 3 cabins full of Brits. We even ran into a travel group from Intrepid, the tour operator we will be using in Africa. We talked to some of the people on the trip who were in the cabin next to us, getting details about the quality of the trip and the leader. They all had positive things to say which made us feel a little more at ease about the Africa trips. As we were talking 2 Vietnamese guys came down the car. With most every other car already full I started to get a bad feeling that was confirmed when they went into our cabin and put their bags up. It turned out to be one old man as the other guy left. We knew pretty quickly he didn't speak English and he knew we did not speak Vietnamese. So we all sort of sat around looking at each other while we waited for the train to leave. He pulled out a radio and turned it on, making himself comfortable in the room. We stayed in the hallway thinking this could be a long night.
Eventually the guy started talking to me but since I had no idea what he was saying I did my best Granny Chambers - smile, nod and point. It is remarkable how much you can get out of hand gestures. I was able to decipher that he was 66 years old, was from Hanoi but traveling to Hue for 10 days. I eventually pulled out my Lonely Planet book with a map of Vietnam and the world so I could show him where we were from and where we were going. He then started pointing to the Hanoi area and making a big circle around it. I wasn't catching on yet so he pulled out his ID card and showed me that also. He then pointed to the map again and was pounding the Hanoi area hard with his finger, trying to drive some point home to me. He kept saying something I could not understand and I was beginning to worry he was getting mad at me for failing to understand him. I still didn't quite understand what he was getting at until he made a rifle stabbing motion with his hands and I realized his ID card was a military ID card. I am pretty sure he was telling me he was a Vietnam verteran and not from our side. I started wondering if I should have told him we were American. As Justin and I stood in the hallway pondered spending the night with a North Vietnamese vet it started to sink in. We sat speechless for a while reflecting on the situation. Here we are, 2 Americans traveling through Vietnam 30 years after the end of a ugly, brutal war. Seeing the Hanoi Hilton was one thing but being face to face, almost bed to bed with a guy that may hold a grudge against Americans really brought it home. I realized this called for expert diplomatic relations.
I opened my can of Pringles I had bought for the ride and offered him some. He seemed skeptical at first but eventually tried some. The ice had been broken. He offered me some of his green tea which I declined. He started smiling a lot and laughing and making some more hand gestures. I returned in kind trying to decipher what he meant. Eventually I was pretty beat and laid down to try to go to bed. As I was about to doze off he got up from his bed. I had sort of been watching him with one eye open til this point, thinking he might try to slit my throat in my sleep. So when we got up I popped up also, realizing he was only trying to open the door to go outside the room. Except the door was jammed. He tried to open it a few times, I tried, the 4th guy (who only came in just before we went to bed and was gone when I got up the next morning) tried the door also. It seemed we were all stuck in the room. The two Vietnamese guys tried pushing, pounding and kicking the door. Eventually a train conductor came by and opened it from the outside.
The older guy told them it was broken so they got the engineer to come by. Eventually we had 2 engineers and 2 conductors in our room with us, all arguing and banging on the door. One engineer tried taking the door handle off so he could fix it but eventually gave up and resorted to using pliers to bend a piece that would let us open the door. It was 12:30 at this point and I was beat having been up since 6:30. I was just hoping they would all leave the room so I could go to sleep. The old guy could gut me in my sleep all he wanted as long as he let me go to sleep first. When the old guy felt comfortable enough with the door he made sure to show me how to work it now and made me repeat how to do it. Once that was settled the 4 train guys left and we shut and locked the door for the night. I was out like a light after that.
The next morning I was awoken by the old man eating breakfast around 8 am. He made some more small talk, telling me the train would arrive around 11. Our 4th cabin mate had fled earlier that morning and was replaced at 9am by a young kid from a stop some place outside Hue. The old man asked me for the book again and started asking me where all we had been and where we going. I guess my communications skills did not go over quite as well I thought. I showed him again, using a pen to draw the lines. He then asked how much in USD the trip cost. I didn't want to reveal to much information so I told him 10,000. The kid in the top bunk chimed in at one point since he spoke some basic English. Not enough to say much but he translated to the old man that I did in fact like Vietnam and I was American. I guess that had not sunk in with the old man the night before which may be why I am alive. The old guy said I was a good man and shook my hand. I guess some things transcend language. He asked me if I was married to which I said no, and asked if I was single, to which I said yes. The kid and the old guy had a chuckle that I am sure was at my expense. As we sat around waiting for the train to arrive in Hue I asked if I could take a picture with him. We snapped a picture, showed him the picture on the view finder and he seemed pleased. At one point he asked to borrow my pen again to write something down. He seemed to like the pen, just some free pen I took from the Sheraton in Guilin and asked if he could keep it. It had 2 of them so I said sure. He asked the kid how to say thank you in English then said thank you to me. Him asking how to say it in English I consider a big win. He offered me some of his fruit in return but I politely declined.
As the train pulled into Hue the old man made sure I knew to get off here. He seemed to enjoy my backpacks with all the straps and laughed his old man laugh. It was kind of a high pitch girlish laugh but the kind that made you certain it was genuine. As we got up to leave the old man put on his Polo hat, probably the most ironic part of the entire trip. I said good bye, asked for his name and told him mine and shook hands. We got off the train and headed for the taxi stand. 60,000 VND later we were in the hotel reflecting on the last train ride of the trip. It was quite the experience and one I am glad we got to have.
Once in Hue we did not want to waste time. So even though we had barely slept the night before we set out in the mid day heat to explore. Hue is smaller than Hanoi and not quite as noisy. It has a few sites to see but it seems most people do the tours. We were a bit toured out so we opted instead to walk on our own. We crossed the Perfume River and headed over to the Forbidden Purple City. It was mostly destroyed during the Revolutionary War and the Vietnam War, but a few parts of it are in tact and other parts were being completely rebuilt. As the name shows it is very similiar to the palace in Beijing and even had Chinese characters on some of the buildings (I am not Vietnamese expert but it seems they only use the western alphabet characters now and I guess before they used Chinese). We wondered the grounds for a while, seeing the temples and Citadel before heading back to the hostel. Hue has so far been the hottest place in Vietnam and with little sleep and lots of heat we were beat. We crashed in the room for a bit, watched My Best Friend's Wedding (yay George!) and recovered. As it got closer to dark we headed out to find food. We ended up wondering for a good hour and a half all around the the non touristy parts of town. The funny thing about Vietnam is that even with the poverty the people are pretty nice. We have not had anyone try to scam us yet and most people just leave us be. We get a few stares and a few people trying to get us to buy stuff but so far nothing like China or Thailand. Other than the overly friendly tour selling guy at our hotel most people in Vietnam have been pretty nice.
We finally walked all the way back up to the hotel area and ate at a tourist type restaurant with Western food. After dinner we went home and I fell asleep pretty quick. This morning we got off to a late start as I think travel fatigue has started to catch up with me. I was reluctant to do much of anything. Since almost all the sites mentioned in travel books and wikitravel involve taking a tour (DMZ, Hoi An, Danang, Perfume River Cruise, etc) we decided to take it easy and just wonder close by. First stop was a huge out door market that sold pretty much anything. We wondered in there for a while, met a brilliant woman who said I was handsome and just took in the seen. It was mostly a local market selling lot of fruits, vegetables and every day knick knacks. No one really bothered us to buy anything as almost all the vendors were asleep in their 3x2 stalls. With the heat setting in and me feeling pretty damn tired still we settled into a cafe on the banks of the river. When I say cafe I really mean a drink stand and some plastic chairs and tables. But it was one of the better places to be since it was in the shade and had cool breeze coming off the river. We sat there for a good hour and a half, drinking water and eating a little ice cream. We eventually got up and headed across the river to our side. We poked into an internet cafe where I am now to check email, get out of the heat and blog.
While Vietnam has been a fun experience at times I think the overall trip has started to wear me down a bit. Vietnam has been the first place where finding modern conveniences has been difficult. Everything from AC in public shops to fast food just does not exist. I am eagerly looking forward to Singapore for some sense of modern before we start the Africa portion. With Siagon and Cambodia still to go I have a week before Singapore but I think I can manage. I've been eating a lot of local food in Vietnam but I think I am going to have to break down and start sticking with the tourist restaurants and their bad renditions of western favorites. I never thought I would say it but I am actually looking forward to Africa, for a return to English, some cooler weather and more normal food.
