Eating My Way Through Hanoi!

Hanoi..where do I start?! This small but bustling city has been a base for me for the better part of 11 or so days..in between my excursions to Halong Bay and Sapa ...but I never really had a chance to explore the city up until the last three days. I've been staying at the lovely Art Hotel in the old town for $33 a night with the staff feeling like my family.

My first full day here I did a street food tour and managed to connect with Noreen from NY, who I had met in Hoi An, and convinced her to join me. We were joined by two siblings, the Loacker (yes, the German wafer company) siblings. We tasted many scrumptious foods: bun bo, cha ca, bun cha, egg coffee and a few others. The four of us were such chatter boxes, especially over sunflower seeds, that our guide has to reign is in from time to time.

What I still can't get over in Hanoi is the amount of stuff people load on their bicycles and how they manage to balance and navigate the nonstop honking traffic!! My second full day here some days later, I checked off the museum circuit I wanted to do. First up was the Women's Museum. Life is extremely tough for some of the women here.  They leave their families in other towns to come to Hanoi to work. Some consist of starting their day at 2am to go to the market to buy materials they want to sell in the city on bikes. Their day doesn't end until 5-7pm only to start again at 2am the next day. The Ho Chi Ming Mausoleum was next. The Mausoleum experience was spiritually weird for me. Why preserve a body if the man wanted to be cremated? Next up was the Temple of Literature and while it demonstrated historical architecture, I didn't find it to be a highlight. Lastly, I went to the Hoa Lo prison, which has nothing on Alcatraz (obviously) but it was strange to see photos of John McCain being treated for his war wounds. I would say the prison is a worthy visit if you're into history of that sort.

The latter part of my time in Hanoi was spent just taking the town in, being in the present and saying no to motorbike taxi offers at every corner. Many people have asked if traveling solo is hard or they wonder how I do it. While it may sound daunting or intimidating, it's really not. I find that you observe a lot more solo and quite honestly, you make friends all the time, or at least I have. People see you traveling alone and they just want to help you or they want to talk to you. Most people are either fascinated by the fact that you're traveling solo or they think you're nuts and by default, fascinated hence it's often a conversation starter. This couldn't have been more true my first evening in Hanoi when I sat down for a bowl of bun bo for dinner, this couple, Jenny and Michael from Canada immediately started talking to me. They have a daughter who wants to start traveling solo.

I've thoroughly enjoyed my time in both Cambodia and Vietnam. I still have a tough time wrapping my mind at how much they can make do with what they have. People here have been very kind to me and just making sure I am ok. For example, when I went to take the overnight train from Hanoi to Sapa, Art Hotel insisted on sending their bellboy to accompany me. Once we arrived, he switched my voucher for a ticket and walked me to my cabin bed. It wasn't necessary but definitely appreciated!  I'm constantly saying thank you but I did have an American moment. I was at a cafe in Hoi An, in my bliss, when this Chinese man was saying loudly to the waitress that he didn't want sugar in his coffee. She kept telling him it's not sugar, it's condensed milk. They didn't understand each other and his voice kept getting louder as his posse laughed. I couldn't stand it anymore so I walked over and said to him in Chinese, "This is not sugar, it's condensed milk, do you want condensed milk or not?" He said no, I relayed it to the waitress in English. Done. I'm really not a fan of loud voices in my bliss.

I ended my time in Vietnam much like how I did in Colombia. A spa visit! For $100, you get massage, scrub, lotus bath, facial and a hearty meal of pho after. They send you back to your hotel or wherever in a taxi with a gift. La Siesta Spa, I wish I can take you with me!

Traveling is a constant learning experience for me and it's what I crave. I love conversations with folks from other countries. I love discovering new places and outlooks. My eyes behind the camera is inspired by it. It's wanderlust.

Some favorite quotes and moments:

"This is more expensive than that fake Prada?" - with Noreen shopping for a luggage bag to bring her shopping back to NY.

Martin (refer to Halong bay post) would ponder, "Why didn't they produce another Concorde?" Michael would answer without skipping a beat, "The Americans wouldn't buy it, no offense Yi." None taken.

Me: "how much?" Sales lady, "$200,000 vnd." Me: "200?! They sell this to me for 150 down the street." Sales lady, "ok, 130!"

Michael in Halong Bay, "where are you going?" His wife, "I'm being nosy, you fool." As she goes to check out the captain's cabin since we've been stuck in fog for two hours.

"You want to believe Indurain didn't dope because you're Spanish!" Said Barcelona Spaniard to Madrid.

Loacker brother, "you're doing this wrong, you're suppose to litter not put it in the tray!" As he points to the street full of sunflower seed shells giggling at me.

Key observation: I see many couples traveling together on this trip but they're not talking to each other. You wonder if they're happy?

Cambodia is not on my list to go back to but Vietnam just might be. Now that I've mastered crossing the streets in wild honking traffic, though not without incident (nearly got taken out twice in Hoi An and nearly lost my left arm twice in Hanoi), I shouldn't let that go to waste! Oh, before I forget, tip for Hanoi, the ANZ bank by the lake let's you withdraw $5,000,000 vnd ($238 US) at a time vs. $2,000,000 in all other ATMs in Vietnam. Include the ATM fees and the bank fees, withdrawing can get expensive! So, with that, until next time, Vietnam!

On A Cold and Foggy Mountain in Sapa!

I just spent three days on a mountain town called Sapa which is an 11 hour overnight train ride from Hanoi and just 20 miles from the border of China. I did see China from Vietnam. The train journey wins the longest one I've ever been on, previously was the eight hour leg I did from Ljubljana, Slovenia to Budapest, Hungary (still the most stunning). The start of my Sapa leg was a little bit rocky with pissed off folks that were waiting too long for a driver and the driver leaving the van without putting it in park which resulted in a slow roll downhill of the van we we were all still in. I laugh now but not so much at the moment.

I spent the first day of my time on the mountain trying to find warmth that wasn't my room. In hindsight, I should have sucked it up with packing a little more and packed my pack able NF synthetic thermoball..maybe I would see less of my own breath in the air. I ended up finding warmth at one of two cafés that had a fireplace and savored two cups of ginger lemongrass honey tea. The highlight of my second day was going on village treks with 3 Spaniards (Madrid and  Barcelona) and 1 Italian. Wanderlust to me, was having a conversation about pro-cycling with 3 Spaniards and 1 senior Italian, on a mountain village in Sapa, Vietnam over a bowl of pho. "You want to believe Indurain didn't dope because you're Spanish!"- said fellow Spanaird from Barcelona to Madrid. My last day in Sapa, I reunited with Jaccolien from Holland, who I met on the night train here. We joined a larger group to travel 111 kilometers to the Bac Ha Sunday market where you can buy anything and everything. There were buffalos, puppies, pigs, men getting their haircuts, machetes, produce and the aside I didn't like much, the chicken aisle.

What I did like very much were all the colors of the market also had in way of blankets, homemade weaving bags, tapestry and many other forms of textiles for your heart's desire. I am happy to say that I am marketed out. No more markets for the rest of my trip! Later that evening, Jacci and I took the 8:20pm night train back to Hanoi and after arranging some musical beds, we were able to be in the same cabin which we shared with a Canadian father (his wife and 3 kids were in the cabin next door) and an officer trainee (who is leaving his wife and newborn to study in Hanoi).

Sapa is special for its hilltops, varying levels of rice terrace fields, the surrounding simple village life and the mountains. Many of the village women are dressed in these beautiful and colorful pieces. Most of village kitchens are simply made up of a fire and a pot. The fog here is fast moving as well. One minute, you see the mountains, turn around and it disappears back into the fog. In a few months, the highway from Hanoi to Sapa will open up making the trip doable in 3 hours. In a few years, the Sapa airport will open which would draw more travelers. I am happy to make it here prior to all that as I'm sure it will be a different Sapa by then.

Next up..three days in Hanoi before heading back home.

Halong Bay, just like San Francisco!

Prior to leaving Hoi An for the north, I stopped by Cafe 96 for just one date with their scrumptious dish, Banh Xeo. Cafe 96 was closed due to a cooking class Bup was running but he put out a table and chair for me saying, "special girl". I almost felt bad as he turned away others saying he was closed for a cooking class.

Arrived in Hanoi pretty late in the evening, went next door of my hotel for a quick street food sit down bowl of Bun Bo (rice noodles dry, beef, herbs and a bunch of other goodness) for $2.75 and went to bed or my early journey to Bai Tu Long Bay which is part of Halong Bay but without the 500 boats.

Prior to my travels here, I was torn on whether to go to Halong Bay or not but decided to do it since I don't plan on coming back to this area. Onboard IndoChina Junk's Red Dragon! Unfortunately, weather conditions were not on our side as the fog just would not let up for the sun to shine through. "Just like San Francisco!" Martin, a nice gentleman from the Netherlands would say. We docked, climbed up some steps to see a cave, kayaked a little bit, visited some seven four week old puppies and back on the boat for the overnight stay.

Dinner conversation centered around the still missing Malaysian flight, as well as, the Asiana crash some months ago at SFO. I actually flew Asiana here, figured now is the safest time to fly that airline as they can't afford another accident. Martin thought the same as he flew Malaysia Air. We also talked a bit about movies, All Is Lost, as well as, that movie about the container ship being pirated in Somalia starting Tom Hanks. I don't remember the name but watched it twice on my long flight here and would highly recommend it!

We had a 7am breakfast wake up call which the French and the Belgiums were not thrilled about. I arrived on the deck of the boat, looked out and said, "oh, same same but different." It's a common saying here in Vietnam...much like TIA, "this is Africa" in Africa. The English couple, Sue and Michael, as well as Martin thought it was funny. Fog again! It was so foggy that we had to delay our departure, skipped the floating fishing village (kinda bummed) we were suppose to visit, as well as the pearl farm (kinda thrilled), because the captain and his crew couldn't see a darn thing out there. For a moment, I wondered if this is what Robert Redford in All Is Lost felt like?

The captain had really sophisticated equipment to work with, a GPS map showing the limestone islands and our boat, a compass and the engine controls. No depth meter, no radar but he did have a working cell phone to communicate with other neighboring boats. Sue, Michael, Martin and I found humor in it all but couldn't say the same for all parties on the boat. How could you not find humor when you see all crew on board (the guide, waiter/bartender, two cooks, engineer and captain), at the front of the boat, looking outward into the fog for some type of direction?! They would do this whether we were docked at the moment or going in circles. The limestones formation, well the ones I could see, were beautiful. They were actually much like the ones I saw on a cruise in Thailand.

Sue and Michael, from Boots, England were onboard celebrating their 40th Anniversary. The cruise experience, though disappointing from a scenery standpoint but lovely from a relaxation and food standpoint (loved watching the fishing junks appear and reappear through the fog), would not have been the same without them. It was well worth meeting that couple and the laughs we all shared. Their exchanges were priceless: Sue, "who told me not to bring a book?!" Michael, "well you know you should never listen to me. I didn't know you would listen to me. You shouldn't listen to me!" When Hien, our guide tried to teach us the Vietnamese way of "saying cheers", Michael, a Vietnam vet, lost patience and said,"oh, let's just get on with it. Two beers!" I guess you had to be there.

Arrived back in Hanoi after a five and a half hour drive and tonight, I am off to Sapa on the overnight sleeper train. Wish me luck with that one!

Hoi An, the Charm Of Vietnam

After opting for the $5 tuk tuk ride (vs $10 taxi) and the layer of dust that comes with it to the airport in Siem Reap and a flight delay, I finally arrived at the DaNang airport. Visa process was pretty seamless as I had downloaded and filled out the arrival form and was pre-approved online beforehand. I was in Hoi An and in a bed by 12:30am. The "next day", I was told that I had chosen the right time to be in Hoi An, it's the two day full moon festival!

I spent my first morning wandering the quiet streets of Hoi An. I love the feeling of walking anonymously in a foreign town, with my camera in hand, photographically inspired. Hoi An reminds me a lot of my first years of childhood. A little personal history, I was born in Guang Zhao aka Canton, China. My parents relocated to Hong Kong where I started pre-school shortly after and then I started kindergarten in the States at Grattan Elementary in Cole Valley, San Francisco. I don't remember a whole lot from those years but the memories I do have are very vivid. Like in preschool, they would line us up in our sherbet orange colored uniforms and ask us how to spell something they just taught. If you forgot, you got a whack on the hand with the ruler. I got whacked many times. The streets of old town Hoi An are reminiscent of the ones where I used to play with my cousins at my grandparent's wooden house in the streets of Canton, which my granduncle still owns. To the envy of my dad, I grew up with all boys, so naturally, I would tag along with them playing on the streets and rooftops.

Hoi An doesn't really wake up until about 10am when the day tourists come in by bus loads. Prior to that, it's calm and quiet. Actually, it stays calm and quiet if the power goes out in the town like it did my first day here. Aside from that, once 10am hits, it's organized chaos everywhere until about 2pm, then it starts up again in the evening when they allow the motorcycles back on the old town streets. On the streets, nonstop streams of motorcycles, bikes and people cohabit. I've seen families of 4 on a single scooter, kids riding adult sized bikes, 3 people on a single bike and in the background of it all are stalls of old school street food randomly spread out through town. By stalls, I mean, a local, usually a woman, with their portable station of local home cooked cuisine, small red plastic tables and chairs in close proximity and plastic utensils to serve it up! Speaking of food, I had my best meal thus far at Cafe 96, the recommendation of my friends, Ray and Megan. I was going to order this noodle dish when Bup, the owner directed me otherwise. Out came this dish called Banh Xeo for under $3 which was a platter consisting rice paper, herbs and  pieces of fried dough with pork and shrimp. This is what Ray was talking about?! Bup came over and showed me the proper way to tackle the deliciousness!

Organized chaos is also evident indoors and definitely evident inside the Yaly custom tailor shop where I had a few things made. When in Hoi An! At one point, I sat there waiting for Barbara, my tailor and my eyes were just over stimulated trying to absorb all that was going on in the shop. I made eye contact with this nice Aussie gentleman and we both just started laughing. I had a vision of combining different features of two dresses I saw on Pinterest into one. My vision prompted a lively discussion among three tailors, the supervisor and the seamstress. I didn't understand a word of it but I walked out of there with them telling me it can be done and come back tomorrow for a fitting. I went back the next day and they replaced the seamstress but my dress was done!

Bicycles are everywhere in Hoi An, so it was fitting that I too hop on one, in the form of a bike tour with Heaven and Earth tours. Only three of us showed up, so it was like a private tour with our guide, Linh. The highlight of the bike tour was riding through the rice fields and having kids running out yelling, "hello!" It was refreshing as kids in Africa and Colombia come out running with their palms out. I suppose tourists have equal fault in that. English is taught here at a young age yet I think swimming is something they should teach here as well. 80% of the people in Hoi An don't know how to swim. Did I mention this is a port town surrounded by rivers and often floods?!

With the full moon festival, I am told the evenings were extra vibrant! Many locals with their children sell wish candles for you to light and make a wish as you release the floating candle in the river, I made a couple. What can I say, it was a dollar a wish though I probably paid fifty cents too much per one. Actually, I wish I had a dollar for every time I was asked whether in Vietnamese! My trip would pay for itself! Evenings also bring out the night markets though there are enough shops for your heart's desire during the day. I'm proud to say, my bargaining skills have sharpened! In Siem Reap, shop owners are aggressive and I walked around with my ears open listening for the final price as the customer walks away so I go in with a lower price as my starting point. The same works for Hoi An!  My highlight experience came from a turquoise necklace. The cart shop owner started at $560,000 Vietnamese Dong which is $28 US. I was thinking more like $8US which is what I countered him with. I tried walking away a few times but he wouldn't have it, which was funny because he hung a sign on his cart that read, "looking for free. no pressure. no pushing. take easy, be happy." I walked away with the necklace at $14 US.

As much as the people of Hoi An are enamored by my burlap Tom 's shoes and the dimples on my cheeks (apparently, some people here have surgery to get dimples..go figure), I am equally enamored by the charm of their town.

I will end this blog with a quote from the Frenchman I met over lunch, who decided to do something nice for his mom and brought her along for his three week trip, which he says is two weeks too long. "You're from San Francisco?! From the news media, your people is crazy getting naked running. Large gay community...you're what do we call..very open minded. But only in San Francisco, the rest of your country not like that."

Next stop, north to Hanoi to embark on my two day cruise on Ba Tong Bay!

Tuk Tuking In Siem Reap!

On boarding my flight, there were about 6-8 police officers "officiating" the boarding which was a bit strange...many hours later landed in Incheon enroute to Siem Reap. Finally landed in REP at about 11pm and as I made my way off the plane and onto the tarmac, I recognize that smell of foreign familiarity. Breathing in the scent of a different place completely unknown to me yet the feeling is not a complete stranger. I flashed my American passport and five minutes later..Cambodian visa was in hand ..well I had to give them a passport photo and $20 USD first... grabbed my bag and made eye contact with a smiling Cambodian man holding a sign with my name on it. Among many taxi's and large tour buses, I boarded the tuk tuk and away we went into the dark streets of Siem Reap.

My days have been spent on tuk tuk rides, rolling the dice with my life every time I cross the busy streets, getting $6 foot massages, $3 foot scrubs, visiting the vast history that is at my finger tips and cooling off at the pool.

I've visited a total of seven temples and in my book, that's more than enough! Banteay Srey was the gem of temples in my opinion. It's further out but an enjoyable tuk tuk ride as you can see more of the Siem Reap outskirts, which is much like the ones in Africa and Colombia. You have these communities of shacks built on this dark brownish red dirt. Back to the temple... It's a gem because crowds are scarce, there's a special pink/green tone to the stones used and it just exudes preciousness. Pre Rup, they say is an alternative for a sunset spot but Phnom Bakheng is where you want to be. Ta Prohm has these amazing tree roots growing atop the temples so, that is a must see. It's also where Tomb Raider was filmed. I suppose I should watch that move now! Angkor Thom is the largest but Bayon next to it was one of my favorites. It's defined by these large outward facing sculpted images of the temple Gods into these large stones. And then there is Angkor Wat.

It's also where I would befriend these two Germans because the three of us were one of the first to arrive at sunrise hour, 5:15am, they knew the way but I had the flashlight! It's also where I would befriend a Swiss as we were both looking aimlessly for our tuk tuk drivers among a sea of them after the sunrise. Walking in circles with company is much more fun! My experience of sunset and sunrise was quite similar in that it was peaceful in the front and chaos in the back (referring to the massive crowd often gathered behind me).

There isn't much to the town of Siem Reap but the people here are so warm and nice, you come here for the temples and the best advice I can give is, however highly convinced you are that it would be a fun idea, avoid riding a bike to the temples! I've passed many bikes on the tuk tuk, I've yet to see a smiling face. In fact, many facial expressions were like mine, at about mile 100 of an Ironman bike leg, you're just over it. The best was when this couple bikes up to Pre Rup, the guy ran to the temple gates while the gal waited, he came back and said, "big steps!" And they bikes off. In all fairness, they were big steps. I think I pulled a quad muscle coming down them. Don't do it! Say no to the biking Angkor Wat!

I've had three full-ish days here and I think I did that right. The first day, I started my morning with a failed attempt to exploration. I wasn't ready for the heat, even at 9:30am, so I went back to the hotel and sat by the pool, got through three magazines and then tried again. Tuk tuking to Banteay Srey and the sunset was a success. Second day was the Angkor Wat sunrise experience and a hired guide to share the history of the small circuit temples. There were details of Angkor Wat that I wanted to photograph in better lighting which I went back to do in the early morning of my third day here. The temple was practically empty, I loved it! I'm now perched on one of the temple stones as I type this..watching throngs of post breakfast tourists making their way into Angkor Wat. I think that's my cue to go poolside until my flight out this evening. Next up, Hoi An in Vietnam!