Hue to Hoi An

This is a few days old, but I've been having issues getting to my blog from here.

Yesterday I arrived in Hoi An.  In one word Hoi An is charming.  It's a good representation of Vietnam as it once was.  Old run-down (some restored) french-style buildings with "modern" stores and restaurants contained within them.  It's definitely touristy, but it's very cute.  Tailors and shoe-makers line the streets- a clothes-horse's dream!  You can have your own designs brought to life, have your old favourites copied, or pick something from one of the many catalogues.  It's hard to choose which tailor because there are so many (streets and streets full of them).  But I think they are all similar in quality and price - cheap!  A little bargaining can be done with some patience.  I'm still not very good at this but was able to knock the price down a bit and think I got a pretty good deal (I hope!).  This afternoon I got measured for a silk dress, linen pants and top.  I pick them up tomorrow.  Jenny, I also picked up your request : )

These are the first things I've bought since arriving in Vietnam.  I'm really trying hard not to buy things because one I have to lug them around for 6 more months and two I just don't have room in my bag for anything.  Actually, I'm really trying to part ways with some of the things that I brought with me to lighten the load, but this is proving to be a difficult thing to do.  Even things that I could easily do without and replace when I get home.  I don't know why I can't let these things go and think that this is a bigger statement about my life.  It's just stuff, right?  But stuff I can't seem to let go!  In time, I guess... (fingers crossed!)

This morning I rode a bike to Cao Dai beach Hoi An.  It was a great bike ride that went through the city and along the river.  The beach was beautiful, soft white sand for miles.  Although it's warmer here, it's still very grey so there were not a lot of people at the beach, which was kind of nice.  There are some huge and beautiful high-end resorts along the beach - not something you would expect to see here.  But I think now that Europe is getting to be so expensive to travel, South East Asia is starting to get foreigners of all walks of life and income levels.

I had lunch today at a restaurant that sat on stilts on the river bank.  I had a Hoi An specialty, Hoi An Chicken and Rice.  Yum!

This afternoon ran into Matthais and Matthea, a German couple I met in Hanoi, on the street on my way to get measured for my new clothes.  It's funny how you keep crossing paths with people along the way.  I hope to meet up with them tomorrow.

While I'm happy to be in warmer climates, I was a little sad to leave Hue.  I felt really comfortable there and felt like I got a great taste of the local life because of Thanh.  She took me to the pagoda where she and her family worship.  It was outside of the city so we had to take her motorbike to get there.  This was really special because tourists don't come to this place.

There was no one there besides the monks and nuns (female monks) who live there.  Thanh took me to where the nuns' caretaker lives.  She invited us in and fed us sweets and gave me slippers to keep my feet warm on the cold tile floor.  She was so sweet with a kind face.  She's probably about 70, without any family and has lived there for a long long time.

While we were sitting there, a nun walked by and asked who I was.  She told us not to leave.  A few minutes later another nun came to join us for a while.  She was the highest ranking nun there.  Women have high positions here, which I gather is unusual.  She was also very sweet with a kind face.  She probably only stood about 4'11 (I felt like a giant standing next to her), with grey stubble on her head. She's been there for 50 years and for two of these years she didn't speak one word!  I've heard of people going for two weeks, but two years is inconceivable to me.  Can you imagine the ability to do that?  I can't.  It's pretty amazing. 

She asked Thanh how old I was and if I had a family of my own.  When Thanh told her my age and that I was on my own she told Thanh that if I don't end up getting married I should come back to the pagoda. Haha!  Even though I had no idea what they were talking about it was nice just to sit there with them.  They both commented that I looked happy traveling the world.

Oh and dinner tonight was another Hoi An specialty, Cau Lau.  This is one of my favourites so far.  Doughy noodles, with slices of pork and fresh greens.  What makes it so special is that the noodles are soaked in water from wells in Ba Le village - this gives them a sweet taste and aroma.  You can't get it anywhere else!

More soon...
xoxo

Best souvenier so far.

It's still cold and miserable here.  It's cloudy with misty rain (not good for my hair type), and chilly.  While it's not cold like Toronto, it feels damp cold - like Vancouver!

Thanh, the owner's daughter has taken a bit of a liking to me, so today I had my own personal tour guide.  She's really quite sweet and so excited to hang out with me.  It's quite amusing.  Today she was really helpful because she took me to the hospital so I could get my throat and lungs checked out.  I've had this sore throat and pain in my chest for the past three weeks and they just haven't been getting any better.  Anyway, two German interns first checked me out and then a nice Vietnamese doctor checked me out.  They all said I was okay but the doctor recommended that I get an x-ray just to ensure that I don't have an infection. Anyway, lungs are all good. You can see for yourself!  I got to keep the x-ray, the best souvenier to date!

After that, Thanh took me to a pharmacy, which looked more like a corner store where you might be able to buy some illegal drugs versus legal drugs.  I'm hoping that I got the right meds or that the ones I did get make me feel really really good.  Haha.

Because the weather has been so crappy and cold and because I didn't bring any appropriate attire for this weather, we went to a big market, Dong Ba Market, to find a rain jacket.  Thanh did all the bargaining for me and was able to knock off 1/3 of the price of a not too ugly rain shell.  Oh and I've learned that it pays to take a taxi with a local.  The cost is about 1/4 of what it would cost if I was by myself.

I took Thanh out for lunch to a popular Indian restaurant here, Omar Khayyan's Indian Restaurant, to say thanks for helping me out today and showing me around.  It was fun because I got to introduce something new to her as she had never tried Indian food before.  The food was fantastic and made me look forward to India even more! And better yet, Thanh enjoyed it.

Tonight Thanh took me on her motorbike to her favourite coffee shop.  A very popular coffee shop for the locals here - it was difficult to get a table.  We continued our conversation there over tea and ice-cream.

Thanh and I have been talking a lot about life here in Vietnam.  It's very interesting to get her perspective as a vibrant young Vietnamese woman.  She is really full of life and sometimes makes me feel like I'm this cynical old woman!  We've talked about everything from family life to dating, marriage, school, career, travel and so much more. 

She is so curious about the rest of the world and loves to hang out with foreigners because that's how she learns the most.  She's in college learning English so that she can be a tour guide.  But she'd rather skip a day of school to hang out with and talk to foreigners.  Her family owns the hotel I'm staying at so she has a lot of great opportunity to do just that.

Her family lives in the hotel.  The two parents and three daughters, aged 24, 19 and 10 all share one room as their living space. I can hardly imagine.  She considers themselves a poor family (which is probably very true by Vietnamese and definitely our standards).  They don't have a car but one motorbike to share between them.  She doesn't ever see herself traveling outside of Vietnam because it is too expensive so I think talking to tourists allows her to travel in her own mind.  The average Vietnamese will never leave the country.  A lot of Vietnamese only make 2,000,000VND per month, which is is about $112 CDN.

At 19 she's never had a boyfriend and will probably live with her parents until she gets married, at which point she'll move in with her husband's family, for a little while anyway.  She said that people are getting married later in life here too, she guessed that 27 - 30 was the age that most were tying the knot. Personally, I think she wants to meet a foreigner, ideally Italian because they are "so romantic and well dressed."

The Vietnamese are very traditional and most are Buddhist.  Family is of the utmost importance and they spend a lot of time together working, eating and sleeping.  They work a lot here (and we thought we had it bad) but a good portion of Vietnamese work 7 days a week and up to 12 hours a day.  One of the reasons Tet is such a big holiday is that it's the only holiday many Vietnamese take in the year.

There is definitely an increase in the night scene for young Vietnamese but for the most part, the night life seems to be made up of mostly foreigners.  Hue is quit a small city and there are a few bars and cafes that are busy.  Some with foreigners (those would be the bars) and some with locals (those would be the cafes - some of which play music so loud you'd think you were in a club.)
I haven't heard a lot of English music yet, mostly Vietnamese or Abba's "Happy New Year" -  of which they just put the chorus on repeat, repeat, repeat.  I never need to hear that song again : ).

The people in Hue seem to be happier than the people of Hanoi, who seemed a bit hard.  I've been told that as you head south the people become happier, freindlier and more relaxed.  So far this seems to be true. Drivers seem to be a little more curteous here and there aren't people trying to sell you something around every corner like in Hanoi or Thailand.  It's really nice here.  Even though it's very grey and cold, there is a warmth to the people and the city.  I like it much better than Hanoi.

More soon...
xoxo

Bus ride from hell

Yesterday I arrived in Hue after a 14 hour overnight bus ride from hell.  The so called "sleeper" bus was a real-life nightmare.  You pay a little more for the "luxury" of a sleeper but I think sitting in a Toronto street car for 14 hours would have been more comfortable!

The bus consisted of three rows of bunkbeds.  Tiny bunkbeds with the tiny ladders just wider than your foot to provide access to the comfy top bunk! With a small cubby hole for your feet, there was little space for anything else.  I had to strategically lay around and on top of my bags.  The bus provided a small blanket and pillow which you really don't want to use, but it's so damn cold you must.  The AC blasted from the roof and it was cold outside and even colder inside.  I was wearing 3 layers of clothes and still freezing!  Awesome.

For the first few hours Vietnamese karaoke-like music blared over the central speaker and brightly coloured cheesy music videos filled the TV screens.  All the while two people used their transistor radios complete with the fuzzy noise.  Kill me now. : )

The bus swerved in and out of traffic and there were a few sudden stops.  I feared for my life... just a little.  In the wee hours of the morning, I had to use the WC but realized that there were now people asleep on the floor in the ailes of the bus.  Nowhere to get down.  You would have to be Spiderman to get to the WC.  But sleeping wasn't working so I attempted to be Spiderwoman.  Thankfully, the ground level bed between me and the WC was occupied by a 3 year old so I was able to climb over him without stepping on the face of the dude sleeping in the opposite aisle on the floor.  Now, somewhat relieved I was able to get a few hours of sleep... kind of.

I was greeted at the New Time Hotel early in the morning by a very cheery teenager (almost too cheery for this time of day), who turned out to be the owner's 19 year old daughter, Thanh.  She was really sweet and really wanted to practice speaking English so she kept me entertained me while I waited for my room to be made up.  Because my room wasn't going to be ready for a while she asked me if I wanted to come with her to meet up with a guy from France whom she'd met through couchsurfing.org.  He wanted to meet a local and talk with her about life here in Vietnam.  I had nothing else to do and she was a little nervous to go alone so I went a long.

We met Alex at his hotel and went to a new local coffee shop to chat.  At first, it felt like I was doing all of the talking, breaking the ice between Thanh and Alex.  It was quite funny.  After that, Thanh took us to a Vietnamese local restaurant for a Hue specialty, Mushroom Rice, which consists of rice, clam mushrooms and peanuts.  It was really good.  After that we walked around the central part of Hue until we made our way back to our hotel. 

I had a nap for a few hours because I didn't get much sleep the night before and then headed out for dinner and a drink.  Went to Why Not pub and had some local brew (not bad - nothing like a beer with iconic religious imagery on the label!) and watched some of the Olympics!  The snowboarding events have been amazing to watch!  Go Canada Go!

More soon...
xo

Streets of Hanoi

I have literally walked all around the entire city of Hanoi and am ready to move on.  The streets are starting to get busier again and more and more stores are starting to open, but still there isn't a lot to do here.  Today Anna, Sabrina and I walked to Ho Tay or West Lake.  The lake was really pretty and the oldest pagoda in Hanoi sits along the edge of it..  So far it's been the most beautiful and well-maintained pagoda.

We found another Vietnmese restaurant to try some different Vietnamese dishes for lunch.  We ate some really tastey spring rolls with beef and cilantro - so simple yet so good.  They use a lot of cilantro here which I love!  I'm always a little nervous about eating the beef or any kind of meat in these places in case it might be dog.... ugh.  They actually rasie dogs to eat here.  The thought is totally repulsive.  Maybe it's time to become vegetarian.

While we were there we met this really lovely couple from England, Ann and Allen. They were staying at the Sofitel Hotel, a really nice hotel on West Lake.  They were telling us of the great view of the city and of the lake from their hotel.  The plan was to go up the the rooftop to see the view but it was closed so we saw the view from their hotel room.  I know, how random (and something I wouldn't have done if I was on my own, don't worry).  But they were really sweet. And Sabrina is a police officer so it was all good.  The view was spectacular (the pictures don't do it justice) and the conversation was great.  I almost didn't think we wouldn't get out of there because we were chatting so much.

I've enjoyed being in Hanoi for a while however I'm definitely ready to move on. There's part of me that really wants to stay in one place, really get to know an area by really living there. But I've been in Hanoi for just a week and a half and I am already bored.  Maybe it's because of Tet and there's really not much to do here or maybe it's the guilt I feel that I wouldn't be taking advantage of being in this part of the world and seeing as much as I can. 

I'm still trying to figure out what I really want out of this trip and the time I'm spending away.  I'm not sure how Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat. Pray. Love) didn't go out of her mind of boredom staying in one place for so long!  The month long Yoga course in India shall be interesting!  Am I going to be able to be stay put for that long?  In a tiny town with not much else to do but get my chakras aligned? Oh God, who knows!?

More soon...
xo

A day in Paris?

Last night I met up with Anna and Sabrina, two really nice girls I met from Germany.  We had a great dinner eating Pho at a roadside food stall/restaurant.  I've been nervous to eat at some of these places because they aren't the cleanest of places and who know how or where they wash the dishes... Strength in numbers, right?  Haha.

Afterwards we went to Moca Cafe for Mango Lassies.  This place litterally could be in Vancouver -  it's funky with a warehouse vibe, exposed brick and black and white tile floor.  We had a good laugh over the fact that I questioned Anna (in my head) yesterday when she told me that she was a police officer back in Germany.  First, she doesn't look like she'd be a police officer for at all, she's a pretty, petite blonde and very sweet and second, before I left for this trip I was reading about traveling solo as a woman and one of the suggestions was to tell people that you were a police officer to make people think twice about messing with you!  Haha.  So I was wondering if she was telling the truth because she was traveling on her own at the time.  So when we met up today I was asking her some more questions about her work and true enough she is, in fact, a police officer.  It was funny.  Don't judge a book by it's cover!

Today was a great day.  Most things are still closed here in Hanoi (some things will be closed up to 10 days for Tet, Chinese New Year) so there is nothing much to do here.  And while I'm still trying to get over this cold I've had for a week, I kept it low key.  So this afternoon, I sat in a French Cafe for hours, drinking coffee, eating French pastry and reading my book.  It was a relaxing afternoon.  It felt like I was in Paris.  It was lovely.  And I finished my book. (Yay! One thing I can get rid of!  My backpack is WAY too heay!)

Tonight I met up with Anna and Sabrina again for dinner.  We tried the roadside food stall kiddy corner to the one we ate at last night.  While we ate Pho last night, this food stall barbequed different meats and mushrooms.  We ate crab, beef skewers, salmon and even tried these huge snails and frog (which takes a lot like chicken).  Sabrina was the brave one to order the frog. It was all very delicious.  The roadside stands/restaurants are everywhere but you stick with the ones that are ALWAYS busy.  They have these tiny plastic tables and stools which are all numbered so they can keep track of what you order.  The stools are so low that your knees feel like they are in your throat, literally.  You order by going up to this big table where all of the raw meat and mushrooms are and you just point to what you'd like to eat.  The hostess takes what you've picked and throws into a plastic container and takes it over to the two guys doing all of the barbequeing on this little metal spit/grill.  When it's cooked they pick up the cooked piece with their hands or put it on this tray and bring it over to and throw it on your plate (it's so busy and they are moving very quickly.)  These food stalls would be shut down in Canada in a heart-beat because of health regulations!  But it was really good and a must when you are here!

Afterwards we went out for some celebratory Mango Lassies because Sabrina got her passport back today and all her credit cards, which she lost 2 days ago in Halong Bay!  What a relief!

It was a really good at the time but now my stomach is not feeling so great ; )  Maybe the frogs legs?  Where are my Tums? Ugh.

A new year in Hanoi.

Happy Chinese New Year!  Today is the first day of the lunar new year.  The streets are really quiet as everyone is visiting with their families and visiting pagodas (Chinese New Year is like our Christmas).  So the streets are peaceful versus the usual stampede of motorcycles, cars and people.  It's quite nice. 

There are only a few places open today so I'm sitting in a coffee house called "Highlands" with ALL of the other tourists in Hanoi.  People need to eat!

Yesterday was also a quiet day in the streets with only foreigners wandering about.  However last night the celebrations began in the city with stages of singers and dancers and a fireworks display at midnight on Hoan Kiem Lake (the lake in the middle of Hanoi.)  One thing is for sure, no matter where you live, fireworks bring out the people in droves. 

Tonight I will meet up with Anna, a woman from Gernany, who I met on my day trip to the Perfume Pagoda and her friend, who arrives today from Germany, for New Year's dinner.  Hopefully there will another place open or we'll end up back here!

So far the trip has been good.  It's hard to believe that I've been gone for three weeks already.  Was up in Halong Bay for 3 days and 2 nights.  It was absolutely stunning.  The landscape is mystic, something right out of a movie.  We explored some caves, trekked up a mountain (an hour and a half climb straight up!), slept on a Junk boat over night (well, sleeping is an exaggeration because I stayed up all night preparing to defend myself against the rats in the walls...It's hard to sleep when all you hear is the pitter patter of rats running in the walls!), one night in a bungalow on a private beach, kayaking around the floating villages (like the real-life Water World!) and a bonfire on the beach.  I was with a great group of people from all over the world.  So lots of great conversation about home-life, work (or lack of) and traveling.  I may cross paths with some of them again. 

I've been in Hanoi for almost two weeks now.  I kind of got stuck here in because all of the Vietnamese travel during this time and with my intentional lack of planning, there was not a plane, train, or automobile that could get me to my next stop.  While I would would have chosen to be somewhere else for an extended stay, it's been great not moving around every other day.  And I've really got to know the streets of Hanoi - even ran errands the other day like a local - haha... a little grocery shopping, the post office, laundry etc.  It was kind of fun. 

Hanoi is crazy busy - people and cars everywhere on a typical day  - day and night.  The pollution is intense.  The government makes some serious steps to clean up the city and calm the dust for Tet (Chinese New Year).  Cleaning up the streets, putting a fresh coat of paint on, etc., it seems like the entire city is in on it.  The garbage pick up occurs daily and consists of one person pushing a huge metal bin on wheels ringing a bell to let the shop owners know that they are in front of their store.

The Vietnamese people are very kind and helpful, although most people you ask on the street have no idea how to read a map and/or know any English and are constantly pointing you in the wrong direction!  You can ask three different people on the same block for directions and they will all point you in a different direction!  Best to ask someone in a travel agency or hotel!  Needless to say, my map-reading skills are improving at a rapid pace.

I feel super safe here traveling on my own.  Like I said, the people are really friendly.  There are a lot of people who approach you to buy things or take a cylco ride or offer their taxi service.  It's almost as bad as Thailand but you smile politely, say no thank-you and keep walking.  You learn very quickly that if you stop you'll be there for a while.

Off for dinner!

More soon....
xo

A shirt and a Beamer.

Today I spent the day wandering about Siam Square. Siam Square is a really nice shopping area. The malls, Discovery Siam and Siam Paragon are super high-end. Fun to walk around to look at all of the latest trends here from concepts stores and furniture, clothes, of course, and cars...BMW is on the 3rd floor... "Honey, I just need to run to the mall to pick up a couple of shirts and a Beamer. Be right back."

People are super friendly and want to practice speaking English with you. Oh and tell you where some great deals are to be found. One woman in her 40s came up to me to chat because she's been learning English... oh and to tell me where I could get a great deal on jewelry! She was very sweet and pointed out a few places on the map. Of course all of the deals are only for today and the stores close at 4pm. Haha!

It's nice to just wander about. Yesterday I went to MBK which is a cheaper mall with floors upon floors of what seems like just cell phone stores. I've never seen so many in one place! A lot of the malls here are 4 or 5 stories. It seems crazy.

Tomorrow I'm off to Hanoi. Tickets booked, Visa acquired and hotel pending.

More soon... with pictures hopefully!

xo