Further reflections on Hanoi, excursion to Ha Long Bay

This last week found many of the students gathered around their computers (old-fogy professors watched CNN) to follow the Tea Fire in Santa Barbara that burned 100+ homes and threatened the foothills behind the Rivera. Several students on the trip had family and friends living in the threatened area and we watched the news carefully online to allay our fears for our homes. Fortunately to our knowledge, none of our homes were burnt.
[Below: Tea Fire…damn. We’ve missed the financial meltdown and now the fire. We’ll be coming home to a different country. Weird.]


Meanwhile, here on the other side of the world…

It’s been an interesting time here in Hanoi. Following this last week, classes have reached their denouement, with finals lurking just around the proverbial corner. Amidst the frantic rush to finish all necessary studying, we’ve been enjoying individual exploratory adventures around the city.
[Below: Hanoi, a city of lakes…beautiful!]


In particular, the Old Quarter of Hanoi is most accommodating to foreigners, where tourists in sandals & socks can be found looking confused and wearing fanny packs. Even though most of us have a…difficult time speaking Vietnamese (at all), we’ve still grown adept at detecting tourist traps of all kinds. Everywhere there are shops and roadside vendors who sell a variety of wares, most of them targeted to the tourist: cultural souvenirs, statues, t-shirts (such as “Tin-Tin in Vietnam,” which I find at least mildly remarkable), art, old propaganda posters, etc.
[Below: Hanoi, Old Quarter]


If you have anything particular in mind to buy, then you should definitely shop around, as what shopkeepers have in their stock tends to be widely available. The shopkeepers seem much less willing to bargain here in Hanoi than in China, so one must be persistent when negotiating a price. That being said, if you are wise, you will still be able to get items for much cheaper than in the U.S.
[Below: Sage being measured for a custom-tailored suit]


To rest after being worn out from buying tourist goodies, there are tons of restaurants to choose from in the Old Quarter that are specifically geared towards Western tourists. Restaurants can offer anything from traditional Vietnamese food to hamburgers and pizza, and generally everything in between. The Irish pubs have provided a good bit of recreation as well. As an afterthought, or at times, a primary objective, we also visited bars/clubs in Hanoi, which tend to be equally as variable in theme and quality as the restaurants. These places are the best locations for communing with other travelers in the region, since they provide comfortable forums within which to initiate conversation. We definitely recommend Dragonfly, Finnegan’s, and Roots, all located in the Old Quarter. One should note that many restaurants, and all shops, will close down before eleven, so it is best to accommodate for these constraints when planning to go out.
[Below: View from our hotel]


The planned trip for this week was a visit to Hanoi University, where the staff and students facilitated a viewing of a Vietnamese movie about the aftermath of the Vietnam War (or, more appropriately, the American War in Vietnam).


The trip started in the afternoon with a bus ride to the campus of Hanoi University. Upon arrival, we were met by Professor Minh and his associates, who welcomed the group warmly. Shortly after arrival we were shuffled off to a conference room, where we were introduced formally to the Professor and to the Vietnamese students who had also come to the meeting.


The movie we were to watch was called “Living in Fear,” and after a few minor technical difficulties, we were able to view it. It was a fascinating, if slow-moving film, that depicted the life of one man after the war, and how he stumbled into the dangerous profession of mine sweeping. (The US dropped more tonnage of bombs on Vietnam during the war than all the allies dropped in WWII combined.) It was both fascinating and incredibly sad to watch: the business of war had become normalized after the country had been entrenched for so long. However, it was also a testament to the strength of the Vietnamese (and, on a wider scale, humans as a species), who persevered after they had lost everything by using anything and everything they had at their disposal to make a living.

[Below: Halong Bay]


On a lighter note, this weekend was our much looked-forward to trip to Ha Long Bay (East of Hanoi on the coast). At the harbor, we were shocked to see the plethora of rag-tag and aged boats with tourists coming and going everywhere. Despite their apparent lack of seaworthiness (don’t worry Mom, we were safe the whole time!) we left the dock and headed out into the bay for some lunch served on the boat.


The boat pushed across the bay and the islands came into sight through the haze, where we docked on an island where there is a UNESCO cave that was shockingly well maintained. And by well maintained, we mean it looked like a more colorful version of the Pirates of the Caribbean cave from Disneyland. The second cave further back was less psychedelically lit. After hopping back on the boat, we navigated a seemingly impossible maze of islands and inlets and rock formations jutting out of the water.
[Below: exiting Sung Sot cave]


We passed floating villages in-between the islands (yes entirely floating towns) and made it to Cat Ba Island where we were set upon by aggressive vendors trying to sell us beer and water and chips. These ladies were persistent and did not take no for an answer, remember, its best just to avoid eye contact because once you start talking to them, they persevere till you leave.

[Below: Cat Ba City]


We took a 30 min bus ride across the island to a sheltered little bay that was jammed with fishing boats and had a ring of high buildings bordering the shore. Our group was excited to go to a nearby beach, and our tour guide took us on a short walk to an even smaller “bay” with a pristine beach. Even though it wasn’t sunny and it was late in the day, we donned our bathing suits and ran into the surf like kids.


Most of us hadn’t seen the ocean since Weihai, in China and even then, the water had been cold. The water where we were was really nice and warm and almost the whole group went out into the water and hung out in the surf, trying to body surf, horseplaying and racing each other.

It was nice to unwind and have fun after all our studying and crowded life in the urban city. After heading back in the dark, we had dinner and headed out separate ways for the evening.

[Below: dusk in Cat Ba City]



Despite our being on what seemed like a relatively small, isolated, unpopulated island, our group found bars and clubs and the relaxation continued, often assisted by overpriced drinks.

The next morning, after an unnecessarily early wake up call, we had some breakfast then got on the bus to head back to the docks on the other side of the island.

We left our Jurassic Park-looking island on the way back to Ha Long, a lot of us lounged on the roof of the boat and took in what little sun there was to be had. The usual suspects could be found playing cards en masse and some of us just napped or caught up on studying.


It was nice to be able to relax outside with no obligations or duties and just to unwind in our own ways. A plot to jump over the side of the boat so we could have one last swim was thwarted. As we were docking at Ha Long harbor our boat was rear ended by another - hard enough to make people lose their balance, but it was just another typical day in paradise!

A tasty lunch brought us up to par and we headed out for the beach again. Some of us went swimming, but most of us just lay in the sun or played Frisbee.

We reluctantly got on the bus to head home to Hanoi. Funny how wherever you’re staying becomes home. With all the conveniences and friends we have together, whatever hotel we’re staying in feels like home.
[Below: back “home” to Hanoi]


Even though our little weekend excursion was far too short, most of us had fun and enjoyed our time. As with almost everything on this trip so far, we wished we could have done it for longer, but were grateful to have done it at all. As we get settled back here in Hanoi and prepare for our final exams, we were all sadly sneaking glances at our calendar as the end of the trip approaches. Many of us miss home, but everyone has had wonderful experiences full of new friends and new food and new sights and sounds. At the risk of sounding cliché, it seems like only yesterday we were in pre-departure wondering what Asia would be like – well, now that we know most of us want to stay here longer or come back…if you’re reading this and haven’t been here, we highly recommend it, it’s an experience not to be missed.

[Below: settling in for the final lecture of 2008 China-Vietnam Study Abroad]