From Hue Jessica and I took a short flight up to Hanoi. Back to the big city bustle. If anything, Hanoi might have been a little busier than Ho Chi Minh City. We spent four days in Hanoi, wandering the streets, visiting museums and historical sites, and generally just having a chill time.
Except it wasn’t actually chill. We definitely slowed down the speed of our daily life a bit to match the 104°F temperature with ridiculous humidity. When Jessica went off one morning to do a research interview (she had about 4 or 5 over the time we were traveling–it was not the primary reason we were there), I sat in a cafe and read my book. Over the course of two hours, I drank three giant glasses of cold fruit juice while two industrial strength fans were both aimed at me…and I still was utterly dripping with sweat. Oof. We also discovered that the mall was mildly air conditioned, so we walked through there at least twice that I recall.
One of the most interesting things we saw in Hanoi was a water puppet show. A band played music while several puppeteers stood in waist-high water behind a set of curtains using bamboo poles to control a set of marching and dancing puppets. Unusual and fun.
One of the best museums we visited was the Ethnology Museum, which had lots of cool artifacts and exhibits inside, but the most interesting part was outside on the grounds. There we found a dozen or so reconstructions of traditional housing styles from many of the different ethnic groups scattered across Vietnam. While about 85% of Vietnamese people are of the Viet ethnicity, the remaining 15% or so are made up of minority groups from all over Southeast Asia. We learned more about some of these groups as we traveled further on, but seeing the wide diversity of housing devised throughout the region was pretty cool. (Actually, literally cool, as I recall some of the shaded but breezy interiors being a nice respite from the heat outside.)
Another great destination was the Temple of Literature, a Confucian temple and the site of Vietnam’s first university, founded in 1076, a thousand years ago. (This again showed the influence of Chinese culture on Vietnam, as the Confucian educational and civil service system was transported south.) The entire place was beautiful and peaceful, but the coolest part were the stelae set on the backs of turtles. Turtles are a symbol of longevity and wisdom, and the stelae are carved with the names of the students passing the university’s exams. Our recently anointed PhD posed beside them.
Our last day in Hanoi we went to some other interesting spots. We saw the One Pillar Pagoda standing in a small lake…
And, nearby, we visited Ho Chi Minh’s “stilt house,” the place that he lived and worked through most of his time as leader of Vietnam. It sits on the grounds of the presidential palace, close to his mausoleum. The reverence people hold for Ho Chi Minh was evident as we visited both the stilt house and the mausoleum. Long lines of Vietnamese tourists were lined up to see both. There were no photos allowed inside the mausoleum, but it was a fascinating experience to shuffle along with hundreds of other people past the preserved remains of “Uncle Ho” and it was clearly a moving experience for some to see the founder of modern Vietnam (though evidently there’s debate whether the mausoleum holds his actual body or a wax replica). I also feel a close kinship as we share the same birthday (along with a few other notable radicals.)
After sweating out 4 days in Hanoi, we headed out to Ha Long Bay for some much needed sea breeze. It was still damn hot, but the fresh air and wind helped a lot. Ha Long Bay is an an iconic area a bit east of Hanoi just off the coast in the Gulf of Tonkin. You’ve probably seen images of the limestone karsts that jut up all around the area. It’s about as beautiful as you’d imagine. For three days it felt like we were cruising through a postcard.
We traveled on a reasonably nice boat with a couple dozen other (mostly foreign) tourists. It wasn’t the fanciest boat (by far), but it was comfortable, pleasant, and had great food that was artfully presented every evening.
We dined with a gay couple from Australia every night and hung out with them on deck a bit. They were funny, but in a grumpy, grumbling kind of way. I honestly can’t recall much about the other people on board, I think largely because of language barriers (some Vietnamese tourists, others from various places in Europe). No worries. The scenery was enough for us.
There are hundreds of tourist boats zipping about Ha Long Bay at any given time. We could usually see one or two others, but sometimes we’d slip off into a little cove completely on our own. However, our first stop was at the one place on every ship’s itinerary: Sung Sot (“Surprise”) Cave. You can tell from the photos just how crowded it was. Also, frankly, it wasn’t that surprising. It was a big cave. And cool. (Also, literally cool, because, you know, it’s a cave.) But, having been in a bunch of caves before (both ones gussied up for tourists and not), this one wasn’t all that amazing. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I liked it. I love caves! And it was a perfectly fine cave with some nice big chambers. But it was too crowded, over-lit, and just not as unusual as I might have hoped. High standards, I know.
At least we were entertained by the trash cans there…
Other than that, most of our three days were spent cruising about and just admiring the quite admirable landscape. It was really stunningly gorgeous. I’ve seen some similar landscapes since (along rivers in Laos and China), but at the time it was unlike anywhere I’d ever been. I present to you just a few of the hundreds of photos I took over those three days.
But there aren’t just tourists there. There are villages in them thar hills. Actually, there are villages in them thar waters! We passed a few different villages which were built mostly on floats in relatively protected coves. One we passed by slowly and were given a chance to at least look at a bit. Mostly, these are villages where people make their living fishing in the surrounding waters (and we saw plenty of established fish farms near these villages). It looks like tough work, but also a beautiful place to do it.
We also had kayaking excursions each day. Some days we went to beaches. Others we went through low-ceilinged caves with bats just above our heads. It was tiring, but also a fun way to interact with this stunning landscape. Along the way, we discovered that the rocks, particularly right around sea level, are sharp! The waves carve them down to incredibly delicate fins. I sliced my foot pretty badly.
But swimming in Ha Long Bay was still pretty fun…
Definitely the prettiest pool I’ve ever been in.
After three awesome days on the water, we took an overnight train north to Sa Pa, where we spent three even more awesome days in the mountains. Sa Pa is a town about 20 miles from the border with China, an area where every hillside and valley is populated by a different ethnic minority group. It was absolutely fascinating culturally and incredibly beautiful at the same time.
We had arranged a tour of the area while in Hanoi. It turned out that two other folks, a young French couple, Melaine and Hugues, were with us on our tour (and shared our sleeping car on the ride up from Hanoi). They spoke some English, and we remembered a tiny bit of French, so we communicated well enough, but not a ton. Upon arrival in Sa Pa, we went to a hotel where we could shower and change before meeting our guide.
Speaking of our guide, she was awesome. A young (19? I think?) Black Hmong woman, Zoa. She had a ton of energy and was both informative and hilarious. She kept us moving, explaining all sorts of stuff about the villages we hiked through, helping us communicate with the various people and families we met and stayed with.
You may notice that Jessica doesn’t have a backpack. We traveled light the whole trip through Southeast Asia. We both carried 40 liter backpacks, but they were about half empty. We only brought three or four changes of clothes and because it was so ridiculously hot, we only had one very light long sleeve shirt each and a raincoat. So, for the hike around Sa Pa, we brought even less and decided to go down to one backpack. We switched off who carried it, but it was me most of the time (I have the photos to prove it!).
I really can’t decide what was the best part of this trip–the gorgeous terraced rice paddies or the various people we met along the way. Both were fascinating.
On our first day out, we hiked through the towns of Sa Seng, Hau Thao, and Giang Ta Chai, home to communities mostly made up of Red Dao and Black Hmong folks. Along one path we met this woman weaving as she walked…
And a little further along, Zoa showed us how they produce the dark blue dyes used for some of the traditional clothing in the area.
In the first village we visited, Sa Seng (mostly Red Dao folks), we were treated to gorgeous views, as we visited a farm populated by water buffalo, pigs, and ducks.
After poking around outside, we were invited into the family’s home where we had a quick lunch. The house had a dirt floor and consisted of three rooms, with walls (but not doors) separating them. In the center there was a large main room with a fire pit in the center some cooking implements hanging from the walls, and some little plastic stools to sit on. The side rooms were for storage and also served as bedrooms. There was little furniture and few possessions. The only electronic apparatus I saw: a karaoke machine. I loved it. The priority placed on fun and community, solidly where it should be.
From Sa Seng we passed through Hau Thao (largely Hmong). The hike through the terraced rice paddies was beyond gorgeous. We passed dozens of homes and farms, hiked to a waterfall, and finally ended in Giang Ta Chai, home to a large Red Dao community.
Despite the village of Giang Ta Chai being largely populated by Red Dao, I’m fairly sure the family we stayed with was actually Hmong. In general, the house was much “nicer” than the one we stopped in earlier. Concrete slab floor, wood furniture, wallpaper and decorations. But there was still plenty of little plastic stools–especially as most of the cooking was over a floor level fire in the kitchen.
We spent time chilling on their patio, learning a card game from our French companions, watching the folks in the village pass by (we were just off a main trail down to the river). Later, Jessica and I helped roll egg rolls for frying, and generally just enjoyed being part of the process of preparing an extensive dinner.
After dinner, a friend of Zoa’s, another local guide, came over to join us. Along with a few of the members of the family we were staying with, we played a variety of card games. Eventually we settled on playing Spoons, but Spoons played as a drinking game, with the loser having to take a shot of rice wine. Rice wine is definitely the staple alcohol of this region of the world. I enjoyed it. Sweet and strong. Unfortunately, I enjoyed quite a bit that night, as each loss made me take another shot, slowing my reflexes, which made me lose more, which made me drink more…and eventually I had to give up. I was definitely the biggest loser of that game. But it was fun, so not a real loss.
Our second day we hiked from Giang Ta Chai to Ban Ho. It started out as another lovely day of hiking with great views and amusing children along the way…
We even got to poke our heads into a local elementary school…
But, sadly, the weather turned against us and it poured. For Jessica’s sake, I won’t include the photo I have of her after she slipped on a muddy hillside, but just let it be known that there was much mud.
After a wet afternoon, we arrived in Ban Ho, a cute town situated in a gorgeous valley.
Our host family there weren’t Red Dao or Hmong, but Tay. Tay people and their language are related to Thai, but aren’t exactly the same. The cultural lines throughout this area of the world are complex. Here’s one map I found. The blues are the Tai-Kadai language family, while the reds are the Hmong-Mien language family (which includes the Red Dao language). You can see that much of northern Vietnam and the whole country of Laos (as well as everywhere else in the area) are a giant patchwork. Totally fascinating.
The homestay in Ban Ho was different than the previous places as well. Here most of the homes were two stories, a solid concrete slab on the bottom level where kitchen and living space were, with bedrooms upstairs.
We spent the afternoon and evening enjoying time with our homestay family. This was really split into three main activities. One was oooohing and aaaahing over the ridiculously cute toddler. Secondly, I spent quite a while watching Zoa, the host father, and his daughter playing cards. Eventually, I thought I’d figured out the rules well enough to play too, so I ended up playing repeatedly with them and others. It was some sort of climbing game along the lines of Tichu, the Great Dalmuti, or Asshole, if you’re familiar with any of those. Finally, we helped strip kernels of corn from dried cobs. This seemed to be the major activity in the household at the time. I think it was for feeding farm animals, but I’m not 100% sure.
On our last day we spent time wandering around Ban Ho. It seemed like a peaceful place. We saw many people working hard and many others just chilling by the river. A pleasant walk.
Eventually, we took a shuttle back to Sa Pa, where Zoa walked us around the market run largely by Black Hmong and Red Dao women selling everything from crafts to used clothing and electronics.
Then we crashed after a busy three days of hiking, spent a night in a cheap hotel, and got up the next morning to head on to our next adventure…
What scenery – and the people seem so friendly