The Chaos
Taipei x 5 times as many scooters + rickshaws + more construction + more people = Hanoi.
I think the equation above best explains why I love Hanoi. I love Taipei, and if you add a little more chaos I love it all the more. I think it would be very hard to get bored in a city like Hanoi. Tourism adds a great deal to the economy, but it is not the sole boon of the economy. There are thriving financial companies, restaurants, retailers and manufacturers. Vietnam has experienced extreme growth, the same type of growth that countries like S. Korea and Taiwan went through in the early '90s. The estimated growth rate over the last couple years is roughly 8%, which puts it in league with China, but (of course) at a smaller scale with only 85 million people in the country.
Hanoi boasts a wonderful night market with tons of wares, goodies and foods that could even tempt the most frugal or picky person. I spent a great deal of time taking pictures and talking to locals. There are a bunch of wonderful Pho places that charge almost nothing for a bowl of soup with cilantro, lime and chili. Yummy!!
Hostel and Booking Tours??
We stayed at the Hanoi Backpacker's hostel, which is a bit more expensive than the others since it is run by two Aussie expats and tends to fill up early with people. They run tours to Halong Bay and Sapa that are highly recommended, but they are waaaay too expensive for the average backpacker. We went to Cat Ba Island in Halong Bay without booking anything and managed to find a semi-decent tour for $30 including meals, transport back to Hanoi, accomodation, etc. Which was a pretty fair price, since many of the others in our group paid double or up to 5 times as much.
Choosing a booking agency is very important, and it definitely pays to double-check everything. People have no incentive to charge you a fair price when they can get a tremendous amount more from you and if you only come once to Vietnam. Businesses change so fast that reputation also holds little value over time. So far, I have yet to really pay full price for anything in Vietnam :). Especially after a month in China and a couple weeks in Vietnam, my ability to haggle has definitely increased.
Remnants of a Different Era...
I managed to see Uncle Ho, which is quite a surreal experience. Uncle Ho as he is affectionately called in the Lonely Planet has been embalmed since his death in 1969 and still envokes a very powerful sense of pride and admiration from the Vietnamese people. The rules are very very strict and cameras are checked at the door. We only had to wait 20 minutes to get through the long line and took all of 5 minutes to pass by the three sides of the glass coffin of the very short and sensei-like man.
There are tons of other things that you can see in Hanoi, but we managed to see a couple temples and what the American POWs dubbed the "Hanoi Hilton" during the Vietnam War. The Hanoi Hilton has an even longer history that is interlinked with the French occupation. Vietnam's history is pretty scattered, meaning that they have experience wars, occupations and clashes with all sorts of countries over the last 1000 years; including China, Japan, France, Vietnam War, Cambodia, and others. There are a couple museums that explain the history of the Viet people much better than I could do in a couple paragraphs.
Okay, that was a very brief description of Hanoi. I am finding it hard to explain everything in such a short amount of space (only one blog post). I have found that the very small things are the most impactful. These things consist of the changes in food, manners, signs, language, and the like. I will be sure to explain more in upcoming posts. I am currently in Mui Ne and a bit behind in my posts. I hope everyone is doing well and I will continue to stay safe and learn lots along the way. Bacissimi !!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Serene and Touristy Sapa
We negiotiated a mini-bus to Sapa and parked ourselves at the Queen Hotel, which was an absolutely fabulous find. Almost all of the places were booked in the little touristy town of Sapa, and, of course, we haggled the price down (by now I am pretty good at this, I haggle for everything). We stayed one night and then did a 2-day trek with a homestay. Sapa is known for the high proportion of H'mong, Dai and other minority groups that add a great deal of character to the colorful and friendly culture of the area.
After China, I appreciated their approach to selling me things "Hello, what is your name? Where are you from? Do you have any brothers and sisters? etc... Would you like to buy from me?". They make almost everything by hand and use the interactions with tourists to learn better English.
There are a couple different groups of the H'mong peoples. Our guide also told us that the languages varied so much that it is incredibly difficult for each of the groups to understand each other. Our guide also told us that the red H'mong (which wear red head dressing) shave their eyebrows and the front part of their hair when they get married. This is because they take over any of the cooking duties and hygiene is a definite concern for the new family. The black H'mong tribe only use a comb to ensure that all of their remains in place; the styles and interpretations of seemingly similar traditions varied greatly among each of the H'mong groups.
The 2 day trek and homestay is a must, even though the trekking was more of a walk along rice patties and traversing the mild hills in the area. We swam in the river with the local children who were giddy with the delight of shoving each other in the water and pushing their way up through the current.
After Sapa we ended to lovely Hanoi!! I am a little behind on my blog as internet access is now always the most accessible, and I still mean to post pictures the next time I get a chance.
After China, I appreciated their approach to selling me things "Hello, what is your name? Where are you from? Do you have any brothers and sisters? etc... Would you like to buy from me?". They make almost everything by hand and use the interactions with tourists to learn better English.
There are a couple different groups of the H'mong peoples. Our guide also told us that the languages varied so much that it is incredibly difficult for each of the groups to understand each other. Our guide also told us that the red H'mong (which wear red head dressing) shave their eyebrows and the front part of their hair when they get married. This is because they take over any of the cooking duties and hygiene is a definite concern for the new family. The black H'mong tribe only use a comb to ensure that all of their remains in place; the styles and interpretations of seemingly similar traditions varied greatly among each of the H'mong groups.
The 2 day trek and homestay is a must, even though the trekking was more of a walk along rice patties and traversing the mild hills in the area. We swam in the river with the local children who were giddy with the delight of shoving each other in the water and pushing their way up through the current.
After Sapa we ended to lovely Hanoi!! I am a little behind on my blog as internet access is now always the most accessible, and I still mean to post pictures the next time I get a chance.
Moving On.. Out of China....
First of all, I wanted to let everyone know that I have made it to Vietnam safe and sound! I ended up meeting up with my Italian friend in Kunming and hopped a night bus to Hekou on the Vietnam/China border. We had exchanged messages when I was still in Dali and he purchased the bus ticket for me. I literally had 30 minutes between exiting one bus and catching the other; I had to run to another station (lucky for me, it was the right one and only a couple blocks away, and I was especially lucky since there are 4 stations only a couple blocks away from each other).
The bus ride from Kunming could not have been any more, well, rough and sleepless. Sleeper buses are not always the best, and after yelling for a couple minutes in Chinese that one was my seat and that I would not sleep at the back in a 5 person bed with random Chinese (because afterall, it was not my seat), I was finally in rest mode. At least, that's what I thought. The bus driver said to me as I got on hao kan nide dongxi... which means good look your things... aka people are going to try and steal your stuff. My rusty Italian allowed me to eek out a warning to Alfonso about watching his things during night. Alfonso had already met the Dutch couple that joined us on the bus, both of them would later become our travel partners to Sapa.
The bus stopped maybe 8 times all together for the occasional repair, dropping off construction materials, the driver's proper dinner, and all sorts of other things I couldn't really figure out. The most surprising this is that the bus was still on-time, meaning that they knew how long each of the stops would take. But in the end we made it and the border was only 5 blocks away from the bus station (extremely easy to walk to, don't listen to what anyone tells you). [Head right from the bus station and walk towards the river]. I think the border crossing is much easier going from China into Vietnam and in the wee hours of the morning. We were there at 8:30 AM (Vietnam time, China is an hour behind since there is only one time zone for the extremely large country), and we slipped through without a second glance. I thought maybe as an American that I would encounter some hostility, but there was none. There were tons of Vietnamese crossing over into China, perhaps for the start of their work day and the others seemed to have cheap wares to sell.
Random tip: Don't exchange money at the border (Yuan into Dong or US Dollars at all). There will be plenty of places to buy your money. I get the feeling that Yuan is heavily demanded as people almost fought each other to exchange with us. US Dollars are preferred to Dong, most prices are even quoted in USD first. Always ask the exchange rate, if you can't haggle the price, then try to haggle the exchange rate.
I managed to avoid all hassle with my visa for China being so extremely close to expiration and move on to the next country, while finding a travel mate in the process. Life is good and I feel fortunate to keep finding such luck. I hope every0ne is enjoying their summer at home. I hope to be able to post pictures again soon, good internet access is hard to find for long periods and on computers without viruses...
The bus ride from Kunming could not have been any more, well, rough and sleepless. Sleeper buses are not always the best, and after yelling for a couple minutes in Chinese that one was my seat and that I would not sleep at the back in a 5 person bed with random Chinese (because afterall, it was not my seat), I was finally in rest mode. At least, that's what I thought. The bus driver said to me as I got on hao kan nide dongxi... which means good look your things... aka people are going to try and steal your stuff. My rusty Italian allowed me to eek out a warning to Alfonso about watching his things during night. Alfonso had already met the Dutch couple that joined us on the bus, both of them would later become our travel partners to Sapa.
The bus stopped maybe 8 times all together for the occasional repair, dropping off construction materials, the driver's proper dinner, and all sorts of other things I couldn't really figure out. The most surprising this is that the bus was still on-time, meaning that they knew how long each of the stops would take. But in the end we made it and the border was only 5 blocks away from the bus station (extremely easy to walk to, don't listen to what anyone tells you). [Head right from the bus station and walk towards the river]. I think the border crossing is much easier going from China into Vietnam and in the wee hours of the morning. We were there at 8:30 AM (Vietnam time, China is an hour behind since there is only one time zone for the extremely large country), and we slipped through without a second glance. I thought maybe as an American that I would encounter some hostility, but there was none. There were tons of Vietnamese crossing over into China, perhaps for the start of their work day and the others seemed to have cheap wares to sell.
Random tip: Don't exchange money at the border (Yuan into Dong or US Dollars at all). There will be plenty of places to buy your money. I get the feeling that Yuan is heavily demanded as people almost fought each other to exchange with us. US Dollars are preferred to Dong, most prices are even quoted in USD first. Always ask the exchange rate, if you can't haggle the price, then try to haggle the exchange rate.
I managed to avoid all hassle with my visa for China being so extremely close to expiration and move on to the next country, while finding a travel mate in the process. Life is good and I feel fortunate to keep finding such luck. I hope every0ne is enjoying their summer at home. I hope to be able to post pictures again soon, good internet access is hard to find for long periods and on computers without viruses...
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Leaving China!
Leaving China, and I am ready for a change of scenery. I have spent over 6 months in Chinese speaking areas with similar cultural norms and ancestry, so Vietnam might be just what I am looking for. My Chinese at this point is passable, which means I can haggle, buy tickets, food, anything necessary, and get directions. I am satisfied with the progress, but expect that I will lose it as I leave the country. I can still understand quite a bit of Italian, but end up speaking Chinese instead (strange, eh?).
I woke up this morning with a question of whether I should attempt visiting the rice paddy fields in Yuanyang, Yunnan or head straight for the border. I have decided to go for the straight shot to Sapa in Northern Vietnam to avoid the risk of overstaying my Chinese visa. I have heard rumors that they charge up to 500Y a day (about $90) for overstaying. I have met an Italian guy who is heading the same way and I am hoping to meet up with him in Kunming before catching a night bus to the border.
Old Dali is very nice, but of course a lot of the touristy things to do in China are heavily over-developed and lacking any originality. Yunnan, at least, has the very best coffee I have had yet in China. So after a cup or two today, I am ready to catch my 1:30 pm bus back to Kunming.
I managed to have a kind of mixed up day yesterday. I attempted to hike up the Changban Shan, but once I arrived at the muddy excuse for a path, I decided that wandering around in the woods by myself for 4 hours was too precarious for me (which was a good decision as I read later that a many solo-hikers were robbed hiking the path) and paid for the chairlift to the top. I had assumed that there would be other hikers to meet up with, but there were none, and the Chinese tend to only hike on paved paths. On the way up, I was trying to remove my camera from my purse and lost the case in the process. Upon my return down after 3 hours or so of hiking around and overlooking the Erhai Hu (Ear-Shaped Lake), I spent 20 minutes with the hopefulness that I would regain my case, no luck. I spent the rest of the day relaxing and catching up on some reading and planning my approach to the border. I imagine the crossing is easier from this side anyway.
I just wanted to post this in case anyone was worried about my location and plans. My Chinese phone will no longer work once I cross, but at least I will have uncensored Internet, which means Facebook and actual access to my blog (right now I use a proxy). Thank you to anyone who is reading this blog and supporting my adventures, it really means a lot.
I woke up this morning with a question of whether I should attempt visiting the rice paddy fields in Yuanyang, Yunnan or head straight for the border. I have decided to go for the straight shot to Sapa in Northern Vietnam to avoid the risk of overstaying my Chinese visa. I have heard rumors that they charge up to 500Y a day (about $90) for overstaying. I have met an Italian guy who is heading the same way and I am hoping to meet up with him in Kunming before catching a night bus to the border.
Old Dali is very nice, but of course a lot of the touristy things to do in China are heavily over-developed and lacking any originality. Yunnan, at least, has the very best coffee I have had yet in China. So after a cup or two today, I am ready to catch my 1:30 pm bus back to Kunming.
I managed to have a kind of mixed up day yesterday. I attempted to hike up the Changban Shan, but once I arrived at the muddy excuse for a path, I decided that wandering around in the woods by myself for 4 hours was too precarious for me (which was a good decision as I read later that a many solo-hikers were robbed hiking the path) and paid for the chairlift to the top. I had assumed that there would be other hikers to meet up with, but there were none, and the Chinese tend to only hike on paved paths. On the way up, I was trying to remove my camera from my purse and lost the case in the process. Upon my return down after 3 hours or so of hiking around and overlooking the Erhai Hu (Ear-Shaped Lake), I spent 20 minutes with the hopefulness that I would regain my case, no luck. I spent the rest of the day relaxing and catching up on some reading and planning my approach to the border. I imagine the crossing is easier from this side anyway.
I just wanted to post this in case anyone was worried about my location and plans. My Chinese phone will no longer work once I cross, but at least I will have uncensored Internet, which means Facebook and actual access to my blog (right now I use a proxy). Thank you to anyone who is reading this blog and supporting my adventures, it really means a lot.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Riding the Rails Down to Yunnan
After a very very long train ride from Xian to Kunming, I found my way through the somewhat small city to my hostel. The train ride was 41 hours long and filled with little Chinese girls calling me jiejie (older sister) and pictures with the conductor. There was an interesting British fellow for the first 15 hours and after that I was left to fumble through Chinese and English with my fellow hard-sleeping-compartment-mates alone. After the 36th hour, I was definitely ready to be off the train.
I decided (sorry Sarah) to skip Chengdu and head directly south, especially since my visa for China is running out. I have to get into Vietnam by August 10th or I run the risk of violating the terms of my visa (not really something I intend on doing).
After a day in Kunming, I met a fellow traveler to accompany me to the Tiger Leaping Gorge, which is about two hours directly north outside Qiaotou. We were told that the hike was very long and managed to finish after 7.5 hours. We found out that most do it spread out over two days. The views were absolutely breath taking and sometimes the trail was a bit rough. This is perhaps a trail that I would avoid in rainy weather, especially since you have to watch out for falling rocks. I will definitely upload pictures soon, so that people can see.
I am currently in Lijiang and will be heading to Dali tomorrow, and once again heading south towards the rice paddies bordering Vietnam. I will not be making it to the Laos border to do some jungle trekking, perhaps I will just have to on the other side.
I have learned a great deal about the minorities in China. Yunnan has a great deal of Naxi people and Hui (Chinese Muslims). You can definitely see the influences in the dress and knick-knacks. The Naxi traditional dress resembles the ones I saw during the Hmong presentations in elementary school. Embroidered clothing and tapestries with brightly colored thread and intricate patterns. The influences of southeast Asia are particularly strong here.
Okay! I should go and catch up on some sleep after a bit of walking the last couple days. Traveling isn't always a vacation, I think often it can be frustrating and tiring planning the logistics, but much much more rewarding and educational than anything else. I have continued to improve my Chinese, and I cannot believe how handy speaking a little actually is. I hope everyone is doing well!
I decided (sorry Sarah) to skip Chengdu and head directly south, especially since my visa for China is running out. I have to get into Vietnam by August 10th or I run the risk of violating the terms of my visa (not really something I intend on doing).
After a day in Kunming, I met a fellow traveler to accompany me to the Tiger Leaping Gorge, which is about two hours directly north outside Qiaotou. We were told that the hike was very long and managed to finish after 7.5 hours. We found out that most do it spread out over two days. The views were absolutely breath taking and sometimes the trail was a bit rough. This is perhaps a trail that I would avoid in rainy weather, especially since you have to watch out for falling rocks. I will definitely upload pictures soon, so that people can see.
I am currently in Lijiang and will be heading to Dali tomorrow, and once again heading south towards the rice paddies bordering Vietnam. I will not be making it to the Laos border to do some jungle trekking, perhaps I will just have to on the other side.
I have learned a great deal about the minorities in China. Yunnan has a great deal of Naxi people and Hui (Chinese Muslims). You can definitely see the influences in the dress and knick-knacks. The Naxi traditional dress resembles the ones I saw during the Hmong presentations in elementary school. Embroidered clothing and tapestries with brightly colored thread and intricate patterns. The influences of southeast Asia are particularly strong here.
Okay! I should go and catch up on some sleep after a bit of walking the last couple days. Traveling isn't always a vacation, I think often it can be frustrating and tiring planning the logistics, but much much more rewarding and educational than anything else. I have continued to improve my Chinese, and I cannot believe how handy speaking a little actually is. I hope everyone is doing well!
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