Halong Bay

I am writing this again from our hotel room in Hanoi.  Today is our last day in Hanoi before we part ways and my mother flies home and I continue on to Ho Chi Minh City. 

 

Two days ago, we met our Vietnamese local guide Sunny and we walked to see Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum, as well as the complex where he lived and worked.  The Vietnamese, and I think in particular the North Vietnamese, speak with a tremendous amount of reverence when they talk about him.  The mausoleum is policed by white-coated army men and you have to give all of your belongings (including your camera) to your guide and then you are marched, two by two, into the building and solemnly process past the man himself as he lies in state.  The man himself is the father of Vietnam but I am sure that the modern Vietnam is not at all what he wanted when Lenin was his mentor. 

 

We then walked to the Museum of Literature.  It was established almost a thousand years ago in honour of Confuscianism and was a place where boys could write an entrance exam and then study there to become doctors.  There are several courtyards with sculpted gardens.  It is strange to see Chinese architecture and Chinese characters when we have been seeing Buddhist temples and other writing for the past several weeks. 

 

We then had lunch at a local restaurant recommended by tour guide.  We walked into this little, dark, and grungy place full of locals who were busy eating their lunch in silence and they looked up over their spoons at us and I don’t think they stopped watching us until we left.  It was some tasty soup though.  The woman who ran the establishment was chopping the raw beef on a wooden block right behind a glass counter where she takes the money, and the seats were low and uncomfortable.  It’s not meant to be a place where you sit and relax for an hour.  You eat and go.  It’s the Hanoi way.

 

After lunch we went to the Hoa Lo prison (known as the Hanoi Hilton by the US POWs during the Vietnam war).  It was built by the French during the colonial period and they detained members of the communist resistance there.  The entire experience was liberally dosed with propaganda.  Let me explain.  They have models of prisoners in shackles as they would have been kept in those days, and our guide made a point showing us the slanted floors so they could not lie comfortably, and the guillotine that executed leaders, and the cruel and crude toilets they were forced to use.  All through these rooms, the lighting was dark, with ominous music playing from hidden speakers.  We then spilled out into the sunshine of a bright courtyard with uplifting music as we were shown the dug-out sewers where some prisoners escaped and the birth of a free Vietnam.  Even more obvious and interesting were the rooms that followed which depicted the life enjoyed by the American POWs during the Vietnam War.  Most of them were air force pilots who had been shot down and many of them stayed in the prison for four or five years.  The lighting was good, the music gentle, and there were pictures of the Americans playing cards, basketball, smoking cigarettes, and other fun activities. 

 

Even the Nazis had a concentration camp whose sole purpose was to give the impression that Jews and other inmates were treated humanely.

 

Anyway, the whole thing was eerie and strange.  They are so fiercely proud of Ho Chi Minh’s ideals and loved the legend of the man.  The government and police are corrupt and unless you are a member of the communist party, you can’t get as a good a job or salary (especially in Hanoi).  They are proud to have vanquished both the French and the Americans and I think they have become so scarred by these wars that they can’t think straight. 

 

That evening we went to see a performance of water puppets.  It was a series of short little shows accompanied by live music and told folk legends (like the creation myth of the Vietnamese where 100 eggs were made from the mating of a water dragon and a phoenix, or the courting ritual of tribal people).  The stage was water that was about waist deep and the puppeteers were behind bamboo screens operating the puppets with poles and pulleys.  We were tired after a full day of walking around so it was nice to just sit and be entertained for a little while.

 

The next morning we left the G-Adventures group and were picked up and driven to Halong Bay with other tourist who had signed up for the same tour as us.  It takes about 3.5 hours to drive to Halong Bay and the landscape was field after field.  Many were rice fields lying fallow because of the season, some were green.  But it was all very flat with the occasional village.  I could not tell if the villages were undergoing a lot of construction or just in complete disrepair.  There were some buildings literally crumbling into piles of rubble and garbage and I can’t imagine why anyone would choose to leave it like that.  It is evident that there is still considerable poverty in the countryside of Vietnam even if the cities have a great deal of business going on.

 

Halong Bay itself is a tourist processing machine and there are dozens, if not hundreds, of boats in the harbour waiting for groups of tourists to be ferried over.  I was worried at first that it would be hugely crowded all the time but once we got underway the boats spread out quite a bit.  Our accommodations are luxurious with lovely dark wood everywhere and a very sophisticated bathroom.  The food is all included but drinks are not and I was shocked to find that the prices are almost as expensive as they are at home (even for water).  We met up with some families on vacation and even a group of really sweet Argentinian boys on holiday after graduating from school. 

 

Once we were some distance away from the harbour, we went ashore to see the ‘Amazing Cave’ and honestly, it is the most impressive cave I’ve seen so far.  The sheer number of tourists who traipse through there every day has meant that they have had to illuminate the cave and also carve steps so that people can walk safely. So it was not as exciting to walk through as the cave in Laos, but it more than made up for this by its sheer size and impressive formations.  The largest room was enormous and there were so many interesting things to look at.  I am not sure that photos can actually do it justice.

 

Before dinner one of the staff showed us how to roll and fry Vietnamese spring rolls which we then enjoyed on the bow of the boat just after the sun had set and the bay was lit up by all the boats that had, like us, dropped anchor for the night.  My bed was right next to the window and I kept the curtains open partway throughout the night so that every time I woke up I could look out the window to see the karsts looming up in the skyline and the lights from the nearby boats.  It was very quiet and such a change from the hustle and bustle of the city of Hanoi.

 

The next morning we rose early and were led in some Tai Chi on the deck before heading down for breakfast.  We were got into kayaks and paddled our way through a small cave between karsts into a secluded cove and got to explore for about half an hour.

  It was a cool experience to be able to get so close to the walls of the karsts and see them up close.  Even with this experience, I think my favorite past was just lounging on the deck reading and dozing while we slowly made our way back into the harbour.  This took a couple of hours at a slow speed and watching the giant limestone karsts ghost by in the distance, obscured by fog, was absolutely wonderful.

 

Our driver took us back to Hanoi using those famous and terrifying techniques that are popular here and get things done (heading into oncoming traffic, driving on the sidewalk, weaving in and out of lanes)...it’s best not to sit at the front where you can see what’s going on.   Underneath nearly every overpass near Hanoi is a collection of men sitting around on those short little stools and drinking beer.  I think that those areas are where people get dropped off and picked up by motorbikes and in fact we dropped off the bartender from our boat at one of these establishments.  I kind of wish we had these in Canada.  It might make rush hour more bearable.  I kind of like Hanoi.  The motorcycle drivers are very observant and as you cross the street, they simply drive around you (they never stop) and once you accept this, it's much easier to navigate.  What is shocking though, is the sheer volume of bikes trying to get everywhere, all at once, at any time of day.

 We spent our final evening in Hanoi wandering around through the old quarter and were rewarded to come across a group of kids break-dancing in front of the Monument to honour King Ly who brought Confucianism to Vietnam one thousand years ago.  Excellent strength and really difficult moves.  Those guys were amazing.

Tomorrow off to Ho Chi Minh City to begin another G-Adventures trip through Cambodia.

Thanks for reading!

Leslie