Oh man, where to begin. The internet in Hanoi has been spotty at best this weekend so all of my "reports" have been put on the backburner until now. In the interest of brevity - not to mention my comfort (it is now 7:15 pm and still about 90 degrees with near 100% humidity) - I'll just do my best to provide a highlight reel of my weekend in Hanoi. Here goes: I wandered around the city. I sweated. Wandered some more. Sweated. I was also unceremoniously booted from my hotel room, but that is a whole 'nother story.
In all honesty, for the weekend, I played the consumate tourist as I gathered strength in my jet-lagged and culture-shocked body. Laminated map in hand, Lonely Planet in backpack, I managed to squeeze in all the sights that Hanoi is famous (or infamous) for: The Temple of Literature (a God-send of a serene escape from downtown Hanoi), the Vietnam History Museum (moderately interesting exhibits labled exclusively in Vietnamese), the Museum of the Vietnamese Revolution (another hour there and I would have turned Commie), the "Army Museum" (plenty of self-congratulating displays concerning the many wars the Vietnamese have fought and won over the centuries...with captured French and American weapons - including a Huey, which I thought was pretty impressive), St. Joseph's Cathedral (I attended an early morning Sunday mass and, while the service was unintelligble to me, the hymns were absolutely beautiful), and finally, the Hoa Lo prison. Also known as the Hanoi Hilton, this is where John McCain and many other captured American pilots were imprisoned. Say what you will about McCain - you'd never catch me voting for him - but you can't help but respect him. Oh, and finally finally, I stumbled across a bizarre little museum in a back neighborhood called the "B-52 Museum." Piles and piles of junked B-52 bomber parts from planes that the glorious commrades shot down over Hanoi during the Vietnam (here they call it the "American") War.
So that brings me to now. As I alluded to earlier, I've moved beyond the Bodega hotel (they claim a burst pipe in the room above required my departure, I think they double-booked). But after four days in Hanoi it is time to move on. I rented a bicycle this morning and spent the day exploring further and further from the city center, finally making it over the Red River via the Long Bien bridge and in doing so I caught a quick glimpse of the mellow Vietnam: small towns, quiet neighborhoods, rice paddies, water buffalos. I've really enjoyed my few days in the city - and realizing that chances are slim that I'll ever return, I've tried to take advantage of my time here - but I'm ready to get out. I tracked down a very reputable guy in the Old Quarter who rents out motorcycles and scooters by the week and, fter visiting him at his shop, decided to rent a Honda Wave 125 (hell yah!) for the next ten days to tackle Vietnam's northwest. Normally, I would be a little way at the prospect, but everyone I've spoken to says it really is pretty safe - once you get safely out of Hanoi traffic. Part the the deal is that I get a map with very explicit instructions concerning my escape from the city: four turns (four lefts and a right) and I'm home free. Then I'm off to the mountains at my own pace: Mai Chau, Son La, Dien Bien Phu, Muong Lai, Sa Pa, Lao Cai, Bac Ha, and then back to Hanoi around the third of October, give or take a day. Of course, as luck would have it, a major multi-day rainstorm is set to hit tommorrow (typhoon season's last gasps) so we'll see how far I get each day. Nothing if not an adventure.
So that's where I am. After I left the Bodega, I sucked it up (or weakened considerably) and checked into a classic Australia-style backpacker's hostel down the road. That means a lot of bbq, beer, and scandalously-clad Western girls with their faux-hawked, tatooed, fisherman panted companions. It's certainly not Vietnam, but it's cheap, the internet is free and hey....the beer IS cold.
Next stop, Mai Chau.
In all honesty, for the weekend, I played the consumate tourist as I gathered strength in my jet-lagged and culture-shocked body. Laminated map in hand, Lonely Planet in backpack, I managed to squeeze in all the sights that Hanoi is famous (or infamous) for: The Temple of Literature (a God-send of a serene escape from downtown Hanoi), the Vietnam History Museum (moderately interesting exhibits labled exclusively in Vietnamese), the Museum of the Vietnamese Revolution (another hour there and I would have turned Commie), the "Army Museum" (plenty of self-congratulating displays concerning the many wars the Vietnamese have fought and won over the centuries...with captured French and American weapons - including a Huey, which I thought was pretty impressive), St. Joseph's Cathedral (I attended an early morning Sunday mass and, while the service was unintelligble to me, the hymns were absolutely beautiful), and finally, the Hoa Lo prison. Also known as the Hanoi Hilton, this is where John McCain and many other captured American pilots were imprisoned. Say what you will about McCain - you'd never catch me voting for him - but you can't help but respect him. Oh, and finally finally, I stumbled across a bizarre little museum in a back neighborhood called the "B-52 Museum." Piles and piles of junked B-52 bomber parts from planes that the glorious commrades shot down over Hanoi during the Vietnam (here they call it the "American") War.
So that brings me to now. As I alluded to earlier, I've moved beyond the Bodega hotel (they claim a burst pipe in the room above required my departure, I think they double-booked). But after four days in Hanoi it is time to move on. I rented a bicycle this morning and spent the day exploring further and further from the city center, finally making it over the Red River via the Long Bien bridge and in doing so I caught a quick glimpse of the mellow Vietnam: small towns, quiet neighborhoods, rice paddies, water buffalos. I've really enjoyed my few days in the city - and realizing that chances are slim that I'll ever return, I've tried to take advantage of my time here - but I'm ready to get out. I tracked down a very reputable guy in the Old Quarter who rents out motorcycles and scooters by the week and, fter visiting him at his shop, decided to rent a Honda Wave 125 (hell yah!) for the next ten days to tackle Vietnam's northwest. Normally, I would be a little way at the prospect, but everyone I've spoken to says it really is pretty safe - once you get safely out of Hanoi traffic. Part the the deal is that I get a map with very explicit instructions concerning my escape from the city: four turns (four lefts and a right) and I'm home free. Then I'm off to the mountains at my own pace: Mai Chau, Son La, Dien Bien Phu, Muong Lai, Sa Pa, Lao Cai, Bac Ha, and then back to Hanoi around the third of October, give or take a day. Of course, as luck would have it, a major multi-day rainstorm is set to hit tommorrow (typhoon season's last gasps) so we'll see how far I get each day. Nothing if not an adventure.
So that's where I am. After I left the Bodega, I sucked it up (or weakened considerably) and checked into a classic Australia-style backpacker's hostel down the road. That means a lot of bbq, beer, and scandalously-clad Western girls with their faux-hawked, tatooed, fisherman panted companions. It's certainly not Vietnam, but it's cheap, the internet is free and hey....the beer IS cold.
Next stop, Mai Chau.
1 comment:
100% humidity? Are you insane? And you paid money for this trip?
I've been reading your posts to my son James and we are enjoying every minute of it. He got a big kick out of your description of the water globes of goldfish.
Enjoy your stay among the locals. ;o)
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