I write these words while stationary, for a change, on my final full day in Vietnam. For a variety of reasons I have elected to skip Laos and instead head towards Indonesia, with a couple of brief stops in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
Since my previous post, I've spent three full days in Hanoi itself, spaced out before, between and after, respectively, two three-day side trips - one to Sapa and the other to Halong Bay.
On my first day in Hanoi, besides for doing a large amount of walking (still key, in my opinion, to getting a real sense of a city's pulse), I visited the ethnological museum, which provided information regarding Vietnam's numerous minority ethnic groups. It was particularly interesting to learn about the Hmong tribes and certain other groups, as they comprise most of the population in the Sapa region, where I was due the following day.
Many tour operators in Hanoi offer package trips to Sapa (a town and, more broadly the region including its surrounding villages), in the mountains near the border with China. However, it is much cheaper and not particularly difficult to travel there independently, and that is what I, and the people I was traveling with, decided to do. The scenery is truly beautiful, despite the fact that the rice has already been harvested from the terraces characteristic of the area, and it was refreshing to experience the clear mountain air and my first real taste of winter. I had heard that the area can be overrun with tourists, but my experience really wasn't so bad, and in fact, we were often alone on the trails - probably an advantage of arriving during the shoulder season. The trekking was not overly challenging, with the experience being primarily cultural, but with over four months having passed since I last ran, any opportunity for physical exercise was welcome.
Upon my return to Hanoi, I mostly strolled around the old quarter and read. I also visited the Hoà Lo prison, the notorious 'Hanoi Hilton' where John McCain was held, and which had previously served as a prison for Vietnamese nationalists under the French colonial regime. The exhibits were heavy on propaganda even by Vietnamese standards and, as distinct from the War Remnants Museum in Saigon, it was difficult to separate fact from fiction.
Halong Bay contains thousands of islands and limestone outcrops, the result of geological processes that I totally understand but simply don't feel like explaining. The site has been recognised by the UN (so you know it's good) and can be visited on cruises of one to three day's length. I participated on a three day, two night trip, with the first night spent on the boat itself, and the second on an island. The trip was slightly more expensive than some of the alternatives, but it was worth it to sleep in a secluded corner of the bay and to sail via a less trafficked (and consequently less polluted) route - proof again, as if any were needed, that money is the comprehensive and unambiguous answer to all of life's problems.
This morning, I paid a visit to the final remaining site on my Hanoi wishlist, the mausoleum containing the body of Ho Chi Minh. I had never thought that a visit to a cold, stone edifice housing the embalmed corpse of a long-dead Asian leader would be a bit bizarre, but, believe it or not, that's exactly what it was. It was like a macabre, communist Madam Tussauds, with a queue to match; still, I'm a sucker for cults of personality and I also now know the fashion in which I would like to be preserved upon my death.
Well that's a wrap on a great month in Vietnam, up there with Japan as my favourite country on the trip so far.
I hope to update soon.
Much love,
David
Since my previous post, I've spent three full days in Hanoi itself, spaced out before, between and after, respectively, two three-day side trips - one to Sapa and the other to Halong Bay.
On my first day in Hanoi, besides for doing a large amount of walking (still key, in my opinion, to getting a real sense of a city's pulse), I visited the ethnological museum, which provided information regarding Vietnam's numerous minority ethnic groups. It was particularly interesting to learn about the Hmong tribes and certain other groups, as they comprise most of the population in the Sapa region, where I was due the following day.
Many tour operators in Hanoi offer package trips to Sapa (a town and, more broadly the region including its surrounding villages), in the mountains near the border with China. However, it is much cheaper and not particularly difficult to travel there independently, and that is what I, and the people I was traveling with, decided to do. The scenery is truly beautiful, despite the fact that the rice has already been harvested from the terraces characteristic of the area, and it was refreshing to experience the clear mountain air and my first real taste of winter. I had heard that the area can be overrun with tourists, but my experience really wasn't so bad, and in fact, we were often alone on the trails - probably an advantage of arriving during the shoulder season. The trekking was not overly challenging, with the experience being primarily cultural, but with over four months having passed since I last ran, any opportunity for physical exercise was welcome.
Upon my return to Hanoi, I mostly strolled around the old quarter and read. I also visited the Hoà Lo prison, the notorious 'Hanoi Hilton' where John McCain was held, and which had previously served as a prison for Vietnamese nationalists under the French colonial regime. The exhibits were heavy on propaganda even by Vietnamese standards and, as distinct from the War Remnants Museum in Saigon, it was difficult to separate fact from fiction.
Halong Bay contains thousands of islands and limestone outcrops, the result of geological processes that I totally understand but simply don't feel like explaining. The site has been recognised by the UN (so you know it's good) and can be visited on cruises of one to three day's length. I participated on a three day, two night trip, with the first night spent on the boat itself, and the second on an island. The trip was slightly more expensive than some of the alternatives, but it was worth it to sleep in a secluded corner of the bay and to sail via a less trafficked (and consequently less polluted) route - proof again, as if any were needed, that money is the comprehensive and unambiguous answer to all of life's problems.
This morning, I paid a visit to the final remaining site on my Hanoi wishlist, the mausoleum containing the body of Ho Chi Minh. I had never thought that a visit to a cold, stone edifice housing the embalmed corpse of a long-dead Asian leader would be a bit bizarre, but, believe it or not, that's exactly what it was. It was like a macabre, communist Madam Tussauds, with a queue to match; still, I'm a sucker for cults of personality and I also now know the fashion in which I would like to be preserved upon my death.
Well that's a wrap on a great month in Vietnam, up there with Japan as my favourite country on the trip so far.
I hope to update soon.
Much love,
David
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| Hanoi street scene |
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| Sapa scenery |
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| Small village in Sapa |
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| Eiffel-designed bridge in Hanoi |
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| Halong Bay - where we moored for the first night |
Sometimes it is so hard to find good and useful posts out there when doing research. Now I will send it to my colleagues as well. Thank you for being one of them.
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Glad it was helpful
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