During our travels I learned that Hoi an was home to the best tailors in Vietnam. Friends told me that the streets were literally lined with shops, and everyone insisted I go to their tailor once I got there, since their tailor was so nice, gave such good service, and gave them such a good deal, etc.
Well, they weren't exaggerating. This one street (Le Loi) is dominated by custom clothing and shoe shops. Since the prices were so much cheaper than Hong Kong we decided to get a bunch of things made here (3 piece suits, dress shirts, a trench coat, and even silk pajamas!). They also do more fittings than the tailor we went to in Hong Kong to ensure a good fit. I'll have to ship the clothes home from here, which adds to the price, but it's still much cheaper than Hong Kong (which itself is much cheaper than home). My wardrobe for when I start work in August is now officially set.
We took pictures of the tailor fitting me and I'll post them soon. Hat tip to my friend Adam from Scottland (who I met while trekking in Sapa). He recommended the tailor Steve and I went to.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Hoi An - Our Own Private Beach!
Yesterday Steve and I decided to rent a motorbike and go to the beach, which is a few kilometres from the city centre. Unbenknowest to us, most people apparently go left when they get to the fork in the road where the beach begins, but we decided to go right. After going past some resorts and a "dodgy" stretch of land (as the Brits would say), we found an empty mile of beach before the resorts started up again.
No doubt in five or ten years the entire strip will be taken up by resorts, but for now it is a beautiful, untrafficked beach. We were literally the only people on the beach for a kilometre either way until a few travelers we had met just before parked themselves a couple hundred metres down from us. There were mountainous islands on the horizon that made for an absolutely beautiful view. Unfortunately it was so nice we stayed there too long and got sun burnt, so yesterday aftenroon and today we're staying out of the sun. I'll post pictures later when I get the chance.
No doubt in five or ten years the entire strip will be taken up by resorts, but for now it is a beautiful, untrafficked beach. We were literally the only people on the beach for a kilometre either way until a few travelers we had met just before parked themselves a couple hundred metres down from us. There were mountainous islands on the horizon that made for an absolutely beautiful view. Unfortunately it was so nice we stayed there too long and got sun burnt, so yesterday aftenroon and today we're staying out of the sun. I'll post pictures later when I get the chance.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Halong Bay #1
The first picture is two women that I bought some snacks from. Women in rowboats were coming up to all the big boats to sell people snacks. I'm not entirely sure why this is underlined... I tried to fix the formatting but don't want to waste too much time on it!
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Kennedy & Johnson (and sort of Nixon) had it wrong
They thought they could send in the marines and take over Vietnam. As we all know, they were all to wrong in their assesment, with Nixon eventually pulling American troops from South Vietnam after a failed attempt to escalate the war my expanding the war to Cambodia, amongst other places.
While trekking through Sapa in Northwest Vietnam (near the Chinese border) I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if instead of sending in the marines, the Americans sent in Tourists flush with cash (leaving aside whether or not North Vietnam would have let them in and all the other realities that probably make this point moot).
Yesterday morning I was the first in my group to wake. I decided to take my camera and walk around the village. I wanted to get more photos of the countryside, in addition to some pictures of the local villagers.
While walking along the road I noticed a young child doing these impressive cartwheels (possibly with no hands) high up in the rice paddies. I climbed up the hillside/rice paddies about 30 or 40 feet to where he and his friend were working the ground. I motioned a cartwheel with my hands, asking him if he would do one. His response was to put out his hand and say "Money!" (possibly the only english he knows). I gestured to show I had no money on me (which was true), and he decided that he didn't feel like doing any.
Thirty or 40 years ago I imagine he would have done it just for the joy of doing it, and to show off to the foreigner. In any event, I took a video of him and his friend standing in front of me, and their faces lit up when I showed it to them.
This little story is just one example of several that I have from my short time in North Vietnam, and it goes to show how commerce is almost always more effective than war when it comes to achieving geopolitical goals.
On the one hand it felt good that many of the houses in the village had running water (i.e. toilets that flush), and some even had satelitte TV (such as the one I stayed in). Really, I can't blame them for wanting modern amenities like TV, and I can't blame that child for demanding money from me to perform his acrobatic feats. If I were in his situation, I probably would have done the same.
Despite this, I left wondering what Sapa and the surrounding area would have been like 20 or 30 years ago before tourism came to dominate the area.
While trekking through Sapa in Northwest Vietnam (near the Chinese border) I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if instead of sending in the marines, the Americans sent in Tourists flush with cash (leaving aside whether or not North Vietnam would have let them in and all the other realities that probably make this point moot).
Yesterday morning I was the first in my group to wake. I decided to take my camera and walk around the village. I wanted to get more photos of the countryside, in addition to some pictures of the local villagers.
While walking along the road I noticed a young child doing these impressive cartwheels (possibly with no hands) high up in the rice paddies. I climbed up the hillside/rice paddies about 30 or 40 feet to where he and his friend were working the ground. I motioned a cartwheel with my hands, asking him if he would do one. His response was to put out his hand and say "Money!" (possibly the only english he knows). I gestured to show I had no money on me (which was true), and he decided that he didn't feel like doing any.
Thirty or 40 years ago I imagine he would have done it just for the joy of doing it, and to show off to the foreigner. In any event, I took a video of him and his friend standing in front of me, and their faces lit up when I showed it to them.
This little story is just one example of several that I have from my short time in North Vietnam, and it goes to show how commerce is almost always more effective than war when it comes to achieving geopolitical goals.
On the one hand it felt good that many of the houses in the village had running water (i.e. toilets that flush), and some even had satelitte TV (such as the one I stayed in). Really, I can't blame them for wanting modern amenities like TV, and I can't blame that child for demanding money from me to perform his acrobatic feats. If I were in his situation, I probably would have done the same.
Despite this, I left wondering what Sapa and the surrounding area would have been like 20 or 30 years ago before tourism came to dominate the area.
Halong Bay
Having been told that the Halong Bay trip was a lot of fun (read: the bar is open until the last man is standing), I wasn't surprised to see it start off with the hostel staff handing out giant straw sombrero style hats. I guess the colourful hats helped them spot us in a crowd while we were in transit.
The bus ride to Halong Bay was just over 3 hours, with one stop on the way. They had a giant gift shop and a small restaurant. This gift shop was pretty much a scam. They were asking for upwards of ten times what I had paid for hand made embroidered art the day before (for almost the exact same pieces). If you went to Halong Bay straight from the Airport, you may not have realized what a rip-off it was. Nonetheless I was hungry so In got some food (which was more reasonably priced). Personally, I've found the ramen noodles to be the exact same thing as back home, although the flavouring is sometimes better.
The first night we were to stay on a boat, and the second night on our own private beach. I was actually impressed by the boat - apparently they had recently renovated it. Halong Bay itself is beautiful - just an endless stream of limestone cliffs jutting out of the water (once I get my camera cable I will post pictures). Our boat drove out into the bay, where it docked so we could go swimming. I was the second one off the top deck of the boat, and was pleasantly surprised by the warmth of the water.
This was the warmest sea water I have swam in by far. The Carribean and Mediteranean are note even close. Most swimming pools I have been in are colder!
The next phase of our trip was kayaking - my specialty. I was paired up with a British guy named Carlo, who coincidentally had also just finished his bar exams before traveling to Asia. While we were paddling near the front of the group we turned around and noticed one of the boats had tipped. We decided to go back and help them do a T-rescue since the kayaks around them didn't seem to know what to do.
Once we got there I started to explain what we were going to do to the two guys in the water, when the staff told me there was no way it would work, and that they should try bailing their boat with a flip flop (there was a LOT of water in the boat... his suggestion almost made me laugh). Anyway, between the four of us (two in the water, two in a kayak). we were able to do a proper T rescue and get them back in their boat without incident. The guy from the hostel looked at us and said that he had never seen anyone do that before! Carlo and I were quite satisfied with ourselves.
Later on we walked/climbed through a cave, and I pretty much had the brightest flashlight of the group. So, shout out to mom for buying me that "torch". Everyone in the group benefitted from it's bright white light!
On the second day, we took another boat to our private island - it was raining a little, but fortunately it cleared up later in the day. Steve and I went wakeboarding (or should I say Steve Wakeboarded and I tried to wakeboard), followed by a relaxing day on the beach, and a short kayak trip to a beautiful, secluded lagoon inside of the island directly across from ours. We could tell the wakeboard instructor got along with the Vietnamese staff quite well, so Steve and I made an effort to befriend him (and the Vietnamese staff). After dinner while everyone else started with the drinking games, Steve and I were hanging out with Jordan (the wakeboard instructor) and a couple of the four Vietnamese staff on the island. They taught us some Vietnamese, and Steve and I each bought them a round of drinks (the Western staff get free alcohol but the Vietnamese staff don't). It was $1 a drink, so it only cost me $6 to buy a round for Steve, myself, and the Vietnamese staff! Jordan really appreciated it, so he got Steve and I a round of drinks later on.
In case my parents are reading this, after drinking with Jordan and the Vietnamese staff Steve and I carried on a deep philosophical debate as to whether or not tourist dollars were destroying the very fabric of Vietnamese society. Great thinkers ranging from Plato to Bob Dylan were quoted in this spirited exchange.
Considering our huts were sheltered from the rain, but not the noise (many animals including birds and goats populated our island), I slept surprisingly well.
The bus ride to Halong Bay was just over 3 hours, with one stop on the way. They had a giant gift shop and a small restaurant. This gift shop was pretty much a scam. They were asking for upwards of ten times what I had paid for hand made embroidered art the day before (for almost the exact same pieces). If you went to Halong Bay straight from the Airport, you may not have realized what a rip-off it was. Nonetheless I was hungry so In got some food (which was more reasonably priced). Personally, I've found the ramen noodles to be the exact same thing as back home, although the flavouring is sometimes better.
The first night we were to stay on a boat, and the second night on our own private beach. I was actually impressed by the boat - apparently they had recently renovated it. Halong Bay itself is beautiful - just an endless stream of limestone cliffs jutting out of the water (once I get my camera cable I will post pictures). Our boat drove out into the bay, where it docked so we could go swimming. I was the second one off the top deck of the boat, and was pleasantly surprised by the warmth of the water.
This was the warmest sea water I have swam in by far. The Carribean and Mediteranean are note even close. Most swimming pools I have been in are colder!
The next phase of our trip was kayaking - my specialty. I was paired up with a British guy named Carlo, who coincidentally had also just finished his bar exams before traveling to Asia. While we were paddling near the front of the group we turned around and noticed one of the boats had tipped. We decided to go back and help them do a T-rescue since the kayaks around them didn't seem to know what to do.
Once we got there I started to explain what we were going to do to the two guys in the water, when the staff told me there was no way it would work, and that they should try bailing their boat with a flip flop (there was a LOT of water in the boat... his suggestion almost made me laugh). Anyway, between the four of us (two in the water, two in a kayak). we were able to do a proper T rescue and get them back in their boat without incident. The guy from the hostel looked at us and said that he had never seen anyone do that before! Carlo and I were quite satisfied with ourselves.
Later on we walked/climbed through a cave, and I pretty much had the brightest flashlight of the group. So, shout out to mom for buying me that "torch". Everyone in the group benefitted from it's bright white light!
On the second day, we took another boat to our private island - it was raining a little, but fortunately it cleared up later in the day. Steve and I went wakeboarding (or should I say Steve Wakeboarded and I tried to wakeboard), followed by a relaxing day on the beach, and a short kayak trip to a beautiful, secluded lagoon inside of the island directly across from ours. We could tell the wakeboard instructor got along with the Vietnamese staff quite well, so Steve and I made an effort to befriend him (and the Vietnamese staff). After dinner while everyone else started with the drinking games, Steve and I were hanging out with Jordan (the wakeboard instructor) and a couple of the four Vietnamese staff on the island. They taught us some Vietnamese, and Steve and I each bought them a round of drinks (the Western staff get free alcohol but the Vietnamese staff don't). It was $1 a drink, so it only cost me $6 to buy a round for Steve, myself, and the Vietnamese staff! Jordan really appreciated it, so he got Steve and I a round of drinks later on.
In case my parents are reading this, after drinking with Jordan and the Vietnamese staff Steve and I carried on a deep philosophical debate as to whether or not tourist dollars were destroying the very fabric of Vietnamese society. Great thinkers ranging from Plato to Bob Dylan were quoted in this spirited exchange.
Considering our huts were sheltered from the rain, but not the noise (many animals including birds and goats populated our island), I slept surprisingly well.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Art Shopping in Hanoi
Today was probably the most exciting day of my trip so far. The morning was fairly relaxed - Steve and I booked our trip to Halong Bay, and we went to the Temple of Literature (Vietnam's first university) and the famous "Hanoi Hilton" POW (Prisoner of war) camp from the Vietnam war.
The Temple of Literature was an oasis of calm right in the middle of rush of Hanoi. It was a little odd being in such a serene setting, but hearing the constant honking of car and motor bike horns just outside the Temple walls.
After seeing the Temple we went for lunch. We walked by a packed restaurant that was exclusively patronized by local Vietnamese. We decided we wanted to eat what the locals were eating. As soon as we sat down our waitress brought us each a beer, taken from a giant vat (easily 5 times the size of a normal keg). We were a little worried when the english menu had no prices, but the meal ended up costing about 12 dollars for the four of us (and that was after ordering a second round of food and one of us getting a $5 plate of chicken). So my meal cost me $2! It was one of the most delicious meals I have ever had.
Later on Andrew (another Torontonian I met that morning) and I went shopping for art. After getting quotes and walking around several different shops, we decided we both wanted embroidered paintings, and I wanted some oil paintings. These shops are amazing - let's just say my parents are going to have a couple packages of paintings arriving at their house in the next few weeks. For less than the cost of buying a print of comparable size I got oil paintings on canvass. These artists are masters at reproduction - and they even do custom work. You can send them a picture of ANYTHING you want turned into a painting and they will do it for you. A 60 inch by 80 inch painting costs around $30USD plus shipping. Assuming the paintings arrive in Ottawa in good condition I definitely will use these guys again in the future.
Tonight Steve and I are meeting a whole bunch of people we have befriended in the past day for dinner in about an hour. We'll be a big group - probably 7 or 8.
Tomorrow morning we're off to Halong Bay for 2 nights and 3 days... so I might not be able to post for a few days.
Sleeping in a Tree Top Canopy!
I am going to be in Laos next month, and am planning on doing a special eco-tourism trip. It's a couple nights and includes sleeping in a tree top, a couple hundred feet above the ground!
By doing this in addition to a trek to Sappa (Northwest of Hanoi near the Vietnamese/Chinese border) I'm hoping to get off the beaten trail and see some more authentic rural areas.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Forrest Gump and Vietnam
As many of you know, Forrest Gump is one of my favourite movies. While Forrest Gump is in Vietnam it rains for several months straight: sideways rain, spitting rain, downpours, and every other kind of rain.
Last night I got to experience a downpour - fortunately I was inside at Finnigan's - an Irish Pub near my hostel. Other people weren't as amused by this, but I enjoyed the novelty of being at an Irish Pub staffed exclusively by Vietnamese. The roof was literally leaking in the back while we were playing the pool, and we could see that the kitchen was flooded with several inches of water.
Out on the street things weren't much better. Cars were going by slowly because they were kicking up massive amounts of spray. Everyone was joking that we were going to have to swim home from the bar. I guess Hanoi's sewer system isn't that bad after all, because shortly after the downpour became a drizzle the streets cleared up and we were able to walk back to the hostel without any problems.
Lastly, Steve and I played pool against two guys from Western Canada, and of course, we won in dramatic fashion with both sides only having the 8 ball remaining. It is so humid here that they have baby powder beside the pool table for you to rub on your hands. The cues dont go smoothly back and forth because your hand gets so sweaty/humid!
Hanoi
Just arrived in Hanoi... the ride in from the airport was quite something! There are rice paddies just a couple hundred metres away. Also, the drivers are crazy! I've heard more horns honking in the last hour than the last year.
I saw some amazing looking art shops from the van on the way in, and am hoping to check them out later... maybe buy some original art and ship it home?
Time to go explore the hostels rooftop bar, and the rest of the area!
I saw some amazing looking art shops from the van on the way in, and am hoping to check them out later... maybe buy some original art and ship it home?
Time to go explore the hostels rooftop bar, and the rest of the area!
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