27-02-2008, 09:19 AM
Here's a copy of an e-mail, sent to family and friends and I thought I should share it here.
We should have suspected something out of the ordinary awaited us when in 30 degrees of humid heat in Kuala Lumpur our fellow Vietnamese passengers were clutching jackets and hats, ready for the other end. Hanoi was in the grips of it's coldest winter on record and Fiona and I were as unprepared as the German army advancing on the Russian front. To appreciate anything in Hanoi we were going to have to hit the world's largest clothing factory that is Vietnam, fast, very fast. Trying to haggle a Vietnamese hawker down in price for a cosy "Nike" jacket while decked out in shorts and T-shirt, trying to prevent the enamel in one's mouth from escaping, was never going to yield much success. The romance of a 3-wheel cyclo was lost on us, when the old fellow, using what seemed to be the last of his waining strength, coughing and spluttering, weaved us through the most maniacal traffic one will ever experience. We half expected him to collapse in a heap on top of us until Fiona nudged me into submission and we handed over the agreed money and walked the rest of the way to the Green Tangerine, a fantastic restaurant, by the way.
Why we ever thought Halong Bay would be warmer, being further north than Hanoi, defies logic but Paddy being the eternal optimist proceeded to haggle for beach towels and sunscreen (Baz Luhrmann, you let me down) while the rest of Hanoi was haggling for blankets and heaters.
Halong Bay is beautiful, so beautiful that despite the cold and the rain we still took to sea kayaks in our quest to prove that when on holiday, nothing will get you down.......and we succeeded.
Like a pair of migrating birds, we couldn't wait to head south in search of some summer with Vietnam State Railways. In Hue, the old imperial capital, we finally found it. We also found an elderly Taiwanese man ready to start a revolution on the Perfume River. He had paid 130000 Vietnamese Dong for the day trip and he wasn't going to pay a Dong more for lunch, for the bike rides to the tombs , nor for the entrance fees. He almost got his way.
Vietnamese are seriously industrious, floor space that isn't used for cooking is used to churn out some item for sale, these guys are natural capitalists, how communism has managed to survive as long as it has is bewildering. The other evening we saw the greatest paradox ever, a yellow ferari passing beneath a red banner bearing the hammer and sickle.
Vietnamese also seem to have taken Confucianism to heart, "Smile and the world smiles with you".
We now find ourselves in Saigon for the Lunar New Year, we're still two days away and you'd think they were preparing for the Millenium celebrations. This is going to be one hell of a party.
Now it's time for a Tiger Beer.
Paddy
We should have suspected something out of the ordinary awaited us when in 30 degrees of humid heat in Kuala Lumpur our fellow Vietnamese passengers were clutching jackets and hats, ready for the other end. Hanoi was in the grips of it's coldest winter on record and Fiona and I were as unprepared as the German army advancing on the Russian front. To appreciate anything in Hanoi we were going to have to hit the world's largest clothing factory that is Vietnam, fast, very fast. Trying to haggle a Vietnamese hawker down in price for a cosy "Nike" jacket while decked out in shorts and T-shirt, trying to prevent the enamel in one's mouth from escaping, was never going to yield much success. The romance of a 3-wheel cyclo was lost on us, when the old fellow, using what seemed to be the last of his waining strength, coughing and spluttering, weaved us through the most maniacal traffic one will ever experience. We half expected him to collapse in a heap on top of us until Fiona nudged me into submission and we handed over the agreed money and walked the rest of the way to the Green Tangerine, a fantastic restaurant, by the way.
Why we ever thought Halong Bay would be warmer, being further north than Hanoi, defies logic but Paddy being the eternal optimist proceeded to haggle for beach towels and sunscreen (Baz Luhrmann, you let me down) while the rest of Hanoi was haggling for blankets and heaters.
Halong Bay is beautiful, so beautiful that despite the cold and the rain we still took to sea kayaks in our quest to prove that when on holiday, nothing will get you down.......and we succeeded.
Like a pair of migrating birds, we couldn't wait to head south in search of some summer with Vietnam State Railways. In Hue, the old imperial capital, we finally found it. We also found an elderly Taiwanese man ready to start a revolution on the Perfume River. He had paid 130000 Vietnamese Dong for the day trip and he wasn't going to pay a Dong more for lunch, for the bike rides to the tombs , nor for the entrance fees. He almost got his way.
Vietnamese are seriously industrious, floor space that isn't used for cooking is used to churn out some item for sale, these guys are natural capitalists, how communism has managed to survive as long as it has is bewildering. The other evening we saw the greatest paradox ever, a yellow ferari passing beneath a red banner bearing the hammer and sickle.
Vietnamese also seem to have taken Confucianism to heart, "Smile and the world smiles with you".
We now find ourselves in Saigon for the Lunar New Year, we're still two days away and you'd think they were preparing for the Millenium celebrations. This is going to be one hell of a party.
Now it's time for a Tiger Beer.
Paddy