Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Post #14 - Saigon (Part II), Hanoi & Ha Long Bay
Hello Loyal Bloggers,
We're back for our latest installment; northen Vietnam. We made a fairly big decision to skip the entire middle part of the country in order to slow down and take our time in the south (not to mention a vacation within our vacation in Phu Quoc). While we're missing what are most likely amazing places like Hoi An and Hue, we are happy with our decision. Like any large traveling endeavor, places have to be cut out and you have to be happy with your chosen route. With that we tell of our latest adventures.
We left Phu Quoc with an up and down flight back to Ho Chi Minh City for a luxurious 24 hours. It's the low season there and unbelievable deals are to be had at the best hotels. We ended up in the Executive Suite at the Continental Hotel for about a third of the usual rate. It was awesome. The hotel is literally the center of town, directly across the street from the opera house. After enjoying the room (with a bubble bath for Shauna and a nap for Pat) we made our way for a delicious at Zan-Z-Bar, one of the many chic restaurants in the city center. After that and a great night's sleep we were refreshed for Hanoi.
Vietnam is home to many tourist scams, as pretty much everywhere else on the planet. We were tested with two going to the airport in Saigon and coming from the airport in Hanoi. The former is straight forward enough. The taxi driver said the meter was broken and asked for a ridiculous number to make it to the terminal. We simply asked to get out for another taxi and the meter magically started working. The latter was more dubious. Apparently Hanoi is famous for scamming, and our taxi driver played the part. He got our address and sped away from the airport. After getting downtown we stopped in front of some hotel, where a young man seemed to be waiting for us. He asked "Tung Trang Hotel (where we wanted to go)?", where Pat then nodded yes. He immediately said it was full and asked us to make room for him in the back seat so he could lead us to another guesthouse that was the "best deal in town". After briefly thinking it over, Pat got out of the car and went into the hotel in front of us. Shauna looked at the strange man and our driver exchange worried looks. We soon realized we were not in front of Tung Trang Hotel and were not even in the right area. Suffice it to say Pat was not impressed. Upon exiting the hotel we were at, the strange man walked away quickly from the scene, to say the least, after seeing Pat's demeanor. The conversation that took place between the taxi driver and Pat (after Pat got into the front seat and shut the door) does not need to be explained in detail, but there were unpleasantries exchanged. The driver was not much more than 16, and he agreed to take us to our guesthouse while turning off the meter. Once we arived at the second location, however, we were still not exactly there. Pat realized we were close, and told Shauna that this drop off would be sufficient. After taking out our bags Pat paid 90% of our bill when the driver protested for the rest. With an enthusiastic finger-wagging scolding (with several more unpleasantries unleashed upon the boy driver), the cab took off. The boy was definitely embarrassed, and it didn't help when the locals standing around understood and shook their heads in disappointment at him. It was a win for the tourist, but we doubt it will do much help from him and his cronies from doing it again.
After that bit of silliness, however, Hanoi was an absolute joy. It really is a fantastic city. We were told there are 6+ million people in the area, but it certainly doesn't feel that big. The city center is very small, and it is full of character. It is chaotic for sure with its signature Vietnamese motorbike frenzy, but it is much more manageable than Saigon. It's very chic as well. Boutique after boutique line up between art galleries and coffee shops. It's definitely a city on the rise, and you can feel that walking around the beautiful old neighborhoods. There are a fair amount of sites to see hear including, yet again, amazing architecture, but the most fascinating was the embalmed Ho Chi Minh. We're not quite sure why communists like to embalm their leaders and show them off to the public, but it was interesting to see nonetheless. The old man looked good. I'm guessing we'll see Mao next up north.
After Hanoi we took off for a two day, one night trip to Ha Long Bay. This is a unique place where ancient limestone cliffs drop off dramatically into the ocean. There is a complicated geological history to how it was formed, but that's another story. As you'll see, it's beautiful. There are all these massive caves throughout, of which we toured one of the largest. We ran into our favorite British couple, John and Sarah, yet again on the streets of Hanoi. We thought we might do dinner one night if it worked out, but we didn't think we would be on the same small tour of the bay! Our initial tour got cancelled due to some regulations, and they suggested another reputable company. On our way to their office, we saw John and Sarah, where we found out they booked the same tour we were originally going to take. We told them it was cancelled and they came with us to book the second tour. It turns out they would have been shit out of luck if they didn't see us. Our first tour operator called the hotels/guesthouses of everyone going, but their guesthouse never told them. We happened to still be at the office when the first tour got cancelled, and were therefore extremely lucky. Small world. Anyway, it worked out really well and we were happy to have them aboard. Our boat was awesome and had a ton of character. It was a mini wooden cruise ship. There was also a diverse group of 15 people on the tour. We had great conversations throughout, and we slowly made our way back to Hanoi the following day.
We're spending the night in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on our way to Indonesia for some sun and fun with Pat's brother Matt. We're really excited to see him and can't wait to add another country under our belts.
Until next time (always much love and appreciation),
S&P
We're back for our latest installment; northen Vietnam. We made a fairly big decision to skip the entire middle part of the country in order to slow down and take our time in the south (not to mention a vacation within our vacation in Phu Quoc). While we're missing what are most likely amazing places like Hoi An and Hue, we are happy with our decision. Like any large traveling endeavor, places have to be cut out and you have to be happy with your chosen route. With that we tell of our latest adventures.
We left Phu Quoc with an up and down flight back to Ho Chi Minh City for a luxurious 24 hours. It's the low season there and unbelievable deals are to be had at the best hotels. We ended up in the Executive Suite at the Continental Hotel for about a third of the usual rate. It was awesome. The hotel is literally the center of town, directly across the street from the opera house. After enjoying the room (with a bubble bath for Shauna and a nap for Pat) we made our way for a delicious at Zan-Z-Bar, one of the many chic restaurants in the city center. After that and a great night's sleep we were refreshed for Hanoi.
Vietnam is home to many tourist scams, as pretty much everywhere else on the planet. We were tested with two going to the airport in Saigon and coming from the airport in Hanoi. The former is straight forward enough. The taxi driver said the meter was broken and asked for a ridiculous number to make it to the terminal. We simply asked to get out for another taxi and the meter magically started working. The latter was more dubious. Apparently Hanoi is famous for scamming, and our taxi driver played the part. He got our address and sped away from the airport. After getting downtown we stopped in front of some hotel, where a young man seemed to be waiting for us. He asked "Tung Trang Hotel (where we wanted to go)?", where Pat then nodded yes. He immediately said it was full and asked us to make room for him in the back seat so he could lead us to another guesthouse that was the "best deal in town". After briefly thinking it over, Pat got out of the car and went into the hotel in front of us. Shauna looked at the strange man and our driver exchange worried looks. We soon realized we were not in front of Tung Trang Hotel and were not even in the right area. Suffice it to say Pat was not impressed. Upon exiting the hotel we were at, the strange man walked away quickly from the scene, to say the least, after seeing Pat's demeanor. The conversation that took place between the taxi driver and Pat (after Pat got into the front seat and shut the door) does not need to be explained in detail, but there were unpleasantries exchanged. The driver was not much more than 16, and he agreed to take us to our guesthouse while turning off the meter. Once we arived at the second location, however, we were still not exactly there. Pat realized we were close, and told Shauna that this drop off would be sufficient. After taking out our bags Pat paid 90% of our bill when the driver protested for the rest. With an enthusiastic finger-wagging scolding (with several more unpleasantries unleashed upon the boy driver), the cab took off. The boy was definitely embarrassed, and it didn't help when the locals standing around understood and shook their heads in disappointment at him. It was a win for the tourist, but we doubt it will do much help from him and his cronies from doing it again.
After that bit of silliness, however, Hanoi was an absolute joy. It really is a fantastic city. We were told there are 6+ million people in the area, but it certainly doesn't feel that big. The city center is very small, and it is full of character. It is chaotic for sure with its signature Vietnamese motorbike frenzy, but it is much more manageable than Saigon. It's very chic as well. Boutique after boutique line up between art galleries and coffee shops. It's definitely a city on the rise, and you can feel that walking around the beautiful old neighborhoods. There are a fair amount of sites to see hear including, yet again, amazing architecture, but the most fascinating was the embalmed Ho Chi Minh. We're not quite sure why communists like to embalm their leaders and show them off to the public, but it was interesting to see nonetheless. The old man looked good. I'm guessing we'll see Mao next up north.
After Hanoi we took off for a two day, one night trip to Ha Long Bay. This is a unique place where ancient limestone cliffs drop off dramatically into the ocean. There is a complicated geological history to how it was formed, but that's another story. As you'll see, it's beautiful. There are all these massive caves throughout, of which we toured one of the largest. We ran into our favorite British couple, John and Sarah, yet again on the streets of Hanoi. We thought we might do dinner one night if it worked out, but we didn't think we would be on the same small tour of the bay! Our initial tour got cancelled due to some regulations, and they suggested another reputable company. On our way to their office, we saw John and Sarah, where we found out they booked the same tour we were originally going to take. We told them it was cancelled and they came with us to book the second tour. It turns out they would have been shit out of luck if they didn't see us. Our first tour operator called the hotels/guesthouses of everyone going, but their guesthouse never told them. We happened to still be at the office when the first tour got cancelled, and were therefore extremely lucky. Small world. Anyway, it worked out really well and we were happy to have them aboard. Our boat was awesome and had a ton of character. It was a mini wooden cruise ship. There was also a diverse group of 15 people on the tour. We had great conversations throughout, and we slowly made our way back to Hanoi the following day.
We're spending the night in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on our way to Indonesia for some sun and fun with Pat's brother Matt. We're really excited to see him and can't wait to add another country under our belts.
Until next time (always much love and appreciation),
S&P
Thursday, April 14, 2011
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