Tam Coc, made famous by the film Indochine (still haven't seen it), and the surrounding area are absolutely stunning. Karst peaks and neon green rice fields are but a few of the details that mark the area.
We encountered drizzly weather during our time there but the rain somehow enhanced the landscape's natural beauty and added an element of mystery to it. Damien and I toured the area by private car and tour guide, both of which turned out very well. We wanted to tour the area by bike but the rain stopped us from doing so.
We kicked off our day on a boat tour of the Tam Coc river. It is touristy, yes, but totally necessary. We got there really early in the morning, which is the way to go if you want to visit. The river tends to get overcrowded with tourists and hawkers by 10am. After that, we visited a small local market where I bought coriander seeds (which have sprouted!) and took some pretty pictures. From there we went to the ancient imperial capital, Hoa Lu and finished our day with a boat ride down the river and through the grottoes of Trang An.
My favorite part of the day was our walk through a small local village and cemetery. It was so peaceful and green and lovely!
We stayed in Ninh Binh, a city just 15 minutes away from Tam Coc. Ninh Binh isn't a destination in and of itself but it offers many places to stay and easy access to the sights. We got there by private car (yes, another one). Our driver drove us from the Halong Bay area to Ninh Binh in about 3.5 hours. Not bad considering the two lane road was totally effed!
Halong Bay is so beautiful. It was the second stop on my Vietnam journey. I was lucky enough to spend two days and one night there on a private junk boat with my new friend Damien. We ate fantastic food, went kayaking and enjoyed stunning views for a
glorious 48 hours. We also took a surprise visit to a small fish farm
close to Cat Ba where we arrived just in time for the morning feedings.
We departed for Halong Bay from Cat Ba Island, a point of departure that came highly recommended by friends. Cat Ba and its surrounding waters are quaint and quiet. When compared to Halong City, the more popular Halong Bay jump off point for tourists, Cat Ba is nearly undisturbed by tourism.
Though it was a bit chilly when we visited Halong Bay we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Halong Bay gets very busy in the summer months but remains quiet in the low season, which lasts until mid-April (we were there on April 3).
A local family run fish farm. The largest in the region.
I started my trip to Vietnam in Hanoi, the country's capital city. Hanoi is a truly fascinating place and I hope to go back soon.
I only had one full day in Hanoi and spent the majority of it in and around the famed Old Quarter. The Old Quarter was a great introduction to the city and a good jump off point for visiting some of the city's main attractions.
The Temple of Literature was probably the most impressive of the major attractions we saw in Hanoi. It's one of the few remaining traditional Vietnamese style temples left in the country.
In my opinion, Hanoi's most interesting aspects lie within its smaller details of its daily life. People sitting on tiny plastic stools eating pho and sipping locally brewed bia hoi fill Hanoi's sidewalks. Women balancing baskets over their shoulders in scale like fashion shuffle through the streets and people riding bikes piled high with everything from bunches of flowers to wire baskets filled with live cats (really) make up Hanoi's relentless traffic flow.
What's more, Hanoi's cuisine is damn good. I didn't eat enough. I think I will go
back just to gobble down more. When you go you must try the pho bo (beef noodle soup) and fresh spring rolls.
I just arrived back from a two week stay in Vietnam. Though my time there was short I managed to see and do a ton of things. This first Vietnam post will give you a rough idea of what I did in during my trip. I will elaborate more in coming posts.
Check out my Vietnam itinerary and take note for your own trips!
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Day 1: Hanoi full day and night in Hanoi. Stayed at Camel City Hotel in Hanoi's Old Quarter. The location was perfect but the hotel wasn't. The bathrooms and sheets were rather icky and the staff wasn't very accommodating.
Day 2: Early AM drive and boat to Cat Ba Island. Afternoon and night on a PRIVATE boat in Halong Bay. We booked through Vietnam Eco Tourism (vietnamecotourism@gmail.com). This part of the trip was amazing. If you can afford a private boat I suggest you go for it. We booked a package tour that included hotel pick-up, 2 days and one night on a private boat, meals and a ride to Ninh Binh for about USD$200. Much to our dismay, drinks were not included but I'm sure you can get them included in your package with a bit of bargaining.
Day 3: Morning on the boat in Halong Bay, short afternoon visit to a family-run fish farm, then a very long and bumpy afternoon drive to Ninh Binh in a rented car. Private drivers are expensive to hire in Vietnam since there are very few cars available (motorized scooters are Vietnam's vehicle of choice) but they do make traveling easy and convenient. Do NOT try driving yourself in this country without prior experience.
Day 4: AM boat ride along the river in Tam Coc (made famous in the film Indochine), noon visit to the ancient imperial capital Hoa Lu and an afternoon visit to the Trang An grottoes. We booked a private guide for the day and he was extremely helpful and knowledgeable. We planned on touring the area by bicycle but took a car instead because of the rainy weather. Overnight bus to Hue.
Day 5: AM arrival in Hue. Afternoon visit to the historical Citadel, evening ride to Hoi An. Night in Hoi An.
Day 6: Morning visit to My Son ruins, afternoon strolling through the streets of Hoi An's historical district. Night in Hoi An.
Day 7: Sun baking and snorkeling at the pristine Cham Island, just off the coast of Hoi An. Evening car ride to Danang. Night in Danang near airport.
Day 8: Early AM flight to Dalat, afternoon and night in Dalat. We stayed at Dreams Hotel. It was one of the best hostels I have ever stayed at and the breakfast was AMAZING. Call ahead to make your booking (t: 063-383 3748). They do not have a website. The website that you will find online is a fake. Beware.
Day 9: Day ride to Cat Tien National Park. Late afternoon walk along a jungle river, night in a very rugged bungalow in the park (kinda scary for us city dwellers).
Day 10: 5am gibbon trek through the jungle, afternoon car ride to Mui Ne, evening and night in Mui Ne.
Day 11: Morning on the beach in Mui Ne and afternoon tour of the area's otherworldly sand dunes. Night in Mui Ne.
Day 12: Morning massages, early afternoon swim and sunning, 3:00pm bus to Ho Chi Minh City. Night in HCMC.
Day 13: Day of exploring in HCMC. Morning at the War Remnants Museum, afternoon at Reunification Palace and around.
Day 14: Full day trip to the My Tho canals in the Mekong Delta. Night in HCMC.
Day 15: Half day trip to the Cu Chi tunnels. Evening flight back to Hong Kong.
On Saturday Justin and travelled out to Tai O, a well known and loved fishing village on Lantau Island. Though the weather was a bit dreary we enjoyed our day out of Hong Kong's hectic Central district.
Houses that sit above the sea on stilts, countless dried seafood vendors and friendly locals give Tai O a certain charm that is hard to find elsewhere in Hong Kong these days. Truthfully, there really wasn't much to do there given the time of year but I imagine Tai O is lovely in the spring and summer. I'd like to go back when the time is right to take a dolphin tour. Hong Kong's fabled pink dolphins live out in those waters!
As usual, we spent the day strolling around and eating way too much. I sampled a handmade sticky bun filled with red bean paste and drank some yummy red tea. We ate a ton of fried squid with chili salt and grouper in sweet and sour sauce for lunch.
A quick tip for those who wish to go: travel to Tai O and back by ferry, not MTR. The ferry route is faster. Take a ferry to Mui Wo from Central then hop on bus #1 to Tai O. If you do take the MTR, go to Tung Chung then take bus #11 to Tai O.
Check out my travel tips. You won't be disappointed!
Tip #1:Walk
I’m a big fan of the long and leisurely full-day walk. Some of the best moments I've had traveling are those I've spent wandering in the streets. Walking long distances allows for an entirely different and thoroughly enjoyable kind of sight-seeing. Walking allows you to view things from a more local, street level perspective and it is less hectic, expensive and tourist-and-vendor-ridden than taking a vehicle from landmark to landmark or paying for a tour. When you only have a few days in a place it doesn’t get much better than that. Forget tours, pull on your walking shoes and hit the pavement!
Note: Bikes and scooters also offer lots of fun exploring opportunities.
Tip #2: Don’t Trust People
Sorry, but we really can’t trust people while travelling. I learned this the hard way. Not 10 minutes out of our hostel in Bangkok and we were approached by a seemingly kind and friendly man. He noticed that we were trying to find our way to the city's Grand Palace with a map (maps = stupid tourist). He quickly explained to us that it was a Buddhist holiday and the Grand Palace wouldn’t be open to the public until 3:00 that afternoon. He circled and marked a bunch of places on our map to visit in the meantime. He hailed a Tuk Tuk for us and bargained with the driver for a good rate. We were wary at first but figured we could trust him as he didn’t ask us for money and was seemingly unrelated to this Tuk Tuk driver. Well, needless to say, we were duped. While we did have fun on the very cheap Tuk Tuk tour of the city we were taken to very expensive tailors, jewelers and travel agencies that we didn't necessarily want to visit. As it turns out, these places pay some sort of kickback to the people who funnel tourists to them. If the tourist buys something the Tuk Tuk driver and the kind gentleman who lied about the Buddhist holiday get paid. Granted, there are nice people out there and getting in with the locals is the best way to experience a new place but these people usually want nothing to do with tourists. Be warned: if you do decide to trust someone don't be disappointed when you discover they have ulterior, money-making motives.
Note: You can usually trust other tourists!
Tip #3: Be Ridiculous While Bargaining
I love to bargain. I bargain just for the hell of it, even if I don’t really want what I’m bargaining for. It's such fun when you purchase an item at the price you want to pay! My advice, offer no more than a quarter of the seller’s asking price and stay firm. They will drop their price a little. When you refuse the new price they will act like you are crazy and insist the item you want is worth a lot more than what they are offering. When you refuse again they may try to guilt trip you. They will tell you how badly they need the money to live and feed their children. Remember, you are not responsible for their lot in life, you are not crazy and the item you want probably isn’t valuable. Make sure to ask yourself how important the item you are bargaining for is to you. Is it really worth paying more than your offering price to have it? Probably not. If the vendor is really hard nosed try the “walk away” tactic. Just say, “I’m sorry, I can’t. Thank you for your time,” and start to walk away. Many vendors will give in at this point and sell you the item at the price you first suggested. At this point you’ve won the game and get to walk away with a hilariously random hammock. Congratulations!
I don't really want a hat that bad.
*Note: If you badly want or need the item in question be lenient with your price. Sometimes, it really is worth it.
My enthusiasm for this blog dwindled over the last year for several reasons. Mostly, I was busy with work. I wasn't traveling, which meant I wasn't exploring. Since I wasn't "exploring" I felt I had nothing to write about.
I quit the job that was eating up all my time and took up teaching, a line of work that allows me to travel more and, in turn, blog more. I went to Thailand and blogged about it. I was excited to be traveling and writing again, but soon after traveling to and blogging about Thailand I realized I once again had nothing to write about.
Then I phoned home and spoke with my Dad.
...
Dad wanted to know what I've been up to these days and if I'm enjoying teaching. I explained to him that I am enjoying but am not sure if teaching is something I want to do forever. He responded, "That's fine! It's important you explore these things now so you can figure out what you like and what you don't like."
"That's it!" I thought.
It suddenly dawned on me that exploring is more than traveling, sight seeing and making an honest (albeit naive) attempt at cultural immersion. Exploring, I grasped, has many meanings. Namely, figuring shit out about and for myself! Making decisions, taking risks and trying new things...
At that moment I realized I have loads to write about.
...
And so, the Amateur Explorer marches on. From here I plan to write about what I do, think and come to terms with on a day-to-day basis in addition to writing about my sporadic travel adventures. Perhaps this means my blog will serve as more of a personal diary than an informative blog, perhaps not. Whatever the case may be, I hope my blog continues to hold your attention, my dear reader, and inspires you to tune into your own personal explorations.
