Vietnam

We just got back from spending our Christmas holiday in Vietnam.

Normally, we like to arrange our own travel, but we got a late start organizing this trip. That, combined with the holiday rush, we had to rely on a travel agent to make the arrangements. I never used a travel agent before, and they definitely made our planning easier.

But they also made the trip more expensive. And the more busy. Normally we’d leave ourselves tons of free time to just explore whatever and whenever we feel like. But the travel agent crammed all kinds of activities into our trip.

We’ll plan our next trip ourselves, now that we know the basics of traveling in Vietnam.

We started in Hanoi, where we stayed at the Melia Hotel. This was a Spanish-owned hotel (or at least a Spanish-themed hotel), as all the facilities had vaguely Spanish names, such as El Patio Restaurant, Cava Lounge, and the Latino Bar where we finished most evenings with tapas and cocktails.

For our first day in Hanoi, we took a rickshaw tour of Hanoi’s Old Quarter and walked around the shops.



We also learned how to cross the street. There are almost no traffic signals, and the few in place are largely ignored. You learn to walk slowly but confidently through the traffic, don’t change pace, don’t hesitate. The motorbikes and cars will flow around you like water. Nobody can move fast anyway, so you won’t get hurt too badly if you get hit.



The next day, we visited the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and His Former Residences.

We also visited the Vietnam War History Museum. As Americans, we immediately think of "The" Vietnam War, meaning the American war in Vietnam.

But for the Vietnamese, their war history begins long before that, with the battles against Mongol and Chinese generals thousands of years ago, and continuously through hundreds of years under Chinese rule.

Of course, the War History Museum eventually makes its way to the French colonial wars leading to The Vietnam War that we Americans think about. We all have a general familiarity with the facts of the Vietnam War. But it was enlightening to see it conveyed from another point of view, as perceived from the Vietnamese side.

We took a two-day side trip from Hanoi to visit Halong Bay, at the mouth of the Red River Delta.

The bay is one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites, filled with thousands of limestone rock islands.

We climbed to the peak of one island. Some of the islands have large caves. We explored one island cave by foot. Some caves open only to the water, and I explored one bat-filled cave by kayak. While I was out kayaking in the dark, Deanna visited a floating fishing village.



I also attempted squid fishing, without any luck (or skill, I might add).

For Christmas Eve, we spent the night on the bay, cruising in a wooden junk, designed and furnished in traditional Vietnamese style, but fitted for leisure travelers like us.

They offered nice comfortable accommodations, better than many hotels I’ve stayed at. We had Christmas dinner on the boat, with Vietnamese/Asian food and a traditional western-style holiday feast of turkey, stuffing, gravy; everything you’d expect for Christmas dinner in Vietnam.



The next day our fellow boat-mates took a Tai Chi lesson on the sun deck. We ignored them and slept late.

After breakfast on the boat, we cruised back to the port, where our guide and driver met us for the journey back up along the Red River Delta and returned us to Hanoi. Along the way, we marveled at the locals carrying their goods on motorbikes to sell at the local markets.

What is the most you’ve ever carried on a bike or motorcycle?

A flock of ducks:


A clutch of chickens:


Three dozens dustbrooms:


A roll of six foot-high fencing:


A small cow (yes, a cow, there were pigs too, but I didn't get the photo):


A flower garden:


Several barrels of water:


A carton of toilet paper:


Seventeen cases of bottled water (including 3 cases on your lap):


Your two best friends:


A nuclear family:


Everything else:


Back in Hanoi, we checked back into the Melia Hotel for the next two nights. We spent our last days in Hanoi wandering around the Old Quarter. We bought some local art to bring home. We hung out at various cafes. We watched the traffic. We practiced crossing the street. We saw a water puppet show (which was touristy but surprisingly good, even though we didn’t understand any of the Vietnamese). We got caught in the rain.