Vietnam Round-up

I'm in China now, and a Vietnam summary seemed a good idea.

Vietnam was both annoying and nice. Halong Bay was a very relaxing time on a boat. The scenery was spectacular, it was nice hanging out with other people after a couple weeks of traveling alone, the beer was plentiful. On the not-so-nice side, our boat company kept charging us American prices for drinks. (Food was included.) Paying $1 for a bottle of water in Vietnam is the kind of thing that annoys me.

I figured the ideal way to see Halong Bay was to own/charter your own boat, and take off. There are a ton of islands (or whatever they are called) and it would be a fantastic time just exploring the area on your own.

Meeting Dave was also fun. I almost immediately dragged him to drink Bia Hoi with me. Bia Hoi - fresh beer, is a freshly brewed, unpasteurized Pilsner. (The point is to drink it before it goes bad.) We sat on little footstools at a busy street intersection, motorcycles were swerving, street vendors were hawking goods, the street noise was on the High setting - but the Bia Hoi was 1500 dong a glass. (10c, baby.) Life really can't get much better.

Another Vietnam experience was going to see the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum. It was surreal - there were spotlights on Uncle Ho, 4 guards were standing solemnly at 4 ends, with very real rifles, and we all filed past in silence. It had been raining, we were wet, and the AC was on full blast (thank heavens!) and I was very cold and very creeped-out.

Dave was convinced I was trying to get him arrested at the Ho Chi Minh museum next door - I would giggle at the propaganda, and in fact, got my picture taken under one particularly fine bit (a picture will be up shortly). The propaganda wasn't overt though, and the museum was interesting and enjoyable.

Hanoi is a very nice city - I liked it more than Hoi An, definitely. The traffic is crazier, sure, but also the city has more than tourism going on. The mansions were beautiful, the vendors didn't swarm the way they did in Hoi An, and the hotel comped my ridiculously high Internet bill.

On balance, I think I'd go to Vietnam again - it isn't a sure thing, like Thailand, but then again, at 6 days, I didn't really spend enough time there to scratch beneath the surface in any meaningful way. Not a problem I'm going to have at Tianjin, I hope.