A great couple of days

Hello from Hanoi,

It's Wednesday evening. I've been having a great time since I last updated you all. Let's go back.

On Saturday morning, in Ninh Binh, I got a relatively early start on the day. After a breakfast of really bad pho, I rented a motorbike from the hotel. I drove out about 10 km from town towards Tam Coc. Along the way, there was spectacular scenery. There's tons of crazy rock formations shooting up from the rice paddies. I stopped many times jsut to take photos. It was really beautiful, despite the grey skies.

I arrived at Tam Coc and hired a boat with a rower to take me out ont he water through the caves in the area. It was a really pleasant ride, tons more of the rock formations on the banks and coming out from the water as well. The boat went through 3 caves as well, before heading back.

After the boat trip, I got lunch nearby. The area is famous for goat. The goat was alright. It pretty much had been sauteed and had sesame seeds and such; it was served with steamed rice.

This fellow (and plenty of his friends) was walking around outside

I took off on my motorbike, headed towards Hoa Lu. I took a less than smooth road for 8 km or so (just go slowly). It was a good experience though. I got to see lots of cool stuff.

After some more driving, I arrived in Hoa Lu, the ancient capital of Vietnam. I visited a temple on top of one of the rock formations. Honestly, it wasn't very exciting. The 168 steps to the top weren't exciting either. I didn't have a local map so I couldn't find the old citadel or any other sights in the city. I tooled around ont he motorbike some more before making my way back to Ninh Binh. It was getting to be evening by the point I got back.

After returning the bike, I went out for dinner. It was chicken in a rice porridge. It was ok.

The next morning I caught the bus to Haiphong. A few hours later I arrived. Haiphong is Vietnam's 3rd largest city, an important port, and is a few hours southeast of Hanoi.

I had a breakfast of noodle soup at a stall in an alley. It was really good. I had never had that kind of noodle before, they were flat and thin and firm and brown. The woman working the stall, seemed thrilled that I wanted to eat there and took good care of me.

I was really just going to Haiphong to make my way to Cat Ba Island in Ha Long Bay.

I found a hotel and checked in. My day in Haiphong was rather uneventful. I spent most of my time just walking around, getting a feel for the town. There's not a ton to do there, but it was ok. The food was really the only highlight.

I had a nice lunch. It was a streetside restaurant, real basic and casual. It seemed ot be a popular place with local men for drinking beer. I had a nice fried fish with rice. They also gave me a small plateful of little bits of room temperature pork belly in a sauce. It was all delicious (of course)/

I also ordered a snack (I think it's supposed to go along with the beer). I'm not sure if they were maggots or grubs or bamboo worms. They were something in that category. Their taste? Not my favorite, they tasted a little grubby. I've eaten worse things, though.

I did have a good dinner. Being right on the coast, Haiphong has access to great seafood. I went to a restaurant where they have the tanks of live fish and crabs and such. I had 2 steamed crabs which where very good. You dip that into a "sauce" you make by mixing salt, a bit of chili, and a squeeze of lime that they give you. I also had some really fresh, raw shrimp. They came with rice paper wrappers, herbs, sour pineapple and another vegetable I couldn't figure out. You assemble it as you eat it, wrapping everything in the wrapper (makes sense) and dip it in the sauce. The sauce had some really powerful, pungent mustard (like wasabi or horseradish kinda). That was very good as well.

The next morning, I headed to the ferry terminal for the boat. Sold out. Darn.

But, of course, there was someone nearby who could help me. They had a bus that left at 10 (an hour later than the ferry) to take us to a boat outside the city. That boat went to Cat Ba island. There, we would catch another bus to take us to the main town. It, of course, costs a lot more than the regular ferry (which I believe goes directly to the main town ferry terminal). There was an Australian couple, Barbara and Tony, who were in the same situation. After discussing the options (there were other, slower, boats later in the day, and tickets for the ferry the next morning etc), we all decided to take the bus-boat-bus option.

After hanging around for a while we boarded the bus. In it's entirety, the trip took a little over an hour and a half. The journey was spent chatting with Tony and Barbara. They had been traveling around Australia for a while and decided to come to Vietnam for a few weeks. I wound up seeing them a lot around Cat Ba. The bus arrived in Cat Ba town. We wound up staying in the same hotel that we dounf (or rather, it found us). My room was very cheap but was very comfortable. It had an excellent view of the harbor.

After a quick bite to eat (I can't remember what it was) I decided on my activity for the day. I rented a motorbike to cruise around the island. The island is famous for its landscape. I had heard it's stunning, and it was. It was great fun cruising around on the motorbike through the mountains and such. There was little traffic and the roads were in good condition. I managed to do about 75 km (45 miles or so). The pictures don't really do it justice, but they're better than words, so I'll let them explain.

That evening I booked a one day tour of Ha Long Bay. I arranged so I would transfer boats after lunch on the boat. I would continue the tour a bit and late in the afternoon, get dropped off at Ha Long City by the second boat. From Ha Long city I would catch the bus to Hanoi. It wound up working out in the end which was good.

After booking the tour, I had another seafood dinner. This time I had a grilled crab, a grilled fish, and some steamed "lobsters." I think the lobsters were really mantis shrimp. Whatever they were, I was excited to try them, as I'd never had whatever they were before. All the food was excellent, very fresh (the "lobsters" and crabs were alive right until they were cooked) and delicious.


After dinner I walked around town. Tony and Barbara, who were with anbother couple they had just met, were having drinks at a bar open to the street, and called me over as I passed. It was a fun evening just hanging out.

The next morning I checked out of the hotel and boarded the boat at the harbor in town. There was about 10 people in total, including a Vietnamese family. The boat itself was nice. It was set up so you could sit on the roof which gave even better views. The scenery was awesome. Ha Long Bay is one of the most popular destinations in Vietnam, and for good reason. The islands are really bizarre. Ha Long Bay had my favorite scenery of my whole trip. I thoroughly enjoyed just hanging out watching it all pass by. Once again, while the pictures can't do it justice, I'll let them explain.

The boat stopped at 2 islands with caves along the way. The caves were really crazy looking inside with the stalactites and stalagmites. I got talking to an Australian couple, Quang and Bill, who were on the same tour, as we went through the caves. Quang's parents were from Singapore and he's been there about 20 times. He was crazy about food, too. We talked at length about all the food in Singapore, as well as in Vietnam.

After the second island we had lunch on the boat while it was docked. It was very good. There was fried spring rolls, sauteed water spinach with garlic, and fried whole fishes, all served with rice. After lunch I boarded the other boat, which was headed to Ha Long City with a different tour.

I was led up to the top of the boat (this one was much larger). Everyone else was down below, but I stayed put. We passed more good scenery. The boat stopped at an island. The main attraction here was the beach and the view from the top of a rock formation. I walked around on the beach some (it wasn't very large) and got my feet wet. It dawned on me that I've now been in 3 oceans (Atlantic, Indian when I was in Malaysia and Thailand, and now the Pacific). Cool.

After, that I walked up to the top of the rock formation up a bunch of steep steps. There was a really good view at the top, though I was quite tired. The area at the top was set up nicley with a small pavillion and a drinks seller.

I also got swarmed by a pack of ravenous Vietnamese college girls (I mean, I'm not complaining or anything). I was the only Westerner around and they locked their sights on me. They all tried speaking English with me, asking questions which included, how old I was, and if I was single, and plenty more. When I asked if I could take their picture they went nuts. After I snapped one, they grabbed me by the arms and pulled me into their group and had me give my camera to another tourist so I would have a picture with them. Don't forget the ubiquitous peace sign when having your picture taken in Asia.

It turns out they were the other passengers on my boat. When it was time to board the boat they invited me to sit with them on the lower deck. The continued chatting with me, asking more questions. They also tried to get me to sing for them, which I politely declined to do. Then one of the girls, who I guess organized the trip, started the activities. Snacks were distributed to everyone (me included). Then certain people were selected, taking turns, leading the whole group in Vietnamese songs. Everyone sang and clapped their hands to the beat. It was almost as bizarre as Ha Long Bay itself. I just smiled and took their cue to clap my hands along as well.

Eventually we arrived in Ha Long City. I said goodbye to my new friends and headed off. I wandered out and found a motorbike taxi to take me to the bus station. I arrived at the station and got a bus, they leave like every 20 minutes which is convenient. The bus was really nice, even nicer than Malaysian buses (which were excellent). It had wide, reclining seats, and plenty of space between my seat and the seat in front of me (unlike the reclining seats on Thai buses).

We arrived in Hanoi around 8:30 pm (3 and a half hour bus ride). I caught a motorbike taxi to take me to the hostel I wanted to stay at. I arrived and booked a bed in a dorm. It's a nice, clean, safe place with a good atmosphere.

I ventured out in search of dinner. I happened upon a street place (operating out of the front of someone's home) that was selling fried goodies. It wasn't really dinner food as much s snack food. Whatever, it was good. I had a big spring roll, and some other big fried items that are hard to describe. they were greasy and delicious. They came with a bowl of nuoc cham (fish sauce-lime juice-sugar-water) with vegetables in it and such in it. This was for dipping. There was also a plate of herbs served for snacking (you dip those in as well).

There was another traveler, Tom from London (and turned out to be staying in the same dorm), sitting at the next table over and we got to talking. We discussed food and travel and such. In talking about food we began discussing the famous (or maybe infamous) cobra heart (I'll explain more soon). Anyways, we both wanted to try it, and agreed to get some the next day.

Late this morning Tom and I went out to Le Mat, the snake village. We went to a restaurant which was suggested to us. Le Mat is a bit outside Hanoi (though I think it's still technically part of the city, I'm not sure).

We got to the restaurant and there they were. There was a big cage full of snakes, including cobras. After discussing with the the woman working there (I think it was the owner) we were brought out to the dining area. It was quite nice, it was all on covered bamboo platforms on a little pond. We were brought to our table and they brought out the live cobra (there's no pictures of this ordeal, but there is video which I will get up eventually). Yes, they are poisonous. First they showed it to us. They coaxed some of the venom out onto the floor to show us. They then took it, belly up and cleaned its underside by pouring alcohol then water on it (I think, it was 2 clear liquids). The slit its "chest" to expose the organs, including the beating heart. They made a snip below the heart and bled it into a cup. They then snipped out the heart completely and put it into a little shot glass. It continued to beat while in the glass. They gave it to me, poured in a little alcohol (some kind of vodka or something) and I shot it down. I held it in my mouth for a second, and yes, it was still beating.

They then brought out a second snake and repeated the whole process for Tom. They carried the snake off to the kitchen as well. After we sat back down from watching they gave us 2 drinks. One was the snakes' blood mixed with a little alcohol and the other was the snakes' bile mixed with some alcohol. We toasted and took the shot of blood. Yummy. Actually, it wasn't bad, not a ton of flavor mostly the alcohol. We then took the shot of bile. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't good either. It definitely had the taste of bile, though.

(Hey Tom, hope you're reading this)

We then began the lunch. It was a multi-course meal prepared from the snakes. All the food was very good. We both enjoyed it. First we had some fried snake spring rolls with soy sauce for dipping. These were tasty and crispy.

Then there was fried pieces of snake meat in some kind of wrapper with fish sauce for dipping. They were tender and meaty and delicious.



Next was sauteed snake with lemongrass. This was very pleasant, good texture.

We had big grilled pieces. These pieces were a little smoky, and tough.


We were then served fried snake bones. They had been crushed up a bit and mixed with some other items for flavor. There was a big fried cracker-like disc (similar to a papadum) that is broken into pieces and used like a chip to eat the snake bones with (like chips and dip).




There was the plate of various snake parts. There was definitely fat, skin and liver. There were some other parts I'm not too sure of, maybe stomach. The fat practically melted in the mouth. The skin was a lot less tough than I thought it would be, and was good. The liver wasn't as strongly flavored as other kinds of animal livers, but was quite firm and tasty. This dish was probably my favorite (fat in particular), though the bones were a close second.

The skin

The fat

We had one more dish. It was mainly rice, I think it had been cooked with rendered snake fat or something. While the staff spoke decent English, and explained everything well, this one dish was hard to communicate for some reason. It was a good dish.

In addition to everything, there was free alcohol, as much as we wanted. Of course, the alcohol wasn't just regular alcohol. It (probably vodka) had been infused with various ingredients. There was a whole list of different choices. They all had "medicinal" properties, of course.

We had to try a bunch of different kinds during and after our meal. Every time we ordered one, they would fill up a small bottle and bring it to us at the table. That was wayyy too much, we only took small shots as to taste each one. They also showed us the big bottles where it was infusing. There were 2 herbal/plant ones they had given us. Those tasted leafy. Then there were the more interesting ones. The seahorse alcohol didn't have much of a flavor other than alcohol. The gecko alcohol tasted swampy, blech. She said this one is good for the liver. The venomous snake head alcohol also had a little bit of a swampy taste. She said this one is good for the digestive tract. Then, there was the snake penis wine. Yes, snakes do have penises. She made sure to even deposit a few of them into the little bottle she gave to us. This one also tasted a little swampy. She said this one is good for... well... you know...

She gave us way more than anyone could possibly drink

After the great meal we headed back to the hostel. I took a good long nap. I honestly didn't accomplish much else the rest of the day. I worked on this post for quite a bit of the evening. I did have a good dinner late night. It was another kind of noodle soup, I forget the name. The place was buzzing with people though, so it had to be delicious. It was. They were the long, white, round, thin rice noodles. It had a light broth and all sorts of goodies. There were a few hunks of blood cake (coagulated blood), a pieces of fried tofu, another fried item I couldn't figure out, scallions, tomatoes. My favorite part was the piece of pig's foot. If you've never had pig's food, you've ought to try it. It's got the bone with all this soft tissue on it. There's not really any muscle. It's fatty, and there's tendon and other good stuff. It's got this pleasant sticky quality that kinda glues your lips together. Then there's the awesome skin on it, too. It had been cooked really slowly; it was very tender.

Well that does it for me. I should spend a few more days in Hanoi. I want to see some of the city, such as Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum; he was preserved a la Stalin, Lenin, and Mao and lies in state. There's lots else to see in the city too. And of course, I'll eat some good food. After Hanoi
I'll be heading west and then north into the mountains.

Well, I should go to bed.

Peace out,

Mike

PS Thanks again for everyone's great comments. I still enjoy reading them very much.

Heading north

Howdy from Ninh Binh


It's Friday evening.

Monday was another grey day with occasional rain. In the late morning I boarded the train in Hue, heading to Dong Ha. I was in the cheap seats. An hour journey cost 18,000 dong, about $1.10 US. It was a hard seat. It was really a wooden bench with full back, I shared with another person. The benches were arranged so that 2 benches faced eachother, thus allowing families and such to talk and spend the trip together. The atmosphere in this car was quite communal, and was a bit of a circus. The racks above the seat were already packed to the brim, my big backpack had to go under the bench, but really only fit about halfway in. My day pack had to stay on my lap.


On the previous train, the one going to Hue, I was in the soft-seats with aircon, which I think I was given automatically by that ticket seller because I was a foreigner. There were other Westerners on board, and thus we were no big deal. This train, the one going to Dong Ha, was one of the more basic ones, and all that had been available was the hard seats. It was all Vietnamese on board. Therefore, I, being anything but Vietnamese, was quite the attraction for the people in the train. The 'booth' I was in had 3 women who were obviously family, though I'm not sure how they were related. They were nice (although we spoke no common language). They shared their oranges and longans with me. We were able to communicate the basics (through gesturing and proper nouns), such as my name, their names, where I'm going, where I've been, where I'm from etc. The women in the booth across the aisle also were saying hello and such. They shared some of their food with me. They gave me a package with banana leave pieces as the wrapper. I unwrapped it, it was the pounded glutinous rice in a block form. I began to eat it, it didn't have much flavor, but it was ok. Then I discovered the filling inside. GROSS!!!! Oh crap this was the most disgusting thing I'v eaten on this trip. I have no idea what it was, but it was putrid. I can hardly begin to describe to you how awful it was. I have absolutely no idea what it was, but, man, I hope I never encounter it again. It literally made me gag. I tried my best to hide my disgust, which I think I did a pretty good job of doing, given its awfulness. They were able to tell I didn't like it, and I'm pretty sure they weren't offended. They had a laugh about it and assured me I didn't need to finish it. A bit of a sticky situation, but turned out ok.


As the train journey went on, I had noticed a guy nearby, probably about my age, looking over. For some reason I sensed that he spoke English (probably because he appeared wealthy, which around here usually means well educated and thus capable in English). Sure enough, he finally engaged me in conversation in English. He was eager to translate, which made things a lot easier for everyone. I only wish he had spoken up earlier, oh well.


After a little over an hour, the train arrived in Dong Ha. I said goodbye to my new friends. I caught a motorbike to the hotel I planned to stay at. I checked in, took a little rest, and explored the town. I had a late lunch of chicken fried rice, ok, but not great. I found the market, which was surpisingly large for a town of this size (58,000 people). A good part of it is in a large permanent building. I picked up some fruit and had a looksee. There was a lot of activity, and everything one needs, from produce, to tools, to haircuts, to flowers, to live poultry and seafood.


I walked through the town more. In the town center there is a proudly-displayed destroyed American tank along with some other war machine. Welcome to the DMZ (more later).


I slowly made my way back to the hotel. I wanted to stop in the park to take pictures of a statue I had seen earlier (sorry, I forgot to bring my camera to the internet cafe). Anyways, there were about 15-20 school kids, still in their uniforms, hanging around. Of course, I got the chorus of "hello"s. They were all eager to greet me, I kinda noticed not many foreigners walk around this town (it's pretty much just a launching point for DMZ tours, which appeals to a limited number of people, mostly Americans). Then, they saw me pull out the camera to take pictures of the statue. They went absolutely bonkers. They were screaming and waving and jumping. They all wanted their pictures to be taken. I took some photos and they kept screaming and jumping and posing. They just wouldn't wear out. So, I obliged and took more photos. Every few shots they would run over to see the results on the LCD. After that, they would start screaming and jumping again and holding up the peace sign (I have no idea why, but so many people here pose for the camera holding up the peace sign). They asked where I was from. Upon hearing "America" their faces lit up even more. These kids were nuts. They started cheering and jumping more. Eventually, I said goodbye, and they all screamed goodbye in unison. Soon, some of them caught up to me on their bicycles. They obviously wanted more pictures, so I snapped a few. When the others, who were hanging out where I had left, saw the camera again, they all ran over for more photos. Everything repeated. More kids, not part of the original group came running over shouting hello and so on.


I finally made it out and went to the hotel to hang out for a bit. It was then I met a fellow at the hotel, Tin, to take me on a motorbike tour of the DMZ. We agreed on the plans and would head out the next morning. I went out for dinner and found a rice stall nearby. I had a plate of rice with big hunks of stewed pork belly. Awesome. You all know how much I like pork belly. Sure, it's extraordinarily unhealthy, but it's delicious. I had some stewed greens with it as well, which were very tasty. I washed it all down with a cold tamarind juice.


The next morning, Tuesday, it was pouring rain. I was afraid of this, it was already raining the night before. Nonetheless, Tin was there ready to go with his motorbike. He gave me a poncho and a helmet and we were off. Tin is a South Vietnamese veteran of the war.


In case you're not aware, the DMZ (demilitarized zone) was the border between South Vietnam and North Vietnam, stretching from the coast to the Lao border. It had been set in 1954 at the Geneva conference when Vietnam became independent from France. There was to be no military within 5 km of either side, thus the name. However, it became very heavily militarized during the American-Vietnam War. It had some of the most important locations and events of the war. Dong Ha is just south of it.


We headed west, towards the Lao border, on Highway 9. On the edge of town we stopped at a museum. It was mainly photographs, along with a few artifacts, about the war. It was all told from the Vietnamese side, of course. After the museum we headed out on the highways again.


We first stopped at Camp Carroll. We went up a hill, into the middle of where the camp was. The only thing of note there is a big victory monument. Most of the land had been cleared by people looking for scrap metal. Now, it's a rubber tree and vegetable plantation. None of this is really organized as a tourist attraction or anything, just a sign on the main road pointing in the direction of the base. Tin showed me a concrete platform in the field (I totally would've missed it if I looked alone). It was an hold helicopter landing pad. Around there were still scraps of sandbags. That was about it. It was definitely eerie.


We continued on. We drove past the Rockpile. A steep, formidable mountain shooting up out of the landscape. The area as a whole is rather mountainous, but this stands out. On top had been stationed one company of Marines. You can't go up it (I have no idea how one would get up there). We also went on the Dar Krong bridge. We went on some of the road that was the Ho Chi Minh Trail.


At the end we arrived in Khe Sanh, about 20 km from the Lao border. At Khe Sanh there's preserved relics form the war. There's an tank, airplane, helicopter, machine guns and such. There's a small museum about the battle of Khe Sanh. Once again, told (very obviously) from the Vietnamese side. There's old personal US military gear such as uniforms and canteens and ID cards. There's guns and wreckage on display as well. While walking out, I met 2 Americans (they, and a few other people in their group who were already on the bus, were the only others there). They were both Marine veterans who had fought at Khe Sanh. We talked for a while. They told stories about their time at Khe Sanh. We talked about lighter topics, too; one was from New York and knew all about The Culinary Institute of America.


Tin and I headed back (it was quite a distance). We stopped for lunch and had quite a spread of delcious Vietnamese food.


A little before we got to town, we arrived at a massive war cemetery. There's about 25,000 North Vietnamese soldiers buried there. There's large monuments and statues. There were people there visitng the graves. Tin got talking to one of the men there, and translated to me. It was wquite a sad story that showed the personal side of the war. The man had lost his younger brother in the war and was there burning incense and giving offerings at his grave.


We eventually headed back to the hotel. We stopped at the train station, so I could pick up a ticket. Unfortunately, there were no convenient trains the mext day. Tinn was able to set up a bus to pick me up, though. I was heading to Vinh.


The next morning, Wednesday, I met Tin outside the hotel. The weather was nice out. It had rained (between sprinkling and heavy) the whole previous day. We headed out of town and I waited by the side of the highway where the bus would come. It came, I paid (and they definitely overcharged me by quite a bit, but I had no choice...assholes) and got on board.



This isn't going to be the most comfortable ride. If I haven't mentioned it already, Vietnamese transport is built for Vietnamese people. I'm just too damn tall. The seats are really small and the seats (front to back) are very close together. Aditionally, there were big sacks of something on the floor at my seat, so my feet rested on those. The seat next to me was empty, I was in the aisle. My knees spilled out to either side of the seat. In the back of the bus, there was an area for cargo (about the last 12 feet), the bus carries various sacks and packages to be delivered along the way).



Not much later after I boarded, another person boarded and they needed the seat next to me, so I sat by the window, which was more uncomfortable, as my knees couldn't really go to the sides anymore. The guy next to me was eager to converse with me, though we spoke no common langauge he kept shouting in my ear in Vietnamese. Now, I know personal space isn't a popular idea in Vietnam, and that's fine, but this guy was overboard with it. He had no problem putting his arms in my lap and resting his torso on it when I showed him my book with a map. It got to the point wher I literally pushed him off a few times. (his behavior isn't really acceptable in Vietnam, either). He later thought it would be ok to turn to the side (so his legs were out in the aisle) and lean on his back against me and try to fall asleep. No way, dude. I once again had to push him a few times for him to get the message. He relented and sat upright. Later in the journey, as I was reading my book, he, being fascinated by my oh-so-white skin (trust me, white skin in of itself is a subject of interest for some people) decided it was ok to start stroking my arm with his fingers while he stared and studied the skin. Oh, hell no! After a firm pulling away of my arm, and a glare, he understood.



We stopped for lunch. I didn't have anything, despite my general willingness to try food that might not be 100% safe, this just looked way too dangerous to be eating; I don't want any more diarrhea. Anywho, a bunch of the guys from the bus called me over to where they were sitting on the ground. Despite them not speaking English, and I not speaking Vietnamese, we were able to communicate the usual "Where are you from?" etc. and we built a good rapport.



We all got back on the bus, and the guys who I had met outside invited me to sit with them. As the bus had run out of seats, they were all sitting in the cargo area on top of the bags and packages. Wanting to get away from Creepy Guy and the uncomfortably tiny seat, I took them up on their offer. It was actually quite comfortable. There was a lot more room, I could put my legs out and everything. It was definitely a better way to ride. We eventually got to Vinh. It took much longer than anticipated. I was picked up around 9:00 and Tin had been told I would get to Vinh before 1:30. We arrived around 3:30, and there hadn't been any traffic or other hold ups. Anyways, they dropped me on the side of the road and I hailed a xe om (motorbike taxi) to take me to the hotel.



The hotel had available rooms. I was able to get one for 100,000 Dong (about 6 bucks) a night. It came with a not-working antennae tv, hot water 2 beds, a fan, a mini-bar (just some bottles of water, cans of orange soda, and cans of beer sitting on the desk), a tea set with a tin of loose tea and a really heavy-duty, long-lasting thermos full of nearly boiling hot water for tea. The coolest thing about Giao Te Hotel... it's run by the Communist Party! That's right, it's a state-run hotel. Lots of concrete. Actually, it was alright. It wasn't uncomfortable. You know, just enough, nothing unnecessary or frivolous, but it meets one's needs (sound familiar? hmmm).


Anyways, I had a bad headache so I hung out for a while in my room. I fell asleep and awoke in the early evening. I headed out to see a little of the city, though I didn't do very much, I still had a bit of the headache. I had a simple dinner of chicken and rice with nuoc cham.

The next morning, Thursday, I went out and explored the town. I found the market and walked around there. Plenty of people said hello and such; not many tourists seem to come to Vinh. I had a nice brunch of pho bo (beef noodle soup). I walked aorund town some more and found a cafe. I settled in and had a ca phe sua da (really really strong iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk). After hanging out there for a while I went back to the hotel to plan out the rest of my day.

I went outside and found a motorbike taxi to take me to the train station; I had to buy a ticket for the next day. I was very clear in where I wanted to go, saying it both in English (which it turns out he didn't speak, fair enough) and Vietnamese. We agreed on a price (always set a price before you get a taxi ride) to take me there and take me back. Well, he took me to a place (it kinda looks liek it might be a train station) and I paid him the first half of the fare. I went inside, it was a shopping complex. I came outside and said again where I wanted to go. He only then showed that he really understood (as I thought about it more, he's full of crap). We got to the train station and he wanted another fare for that leg. I (stupidly) paid him. I went inside, got my ticket, and came out.

While waiting for my ticket in the train station I figured I should go straight to the next destination I wanted to see that day, Kim Lien. Kim Lien is the birthplace of Ho Chi Minh, about 14 km outside the city. I came out and showed the driver where I wanted to go and how much I would pay him for the round trip (which I made very clear). He was to take me to Kim Lien, then back to the hotel in Vinh. We were off.

We drove outside the city, through rice fields and such. It was quite scenic, vast fields, flooded plains, and mountains in the distance. We arrived at Kim Lien. It's nothing too exciting for someone who's not a Ho Chi Minh enthusiast. There was a shrine to Ho Chi Minh where people laid flowers and such. There was also his house where he was born (probably a recreation as it was made from straw and bamboo, but I dunno). There were lots of Vietnamese tourists there, no Westerners. Not far away is the house where he had grown up (his family moved away from Kim Lien then came back to another house). I poked around there a bit too. I got back on the motorbike with the driver and we went back to Vinh.

This is where this butthole really showed his true colors. He wanted double the fare. He wanted 1 fare for each way (even though before he acknowledged with confirmed gesturing that it was for both legs). I told him no and he started hounding me. I (stupidly) relented and gave him a little bit extra, but not the whole amount. Here's the kicker, he saw me later in the day and the next day and offered me rides again. Obviously, this buttmunch knew I wasn't going to skip out on paying the right price. If I were someone who didn't pay as I was supposed to, he wouldn't offer me anymore rides.

That evening I had a dinner of rice porridge with chicken. It was kind of unexciting, but ok.

This morning, Friday, was my last day in Vinh. I slept in a bit. I can't remember what I had for breakfast. I spent some time in a cafe drinking ca phe sua da. There were a bunch of friendly people in there hanging out. I was glad to get to the cafe when I did, it started pouring rain a minute later. I slowly drank my ca phe sua da, watching it pour outside. A few guys at a table near me said hello and smiled toawrds me. Then they handed me a tiny little cup with a clear liquid inside. They were saying something, I couldn't quite understand. They said it again. "Vodka." It was 10:30 in the morning! Well, of course I didn't want to offend, so I shot it down and they nodded approvingly. Later, as I was making my way out of the cafe, the motioned me to sit at their table. They poured another shot for me. We all toasted and drank it down. Wow... I said goodbye (xiao).

I headed back to the hotel and checked out. I hung out for the internet cafe for a while and got started on this post. It was then time to go to the train station.

I found a motorbike taxi (not from the previously mentioned driver who hangs out in the area), and stated where I wanted to go in English and Vietnamese (this guy did speak a little English). We agreed on a price. This buttmunch took me to the bus station! The Vietnamese words for bus station and train station are very different and can't be confused. After stressing that I wanted to go to the train station he indicated that he wanted double the already agreed upon fare. WTF? No way dude. When he saw that I wasn't goign to take this crap, he started making a pouty face and kept insisting. I told him that he was to take me to the train station for the already agreed fare or I was getting off the bike, not paying him anything, and I would find another driver. He kept insisting. Nearby there was somebody official-looking. I couldn't tell if he was simply a security guard or a cop, the police uniofrom looks a lot like other uniforms. It was hard to tell, but he held up 2 fingers, seemingly indicating I was to pay double. He didn't seem insistent however, and I couldn't tell for sure what he meant. Honestly, it was apparent he really didn't care. The driver eventually drove off again, taking me to the train station, still saying he wanted double. We arrived at the train station. I got off, I handed him the originally agreed upon fare (single fare) and he drove off. Buttmunch...

It seems quite odd that I encountered all this crap in such a short time, especially for an area with relatively few tourists. Vietnam has been largely hassle-free. In the previous month I had only had 2 problems with motorbike drivers. Both those incidents also involved demanding an amount larger than the agreed upon fare. Both times I had my wits about me and showed I wasn't budging. They get the picture that I'm not gonna take their crap and drive off. I don't want this post to sound bitter, it's just a weird chain of events that I encountered all these problems (overcharging on the bus, creep guy on the bus, problems with 2 bike drivers) in jsut 2 days. I honestly have had overwhelmingly positive experiences in Vietnam.

The train ride to Ninh Binh was pleasant and comfortable. It took about 4 and a half hours or so. The scenery was fantastic, despite it being a bit grey out some of the time. There were vast field with crazy-looking mountains in the distance. There were a few rock formations shooting up out of the ground by the tracks. Really cool. As dusk set in, the crazy-looking mountains were silhouettes in front of a red background. Awesome. I munched on some really fresh, sweet oranges I had picked up in Vinh. I also bought a bag of sugarcane chunks on board from the snack cart. It's just peeled sugarcane, cut into pieces, approximately the size of a wine bottle cork or a bit bigger. You just chew and suck on them and spit out the woody, fibrous pulp. A bag with about 20 pieces cost 3,000 dong (20 cents US).

I arrived in Ninh Binh in the evening. I checked into a 5 dollar a night hotel by the train. It comes with free internet access in the lobby, hot water and satellite tv. Good deal. I had a nice dinner of pork in a sweet and sour sauce with rice. That brings us up to now.

So, you mgiht be wodnering why I'm in Ninh Binh. It's not very large, only about 25,000 people. The attraction really is the surrounding area. The landscape is supposed to be spectacular. Nearby is an area called Tam Coc. It is full of rock formations on the rice paddies. There's a few caves you can take aboat through. It's sometimes called the Halong Bay of the Rice Paddies (Halong Bay is in NE Vietnam and is famous for its awesome rock formations, a real natural wonder). Also nearby is Hoa Lu, the capital of Vietnam in the 10th century and has more impressive scenery. I'm really looking forward to it.

I'm not sure where I'll be going next, possibly Hanoi. Well, that about does it for now.

Take care and goodnight,

Mike

I made my way to Hue

Hi there,

It's Sunday evening in Hue (pronounced "Hway" with emphasis on the 'h'), the imperial cpaital of the Nguyen dynasty.

After I last posted, it rained even more. Friday consisted of almost non-stop rain, very heavy for most of the time. So, i managed to do very, very little. During one quasi-dry period another guy staying at the hotel (he was as bored as I) and I took a ride on the motorbike he was renting to the train station. I bought a ticket for the next day. We also headed over to My Khe Beach and drove along there. It was starting to rain again so we went back.

I did have one exciting meal that day, banh xeo. It's essentially a crispy, flavorful crepe folded over with bean sprouts and shrimp and other goodies inside. You take pieces and wrap them in the spring roll wrapper with herbs and lettuce and pickled vegetables and dip in sauce. You get to play with your hands and have a great meal. Very good.

Yesterday, it was grey but not raining. It was my last morning in Da Nang. Unfortunately, a lot of my morning was consumed by trying to mail a package. I did see a little in the city, but not much. I had some really good fried rice and roast duck for lunch.

Here's a picture from my first day in Da Nang

Early in the afternoon, I boarded a train to Hue. The views were quite good. The train tracks run along a cliff edge looking out over the ocean and some of the land below. It got quite grey, though, and rained more. Three and a half hours later (it was supposed to be two and a half but we were waiting on the trakcs for reasons I don't know) we arrived in Hue.

I spent the afternoon/evening gettin my bearings. I had a Banh Mi-liek sandwich. It was stuffed with bits of grilled frog meat (as I learned from the guy working the stands who spoke a little English). It was spicy and delicious.

This morning, Sunday, I walked out and found a great bowl of noodles for breakfast. It had little steamed dumplings and slices of roast pork and other bits of goodness.

I went back to the hotel. There, I rented a bicycle. I went into the old city, which is enclosed in a wall. I spent most of my time jhsut pedaling around, enjoying what I happened upon. I did go inside this area that had been reserved for the center of the dynasty. I wandered the grounds and got some pictures. It rained rfo a while but eventually cleared up.

A fishing net contraption lowered and raised by a huge lever

Small River

the Perfume River

I had lunch at the market, which I really didn't like. It was cold noodles (I had no idea what it was when I was ordering, but I really loathe the cold noodles here) with some chili and vegetable. No broth or anything. Blech.

That about wraps up what I've been up to. Today, I bought my train ticket for tommorow. I'm heading to Dong Ha, a few hours north. From there I'll hopefully tour the DMZ, the old border between North and South Vietnam. The DMZ area included many important locations during the war, including Camp Carroll, The Rockpile, Hamburger Hill and Khe Sanh.

Well, I should get going.

Take it easy,

Mike