Now that we'd made it to Da Nang, our top priority was determining how we were going to traverse the rest of the country. We stopped by a few travel agencies in the morning and they reconfirmed what we already knew -- no flights till March. With this information we set out to find the train station. On our walk we met "Jon" a Vietnamese man about twice our age and half our size whose job it was to provide bicycle tours around Da Nang. While our request to see the train station was not part of his regular route, he happily agreed and we were off. Two hours, a train and bus station later, we were still without tickets but had a new friend and a view of Da Nang that most tourists don't get to experience!
A little bit worried, but without other options, we headed to Hoi An (a stop we originally intended to make).
Hoi An, a historic old beach town in central Vietnam, lived up to all our expectations and more. Not only was it quaint, but the people were extremely friendly, the food was great and the custom made clothing (their specialty) was plentiful!
As luck would have it, the woman at our hotel was the nicest, most helpful woman we'd met. After numerous calls to the airlines/trains and buses confirmed that there were no cancellations, she was kind enough to humor us when we inquired about the possibility of hiring a driver to take us part of the way to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). She made some calls, worked her magic and arranged for a driver to take us from Hoi An to Nha Trang (550 km closer to our final destination) the next morning.**
11.5 hours later, we pulled up to Nha Trang (aka Miami). So, we made the decision to put our journey to Saigon on hold for a day of sun, cold beer, and $5 massages by the beach...
Back to the car for a measly 8hr drive, we arrived in Saigon on Monday afternoon with a good 26 hrs to spare before our flight to Cambodia!
Having successfully made it from Hanoi to Saigon, we breathed a sigh of relief and realized just how lucky we were to have been able to see Vietnam unfold from North to South. Ocean to the left, mountains to the right and rice paddies in between every small town we passed. We got a true glimpse of Vietnam, something we most certainly would have missed had we booked in advance!
Some Observations on Vietnam:
1. Even though communicating was difficult - very few people spoke English and we do not speak Vietnamese - the people we met were genuine, extremely friendly, and helpful.
2. We learned that everything is better with chili sauce! (Vietnamese food was great, but often times when we were unclear what we ordered, it turned out to be salty and a bit bland, in which case, you could never fail if you went for the chili sauce).
3. The driving was even more absurd than we ever could possibly describe. In fact, we both have been experiencing flashbacks to the sounds of beeping motobikes speeding by.
4. There were billboards throughout the countryside promoting Communism and Ho Chi Minh's legacy...an interesting and thought provoking sight for us.
** Initially, I wanted to rent a car to drive the rest of the way but, Mom, you'll be happy to know that I listened to Michelle at this point in the journey! This turned out to be the right move considering that not a single person we encountered on our 11hr drive spoke English but we also would not have been able to read a street sign or possibly understand the "guidelines" by which the Vietnamese drive.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Our Journey through Vietnam
So the Chinese (aka Lunar) New Year was a great surprise/addition to our Beijing experience, however we had an even more interesting experience in Vietnam thanks to the Lunar New Year.
We had been told that traveling between cities in Vietnam was an easy endeavor, one that your hotel could book for you when you arrived, allowing some flexibility in your schedule....while this is the case 51 weeks a year, it is most definitely not the case during the New Year celebration.
We arrived in Vietnam late Tuesday night and were whisked off on our boat trip to Halong Bay early the next morning, thus, we were oblivious to this "minor" detail until we innocently asked our tour guide on the boat to help us make a reservation on the overnight train. After a few phone calls he returned to inform us that the train was booked until March and so were the flights....hmmmm
Taking some advice from a new friend, when we got back from Halong Bay we headed straight to the nicest hotel in town. There, the concierge was able to find us the last two seats on a flight from Hanoi to Da Nang (half way to Ho Chi Minh City) departing in two hours...
We had been told that traveling between cities in Vietnam was an easy endeavor, one that your hotel could book for you when you arrived, allowing some flexibility in your schedule....while this is the case 51 weeks a year, it is most definitely not the case during the New Year celebration.
We arrived in Vietnam late Tuesday night and were whisked off on our boat trip to Halong Bay early the next morning, thus, we were oblivious to this "minor" detail until we innocently asked our tour guide on the boat to help us make a reservation on the overnight train. After a few phone calls he returned to inform us that the train was booked until March and so were the flights....hmmmm
Taking some advice from a new friend, when we got back from Halong Bay we headed straight to the nicest hotel in town. There, the concierge was able to find us the last two seats on a flight from Hanoi to Da Nang (half way to Ho Chi Minh City) departing in two hours...
Monday, February 22, 2010
Northern Vietnam - Hanoi and Halong Bay
Arriving in Hanoi (the capital of Vietnam) was like stepping into an alternate world. If we thought the driving in Beijing was something to comment on, there are no words to describe the streets of Hanoi...but we'll try.
Essentially cars are very expensive for the Vietnamese, so everyone has a motorbike, literally everyone. In Hanoi, a city of 3million people, this means millions of motorbikes flooding the streets, like a swarm of bees. To add to the madness, in Hanoi there really aren't any traffic lights or stop signs (at least none that anyone observed), so everyone just uses their body language and horn to determine when they can go.
The streets of Hanoi were perilous, however we learned on our 3hr drive to Halong Bay that the "highways" are even more dangerous. Since the road is only two lanes, and there are motorbikes everywhere, we spent about 50% of the drive on the other side of the "highway." It appeared as though every driver needed to win his own game of chicken, accelerating to pass the car/truck in front of him, only to weave back in as the bus racing in the other direction grazed by. Anyone who has traveled with Michelle in a car, can imagine that she was not in her happy place, but seriously, I was terrified too!
Ok, enough about the roads. We were happy to arrive safely at Halong Bay and our next two days were spent exploring the calm waters of the bay. Halong Bay is an inlet in the South China Sea that stretches from Hanoi to China and is made up of over 2000 islands. It was a majestic world, reminiscent of Jurassic Park or something out of the movies. Pictures do not do it justice, but we'll attach some nonetheless :)
Essentially cars are very expensive for the Vietnamese, so everyone has a motorbike, literally everyone. In Hanoi, a city of 3million people, this means millions of motorbikes flooding the streets, like a swarm of bees. To add to the madness, in Hanoi there really aren't any traffic lights or stop signs (at least none that anyone observed), so everyone just uses their body language and horn to determine when they can go.
The streets of Hanoi were perilous, however we learned on our 3hr drive to Halong Bay that the "highways" are even more dangerous. Since the road is only two lanes, and there are motorbikes everywhere, we spent about 50% of the drive on the other side of the "highway." It appeared as though every driver needed to win his own game of chicken, accelerating to pass the car/truck in front of him, only to weave back in as the bus racing in the other direction grazed by. Anyone who has traveled with Michelle in a car, can imagine that she was not in her happy place, but seriously, I was terrified too!
Ok, enough about the roads. We were happy to arrive safely at Halong Bay and our next two days were spent exploring the calm waters of the bay. Halong Bay is an inlet in the South China Sea that stretches from Hanoi to China and is made up of over 2000 islands. It was a majestic world, reminiscent of Jurassic Park or something out of the movies. Pictures do not do it justice, but we'll attach some nonetheless :)
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Beijing Day #2-5
Since we have internet this morning and its a little early to head to the beach, we'll take a minute to fill you in on Beijing...
What an amazing time to be there, the stewardess was not lying, fireworks everywhere -- street and sky for days.
We dropped our bags at the hotel and headed out to celebrate the Lunar New Year with Matt, our local tour guide who made Beijing feel like home for three days. Together we wandered the hutongs (old city made up of alleys) with the locals -- fireworks in one hand, beer in the other -- then finished out the night on a rooftop terrace with 360 degree views of Beijing and its fireworks at midnight.
For the next three days Matt took us around the city showing us authentic Chinese cuisine, the best Peking Duck in town and some fabulous bars.
In spite of all our eating and drinking we did manage to make it to a few of the major sites. Most importantly we spent a gorgeous day at the Great Wall of China. In an effort to not miss any aspect of that experience we hiked up the Wall and then proceeded to walk the Wall for hours (an activity our calves have not yet recovered from - 6 days later).
Observations on Beijing:
1. The people are wonderful - friendly and extremely proud of their country.
2. The architecture is insane - there appears to be no rhyme or reason but brand new enormous and architecturally distinct buildings pop up each day, adorned with red neon lights (the color of happiness and good fortune).
3. The driving is an experience - we were told that in Beijing they put out an average 1,000 new cars a day on the streets, in addition to this, the average driver in Beijing has had his/her license for less than three years. These two facts combine to make the streets of Beijing an absolute madhouse.
4. The food is phenomenal - we desperately miss having Matt order our meals.
What an amazing time to be there, the stewardess was not lying, fireworks everywhere -- street and sky for days.
We dropped our bags at the hotel and headed out to celebrate the Lunar New Year with Matt, our local tour guide who made Beijing feel like home for three days. Together we wandered the hutongs (old city made up of alleys) with the locals -- fireworks in one hand, beer in the other -- then finished out the night on a rooftop terrace with 360 degree views of Beijing and its fireworks at midnight.
For the next three days Matt took us around the city showing us authentic Chinese cuisine, the best Peking Duck in town and some fabulous bars.
In spite of all our eating and drinking we did manage to make it to a few of the major sites. Most importantly we spent a gorgeous day at the Great Wall of China. In an effort to not miss any aspect of that experience we hiked up the Wall and then proceeded to walk the Wall for hours (an activity our calves have not yet recovered from - 6 days later).
Observations on Beijing:
1. The people are wonderful - friendly and extremely proud of their country.
2. The architecture is insane - there appears to be no rhyme or reason but brand new enormous and architecturally distinct buildings pop up each day, adorned with red neon lights (the color of happiness and good fortune).
3. The driving is an experience - we were told that in Beijing they put out an average 1,000 new cars a day on the streets, in addition to this, the average driver in Beijing has had his/her license for less than three years. These two facts combine to make the streets of Beijing an absolute madhouse.
4. The food is phenomenal - we desperately miss having Matt order our meals.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
So Michelle and I fully intended to keep this blog up while we were traveling...even sat down to log in when we arrived in Beijing, however, the Chinese government felt otherwise!
Apparently they arent big fans of blogs and so the "blogger" website is censored throughout China...go figure.
It was probably for the best since we barely slept in beijing let alone sat down!
Here was what we had for our first entry:
China Day #1 - Feb 13, 2010
We arrived safely!
Our journey started off well at Newark....the Continental Terminal Heineken Lounge had phenomenal Bloodys (for those of you who have traveled with michelle you know how important that is)!
Our flight for the most part was uneventful. Aside from Michelle approaching one of the stewardesses and volunteering to awaken me from an ambien slumber when they announced that someone on the plane was ill and in need of a doctor....fortunately (for the sick child) a fully liscened one was on board...
One thing we were told on the flight over is that the average chinese person saves 1/6th of their salary in order to purchase fireworks to set off in the streets for the next three days over the New Year holiday...oh man....this should be interesting!
Off to meet up with Matt Ryder to celebrate Chinese New Year Bejing style.
Apparently they arent big fans of blogs and so the "blogger" website is censored throughout China...go figure.
It was probably for the best since we barely slept in beijing let alone sat down!
Here was what we had for our first entry:
China Day #1 - Feb 13, 2010
We arrived safely!
Our journey started off well at Newark....the Continental Terminal Heineken Lounge had phenomenal Bloodys (for those of you who have traveled with michelle you know how important that is)!
Our flight for the most part was uneventful. Aside from Michelle approaching one of the stewardesses and volunteering to awaken me from an ambien slumber when they announced that someone on the plane was ill and in need of a doctor....fortunately (for the sick child) a fully liscened one was on board...
One thing we were told on the flight over is that the average chinese person saves 1/6th of their salary in order to purchase fireworks to set off in the streets for the next three days over the New Year holiday...oh man....this should be interesting!
Off to meet up with Matt Ryder to celebrate Chinese New Year Bejing style.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
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