Vietnam
We arrived in the tiny Vientaine International Airport in plenty of time and before long we were winging our way to Vietnam's capital, Hanoi. We had barely taken off before we seemed to be making our way back down, and I decided to whip out the trusty Lonely Planet and see if we could rustle up somewhere to stay.
We settled on a place which sounded good and, after collecting our bags and changing a small amount of money we hopped into a waiting taxi and sped off. I had read about scams which go on in Hanoi and more particularily Ho Chi Minh City whereby the taxi driver will take you to another hotel which pays him commision and tell you the place you are after is dirty, closed down or any other nosense they can come up with to get you go elsewhere. So when we pulled up to a hotel we didn't want to go to I wasn't surprised. I didn't think our driver even listened to us telling him the name of the place we were after. The proprietor of the place we didn't want to go to came out and opened my door. I told him the name of where we were really trying to go and he said "this is it". I pointed to the name above the door of his establishment and said we were looking for a different place. He told me not to worry, the name above his door was "just a nickname". Good one. I closed the door and we drove off into the sunset.
Hoan Kim Lake as seen from the restaurant we ate in.
After one more stop at a commission paying place we got it straight with the driver that we wanted to go to a specific address so he took us there directly. We hopped out and slung our bags on our backs and marched down the filthy alley which (we hopped) had a beautiful guesthouse at the end of it. We all felt a little nervous I think, given that it was after 8 and was dark, and Hanoi's a pretty hectic place. We headed down the alley and came to the place we were looking for, but it was closed down for refurbishments. Fantastic! Thankfully there were a few other places nearby and we checked out one of them but it was full. The owner knew another place and she rang them and we all marched off with our bags on our backs. When we arrived we discovered that she had forgot to ask if there were rooms available when she rang (I don't know what she actually asked) so we had to traipse all the way back over to her place because she assured us she knew another hotel. Off we went and this time Steven and I waited with the bags while Donna and Sheena checked out the standards of the next place. We waited, exhausted for what seemed like ages, both hoping the place would be acceptable. We were both relieved to learn that the girls had given it the all clear, so we set off again with our 20 KG bags on our back. Unfortunately that place wasd only available for one night, but guess what?...they knew someone else too. And so the Paradise Hotel became our home for our first night in Vietnam.
Next morning we arose relatively early and made our way to the Sunrise Hotel and negotiated them down to a not too steep price of US$11 per double room per night (the Paradise had been $17). We were trying to be proactive in Vietnam, knowing we only had twenty days there so the next day's plan involved a trip to the train station. First we checked the prices with a few agencies in Hanoi Old Quarter (where we were staying) and they were more expensive then what we were quoted in the Lonely Planet so thinking we could get ourselves a bargain and trying to be independant we made our way to the train station. It turned out to be somewhat confusing. The ticket prices were around the same as the agency had quoted and we were also being told that we couldn't buy "soft sleeper" bad only the far more uncomfortable "hard sleeper". The staff there also were obviously not used to dealing with English speakers.
After our failed attempt to get tickets for ourselves we took some time out to walk alongside Hoan Kiem Lake around which the Old Quarter is located. We relaxed with a can of 7Up on a bench beside the lake and then crossed the Huc Bridge onto a small island on the lake to view the Ngoc Son (Jade Mountain) Temple. The temple was nothing too spectacular but there were a few pairs of old men playing Chinese Chess which was interesting to see. I was tempted to challenge one of them but being that I'm not too sure of the rules of Chinese Chess I decided against it. They wouldn't have stood a chance against me anyway.
After this we crossed the road and walked up the street a little to the Municipal Water Puppet Theatre. Water Puppetry is an ancient artform originating in Northern Vietnam and it was very entertaining indeed. There were a number of different vignettes including a boy returning from university and the ensuing celebration, the battle between a fisherman and his prey, a farmer fighting against a cat who was destroying his crops and some sort of fire breathing dragons doing a funky dance (they really were fire breathing, which was quite a cool effect).The puppet masters were very skilful; they use long poles to control the puppets from behind a curtain and the water (which forms the stage) is murky so as to hide the workings. Apparently the puppet masters used to suffer many ill effects from being immersed in water all day so they now wear thigh high waders. The music is also an important part of the performance and is played live by musicians to the side of the stage. It was a high point of the performance for me although the level was a little ear piercing at times.
After the Water Puppet show we went to a nearby restaurant which had a great view of Hoan Kiem Lake. There was also a football match between Vietnam and I forget who on the TV. Vietnam scored about three goals in the first half which was enjoyable to see. Unfortunately the atmosphere wasn't exactly electric as most of the clientel seemed to be Americans who didn't give a shit if their host nation were involved in a momentous sporting occasion. We had a meal there and then headed back to the hotel on a cyclo (pronounced by the locals as siclo. A cyclo is another name for a rickshaw with the seat in front of the bike).
When we did arrive at our destination (after a couple of near death experiences) our driver insisted he would wait for us and we could pay him later. We then discovered that the Museum of Vietnamese History was closed for lunch. We would have known that had we checked the Lonely Planet, but having neglected to do our research we were left feeling a little silly. Thankfully our cyclo driver came to the rescue, letting us know that he would be willing to take us to the Temple of Literature and then back to the Museum of Vietnamese History (for an extra payment, of course). We spent a few moments negotiating what the final payment would be, and settled on a mere 100,000 Dong (five euros) for each cyclo. So we set off on another death defying journey across town and arrived safely at the Temple of Literature. This temple was founded in 1070 and dedictated to Confucius and included some fine examples of ancient Vietnamese architecture. It was built to honour the scholars and men of literary achievment. In 1076 Vietnam's first university was founded there. (I didn't learn this information off by heart, I have the Lonely Planet sitting beside me).
Some of the grounds of the Temple of Literature.
After the Temple of Literature we met up with our drivers again and the took us back over to the history museum. It was a little dull, dealing with ancient histroy and featuring a lot of ancient tools and jewelery etc. which had been excavated from various sites around Vietnam. We unfortunately had no time for the Museum of Vietnamese Revolution which would have held more interest I believe.We then took our cyclo back to the edge of Hoan Kiem Lake and whipped out our money to pay our drivers. As it turned out there had been an apparent miscommunication and our driver began demanding an extra 20,000 dong on top of the 100,000 we had already arranged. We had agreed on 20,000 for the initial trip to the history museum and it turned out we had not been clear enough in that the 100,000 was for the whole trip. We had made this quite clear by means of a pen and a map but he was chancing his arm anyway. We kept repeated ourselves reminding him of how I had pointed out on the map the journey which we would be paying 100,000 for and when he became aware that he'd only be getting what we'd agreed on he said “okay 10,000, very cheap”. We high tailed it out of there leaving him rather annoyed.
Later that evening we went to the circus which was very entertaining. It had a story running throughout involving some sort of emperor with a big long beard and moustache and some sort of bad guys who were dressed as lizards, turtles and a whole host of other animal costumes. We didn't understand all of the story, being that it was in Vietnamese, but we were able to follow the gist of it. As part of the story there was the usual athletic displays of gymnastic ability along with elephants, dogs, goats and other animals performing tricks. It was an enjoyable night although, perhaps like all circuses some of it seemed a little cruel (such as the aligator wrestling, which involved one of the guys lifting the aligator out of the water and holding him out for us all to see).
This was the head of the bad guys with some of his cronies in the background.
The next day was Friday the 27th of October and we were up before 7 so we could have breakfast in time for our 8 AM minibus to Halong Bay. Halong Bay is about three hours north of Hanoi and the journey was relatively comfortable. We arrived about 11:30 having taken a short break around the half way mark and waited in the harbour while our guide arranged our boat. We didn't have to wait long and soon we were boarding via a narrow wooden plank. Two of the deckhands held a bamboo pole at either end of the plank to use as a bannister. Our guide turned out to be a bit of a plonker. He wasn't the worst guy I suppose, I just thought he seemed a bit bad tempered and he got annoyed when I asked him to run through our itinerary becaused he'd already said it. I just wanted to clarify something and he said “I have already explained it clearly”. We were also a little annoyed because we wanted access to our cabins straight away (we were going to be sleeping on the boat) but for some reason we couldn't leave our bags into them until after our lunch. Lunch wasn't for a few hours so we entertained ourselves by relaxing on the upper deck of the boat. The views were amazing. Halong Bay is a very popular spot on the tourist trail and we counted at least forty other boats over the weekend.
Our boat was similar to this one.
All the boats in the background to the left would have had about 12 tourists on board. Quite a prosperous tourism industry has grown up around Halong Bay.
Our first stop was at a large network of caves. The were quite cool although at one stage I knocked on a large boulder and got the distinct impression it was made of plastic. Some of the rock formations looked like dragons and our guide pointed out another set which looked like an old married couple. It is said by Vietnamese people that Halong Bay was formed when a dragon used the route as an escape into the sea. The mountains and valleys were formed by his tail and body in their hurry.
This was the view from where we exited the caves.
Our lunch consisted of seafood, rice and vegetables. Not my favourite as you will know but I do enjoy seafood in batter or breadcrumbs and fortunately this is the way it is usually served in Southeast Asia. After our lunch we were finally able to enter our cabins and I was very impressed. We had stayed in hotels with shabbier rooms than these. Of course that's not saying a whole lot, but the seemed quite comfotable, with an ensuite and small lamp and a window opening out onto the gangway. We had no electricity at that time so we had to quickly get changed to get into our clothes for kayaking.
This was another great moment when our guide annoyed me. He kept telling us to hurry up, when it was his own fault for not letting us into our rooms earlier that we took an extra couple of minutes to get ready. Sheena was a little annoyed because she wanted to go swimming which is what the others on our tour were doing while we kayaked. The itinerary we had seen in the tour office had said we would be going swimming but as it turned out we wouldn't have the chance. Anyway we grabbed our lifejackets and proceeded to where our kayaks were. We guided our boats across the huge bay, alongside the mountains raising up out of the sea and trying to avoid the paths of the large boats like ours which were criss-crossing the bay. I quite enjoyed it although Sheena hated it (she remebers it more favourably now, at the time she was annoyed about not being getting the chance to swim and also as kayaks cause her to get a sore back). It was a good feeling to be among those large boats and massive mountains on a tiny insignificant kayak. The scenery was great too.
After about 90 minutes on the water we returned to where we'd got on and climbed out, trying our best not to fall back in. Surviving unscathed we waited for the others to return. There was a small fishing community there with a few different enclosures built into the floating platforms, each filled with a different breed of fish. Soon our boat returned and we got back on board, going to our cabins for a quick shower and then back to the dining room to wait for our dinner. Dinner was similar to lunch, only this time there was some battered squid, which was delicious, if a little rubbery.
Soon everyone started going to bed, starting with the crew and followed swiftly by other members of our group in drips and drabs. It was about half nine! We had all being expecting a bit of a booze up and a bit of fun, but it wasn't meant to be. We had a comfortable nights sleep, rocking gently in the middle of the bay, surrounded by hundreds of snoring tourists on many more boats.
Dinner time!
Next morning we were up bright and early. Awoken by the boat's engines bursting to life at exactly 7AM. We got dressed and went up for breakfast, which was eggs and toast. After breakfast we went to the upper deck of the boat, enjoying the morning views and settling down for some reading (I was reading John Pilger's A Secret Country). It took a good few hours to return to Halong City, and we then waited a short while for a minibus, which took us to another reteraunt where we were treated to another seafood dinner. Battered squid and french fries! Yummy! Then we set off again on our minibus for Hanoi. The return journey was a little less comfortable than the way up, but we all survived in one piece.
That evening we clambered aboard our train for Hue. Setting off at 7 PM. There was another bunch of backpackers further up the carraige from us, among them an Irish girl named Anne-Marie from Tipperary. She was good craic. They turned out to be travelling in a big group of around eight which they had all booked seperately. Some sort of group tour with flights and some activities included in the price and some things were extra. Seemed like a bit of a crap way to travel as everything they did and everywhere they went was already predetermined.
Hue
Sunday 29th of October and we arrived into Hue train station at around 8:30 A.M. The night before on board the train we had put our names down with a guy who worked for a guesthouse in Hue. He said we could get a free pick up from the train station to his guesthouse and would be under no obligation to stay there if we didn't like it. We had heard stories in other places where you got a “free pick up” but then had to pay if you decided the place was too covered in cockroaches for your liking so we were a little sceptical. We told him as much but he was quite insistant and wrote “no obligation” and “air conditioning”, “TV”, “$10” and a couple of other things on the leaflet he had, and said to show it to reception. We figured it was worth the free pickup and the place would do for one night if we didn't lke it.
So as it turned out we got the VIP treatment upon arrival, having a man waiting with a placard with my name on it outside the station. I gave him a big friendly wave and we helped him and his friend load up the back of their minibus. Soon we were on our way to the Thai Binh II Hotel (the chap on the train the night before also worked for Thai Binh No. 1).
This bridge crosses the Perfume River. Only bicycles, motorbikes and pedestrians were allowed on this bridge, there was one for cars further down the river.
After settling into the room we took a walk around Hue, looking for somewhere to eat. We relied on the trusty old Lonely Planet as usual and it led us across the bridge pictured above to the Lac Thanh Restaurant run by the very nice Mr. Lac. Mr. Lac is a deaf mute who is quite deaf but not quite mute, as he can make some sounds. First we had lunch (I think I had french fries and battered prawns), and then Mr. Lac came up to have a chat with us. Through a combination of gestures and pictures he encouraged us to take him on the following day as our tour guide. He started by showing us a map, and pointing to the different pagodas and tombs and either giving them the thumbs up, or the thumbs down. He also drew quick sketches of one or two of them to demonstrate that there were perhaps too many people at one, or the structure was too small and not particularily impressive. He also mimed driving a motorbike and put a big fake grim on his face accompanied by an enthusiastic thumbs up. The gist of the conversation was; you can do an organised tour which costs $8 or $10 and you get a minibus with many other people and also takes you to all the sites, some of which aren't as good as others, or....you can do it Mr. Lac style, for $7 whereby we each get a mototaxi and whizz around to all the best places. He drew a picture of four people on motorbikes and the sun shining down on them and we all agreed. He would pick us up from the Thai Binh II the next morning at 8:30 AM (He initially said 8, we counter-offered (being lazy backpackers) and he suggested a compromise of half 8). After bidding our adieus to Mr. Lac and his wonderful (if slightly greasy) food we headed for the world famous Hue Citadel (which Mr. Lac had provided directions to).
The entrance to the citadel.
Six headers are better than three.
Next morning we were up bright and early for Mr. Lac's Motorbike tour. We were sitting outside the hotel waiting when at about 8:45 four motorbikes pulled up. Sheena had the honour of being Mr. Lac's passenger. We pulled off with a squeal of brakes leaving a cloud of dust behind us. First stop on the journey was Thanh Toan Bridge. The trip was a little nerve racking but we all survived in one piece. It was interesting that a deaf man could drive successfully considering that the horn is a vital tool for communication on Vietnamese roads.
posted by Alan at 10:11 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home