Tue, 21 May 2002 05:52:43
Hello,

Here I am writing to you again. I have just entered China, and what a difference from the rest of South East Asia. But first I should tell you more about Vietnam. Last time I wrote I was in Bangkok. I spent an additional day in Thailand visiting the old ruins Ayuthaya, but I barely saw any ruins since I spent the whole day biking around and getting splashed with water and having paste spread all over my face for the Songkran festival. It was fun, but by the end of the day I just wanted to be dry and left alone. I got lost in Ayuthaya and only found the bus station again after chasing a bus on my bike.

From Bangkok I flew into "Ho Chi Minh (HCM)" city (formerly Saigon). I was immediately faced with the millions of people trying to sell stuff or to take me somewhere. They were all trying to get as much money from me as possible. I had been warned before entering Vietnam, but nothing really prepares you for the constant hassle of people trying to sell you something. Vietnam is still really poor, but you can see that progress is being made and the economy is building. I was told that the people are unfriendly, but I did not really find that once you got away from the sellers.


Vietnam really has an interesting attitude towards countries involved in the "American War" (what we call the Vietnam war). There was no blame or negativity towards travelers; I got the feeling that Vietnamese people just want to get on with things.

On my first full day in HCM I went on a day trip to visit a Cai Dai temple and the Cu Chi tunnels. Cao Dai is a really unique religion only found in Vietnam. They worship a collection of gods/people: Jesus, Buddha, Marco Polo, Victor Hugo, and others. One of their main priests had a few strange dreams and the religion was built on these. The "churches" are really gaudy and covered with brightly coloured dragons and large eyes. We witnessed the opening ceremony of their noon service (they have a service every day 6am, 12pm, 6pm, and 12am). They were all wearing coloured robes and differently shaped hats depending on their status within the church. I felt like we were intruding since there were several bus tours there, but they didn't seem to notice us.

Then we drove to the "Cu Chi" tunnels; an area famous for its resistance during the "American War" which was a strategic location with respect to Saigon. We first watched a propaganda video that talked about how the Cu Chi people (men and women) were given awards depending on the number of Americans they killed. They used the tunnels to hide and as a base from which to attack, and they lived in the tiny tunnels for years. We went through tunnels widened for western butts, and we all felt that they were still very tiny. We were also shown some of the animal traps adapted to injure/kill humans. They also had examples of the bomb craters left when B52 bombers bombed the Cu Chi area. It was a somber day, but also an interesting example of what people can achieve when they really need to.

The next day I headed on a three-day trip to the Mekong Delta. I signed up for an organized trip since it was actually cheaper than doing it by myself and I also wanted to meet more travelers. It was really good; we went on small rowboats, mid-size boats, and a really nice large boat with a deck and deck chairs. It felt really luxurious to sit in a deck chair and have someone else worry about transport and hotels. We saw people fishing and living along the river. It is amazing how much the river is such a big part of their lives; transport, livelihood, housing, bathing, etc?... The first night we spent in Can Tho and the second night in Chau Doc.

I left the group on the last day and took a public bus to Rach Gia where the boat leaves for Phu Quoc Island (near the Cambodia coast). I spent one night there and the next morning got on the 8-hour boat ride for the island. All the Vietnamese had strung hammocks across every which way on the deck.
They were stacked 3 deep and crossed in every direction. There was a group of 20 artists on the boat going on a trip together to draw and sketch. It was great talking with them, since many spoke English and we all shared the food that we had brought. I had brought some "mystery triangles" which are wrapped in banana leaves. You never know what you are going to get until you open it. I was lucky and had some sweet rice dessert thing. When I got to the island I met a motorcycle taxi driver named Ting who drove me to a few hotels and helped me find a cheap one (he also gets a commission, but sometimes it is the best way to find a good cheap hotel). Motos are the only way to get around the island and it was really exhilarating. The next day I just sat on the beach and walked along the beach for a while. There were very few travelers, probably less than 40 on the whole island. I enjoyed having the beach mostly to myself, but it was good in the evenings to meet up with other travelers to chat and have dinner. The seafood was good, but not as good as Myanmar or Southern Cambodia. The next day I hired Ting to drive me around the whole island (same size as Singapore). We saw a Cai Dai temple. Then we went to a lovely waterfall and walked up the river for a while. I started helping Ting with his English since he had learnt it second-hand from his brother and he wanted to learn more. We kept pointing at things and saying the words. For lunch we went to Sou Beach, which was definitely the most beautiful beach, I had seen so far this trip; clear blue waters, white sand, palm trees, and soft deck chairs to lie on. We met up with a group of 8 Vietnamese; two of which had just gotten married and this was some type of honeymoon with all their friends. They were very friendly and spoke a bit of English so we chatted for a while and they shared their lunch with me (even though I had already eaten). They kept giving me the best bits of seafood from the hot pot (even though I preferred the pineapple pieces).

I had enough of beach time and was ready to head back to the mainland. The next day I took the 8-hour boat ride back. This time I bought a hammock (already hung up in a good spot) for $1 and was really comfortable, but didn't have anyone to talk with. When I got to Rach Gia there was a bus heading for Saigon. I was told that it would leave at 6pm and arrive at midnight. By 8pm I started asking and was told that it would leave at 10pm. So I sat at a restaurant beside the bus and had some soup. While I was sitting there the bus took off with my big backpack still on it. The other people from the bus gestured that the bus was coming back and that I shouldn't worry, but I was still worried that my luggage would not come back, or at least not all of it. I was also getting nervous about arriving in Ho Chi Minh (HCM) early in the morning. After play-acting of stabbing myself, and slitting my throat the women said that I shouldn't worry (but that didn't really reduce my fear). The bus finally came back with all my luggage intact, and then at 10pm we drove around Rach Gia for a while before heading towards HCM. We arrived in HCM at 6am and it was getting light so I felt much better. By 8:30am I was wondering when we would stop, I am sure that the driver decided to drive the long way around HCM. We were finally in the center district of HCM and I had to take a taxi to my hotel where I had made a hotel reservation by phone. I got a great room with 3 beds, balcony and bathroom all for $5.

I had a nice nap and then spent the day in HCM. I visited the war remnants museum, which was very graphic and disturbing. It included examples of the side effects of the "agent orange" with photos and deformed babies in jars. There were many photos of the injuries sustained from warfare and torture and even today there are still landmines occasionally found by people. There were also examples of the prisons used to hold and torture political prisoners. The museum was definitely one sided and not completely factual (i.e. there are a certain percentage of deformed babies born even without chemical interference, and the American soldiers didn't know what the side affects of Agent Orange would be and many of them also suffered from the chemical). It was quite horrific, but something that was important to see. When you think about it, every country's history of any war is always one-sided, it is only when you see the other side that you really notice the difference. In Vietnam, I definitely saw more people with missing limbs and deformities than in any other country I have been to. Though this may be because the Vietnamese do not hide these injuries as much as in the Theravada Buddhism countries where some consider deformities as a sign of a bad previous life. After the war remnants museum I walked to the "Reunification Palace" which was a bit boring, probably because I didn't get a guide and just walked around.

The next morning I took a tourist bus from HCM to Nha Trang. Nha Trang is a Beach + Bar town where I relaxed for a few days. I went on a great boat cruise to see the islands near Nha Trang and enjoyed some of the local wine :). They had Scuba Diving, but I didn't bother because it was expensive and other travelers talked about hearing the dynamite fishing a few kilometers away when they went diving.

After Nha Trang, I spent a great few days in Hoi An. Most of my time was spent shopping and getting measured for my new custom-tailored clothes. Everything was dirt-cheap; for example suit jacket and dress for $25 US, skirt for $4, shorts for $5, etc... Before I left Hoi An I mailed most of my new clothes home, but they will take 3 months to get to Canada. Hoi An also had a nice old town area with old Chinese Merchant houses and museums. Also went to visit the ancient ruins of "My Son", but they really didn't compare to the other sites I had seen.

I spent one day in Hue. I hired a moto driver to take me around some of the sites. We started at the Citadel where they were preparing for an upcoming festival and I listened to an orchestra practicing. I saw a really beautiful tomb that was mostly a lovely garden with buildings in it. We went to the pagoda for which Hoi An is famous for and visited a church on a hill and then back to the city.

I took my first train from Hue to Hanoi. It was a "hard sleeper" which means that there are 6 bunks in each compartment and they have a very thin mattress. The people in my compartment were really nice and again we shared food and even sang some songs.

Hanoi is a lovely city, especially the old quarter which is really nice just to walk around. I signed up for a 3-day trip to Halong Bay leaving the next morning. It was really beautiful to see the large cliffs sticking straight up from the water. We spent the first evening on the boat and slept on the top deck. It was great to see the sun rise, but I did get a few mosquito bites. The next day we went for a 12km hike at Cat Ba National Park. There were 6 hil ls, and Tan, our guide kept telling us which hill we were on. There was a really steep rocky bit at the top of the last hill, and I was glad to get back down onto the flat path again. We spent that night on Cat Ba island in a hotel and then were back on the boat the next morning for the trip back to Halong Bay town. From there we were bussed back to Hanoi.


I felt really tired and headachy when I returned to Hanoi. I had to wait a few days until my Chinese Visa was processed so I wandered around Hanoi some more and did some shopping (really cheap CDs for $1 CDN). Watched a performance of the Water Puppets which was really different and I would recommend to anyone visiting Hanoi. I also visited the Ethnology museum, but my moto driver got lost on the way so we had to stop many times and ask for directions. The Ethnology museum had lots of information on the over 50 tribes in Vietnam. Also went to the Ho Chi Minh museum, but it had a bit too much "modern art" and was not very informative. Then back to the hotel for a nap. I think it was just the heat that was bothering me.

The next day I went on a day trip to the Perfume Pagoda. The trip to get there was even better than the pagoda since we were taken on small row-boats down the last stretch of the stream. When we got there we hiked up the moutain to see a cave at the top. There were many Vietnamese pilgrims praying at the different shrines and it smelt really nice because of all the incense. Then back down the mountain for lunch and then we visited the temple at the bottom. On the way back along the stream it started to rain. I was mostly worried about my journal and camera and used my hat to cover my bag as much as possible. We all got completely drenched and it must have been a really funny sight. Got a bit cold on the bus ride back, but luckily had a long skirt to change into (since I always bring something to cover my legs when I visit a temple).

I had signed up for a 3-day trek around the Sapa region in the hills, but the train did not leave until 9pm, so I had one more day in Hanoi. I visited Ho Chi Minh's Mauseleum. It was all very formal and there were many guards standing around in white uniforms. We were not allowed to bring in bags or cameras, and we were not allowed to wear hats or put our hands in our pockets. Everyone just filed quietly by the coffin. I was surprised to see that Ho Chi Minh looked orange (I am guessing that they use a special light to reduce decomposition).

That evening I met the three other people on my Sapa trek (one guy from Belguim and a couple from Holland). We all got along really well which was a great relief. Sapa was a really neat small town with a colonial fel. We dropped off our big bags at the hotel in Sapa and then started the trek down into the valley. After 15 minutes of walking I realized that I had brought my zoom camera lens and not my multi-purpose lens so I jogged back to the hotel to change it. We walked along the paths used by the people from the different villages and passed many H'Mong locals in traditional costume and they all enjoyed watching us slip and slide down the path that they walked so easily in flip flops. It was a shame to see how tourism had really affected the people, they spent so much time trying to get us to buy silver and woven bracelets, and they were really hard to disuade. After walking for around 14km, we arrived at "Ta Van" village where we were staying the first night in someone's house. After wonderful cold showers from a bucket we all relaxed and enjoyed the atmosphere of the village. For dinner, our guide "Tung " and the owners of the house prepared a phenomenal feast. There was so much excellent Vietnamese food we couldn't believe it. (I was really glad to see people eating the left overs for breakfast the next day). In the evening we played cards and talked before heading to really comfortable beds.

The next morning after a breakfast of rice porrige (tastes better than it sounds) we were all given bamboo walking sticks and started along another path. We soon realized why were we given the bamboo sticks since we were walking along the edge of rice paddies and down slopes much more slippery than the day before. It rained a bit in the afternoon and we must have looked very fashionable with our rain parkas overtop our back packs. We fell so many times and I scraped my calf on one lovely fall. Our guide called falling "catching frogs" and we all started to give each other scores according to the elegance and creativity of our "frog catching". It helped to keep joking about it. It was really interesting to see the varied landscape and to watch the people farming rice. They use water buffalo to pull a wooden rake through each rice paddy which is usualy a thin terrace on the hill with a small lip to hold in the water. It looked like the driver was doing more work than the water buffalo. We also saw different tribes such as the Dzay, Red Zao and Tay. It was a really tough day, around 17km (up and down) and we were covered with mud by the time we got to our second home stay. This bucket shower was even more appreciated. This village was called "Ban Ho" meaning "Water Village". The tour company had suggested to bring a rain coat "just in case" which we all found quite funny considering how much it rained on the trip. We had another relaxing evening of great food, cards and rice wine.

We had banana pancakes the next morning (ok, not very Vietnamese, but really hit the spot) and then Tung took us for a "Walk around the village" which turned into a 2 hour hike up the hill to see a gorgeous waterfall. Then we walked back to the house, picked up our stuff and headed up towards the main road. Even though it was only around 7km this day was the one where I most wished to have the trek over with. It rained for the entire walk up to the road and we were so glad to meet the Jeep at the top which took us back to the hotel. There I had a lovely hot bubble bath (the first bath this trip) and spent the afternoon shopping in the Sapa market.

The next day I got up early and was put onto a mini-bus bound for Lai Cai, the border town. From there I crossed over into China. But this email is long enough for now so I think I will finish here.

I hope you are all doing well and enjoying these emails.
Take Care,Jen