Heading North

  Vietnam has been a pleasant surprise.  If you would have asked me three weeks ago, I would have said that this country was my least favourite in SE Asia, but as of late I have found that it has moved up in the ranks.  At first we were taken aback by the cold and sometimes unfriendly vibe of the locals here but as we have moved our way up along the coast they have changed.  Maybe it’s us; maybe I wasn’t giving the people here a chance at the beginning after coming from uber-friendly Cambodia, or maybe it was just a matter of getting used to the cultural norms here but as our trip through Asia comes to a close, Vietnam has become one of my favourite destinations.  I have a theory… Vietnam is the 'Thailand' for our age group.  There hasn’t been a single stop where we haven’t met loads of fellow travellers and locals alike.  It is a refreshing change to meet people who we have a lot in common with and get the chance to deviate from the same old tedious conversations of the backpacker- "where have you been?  where are you going?  how long are you gone for?"…etc.  So, that being said, Dan and I have been travelling non-stop, exploring this beautiful country and meeting exciting and interesting people all along the way.

Our first stop after Jungle Beach was the famed city of Hoi An, known by EVERY traveller for its over abundance of cheap custom tailored clothes.  For this very reason, the once charming Old Quarter has become the regional hotspot for every other tourist vying for the best bargain in one of the hundreds of tailors' shops displaying the same clothing, street after street, after street.   Though the city is littered with package tour groups, it still has some great things to offer if you explore off the beaten track.

Ladies like these can be found all over the streets of Vietnam, selling fruit, drinks and various other local specialties.  Unfortunately, in a place like Hoi An they are just another money grab.  Snap a picture, pay some money.  We actually bought some bananas and chatted with them for a few minutes, so they were happy to let me take their photo for free.

One of the reasons that helped me decide to stay for more than a few days were, the local food specialties.  My favourite in particular was the Cao Lao, a cheap and refreshing change from the bland veggie, rice and Pho diet of South Vietnam.  The regional dish of thick rice flour noodles, crisp rice paper chips, pork ( for Dan), veggies and broth will make it into my recipe book when I get back home to Canada.  Tasty!

You are not a "real tourist" if you leave Hoi An without buying a suit and a lantern- another element that makes Hoi An special.  I am happy to say that we left without buying either but I didn’t complain about the red, orange and yellow lanterns that lit up the Old City at night.  Stunning.  The picture above is the skeletons of soon-to-become the paper lanterns sold at ever other shop in the area.

The most memorable part for me was sitting on our balcony, watching the storms roll in and contemplating the bizarre Asian architecture.  Such a tall skinny building can’t be all that safe in the event of a fire, can it?

Next, we made our way from Hoi An to the city of Danang, which was by far the friendliest city we have encountered in Vietnam so far.  We found ourselves a lovely, mellow place to stay that was outside of the city, had a view of Marble Mountain, we were steps from the beach and had communal dining, much like Jungle Beach.  Mr. Hoa, the owner of Hoa’s place was a great character and a refreshing change from the normal, everyday hotel owner and after a morning of chatting with him, we learned that after 17 years in business, the government had sold the ocean front land to a resort developer and was offering Mr. Hoa a measly 1 million VND ($50) per square meter for his prime location.  So sad.  So, if you have the chance to make it to Danang, check out Hoa’s Place before it becomes just another massive resort.

A nice shot of all of our friends around the table at dinner.  Great food, cold beer and good times.

Dan met these girls while we were at the Cham Museum in Danang city.  This was the first city we encountered in Vietnam where everyone waved, smiled and made an effort to speak to us and teach us Vietnamese.  It was a surprising change from the everyday norm that the average traveller experiences here in Vietnam.  Unfortunately, we find it is a given rather than an exception to encounter rude, sneaky, unhelpful people in the tourism industry here.  Rest assured, the everyday Vietnamese person is friendly and more than happy to have a laugh at your expense while you try to stumble through some basic Vietnamese phrases  :)

After hitting up the museum in Danang, we decided to stop at a local cafe to have a snack and use some Wifi.  The menu was only in Vietnamese, and after scanning it and not recognizing any dishes, we prepared to leave.  Then John came out, helped us through the menu and sat with us for hours chatting, teaching us some more Vietnamese and practising his English.  John was one of the greatest people we have met in Vietnam, he taught us a lot about his life and his country- so here is a special shout out to John.  Thank you so much for making our stop in Danang so memorable.  We hope to see you in Canada soon! 

OK, so- Vietnam apparently has one of the worst traffic accident mortality rates in the world, and we have seen why.  We have witnessed our fair share of motorbike accidents in the 5 weeks we have been in the country, luckily none have been fatal, though some of our fellow travellers haven't been spared the grisly sight.  One of the greatest pastimes is just observing the motorbike drivers and just how much they can pack on their bike.  This wasn’t the most impressive or largest item we have seen but it still blows my mind that you would even think to transport a refrigerator on the back of a bike.

The pics above were taken at Marble Mountain.  This was a series of 5 mountains that were at one time islands.  If anyone is in need of a massive, slightly tacky marble statue, let me know.  I can hook you up with something cheap  :)

After spending a few days in Danang, we headed to Hue (Hoo-Eh).  We had noticed over the past week or so that little kids liked to run around with dragon heads on, but we kinda just thought this was a Northern Vietnam thing.  Then we heard about a festival that was starting on the night we arrived.  The tradition brought from Chinese immigrants takes place once a year, on the new moon in August.  Local Tae Kwon Do academy dance troupes put together their best routines, dress in dragon costumes and dance to hand drums on the street.  The more you pay the dragons, the longer they stay.  Dragons are good luck here, so I imagine the kids take home quite the haul after three nights of dancing. 

 A street vendor selling dragon costumes, drums, masks and fans for the local children.  I want one!

It was amazing to see the traffic jams that sprung up all over the city during those three days.  No one got angry, they just watched and waited for the dragon team to move on.  I think I can safely say that this would never happen in Canada, very few have the patience or time of day to enjoy something like this.

This is a view of Hue from the roof of our hotel.  I love how all the building are smooshed together.  They don’t waste any space here.

We immensely enjoyed our trip through South/Central Vietnam, but were now faced with the daunting prospect of a long-distance bus trip from Hue, through the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone), north to Hanoi. Not since Laos have we faced such an odyssey, but at the end of the road, picturesque Ha Long Bay awaited our arrival...