The Trip to Cat Ba Island
7 March, 2009, 01:40 am in "Vietnam"
Cat Ba Harbor at night
At least some people had fun on the boat
Rusty boat
On the deck of the boat we were able to forget the discomfort inside and watch the quiet landscape. We weren't technically in Halong Bay, but the air held this mythic feeling that I imagined the bay would have. It is one of the locations which transcends the human world. It is what I've been longing to see in Vietnam. Many parts of the shores were inaccessible with rock faces at an angle to the water below, unclimbable. There were a few with empty beaches. It was all quiet and beautiful.
Limestone Islands
As we approached Cat Ba, the first thing we could see was the floating village. Then we rounded the bend and tall rows of hotels appeared. We docked and slipped through a crowd of bikers. Surprisingly only one tout approached us. We managed to escape easily.
Over development of Cat Ba Town
It was a different story in town and we got accosted by many hotel touts and motor taxis. There are tons of hotels. It was sad to see how the hotels marred the landscape and more were being built-- drilling into the limestone cliffs. We walked to the end of the hotel row to a tall fancy looking hotel but the rooms started at $50. Coming back a tout followed us. Rowshan got mad at him and he yelled back, “Why are you angry. Tourists like this.” We disagreed.
We looked at several more hotels. Then I sat and had coffee with the bags while Rowshan looked quickly and more comfortably. As I was drinking my coffee, a foreigner came up to the hotel/restaurant tout girl and said, “I wanted to stop and say hello to you because you were the first person to say “Hi” to me here.”
She replied, “You want to eat?”
He said, “No, I just wanted to say Hi.”
She then tried to interest him in a room.
He said, “No. I don't need a room.”
“What do you want?”
“I just want peace and harmony.” He went on about how he had just had a nice peaceful day.
She asked him if he had a girlfriend.
He said, “No, I don't want a girlfriend. I just want peace.” I wondered if he was battling with the same frustration and anger that we'd experienced and, after a peaceful day, was trying to make amends and be nice to locals. I admired his effort and patience. Eventually he gave up and walked off. Rowshan returned and had found a huge, nice room on the sixth floor of a hotel (no elevator). It had a balcony, lots of windows and a view of the bay. It also has the row of clocks labeled with different cities, which seems to be a mandatory feature of every hotel in Vietnam. Rowshan speculated that whenever someone opened a hotel, people were expected to give them wall clocks as presents. Another feature of these hotel clocks is they usually didn't show anything near to the correct times anywhere.
We looked at several more hotels. Then I sat and had coffee with the bags while Rowshan looked quickly and more comfortably. As I was drinking my coffee, a foreigner came up to the hotel/restaurant tout girl and said, “I wanted to stop and say hello to you because you were the first person to say “Hi” to me here.”
She replied, “You want to eat?”
He said, “No, I just wanted to say Hi.”
She then tried to interest him in a room.
He said, “No. I don't need a room.”
“What do you want?”
“I just want peace and harmony.” He went on about how he had just had a nice peaceful day.
She asked him if he had a girlfriend.
He said, “No, I don't want a girlfriend. I just want peace.” I wondered if he was battling with the same frustration and anger that we'd experienced and, after a peaceful day, was trying to make amends and be nice to locals. I admired his effort and patience. Eventually he gave up and walked off. Rowshan returned and had found a huge, nice room on the sixth floor of a hotel (no elevator). It had a balcony, lots of windows and a view of the bay. It also has the row of clocks labeled with different cities, which seems to be a mandatory feature of every hotel in Vietnam. Rowshan speculated that whenever someone opened a hotel, people were expected to give them wall clocks as presents. Another feature of these hotel clocks is they usually didn't show anything near to the correct times anywhere.
View from our hotel room balcony
Vientnamese hotel clocks H-Annoyed
6 March, 2009, 02:11 am in "Vietnam"
 A dragon made of fake flowers adds some color to the gray city We took the Vietnam Air minibus shuttle into town. As we arrived, the touts began their touting. Our packs were the only ones in the back of the vehicle so when one of the touts went for the back door, Rowshan pushed him away. The tout said “Fuck” and tried to get at our bags again. Rowshan grabbed him by the front of his neck and pushed him away yelling, “Fuck You! Go Away!” The guy yelled stuff back in Vietnamese. Rowshan yelled, “You want to fight-- come on then!” I said, “Rowshan, that's enough. Lets go.” The tout got on the back of a motorbike and said something as he rode off. Rowshan responded, “Come and get me then!” But, the guy just rode off. We hope he will reconsider his choice of career as tout. It made for an unpleasant arrival but later Rowshan said, “Poor guy. I'm so angry at being constantly hassled that I took it all out on him!” “But do you feel better now?” “Yes...I do.” “Anyway, for all we know the guy wasn't a tout but a robber trying to steal a bag and throw it on his friends motorcycle and ride off,” I rationalized. Lonely Planet does mention taxi/moto touts who if you refuse their hotel can get verbally or physically aggressive. So I guess Rowshan just preempted him. As we walked towards the hotel street a young woman approached us, “Hello! I'm a student!” We tried to just walk by but she continued trying to stop us. “I'm a student!” Rowshan and I pushed past with our huge bags and continued on. Incidentally, there is another scam where people pretending to be students wanting English practice lure tourists to places where they end up with exorbitant bills or where other acts of extortion take place. The area is full of touts and people trying to sell stuff. People have a tendency to hit me on the arm (or grab my arm) to try to get us to stop and buy something. A woman hit my arm today so Rowshan hit her arm, “Let her see how she likes that!” I'm really wanting to punch someone myself. It is so hard to stay in a good mood. My mood lifts then someone pesters me and I'm pissed off again. The traffic is pretty insane as well and it is a harrowing experience getting across some of the streets which are swamped with motorcycle drivers.  Motorcycle filled street We just saw a water puppet show which put me in a good mood. Then we had to walk out into the cyclo guys and the people selling stuff. I managed to brush it off until we got back to the hotel and the receptionist started trying to sell me tours-- for the 5th time.  Cyclo drivers with a tour group The puppet show was very cool. The stage was an area full of water with a building in the background. The puppets were on wooden poles and the puppeteers hid behind a screen and manipulated them by moving the poles under water. The puppets were brightly colored with joints which made them move in cool ways from just the movement of the pole. The show was accompanied by a group of live musicians.  Water buffalo and tenders puppets  Musicians at the water puppet show  Water puppets We also took a walk around the Hoan Kim Lake in the old town and admired the Tortoise Tower. There is a path going around the lake which offers a respite from the traffic.  The Tortoise Tower  Finding peace in Hanoi The Temple of Literature is a very communist sounding name for an 11th century university. Walking there we got out of the tourist area and the city became a bit more likable. In the market, people ignored us which was quite refreshing. I still don't seem to delight in the bustle, exotic smells and visual stimuli like I normally would. On our way there we passed a woman crouching on the ledge of a building gripping a knife. I joked that this is what happens if you stay too long in Vietnam and that the knife seller who wanted to sell a knife to Rowshan (while he was really pissed off) probably had sold one to this woman.  A flower seller at the market The Temple of Literature grounds were marked by several tour buses. Still it was a peaceful place with its traditional architecture, bonsai trees and courtyards. The 2nd courtyard had covered pavilions filled with Doctorate Stelae which were stone tablets with inscriptions in Chinese each set on a stone turtle's back.  Entrance gate of Temple of Literature  Tower at the Temple of Literature  Doctorate Stelae There was a temple to Confucius and a building where musicians played mini-concerts using traditional instruments. Behind this was a beautiful wood house which had been built in 2000 based on traditional architecture. It was built using heavy pieces of wood and had that warm old wood smell. From the balcony we could look down on the ceramic roof tiles-- each with a curved point on the end. On the outside of the building were a giant drum and giant bell. The buildings and arches were adorned with dragons and carved flowers.  Temple of Confucius  Statue in one of the courtyards  Roof tiles  Drum Nha Trang: Beyond the Beach
3 March, 2009, 01:17 am in "Vietnam"
 View of houses along the river  Road from Dalat Nha Trang is a beach city and touristy but the beach is so long it isn't overly crowded. We could see islands from the beach. In the evening the locals took over the beach playing soccer, having picnics and enjoying the coolness of the evening air.  View of islands and hotels  Game of beach soccer  Vendor walking up the beach  Men play a game next to the beach One area was full of families flying kites. Parents stood with their children teaching them how to get the kite in the air or helping them with the string.  Families flying kites As we were walking down the beach we found a big grasshopper being tossed soaked by the water creeping up the sand. Rowshan saved it (from the sea and the torments of local boys) by taking it to a grassy park. Rowshan joked that maybe it was a locust and by saving it we were actually giving it the opportunity to give birth to a flock of locusts which would terrorize the farmers.  Our friend the grasshopper Our first full day in town started with a rainy morning. This was a good thing. The pouring rain cooled things off-- at least until the sun came out heating the air until the atmosphere felt like an out of control sauna. We walked in the rain to the Dam market. It is a circular building. The inside has clothing, tacky trinkets, and some electronic stuff. Vendors sold food and souvenirs in stalls surrounding the building. Most of the food stalls closest to the building sold dried seafood and dried sea life souvenirs.  egetable seller at the Dam Market  The dried seafood section of the market  My friends went to Vietnam and all they brought me was this varnished lobster Another part of the market sold ceramic cooking equipment. We saw them unloading a truck by tossing the pieces down. Broken pieces were scattered around the truck. We aren't sure if they were damaged by the ride or the unloading procedure.  Unloading pots from a truck  Ceramic cooker for making Vietnamese pancakes After walking through the market, we turned down a small residential street. The rain continued. The street was narrow and lined with houses. People ran small businesses from the first floor. We stopped at a little coffee shop-- just a couple plastic tables under the roof in front of the house. We got delicious Vietnamese coffee from the smiling, friendly owner.  Our favorite cafe owner in Vietnam Rowshan was taking photos of people as they went by. It was a quiet, relaxing, and pensive place with rain pattering and the blue peeling paint of the building across the street. A cyclo driver who Rowshan took a photo of came into the shop. We couldn't really speak much but everything seemed cool. The owner knew a few words of English. He brought out a caged bird who sang when Rowshan made whistling noises.  Cyclo driver at the cafe After we finished our coffee we continued on the road which got narrower until it ended at some stilt houses on the river. Beyond, low mountains rose capped with clouds. Closer to the beach, there was a bridge where people set out trays of fish to dry them in the sun.  Sharing a meal next to the bridge  Fish drying  Lion statue gives Tamia a high five
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