Good-bye Vietnam

So the time has come to say good-bye to Vietnam. Last night was our last evening. We celebrated in a fitting manner by having one last street dinner in the midst of street choas, followed by a 3-dollar bottle of Dalat red wine (Dalat is the local Vietnamese wine area) over-looking the streets of Hanoi. In our shared moment of reflection, we both agreed is was a good trip and a worthy mission. We will miss it.

As usual at this stage in the game, emotions are mixed. While both of us could easily commit to travelling indefinitely, now that the exit strategy is in place, we have our sights set on home. Sitting here in the Hanoi departure lounge, Nelson's north shore seems like a fantasy in a far away land. It is currently about noon on sunday. We will arrive in Nelson late in the day on Tuesday after 3 flights, 2 airport stopovers of 8 and 12 hours, a night in Vancouver, an 8-hr drive, and a 17-hr time difference. It ain't gonna be pretty.

OK, as bugs bunny once said: That's all folks! See you on the next mission...

The Hill Tribes

Sometimes the best things just happen. Plan B -- our side trip to Sapa in northwestern Vietnam -- was a huge success. As mentioned previously, our beach plan had to be scraped, and was replaced with a forray into the mountainous region north of Hanoi, where Vietnam borders China and Laos. The journey started with the overnight sleeper train (which was kind of fun in itself) from Hanoi to the border town of Lao Cai, on the border with China. From there it was a quick 1-hr bus ride up to the mountain town of Sapa -- a beautiful town nestled in the Hoang Lieu mountains, nothing snow-capped, but in the 2 to 3 thousand metre range, and layered in bamboo forests and terraced rice paddies.

The town is quite charming and a good place to visit in itself, but the real attraction is the access to the hill tribes that inhabit the area. The "hill tribes", as they are referred to, are ethnic minority groups who live in the mountainous regions of Vietnam, since virtually all true-blue Vietnamese live in the lowland areas. Each tribe has its own language, customs, mode of dressing, and spirtual beliefs. It's amazing that villages that are walking distance apart speak totally different languages and cannot understand each other...but I'm getting ahead of myself.

The highlight of our visit was a 2-day trek (all the time we had) into the villages. Very similar to Nepal, the villages are remote and accessed only by walking trails that have been pounded into the ground over the mellinnia. We hired a guide -- a 17-yr old girl from the H'mong tribe -- and followed a route through the hills and rice paddies and stayed for the night in what they call a "homestay", which is exactly that: staying in someone's home (a rustic wooden structure with a roof, and a cooking room complete with the stone-age fire in the middle of it spewing black smoke throughout). The scenery was amazing, and the hill tribe people were wonderful -- full of life and loving to talk and laugh. The meal our guide cooked over the fire at our homestay was delicious, and definitely ranked near the top meal we had in Vietnam. All in all, a highlight of the entire trip.

So back on the night train to Hanoi last night. We weren't in the hills for a long time, but it was a good time. We're back in the big smoke right now waiting at our hotel for the breakfast guy to bring out the coffee. Once that happens, today is our last-minute shopping and organizing day. Tomorrow we fly out...(tears all around).

Stay tuned for one last good-bye Vietnam post.

Hanoi... Paris of the Orient

As you all know, we finally made it to Hanoi. A pleasant surprise and a much superior city to Ho Chi Min, we (I) have embraced the city life and have really enjoyed everything the busy streets offers.

The Old Quarter, with narrow streets, exotic smells and women with baskets full of freshly steamed buns make it a walker's paradise. There are so many interesting things to see and do, that getting lost in the bustle is half the fun. The city is alive with cafes, shops and restaurants.

The mornings have been especially rewarding. With the lake at the centre of the Old Quarter, the Vietnamese rise early to do Tai Chi on the lake's edge.

The smell of the French bakeries is irresistible and the chocolate croissants are on par with those of Paris (I should know, I gained about 5 pounds pretty much sustaining myself on chocolate croissants 10 years ago).

Young Vietnamese love is all around and the shopping...

With everything so cheap it is easy to fill a suitcase full of souvenirs. Lacquered bamboo, tea sets, silk anything and everything - I went a little crazy.

While Rob graciously offered to take care of bike boxes, I spent an entire day filling bags with goodies. By the time I arrived at the hotel, the bikes were taped up ready to go and Rob had planned our exit strategy from Hanoi.

So after a surprisingly comfortable night train, today I write you from Sapa - a lovely town in the northern mountains. We are ending the trip with a rather big treat - tomorrow we head into the mountains for a 18 km hike, home-stay with a tribal family and then back to Sapa to catch the night train on Friday.

Stay tuned because (weather permitting), the pics will be superb.

Hanoi...km 1710

With mixed feelings we cycled into Hanoi yesterday. Mixed because it means we have arrived at our objective, but it also means it was our last day on the bikes. Cycle touring is a love-hate thing. There are times when you wonder why you're doing it, but sitting here in our cushy big-city hotel sipping coffee, I'm already missing it.

The past few days of riding to get here from Cat Ba island were very pleasant, if not uneventful. The ferry ride back to the mainland through Halong Bay was stunning. The day started with a dawn 25-km ride across the island to catch the ferry. It was a stunningly beautiful ride through the jungle and mountains. We were way off the tourist route, since virtually all tourists take the "tourist bus-ferry" route that leaves directly from the hotels of Cat Ba. We had the road to ourselves and then shared the locals-only 1-dollar ferry ride with about 10 Vietnamese who I think we're wondering what planet we were from. "Canada" we told them in reply to the constant barrage of "where you from". Then "ah, Canada good".

With an overnight stop in Halong Bay City, we rode to our next overnight stop near the Con Son Pagoda (pagoda = temple = place of worship). Again, way off the tourist routes we toured the pagoda with about 1000 Vietnamese worshippers...not a caucasian in sight. The funniest thing happened to Amy here. She was stopped about a dozen times by teenaged girls who wanted to have their photo taken with her. I think they thought she was a movie star or something. The Vietnamese think Amy is beautiful because of her white skin and blond hair. She has been told "you very buutiful" the whole trip. Me...I get nothing. I'm just the big stupid white guy. Although once I was asked to step on a scale because they wanted to know how much I weighed...which is about 90 lbs more than the average Vietnamese guy.

So, the plan for the next day or so is for Amy to shop (she's very exicited about that) and for me to figure out how I'm going to pack up the bikes for the flight home. If time permits, we're hoping to take a few days and go to the mountain town of Sapa which is northwest of here. As usual, we'll keep you posted....

Halong Bay...weather gods have spoken

The good news is that we made it to Halong Bay, the bad news is that the weather sucks (20 degrees, cloudy, drizzle). Just to back up a bit, after a couple days of cycling we caught the ferry from Hai Phong on the mainland to an island in Halong Bay called Cat Ba island. Halong Bay is a rather famous place for the beautiful limestone islands that project out of the tourquoise water dotted with isolated beaches...you know, the postcard kind of images we have of southeast Asia. True to form, the area is amazing, but, as mentioned, the weather just isn't cooperating.

The original plan was to get here as our final destination and find a beautiful beachside cabina and have some serious beach time before we fly out. But alas, despite the beautiful beachside cabina and the tourquoise water, we have been forced to rethink that plan, and are now looking towards heading back to the mainland and cycling towards Hanoi and playing it by ear. With projected highs of 18 degrees and drizzle/showers for the following week, no amount of beautiful beach is going make that fun. So, tomorrow we are back on the ferry and heading towards Hanoi.

But hey, the view from our oceanview hotel is stellar, the fishing boats make a nice distraction, the restaurants and cafes are great, and, Amy got a 1-dollar pedicure!

Happy Birthday Amy

As mentioned previously, it was Amy's birthday yesterday, so we kicked it up a notch and seeked out a restaurant that was suitable for the occasion. As luck would have it, we are in a fairly large city with lots of choice. If it was the day before, the choices would have been limited to mystery meat on the street, or mystery meat on the street. At any rate, price was no object (knowing full well that it's still a tenth of the cost we're used to).

After a couple minutes of walking we found a "trendy thai restaurant" that looked up to the challenge. It didn't disappoint. Amy has been pining for a "hotpot" dinner since the beginning of the trip, and it was on the menu. This was our chance. It was awesome. It's like a fondue except that you simply dump everything you want into the hotpot which is on a cooking element...shrimp, squid, fish, pork, chicken, veggies, they gave us a pile of stuff. Then after a couple minutes of cooking, you dig in and get whatever you want to eat. With a little bit of Thai sweet and sour sauce, it's delicious. You do a little at a time, so like a fondue, it takes a long time and makes for a very enjoyable dinner. Our server was very patient with us and showed us what to do. Complete with a bottle of Vietamese red wine, it was lovely.

Bon appetit!

FOOD!!!

Since we seem to be caught in some wet weather, I thought now would be good time to make a food posting.

Taking care of some housekeeping first - we are presently in Haiphong. Haiphong is the third largest city in Vietnam and is located about 100km east of Hanoi. We are heading to Cat Ba Island tomorrow for some beach time before ending our trip in Hanoi (weather permitting).

After our 80km ride today in the rain, we were pretty slimy when we arrived. Now showered and clean, we are contemplating plans for dinner.

For those that know me well, I am all about the food experience. I will try even the most disgusting food once (I had seven rubbery squid for dinner just the other day).

Food has not been a disappointment here in Vietnam. Cheap street food is on every corner and the larger centres have whatever your stomach desires, whether it be posh Vietnamese or cheesy pizza.

The day typically starts with a really STRONG coffee that is brewed in small strainers that sit over the coffee cup. The result is a think gruel that has the same volume amount as an espresso shot. Being foreign wussies, we usually dilute the coffee with water which the locals are constantly perplexed by.

Breakfast for the Vietnamese is Pho, which is a soup. The main ingredient is noodles, though usually thinly sliced beef or pork in the accompaniment along with a communal plate of fresh greens (basil, mint etc.), lime wedges and fresh chilies. Pho is everywhere and the grade and ingredients vary depending where you are.

Other dishes include crunchy pancakes that are made with shrimp and other seafood and then rolled (along with fresh greens) in rice paper, fresh or fried spring rolls, fried noodles and rice.

"Com" is the Vietnamses word for rice and the literal translation is "food". And man, the Vietnamese love their rice. It plays the starring roll in almost every dish including desserts and drinks.

For bread-loving Rob, Bahn My has been the staple. Because the French were here for so long, fresh baguettes are available every morning and when you are hungry (like we pretty much always are), they sure do hit the spot. Street vendors fill the baguettes with some type of sandwich meat (I think it is better that we don't know), cucumber, greens (usually cilantro) and smother it with sauce. For about 50 cents, the value is great!

Like most tropical countries, fruit is another major attraction. Pineapple, mango, oranges, passion fruit and dragon fruit (a crazy looking fruit that is pink on the outside with white flesh and small black seeds on the inside) are available in every market and are delicious in smoothies.

Typically, Vietnamese start and end their meal with green tea - hot or cold, it is complimentary at even the most humble of food stalls.

I think tonight we might be kicking it up a notch. It is my 33rd birthday today and Rob said we could upgrade our dinner standards to a place with a menu - hope it is in English!

ps. Check out the video of Rob in our cooking class - he really was the star pupil!