VIETNAM: Halong Bay (July 27th - 28th)

We had to leave at noon for the train station to take one more overnight train, this time from Hue, to Hanoi, where we would catch a bus out to Halong Bay.  While waiting at the train station we were befriended by a group of young college-aged kids who were waiting for the same train.  They were so curious about us and where we were from and full of questions....even though their English was very limited (as is our Vietnamese).  Em and I had both been starting to feel a little tired and rugged from the constant traveling and going, but meeting these energetic kids seemed to really lift our spirits and put us in a better mood before another long train ride.

The train ride had an interesting moment as well.  Em and I were laying on the bottom bunk watching a movie on the laptop ("Source Code"... a movie about a guy that goes back in time over and over again to stop a train from blowing up....great choice)....when suddenly the train window in the hall outside our cabin shattered.  And when I say shattered, I mean suddenly exploded and blasted glass into our cabin, all over us, all over our beds, luggage, glass everywhere.  Other than a mild heart attack, we actually didn't have any cuts or injuries.  It took awhile to clean up and we had to move to another (smaller) cabin, but we were glad it wasn't worse.  We never found out what caused the broken window, some of the train workers figured it was kids throwing stuff at the train, but we never found anything in the cabin.  Crazy Train!

We finally made it to Halong Bay and boarded a Junk Boat to for the day.  Halong Bay is an area right off the Northeastern coast where these giant, rock, island like cliffs, jut out of the water, creating a series of water ways, caves, and breathtaking views.  There are over 2,000 of these giant natural structures throughout the bay....it's increible.  We stopped at a floating village to rent some kyaks and we had an hour to explore on our own.  There was one area where we rowed into a low, dark sea cave, and when we came out on the other side we were in a secluded cove, surrounded by huge cliffs all around.  The only way in or out was through the small cave opening.......beautiful and amazing don't even describe it.  We were with a few of our friends from the tour group so we tied our kyaks together and swam around in the warm water.  Another surreal moment and highlight of highlights.  We made it back to the junk boat to continue exploring the bay, stopped to tour a large cave/cavern, and headed back to land.

At dinner that night.....Emily ordered a margarita pizza......it came with baked dough topped with ketchup, thick velveeta like slices of cheese (half-way melted with an expiration date stuck to it) and moldy tomato slices.  I guess that's what we get for ordering pizza in Vietnam (oh how we're ready for real American food).  Only one more stop to go!!!!!



VIETNAM: Hue (July 26th - 27th)

We continued traveling up the Vietnam coast line, this time by bus, as we left Hoi An and made our way to Hue for a one night stop.  This portion of the journey also marked our passage from south Vietnam into the northern part of the country which is more mountainous and even more beautiful.  The drive provided some great scenery of the coastline as we ascended the hills.  Hue is said to have more of a culural, artistic feel to it, which it certainly did.  It reminded us a little more of Cambodia with its ancient temples and ruins and less city builidings.

After checking into our hotel we met back in the lobby to take a motorbike tour of the city.  This was a lot of fun and a great way to see some of the beautiful sites.  We had lunch at a nunary, drove through the country side to an agricultural museum, stopped at a lady's house who has one arm and make hats (apparently she's famous in Vietnam), visited a tomb of an ancient king, went to a lookout point above the Perfume River, toured their most sacred Pagoda (like a temple), and saw their Citadel which is a massive castle like fortress that served as the headquarters for the northern Vietnamese arm during several wars.  It was a lot packed into one day.

 

 

VIETNAM: Hoi An (July 24th - 25th)

Our sleeper train was about six hours late arriving into Hoi An.  Emily was so anxious to say the least because if Vietnam is the holy land of shopping.....Hoi An is heaven on earth.....and that means six less hours she had to shop.  Hoi An is actually a really awesome little town, very clean, laid back, great little restaurants, and felt really safe at night.  It's full of shops and tailors where you can get your own clothes, shoes, coats, purses, etc....designed and made for a fraction of what it would cost in the states.  Definitely a highlight among all our stops, and probably Emily's favorite overall. 

One of the first tailors we visited had a silk farm upstairs.  They showed us the entire process of how they raise silk worms, harvest the silk, and begin using it to make their different colored fabrics and items they sell in their store.  We took a break to have diner at an amazing Vietnamese/Italian restaurant, which gave us enough energy to continue shopping until almost 11:00 that night.  We met with our group (now becoming our good friends) at a little wine bar so everyone could swap shopping stories...that's when Emily found a tailor across the street called Mr. Xe's.  Mr. Xe is a little Viatnamese man (well....their all little) who is as queer as a four dollar bill and takes his profession VERY seriously.  It's like if the soup Nazi from Seinfeld had been played by a small, gay, Asian man.  Anyway, Emily and a few of the other girls spent a good three hours in there with Mr. Xe's design team, going through magazines, getting measured, picking out materials...having a ball.  I went across the street to see how she was doing....next thing I know I'm being measured for a suit....it all happened so fast, I still don't quite understand it.  A really fun experience though.

The next day, since Emily wanted to continue her conquest of Hoi An, and being the good wife that she is, knowing I probably wouldn't want to shop all day (aka: "slow her down"), we decided she would do her thing with the girls and I would do a bicycle tour of the local Hoi An villages with the rest of our group.  The tour was great as we got to visit a fishing village, see how fish sauce was made, stop at numerous road side huts for true Vietnamese food, sugar cane juice, rice wine samples, and just see the beautiful countryside.  Our guide for the day took us back to his place for a bbq on the river.  Emily had a blast as well with the girls, a fun-filled day of literally pointing at pictures in magazines and knowing they would be tailor made and ready to go later that night.  When we met back up at Mr. Xe's later that evening she was still going strong and I think was honestly trying to figure out how we could stay in Hoi An for the rest of our trip.  She even suggested I continue on with the group and I come back through and pick her up in week.....but she was kidding....I think. 

Pics from Jon's day in Hoi An

Fish heads.....the men in the village spend all night on the boat fishing, the women spend the whole day preparing the fish to be preserved and sold...tearing of the fish heads by hand, one by one, is part of the process.

One night's catch

Making fish sauce....much like making wine

A bamboo bridge we crossed on our bicycle tour....doesn't look like much but felt like a matter of life or death.

I honestly can't describe how beautiful the green it in this country.

Pics from Em's Day in Hoi An

 

The one the ONLY Mr. Xe!!

Em and her DESIGN TEAM in action!

         One of the finished products