Vietnam's tendency to have their major tourist cities start with the letter "H" makes for catchy blog titles.
Made some Vietnamese coffee and now I'm pumped (at 1:40 am) to write another entry. :)
So now we're in Hue which was the former capital of Vietnam during the Nguyen dynasty in an attempt to unite northern and southern Vietnam. Any time we heard about central Vietnam, fellow travelers would say between Hue and Hoi An that one of them is boring and disappointing while the other is fantastic. The problem is that everyone always mixes up the two cities and nobody can quite remember which one was which! So I'm here to clear that up right now: Hue is incredibly boring and Hoi An is wonderful and vibrant and lively. The main thing to do in Hue is to see the Citadel, which was built to house the Emperor and family. Unfortunately the Citadel was heavily bombed during the war, which means the main thing to do in Hue is to see some ruins. Yes some of the history is interesting and worth learning, but the Citadel consists of meandering through fields and fields without any guidance or understanding of what each empty piece of land originally was. As a historical site, it's poorly structured and uneventful. There are about two original buildings that survived the bombing, but I use "original" loosely as one of them was completely renovated on the inside (and the other is closed to the public) and then there are two re-built buildings that emulate what the Citadel used to look like, which leaves about 20+ plots of overgrown grass and weeds with bits of rubble if you're lucky. The whole thing can be covered in a couple hours. Also I think I've mentioned this before, but this is yet another city that has no business being as expensive as it is. And we ran into not one, but three places that carried out the most annoying and petty "I'm going to pretend there was a miscommunication that ultimately ends in me overcharging you" gag ever, which is when we order a bottle of something like sprite or iced tea (which is 12,000 dong) versus a can (20,000 dong) and then they either tell us the prices are switched or they just give us a can and then charge us (one restaurant went so far as to take a pen and draw arrows on their menu pointing to the true prices, because even though it clearly said "bottle ....... 12,000 dong," it's actually 20,000. Sorry the menu's just printed wrong. Our bad. But yeah you're going to have to give us that money.) It's the principle of the thing gosh darnet. So there were a couple of museums that we went to as well, such as the Ho Chi Minh Museum. There is one in every city, but trusty Lonely Planet said that this one is "better than most" as he lived there for about 10 years. Another common theme in Hue was that every place was completely empty and would look closed when we showed up. So we'd walk in and then someone would eventually come out and sell us a ticket and then they'd go turn on all the lights and the fan for the museum, because why leave on all of this electricity when literally nobody is coming in? Funny, eerie, and weirdly empowering (like we paid for a private viewing) to be the only ones in the museums (in that whole city really). We also ended up eating at an Indian food restaurant for dinner as we had wanted some for a while. We got into Hue around 9 am and left around 7 am the next morning. And our total expenditure for that day (which Julia will go into more detail in another post) was only on lunch, dinner, and two museum tickets. So that's Hue.
Hoi An on the other hand is a sharp contrast to the dullness of Hue. It's a small former port city that managed to stay on the map even after being heavily bombed (and rebuilt) and after losing its status as a major port to nearby larger towns by being declared as a Unesco World Heritage site in 1999. It's the first I've heard of an entire city being a World Heritage site although I'm sure there are a few others as well. Such a smart move and such a beautifully fun preserved city. Where do I begin! There are tons of 600-year-old houses (I say "tons" as in relative to your average town) as well as temples, pagodas, chapels, and old workshops and they're all in Old Town. So what you do is buy an Old Town ticket, which is a package that gives you 5 tickets for you to use as you like amongst the 800+ historical buildings. Sounds overwhelming but a lot of them are actually free and the most popular and interesting ones are obvious as you walk around. The old houses had similar themes with blends of Chinese, Japanese, and Thai architecture. I know I'm going to forget or mix up some of the main facts but I believe Chinese was in the roof tiling which was often a Yin and Yang design, Japanese was in the pillars (which had three vertical lines to represent the three lines on the human palm and five horizontal lines to represent the main elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water [I looked this up so we're all set, don't worry this is correct]. I kind of like that these are the main elements because what happened to Wind? And why is Metal in there? Obviously a lot of thought was put into it but I had never heard of these being the main categories in which everything naturally breaks down, but maybe if I sat down and started a list I would find that everything really does fit neatly into those five), and Thai is in everything else. Since the houses are built right on the water, many of them get flooded during the rainy season, so they have lines marking water heights during various years, some of them taller than Julia! Rather than building the houses on stilts (a la traditional Lanna homes), they still have a first floor with furniture, but the wood is a strong wood that doesn't get damaged so all of the non-water-resistant items just get moved to the second floor during this time. It's fun to think about how having 5 or 6 feet of your city flooded once a year could just be a natural part of your life. Just, yup this is when I boat to school instead of walking and oh yeah the living room is just going to be underwater for a couple few MONTHS so we'll just eat upstairs.
We also went to the Tran Family Chapel which was full of history and interesting facts. For example, when babies in the family were born, they would bury the placenta in the backyard to cement/reinforce the idea that no matter where they traveled in life, they would always have a part of them back home. They also have these antique yin and yang coins that you shake in your hand while making a wish and then throw it into a bowl; if they land one side yin and the other yang then you will have success in that endeavor. A wish in this case is not your typical "I wish I could fly" type of deal but more of a realistic "I hope to be successful in my career." What I love even more is that the guide said you can do this up to 3 times to try and get yin and yang and if even after 3 times you weren't successful, THEN maybe you should rethink your wish. I'm no statistics major but I'm pretty sure that those odds just show how much we as humans come up with superstitions and rituals that will only feed into our belief that we will be successful and that all is good and that life will work out in the end. A brilliant psychological move on the part of the brain I should say, so, tip of the hat to our minds. We also went to an ancient apothecary which we both thought was going to contain some awesome old-timey medicines and bottles with interesting facts about how cocaine used to be used for toothaches (true fact), but it was just...a room full of plates? That was weird. Oh I should mention that most of these places are still occupied by the homeowners who live upstairs, so some of them feel like you're just wandering into someone else's home uninvited.
Ah and Hoi An is just so beautiful. The colors! All the buildings are this rustic yellow that works perfectly with the climate of the city. The way the sun hits the buildings at any time of day, but especially during sunset is just a photographer's dream (except really, an SLR-owner's dream). It's the main city where we wish we had brought Julia's SLR (but we were ultimately glad we didn't because we were too afraid it would get wrecked (not to mention take up half the space in our tiny backpacks) and though there are plenty of artsy photos to be taken in Vietnam, we had a good enough time with my dinky point and shoot). There are tons of crafts and beautiful clothing sold there as well. Julia and I normally don't seek out souvenirs for loved ones back home; we're more the type to buy something that jumps out at us. But here we found the perfect small gifts for my dad and for Kali (not telling though! It's a surprise!). :)
Hoi An also has an awesome and vibrant night life. There are tons of beautiful strings lights and lanterns throughout the city and there's an hour in the night when they turn off all the lights and everybody sits there in the intimate and dimly lit dark. Then when a gong goes off to signify the end of the Earth Hour-esque time, everybody cheers and takes a sip of their 4,000 dong "fresh" beer on tap. Sigh, I miss it already :). We also wandered into a bar that served very cheap "shots" and "buckets." Why the quotes? Well I tried to get a good scale picture but the shots are barely bigger than a thimble (not exaggerating....maybe a little exaggerating but think tiny) and the buckets are actually literally just jelly jars. Love it. They also had a pool table and a wall that you could write on (I'll try to include the pictures at the end) and the sweet owner pleaded with us to stay, even if we didn't buy anymore to drink because they just need it to look like it was a cool hangout place, so we spent a good hour as he gave us tips on how to improve our pool game haha. Also if you're white and looking for a job (again, white is a loose term here, since I'm considered white in Vietnam), it's a thing in this town to hire you to promote their bar (which just means handing out flyers to tourists every night). Tempting, because we would be paid the same amount as we do teaching. Last but most definitely not least, this is where we tried more signature Vietnamese dishes like the White Rose which is a dumpling stuffed with shrimp and spices. Omnomnom.
I forgot to mention in the last post that our frantic xe om ride from the bus to the train station in Hanoi was where Julia got her "Thai Tattoo" or "Vietnamese Victim" (the second one I made up so don't go around repeating that one), which is a burn on your calf from the muffler/exhaust pipe that's exposed on the right side of the bike. Since motorbikes are so common, these burns are also really common. We walked into a pharmacy and pointed at it and they immediately gave us everything we needed to treat it. And at one point we were stopped on the side of the road to fix the gauze/tape and a woman stopped and was like "from motorbike yes?" and gave us advice on how to help it heal. All in all NOT a fun wound but a great battle scar story once it's healed.
We stayed in Hoi An for a few days and then we were on our second overnight bus to Nha Trang, the "hedonistic beach party capital." Halfway done! The second half of our Vietnam trip consists of Nha Trang, Dalat, and Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). Then I'm going to slip in an entry about more of our current happenings, which include volunteering at our local dog shelter, participating in weekly pub quiz nights, more vacationing, and preparing for the new school year.
If you're reading this between when I posted the writing a la carte, then the supplementary pictures (part of a complete breakfast) are coming so check back! (I think I'm getting a little loopy as it's now 3:30 am). Although I am admittedly in a great mood as I finish this entry because of all the reminiscing about our trip to Vietnam. :)
Made some Vietnamese coffee and now I'm pumped (at 1:40 am) to write another entry. :)
So now we're in Hue which was the former capital of Vietnam during the Nguyen dynasty in an attempt to unite northern and southern Vietnam. Any time we heard about central Vietnam, fellow travelers would say between Hue and Hoi An that one of them is boring and disappointing while the other is fantastic. The problem is that everyone always mixes up the two cities and nobody can quite remember which one was which! So I'm here to clear that up right now: Hue is incredibly boring and Hoi An is wonderful and vibrant and lively. The main thing to do in Hue is to see the Citadel, which was built to house the Emperor and family. Unfortunately the Citadel was heavily bombed during the war, which means the main thing to do in Hue is to see some ruins. Yes some of the history is interesting and worth learning, but the Citadel consists of meandering through fields and fields without any guidance or understanding of what each empty piece of land originally was. As a historical site, it's poorly structured and uneventful. There are about two original buildings that survived the bombing, but I use "original" loosely as one of them was completely renovated on the inside (and the other is closed to the public) and then there are two re-built buildings that emulate what the Citadel used to look like, which leaves about 20+ plots of overgrown grass and weeds with bits of rubble if you're lucky. The whole thing can be covered in a couple hours. Also I think I've mentioned this before, but this is yet another city that has no business being as expensive as it is. And we ran into not one, but three places that carried out the most annoying and petty "I'm going to pretend there was a miscommunication that ultimately ends in me overcharging you" gag ever, which is when we order a bottle of something like sprite or iced tea (which is 12,000 dong) versus a can (20,000 dong) and then they either tell us the prices are switched or they just give us a can and then charge us (one restaurant went so far as to take a pen and draw arrows on their menu pointing to the true prices, because even though it clearly said "bottle ....... 12,000 dong," it's actually 20,000. Sorry the menu's just printed wrong. Our bad. But yeah you're going to have to give us that money.) It's the principle of the thing gosh darnet. So there were a couple of museums that we went to as well, such as the Ho Chi Minh Museum. There is one in every city, but trusty Lonely Planet said that this one is "better than most" as he lived there for about 10 years. Another common theme in Hue was that every place was completely empty and would look closed when we showed up. So we'd walk in and then someone would eventually come out and sell us a ticket and then they'd go turn on all the lights and the fan for the museum, because why leave on all of this electricity when literally nobody is coming in? Funny, eerie, and weirdly empowering (like we paid for a private viewing) to be the only ones in the museums (in that whole city really). We also ended up eating at an Indian food restaurant for dinner as we had wanted some for a while. We got into Hue around 9 am and left around 7 am the next morning. And our total expenditure for that day (which Julia will go into more detail in another post) was only on lunch, dinner, and two museum tickets. So that's Hue.
Hoi An on the other hand is a sharp contrast to the dullness of Hue. It's a small former port city that managed to stay on the map even after being heavily bombed (and rebuilt) and after losing its status as a major port to nearby larger towns by being declared as a Unesco World Heritage site in 1999. It's the first I've heard of an entire city being a World Heritage site although I'm sure there are a few others as well. Such a smart move and such a beautifully fun preserved city. Where do I begin! There are tons of 600-year-old houses (I say "tons" as in relative to your average town) as well as temples, pagodas, chapels, and old workshops and they're all in Old Town. So what you do is buy an Old Town ticket, which is a package that gives you 5 tickets for you to use as you like amongst the 800+ historical buildings. Sounds overwhelming but a lot of them are actually free and the most popular and interesting ones are obvious as you walk around. The old houses had similar themes with blends of Chinese, Japanese, and Thai architecture. I know I'm going to forget or mix up some of the main facts but I believe Chinese was in the roof tiling which was often a Yin and Yang design, Japanese was in the pillars (which had three vertical lines to represent the three lines on the human palm and five horizontal lines to represent the main elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water [I looked this up so we're all set, don't worry this is correct]. I kind of like that these are the main elements because what happened to Wind? And why is Metal in there? Obviously a lot of thought was put into it but I had never heard of these being the main categories in which everything naturally breaks down, but maybe if I sat down and started a list I would find that everything really does fit neatly into those five), and Thai is in everything else. Since the houses are built right on the water, many of them get flooded during the rainy season, so they have lines marking water heights during various years, some of them taller than Julia! Rather than building the houses on stilts (a la traditional Lanna homes), they still have a first floor with furniture, but the wood is a strong wood that doesn't get damaged so all of the non-water-resistant items just get moved to the second floor during this time. It's fun to think about how having 5 or 6 feet of your city flooded once a year could just be a natural part of your life. Just, yup this is when I boat to school instead of walking and oh yeah the living room is just going to be underwater for a couple few MONTHS so we'll just eat upstairs.
We also went to the Tran Family Chapel which was full of history and interesting facts. For example, when babies in the family were born, they would bury the placenta in the backyard to cement/reinforce the idea that no matter where they traveled in life, they would always have a part of them back home. They also have these antique yin and yang coins that you shake in your hand while making a wish and then throw it into a bowl; if they land one side yin and the other yang then you will have success in that endeavor. A wish in this case is not your typical "I wish I could fly" type of deal but more of a realistic "I hope to be successful in my career." What I love even more is that the guide said you can do this up to 3 times to try and get yin and yang and if even after 3 times you weren't successful, THEN maybe you should rethink your wish. I'm no statistics major but I'm pretty sure that those odds just show how much we as humans come up with superstitions and rituals that will only feed into our belief that we will be successful and that all is good and that life will work out in the end. A brilliant psychological move on the part of the brain I should say, so, tip of the hat to our minds. We also went to an ancient apothecary which we both thought was going to contain some awesome old-timey medicines and bottles with interesting facts about how cocaine used to be used for toothaches (true fact), but it was just...a room full of plates? That was weird. Oh I should mention that most of these places are still occupied by the homeowners who live upstairs, so some of them feel like you're just wandering into someone else's home uninvited.
Ah and Hoi An is just so beautiful. The colors! All the buildings are this rustic yellow that works perfectly with the climate of the city. The way the sun hits the buildings at any time of day, but especially during sunset is just a photographer's dream (except really, an SLR-owner's dream). It's the main city where we wish we had brought Julia's SLR (but we were ultimately glad we didn't because we were too afraid it would get wrecked (not to mention take up half the space in our tiny backpacks) and though there are plenty of artsy photos to be taken in Vietnam, we had a good enough time with my dinky point and shoot). There are tons of crafts and beautiful clothing sold there as well. Julia and I normally don't seek out souvenirs for loved ones back home; we're more the type to buy something that jumps out at us. But here we found the perfect small gifts for my dad and for Kali (not telling though! It's a surprise!). :)
Hoi An also has an awesome and vibrant night life. There are tons of beautiful strings lights and lanterns throughout the city and there's an hour in the night when they turn off all the lights and everybody sits there in the intimate and dimly lit dark. Then when a gong goes off to signify the end of the Earth Hour-esque time, everybody cheers and takes a sip of their 4,000 dong "fresh" beer on tap. Sigh, I miss it already :). We also wandered into a bar that served very cheap "shots" and "buckets." Why the quotes? Well I tried to get a good scale picture but the shots are barely bigger than a thimble (not exaggerating....maybe a little exaggerating but think tiny) and the buckets are actually literally just jelly jars. Love it. They also had a pool table and a wall that you could write on (I'll try to include the pictures at the end) and the sweet owner pleaded with us to stay, even if we didn't buy anymore to drink because they just need it to look like it was a cool hangout place, so we spent a good hour as he gave us tips on how to improve our pool game haha. Also if you're white and looking for a job (again, white is a loose term here, since I'm considered white in Vietnam), it's a thing in this town to hire you to promote their bar (which just means handing out flyers to tourists every night). Tempting, because we would be paid the same amount as we do teaching. Last but most definitely not least, this is where we tried more signature Vietnamese dishes like the White Rose which is a dumpling stuffed with shrimp and spices. Omnomnom.
I forgot to mention in the last post that our frantic xe om ride from the bus to the train station in Hanoi was where Julia got her "Thai Tattoo" or "Vietnamese Victim" (the second one I made up so don't go around repeating that one), which is a burn on your calf from the muffler/exhaust pipe that's exposed on the right side of the bike. Since motorbikes are so common, these burns are also really common. We walked into a pharmacy and pointed at it and they immediately gave us everything we needed to treat it. And at one point we were stopped on the side of the road to fix the gauze/tape and a woman stopped and was like "from motorbike yes?" and gave us advice on how to help it heal. All in all NOT a fun wound but a great battle scar story once it's healed.
We stayed in Hoi An for a few days and then we were on our second overnight bus to Nha Trang, the "hedonistic beach party capital." Halfway done! The second half of our Vietnam trip consists of Nha Trang, Dalat, and Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). Then I'm going to slip in an entry about more of our current happenings, which include volunteering at our local dog shelter, participating in weekly pub quiz nights, more vacationing, and preparing for the new school year.
If you're reading this between when I posted the writing a la carte, then the supplementary pictures (part of a complete breakfast) are coming so check back! (I think I'm getting a little loopy as it's now 3:30 am). Although I am admittedly in a great mood as I finish this entry because of all the reminiscing about our trip to Vietnam. :)
placentas?!
ReplyDelete-sammers
Another great entry that makes it sound so fun, even the not fun city! And you are "white" or at least not completely Asian! Success for me! ;)
ReplyDelete