Last week I went to Vietnam for 4 days, Hanoi specifically. Hanoi is in the north of Vietnam and with it being winter, we found ourselves in 40-50 F weather suddenly. This may not seems cold to most of you I know, but imagine living in 95-100 degree heat continuously…..40 degrees might as well be below freezing because that is what it feels like.
So wearing literally most of the clothes I packed at any given time, we set out to explore the city (no I am not kidding…in the photos I have not gained 10 lbs, I am just wearing 4 tshirts, 2 sweaters and a fleece jacket!).
Hanoi was celebrating Chinese New Year, which is the most important holiday of the year. Many Asians in many countries are ethnically Chinese – this is a point of pride and as such Chinese lunar New Year, or TET as they call it in Vietnam, is as important to the Vietnamese as it would be in China. For many people who work 7 days a week this is the only time off they will have all year. So for the 4-day celebration, they spend 1 month preparing and often also spend the family’s savings from the previous year. There are many preparations to be made as TET prescribes certain foods be served, certain clothes (see the children in their "Sunday best") be worn and many offerings to be made to dead ancestors. This is a quiet time to be spent in reflection, with family, in the temple. The kick off celebration happens on Hoan Kiem Lake which is decorated as you can see with lights and balloons – it was a majestic sight to see in the evenings, like something out of a fairy tale.
So what did we do during this time? Let’s see we ate Pho – the dietary staple of the Vietnamese, which is basically an Asian version of chicken noodle soup. We drank delicious Vietnamese coffee which is this tasty but sludgy stuff made yummy with condensed milk. We visited the Hanoi Hilton prison where John Mc Cain and other POW’s were held. We saw the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. We road cyclos (pedicabs) around the city. Met some lively expats in the only pub that was open. We drank fresh, unpasteurized Vietnamese beer - Bia Hoi. We ate lovely bread (a benefit of French colonization) which is nearly impossible to find in Bangkok. We found our way to sheesa bar where we were the only non-Vietnamese, but were welcomed just the same.
And after 2 days of traipsing around the city, we set off on a 3 hour drive to Halong Bay. Just when I think I have seen the world’s most beautiful vista, I am struck by another. Halong Bay was all emerald green, misty, magical beauty.
We boarded an antique junque ship to tour the bay and spend the night on board. With one breathtaking scene after another, the bay unfolded….full of fishing villages, tucked away caves and incredible rock formations. This is a place a must see again in the summer as I bet the water sparkles like a precious gem.
Lying on the upper deck of the boat and witnessing something so spectacular, I found myself feeling very, very lucky yet again. To be here, to have new friends, to have new travel companions, to have a life I never could have imagined…to be greedily taking in the beauty of a place that is so close I can return anytime I like…life is good.
