Page 66 - Phonebox Magazine February 2008

66 Phonebox Magazine
In this next leg of the journey, after South Vietnam, Emma and Mark are off to North Vietnam then Cambodia, but a couple of bus journeys are necessary first...
Hue wait before the next bus - or what to do in six hours between buses ...
After our fourth bus, we arrived in Hanoi 48 hours after leaving Saigon ridiculously tired and slightly narked. Its true to say we had experienced our first bit of bad luck (with a non-
refundable tour company!).
We used Hanoi as a base to visit the surrounding areas and discovered whilst there that the flooding had gotten worse in central Vietnam and no buses were able to go
through. In one town we were suppose to be visiting, a local reptile park holding 5,000 species barriers had been broken down by floods and they were unsure of how many were missing. To solve this “small” problem they were offering rewards to the locals for catching them in the streets which now resembled rivers. Put off by large crocodiles roaming the streets, disease and generally getting very very wet we decided to spend more time branching out in the north around the areas of Hanoi and beyond and flying back to Saigon instead of working our way down.
Hanoi for the pair of us was a really amazing place and really started to offer an insight into the Vietnamese culture as we started to mix with the locals, drinking bia hoi (a 7p a glass draught beer, gents I suggest you get over here) on plastic stools on the streets, especially around the bia hoi junction. The junction was a busy local/backpacker corner where both sets of people socialised and soaked up the liquor. Book sellers would try and push sales, locals would come up and try and sell you anything, cyclo and motorbike riders would try and persuade you that you needed a lift somewhere (anywhere). Although there was a big business edge to their conversation, they would also talk freely about family etc and ask about our lives. What was clear is that for a lot of these people
they truely are poor and they have to work most of the hours in a days just to support families etc, there will never ever be the opportunity for the
majority of these people to experience anything outside Vietnam, and for a lot even outside their established homes. There are western and globally recognized companies all of which are based around the route to Hanoi airport but again these companies will mainly profit from
cheap employment, although housing areas nearby suggest that it is providing better income and opportunities.
What’s frustrating is that these people are desperate to educate theirselves, especially in English because its such a vital factor in the tourism industry, which has eased the poverty of the past in some areas. Like a lot of South East Asia, corruption in the government and in particular, the police is very apparent. People in Vietnam do not trust the police at all as the police find numerous ways to pocket money of already struggling families and businesses. One night whilst sitting at Bia junction, a sudden commotion filled the streets, a huge surge of apprehension and almost panic started to instantly override the good vibes seconds before. The problem? Well it was the police and just their presence as the truck approached meant that bar owners were covering every possible scenario, ready to insure themselves against any unfair fines from the police. Using Hanoi as a base we started to explore the North of Vietnam, usually through organised tours that would make things easier, but leave you frustrated at times as you would find out about
sailing through Ha Long Bay, a world heritage site and arguably one of the most beautiful areas in the world. It took around three hours to get to Ha long City where we boarded the boat we would be staying on for the night, which was an old Vietnamese barge style boat with a rooftop deck, restaurant and 16 double cabins. Our trip through Halong Bay was beautiful and you can see why it is a World Heritage site. In the Gulf of Tonkin, it has around 1,600 islands, forming spectacular views of the jungle covered islands set against clear blue skies and crystal waters. Their near
impossible access due to their steep sides, means most of the islands are uninhabited and unaffected by a human presence.
Spending most
of the day on the
top deck of the
boat watching the
amazing scenery
go by and soaking up the rays, we also visited a floating village which even had a floating school. The locals buy and trade from their boats and live aboard the floating houses, they even have pet dogs on there! This is where we bought the most amazing fresh pineapple from a lady selling fruit from her little rowing boat, before having a trip on a powered boat into a cave that was only accessible by small boats. We also visited another cave called Hang Dau Go, whereby inside spectacular limestone was lit up by coloured lights. This is the largest cave in the Ha Long area.
At another floating village the boat stopped to let us go kayaking. This was at first a great experience, kayaking around the islands until the light closed in and we couldn’t find our docking area to get back. After going to the wrong one, they pointed us in the right direction which happened to be on the same path as a very large tourist junk boat reversing out towards our little kayak. After a very scary and hasty row we managed to get out of its path and find our dock to get back to our main boat. It was pretty silly of them to give us 45 minutes of kayaking 20 minutes before sunset! But luckily we were ok and boarded once again where the boat sailed for a short while, to then anchor in the middle of the water amongst beautiful steep islands. We then had dinner and sat on deck drinking with
the other travellers under the stars.
We spent a few days on Cat Ba, a relaxed, tranquil island with only three beaches and
Six hours was spent in Hue, waiting for our connection in that time we managed to get to the bar next to the bus stop (was a mission in the floods!) and sat drinking beer and playing rummy, as you do, with some people from our bus...
www.ballofdirt.com/members/114950.html
. . . North Vietnam . . . at last
little hidden charges and group changes. Putting these little setbacks aside however the North of Vietnam was simply incredible.
Our first trip was to the Perfume Pagoda (Chua Huong) which is about 60 km southwest of Hanoi, it’s an important place of pilgrimage and the pair of us were very excited about visiting it. There are so many photo opportunities along the way and the Perfume Pagoda itself, which is in a cave at the top of a mountain is no exception either. If you walk it takes two hours to climb but the easier option of cable car was too tempting! Our trip started in the village of Duc Khe, where we boarded rowboats manned by women donning their traditional hats. The boat trip takes about an hour, passing through mountainous areas and temples loudly projecting prayer/chanting music from a nearby temple over a huge speaker. The mountains form odd shapes, and the locals have names for each of them. There are also two complexes of temples, the most important being Thien Chu (Leading to Heaven).
After having our eyes widely opened to Vietnamese culture outside the cities, we eagerly booked tickets to stay on Cat Ba Island