The first half - Viet Nam

Where do I even start to describe the last 25 days of my life? It's not something I can write about in a single blog post so I am doing two. One for Viet Nam and one for Thailand. I have gone to so many places, experienced so many thing, and have hundreds of memories of these last few weeks. Thankfully, I had a camera to capture many of these memories or I'm not sure I'd remember them all (partly because my memory is equal to that of a goldfish). So here is a VERY small sample of my Viet Nam pictures. Check facebook for the rest once I have time to put them up.

Day 1:

Our trip began January 30 at 12:00 am. We left our home of Un-am Dong for the Gwangju bus terminal where we caught a 1:00 am bus bound for Incheon airport in Seoul for our 10:00 am flight. We arrived around 5:00 am and spent the next three hours on the benches sleeping as Kristen is below. It was actually quite confortable. More than the bus we were taking that's for sure. little did we know that would be a welcome place to sleep compared to some of the other places we slept over the next 25 days! After checking in I told Kris how it would be funny if we met other Canadian Connection English Teachers at some point in our trip. Not ten minutes later we ran into Chris and Ashley (who also happen to have gone to Redeemer) and found out they were on the same flights as us! So random!

Our flight took us six hours from Incheon to Bankok where we had a few hour layover before taking the oldest, rattiest, dangerous plane I have ever been on to Hanoi, Viet Nam. Longest hour and half of my life and I'm not afraid of flying or turbulance or anything and it still scared me. At our layover we found out another girl, Nicole, was on the same first flight as us, but was going to India and was on a different plane leaving Bangkok.
Anyway, we eventually got to Hanoi around 9:00 pm after about an hour or so delay. Stupid me, as soon as I got my massive backpackers backpack from the plane I broke the main clip that goes around your hips keeping the pressure off your shoulders. Go figure that happens to me!
We found our ride to Hanoi backpackers hostel that we booked for two nights and set out into Hanoi for the start of our adventure!

Turns out Hanoi is moped/motorcycle central. You can buy a brand new moped for $100. That's about all they drive. Hardly a car in sight.
And to cross the road, you just walk.
Scariest moment of my life was following some local old guys cross the road. I was watching the old man so I wouldn't have to dodge the mopeds on my own, but right in the middle of the road I decided to look and nearly shit myself. There was hundreds of mopeds coming at us and we were in the middle! However, since that's the normal way to cross the street, pedestrians and mopeds have an understanding how not to get killed while doing it and we all survived the street crossing.
Funniest moment was watching a group of about 20 old western people cross the road. They looked like a pack of ducks shuffling across the street in a big close pack together. To my amusement, we weren't the only people to stop and watch to see if they'd make it across alive. They did. They may have shed the last few years of their life on the crossing!

Day 2: Army Museum

I LOVE military museums! I can't get enough of them! I didn't think this display gave an accurate depiction of what it would be like to be gored by one so I joined in the picture.

The flag tower that Kris and I climbed. It was so old and so cool! it was like a dungeon inside on the way up and the view was amazing!

Partly because we could see this display in full view. The crashed plane is part of an actual U.S plane that crashed during the Viet Nam war (which in Viet Nam is called the American war. Say the Viet Nam war and they'll have no idea what you are talking about). They took the plane here and set it up for display. It was so interesting to read about the Viet Nam perspective on the war rather than the very skewed version the U.S talks about and that we learn about.

Ho Chi Mhin's Mossoleum! The guy on the far left blew a whistle and yelled at people if they crossed the white line that I am standing near. He blew it right after this picture and I thought it was at me and nearly took off running. It was at some other dude though so I was safe. We didn't go into the actual mossoleum part which you aren't allowed taking pictures, talking, and slouching (our friends told us about it). We weren't appropriately dressed....tank tops aren't allowed.

Day 3: found a place that serves all you can eat buffet ICE CREAM on the first friday of every month. That would be in four days. I was excited until I realized we'd be in Halong Bay that day. Sigh. That would've made Rach jealous for the rest of her life. Have you ever hear of buffet ice cream? and I missed it!!!

We also took a Vietnamese cooking class this day. It was really interesting learning to cook Vietnamese food. Even better that we got to eat it all afterwards. We got a cooking present of cooking chopsticks and the full recipes of what we made. Hopefully, if I can find the ingredients, I can make it back in Canada. I can't wait!

Day 3-6: SAPA trekking!
Kris and I planned a grand total of two nights out of our entire 25 days and that was the first two. Once we got to our hostel we found out they arrange day and multiday trips. We took advantage of it. Not to mention the hostel offered free breakfast. How could we leave?

We spent the night on a sleeper train (not comfortable by the way) going up to Lao Cai (5 am arrival) which pretty much sits on the border of Viet Nam and China. From there we back tracked a little to Sapa. We pretty much drove for 2 hours up and up and up the mountain on the curviest roads you could imagine. No guard rails. By the time the sun was rising we got into Sapa which is basically a small tourist city nestled in the mountains. It was beautiful!

The mountain in the background is part of the Fansipan Mountains, the largest in Indochina. That's what we'd spend the next few days climbing.

Start of the trek. The local ladies who are with us try to sell you stuff in the town. They walked with us until they got to their villages that we passed. Currently they don't have much work to do because it's after harvest and before planting season so they sell handmade stuff in the town. They can be very pushy for you to buy things which can be annoying or fun to talk in circles with them. Sometimes they just like to talk with you though. Their English is very good.

Our water buffalo friends were everywhere. One was close enough for us to pet even. They use them for planting and working in the rice fields.

One of the farming spreds out in the mountains.

A view of some farms from above them.

Side view of some more farms. The view was spectacular!

Our group with our homestay Mom. Really comfortable mats with mosquito nets over them. Delicious food, excellent homemade rice wine, and lots of fun company! L-R: Abe, Mario, H'mong Lady, Me, Kris. Abe was from Seatle and Mario from Austria.

Our guide and the rest admiring the view.

I was in awe of God's awesome artistic abilities everytime I looked up from the pathway/"pathway". Usually when I looked up I had 3 miliseconds to determine it was the most beautiful thing I have seen in a long time and the God was amazing before I tripped over a pothole, rock, branch, or my feet.

This waterfall is tiny now. It's actually massive, but only during the rainy season and February is the month with the least precipitation so no waterfall for us. Maybe that's a good thing. I'd probably fall down it or something.

Guess how old she is? I'd guess about 8 or younger, but I got the advantage of seeing her face. Young girls right up to older women carry these all day long to bring to their homes and farms.

Usually pictures can't capture the moment in landscape, but you can't take a bad picture along the Fansipan Mountains. It's just not possible.

At the end of our trip a cast off army jeep left over from from WWI picked us and took us back to Sapa on a partially washed off road with no guard rails with the nearest ground hundreds of meters below.

Day 6-8: Halong Bay

After our trekking adventure we took the sleeper train back to Hanoi, got back at 4:30 am, navigated the streets to find our way back to the hostel, switched clothes around from our larger backpack to our smaller one, checked the internet, ate breakfast and at 8 am left for the Halong Bay trip, again, organized through our hostel.

This is the top of our "Junk", the boat we spent day and nights number one on. That's our group there. Some were awesome, some I never really met, and some I don't care to meet again.

Our anchor spot for the night. There are other Junks from other tours. Probably none as cheap or as cool as our tour. We went Kayaking here and saw the Monkey Mountains that didn't have any monkey's on them. This is also where I met my archnemesis. By default we ended up kayaking partners.

On the beach searching for seashells. I have an obsession with seashells. They are so pretty and each one is so unique! Too bad I can only take a limited amount back with me. Or maybe that's a good thing. Here is Kris and Laura. Unfortunately for us, we got the worst weather they've had in weeks. It was overcast and a bit chilly at times. It rained during the night, but over all didn't ruin the trip at all! Just meant no suntanning.

From the boat a look at Castaway Island. It's a private beach owned by the hostel. They have two guys who live there for two weeks then have two days off. There's a speed boat for skiing, tubing, and of course my favourite, wakeboarding!

Lucky for me the guys I went with for wakeboarding had already been drinking and couldn't take good pictures so this was the best they got and it was blurry. I put it up to rub it in Stanley's face :) So I told my brother and Dad this story, but Mom was on the phone so she didn't hear it and I guess I have to repeat it here.

We had to sign up for wakeboarding or tubing. Our group was big so 30 people in a single afternoon meant only 15 minutes each. To a girl who has grown up on the water her whole life spending entire days tubing, skiing, and wakeboarding - 15 minutes was like blinking. But that was what I had to deal with.

The night before I made the mistake of telling my archnemesis that I had wakeboarded before. Of course the guy ended up being another Jon Mosterd. I didn't know this at the time though. He just asked what I was planning on signing up for and before I knew it I was trying to convince him that I DIDN'T say I was a world class wakeboarder. The effort really wasn't worth it though because he definitely wasn't listening. I just hoped that I could avoid him the rest of the trip.

So the day of signing up was there and of the seven people who signed up for wakeboarding, I was the only girl. That seems to be a trend with lots of things. Sometimes I wish other girls would go the interesting, more physical, more likely to get injured way, but at other times I enjoy showing up the guys. This was one of those times. Until I realized the guy I told about wakeboarding the night before was also on the list.

I determined that I wouldn't be in the boat with him. Thankfully his three other friends were also wakeboarding so the four of them went first and me and the other two guys would go second. Secretly, I got pleasure watching them from shore and seeing them struggle getting up.

When our turn came the instuctor asked if I would go first because I had been before and I could show the guys how to get up (he had asked me when I signed up if I'd been before. Probably thinking he couldn't believe I was signing up and that I'd leave injured, crying, or both). When he asked, the other two guys stopped dead and started complaining that they couldn't believe they were going to get shown up by a girl and that they wished they had been in the first heat of guys wakeboarding.

The only problem I had was the wakeboard itself which my feet I inherrited from my wonderful father were too big for the girls wakeboard and too small for the mens. Since I use Stanley's all the time I figured I'd be ok with the mens, but it was a little too bit no matter how I tightened it making my feet slide around a bit while I was boarding. Not enough to not show off though.

This was my first time boarding with a tower, in salt water, and with someone driving who doesn't know my preferences in boating speed, direction, turns etc. He caught on quick though and after one time getting up he knew I liked to go as soon as the rope was tight in my hands and figured out the speed well as well. Anyway, I did some basic jumps and grabs, one pretty sick fall where I swallowed more salt water than is heathly. I would rather swallow the Grand River water than salt water! It burns! dirt is much more preferable to that feeling. I also got slammed in the chest pretty hard, but I wasn't about to say that to the guys. My head was rattled a bit. It's a good thing there was no helmet though because if there was I would've tried a few of the tricks that have given me concussions before. I just figured I wanted to leave the island with the same amount of brain cells and bones that I came with. The hospital wasn't exactly close and I bought the cheapest health insurrance possible which didn't cover "stupid decision" accidents.

Anyway, despite the lack of impressive wakeboarding, it was still better than anyone there. Heck, all I needed to do was get up for longer than 10 seconds and I was better than everyone else (instructors excluded of course).

So these two guys, having had a couple drinks already, told the entire beach that I had said I did some wakeboarding before but wasn't good and then suddenly I was up "and doing my hair, then fixing my boots, doing my makeup etc before I did backflips and everything else". The rest of the night the alcohol talked and any time I introduced myself to someone they'd say "oh! you're wakeboarindg Tara!". News apparently travels fast. So while they were telling people I was doing backflips, I was telling those same people I wasn't. Unfortunately for me, not only did they take pictures of me with my camera, but they did with theirs as well. Everytime I'm up I adjust my bathing suit bottoms, fix the boots if they're uncomfortable, push the hair out of my face and then go. I just didn't realize others noticed that. They also took pictures so despite the fact there were definitely NO backflips, people belived them over me.

The instructors told me I was the best female wakeboarder they had seen on the island though so that was kinda cool.

Anyway, I'm sure most of you don't care, but I love wakeboarding so that's my highlight of the trip. Although a certain person might beg to differ, but I choose to ignore him.

Day 7: Maison Centrale: Hoa Lo Prison

This is the prison in which John McClain was held during the war. Vietnam is filled with French influence. This used to be a torture prision by the French for their colonized Vietnamese people, but during the war it was a prison for downed American pilots. It was so cool! It's a mini museum full of interesting facts and info. I didn't want to leave!

Day 8: Day trip to the ancient capital, Hoa Lu and the three caves stream, Tam Coc.

First we went to two ancient Chinese temples. They were small, but really pretty. The scenery was beautiful. I'd live there. This waterbuffalo was outside the stone fence. His hole pretty much covered him completely.

The we went biking for "40 minutes". More like 1 hour 40 minutes. At least, it felt like it in the insane heat. Beautiful countryside of Vietnam though. I got burned. Go figure. First burn of the trip. They got worse each time. I suck.

After a delicious lunch buffet of amazing Vietnamese food we went in row boats that took us down the river and through three caves. This is emerging from one of them. It was so dark in them you could murder someone and no one would know who did it. It echoed though so the shot would ring louder than usual. You could use a knife I suppose, but that would be more obvious it was you.

On the boat. We thought that being on the river we'd be rid of all the lady's pushing in your face to sell you junk food, but alas, even on the river we can't escape! they were waiting in boats at the end of the river and guilt you into buying stuff for your guides. We refused to buy them pop or red bull so we bought them water. Then the lady shared sugar cane with us. mmm. so good!

Our last night we met up with our 2 Welsh and 2 American friends who we met on the Halong Bay trip and went out for some good 'ol Vietnamese street food. It also turns out that my archnemesis is another Jon Mosterd who relishes making fun of me and twisting my words to sound like I mean something else. Who knew I'd actually miss making fun of someone? All my friend in Korea are either Korean and they don't understand when I make fun of them or they're western and aren't impressed when I do it.

And that my friends, is the end of my Viet Nam trip. The following day we flew out of Hanoi for Bangkok. Again on a death plane, but not as bad as the previous one. Somewhere in here I am confusing my days because we definitely spent 12 days in Viet Nam. Which reminds me of another funny story. Kris and I knew we were flying out on the 10th for Thailand, but for some reason we thought the 10th was Tuesday. On Monday, the 8th, we figured out we were stupid and the 10th was Wednesday, not Tuesday. Thankgoodness we figured that out BEFORE we went to the airport! Hence the day trip we took to fill space. I had a lot of blonde moments on this trip needless to say. I won't mention them all here or you'll really think I'm a dumb blonde...

I have a million more stories, but not enough time or space to tell them all so here is the first half of my trip. Second half, Thailand, will come tomorrow morning hopefully.