Enter our decision to go to Vietnam for a week.
Many English teachers in Taiwan choose to go to Thailand for their primary vacation. It is sort of the place to go for a cheap, sun, sand and adventure-filled vacation. It was almost for that reason alone that we chose to go to Vietnam. We wanted to see something off the beaten path. We had seen Vietnam on many different lists of "up and coming destinations" so we decided we wanted to go somewhere that was relatively unspoiled. I am not sure what we thought that meant at the time we bought our tickets, but I know that our expectations were inaccurate.
We flew to Ho Chi Minh City on March 7th. (Ho Chi Minh was formally known as Saigon, but its name was changed after the North Vietnamese defeated the South and the Americans.) This is a city of nine million, so we were expecting the usual sprawling, maze-like airport that one finds in such large cities. This was our first indicator that we were definitely moving into foreign territory. Not only were there very few people in the international airport, but it was also really small. We got our visas, went through immigration, got our bag and went through customs in less than half an hour. It would take you that long to find your baggage claim at the Seattle airport...
We walked across the street to the domestic airport, which only had 10 gates, and caught our flight to the island of Phu Quoc. After an hour flight we found ourselves standing in a very small cement building next to the airstrip looking for a taxi to get to our hotel. So like I said, we wanted to go somewhere off the beaten path...a little out there. We realized after five minutes in the taxi that we had arrived. There are very few paved roads on Phu Quoc. In fact the major road with all the hotels and resort-like places was not paved. Also, driving here was something more bizarre than what we had seen in Taiwan. In Vietnam, you always drive with one hand on the wheel and one on the horn. By "on the horn" I mean, that you have your hand pressing the horn almost constantly so you can be as loud as you can.
Our taxi stopped after crossing a small bridge and a huge dirt pile. I noticed a sign on A4 paper that said, "Beach Club"-- our hotel. We made a three point turn to get onto the narrow, dirt bike path/road and stopped when we could go no further.
We had arrived. This is pretty much the entire hotel, plus an open-air restaurant.
All we wanted to do was lay on the beach for the first few days. This place couldn't have been better. Not only was our room 20 feet from the beach...but there was nothing around us in any direction. We were far enough from the road that there was no sound except for the water. For the first time in months it was quiet. I can't tell you how bizarre that was.
Here is the hotel restaurant.
Here is a picture from our room.
We spent three nights in Phu Quoc, resting, relaxing and nursing our various illness carried with us from Taiwan. Here are some pictures from that time.
Yeah we drove this thing, but quickly abandoned that idea after being crashed into the shore by oncoming waves while desperately trying to pedal out of their path.
On the third day we sat on a beach and talked about what we wanted to see in Vietnam. We had the option of staying on the island for the rest of our time or we could jump on a plane and just try to see as much as we can. After some discussion we chose the latter...after all this is why we came to South East Asia: to see it.
So we walked to a Vietnam Airlines office and bought a ticket to Hanoi (about as far north as you could fly from where we were). The next day we were off.
Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam and it is considered to be Vietnam's "first city." To be honest, upon our arrival, seeing the city at first was like a firm exhaust-and-noise-filled punch in the face. After the near silence of Phu Quoc, Hanoi's noise and traffic was tough to handle. But once we found our hotel and settled in, we saw that this city was unlike anywhere we had been before.
At one point, Vietnam had been occupied by the French for a couple of hundred years. The result of this is lots of French archetectual influence and even a "French Quarter" in Hanoi. We were used to the tall, narrow boxes of Taiwanese cities...not this:
But the French influence didn't end with just administrative buildings and the opera house. They built a series of cathedrals. Here is one that was just down the street from where we stayed:
Here are some other pictures from our time in Hanoi:
One thing we learned very quickly in Vietnam is that everyone wants to barter. There are no set prices and as soon as a foreigner comes by all the prices jump up considerably. This lady conned us into buying some very expensive pineapple...we are still bitter about that one.
The next day we managed to book a trip to one of Vietnam's most famous spots: Ha Long Bay. Apparently it is listed as one of the "Seven Natural Wonders" of the world. The bay is known for thousands of limestone islands that jut straight out of the ocean forming very dramatic cliffs and walls. It was very misty and a bit rainy this day, making it difficult to see all the bay had to offer, but also adding some unique picture opportunities.
This was one of the several major cave systems within the various islands;
After our time in Ha Long Bay we decided to try to move on to the next city. We both were very curious about taking the train (since that is our major method of transportation around the island in Taiwan). We managed to book an overnight train to the city of Hue in central Vietnam. We were really excited about having a "sleeper car' on the train as well as going to this very small city that boasts Vietnam's very own forbidden city. Unfortunately, we were unable to find a way out of Hue back to Ho Chi Minh City (where our flight back to Taiwan left from). We walked into many different tour offices and airline offices hoping to find two seats that may have been purchased in order to sell again later. But sadly after so much searching we had to change our plans.
This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We were able to trade in our train tickets and we bought plane tickets to Nha Trang. It was a place we looked past at first because we had heard it was overrun with tourists and that was the one thing we were trying to avoid. However, after the bustle and noise of the city, we were looking forward to lying on a beach for one more day...even if there we lots of tourists there.
Honestly, it could not have been better. It was a great lesson that every description is relative to the place being described. That is to say "crowded and touristy" will mean one thing in Taiwan, but something else in Vietnam. I imagine there are times when Nha Trang is busy, but it was a perfect conclusion for our trip.
This is the first picture we took from our hotel:
Here are some others from our day and a half in Nha Trang:
We spent the day laying on the beach, basking in the sun before we had to go back to the cold and rain of Taiwan.
One thing I failed to mention at this point was Vietnamese coffee. They serve it short, strong, with a little bit of condensed milk and often to you on the side of the road. Here I am drinking a cup on a blue stool next to the road.
I love coffee and I suppose I can be quite the coffee snob. Honestly, I have never had coffee so good in my life. Whatever we used to drink in Seattle doesn't even compare to Vietnamese coffee. We have tried to duplicate it here in Taiwan...but I am afraid it will be something we will only have to remember and perhaps experience again when we return to Vietnam.
We flew back to Ho Chi Minh Saturday morning then back to Taiwan. It was an odd sensation sitting on the airplane, flying back to Taiwan and feeling strangely comfortable among the Chinese speakers again. We were going back to civilization that we knew. Back from a very foreign place to a more familiar foreign place.
