The day before riots broke out in Chiang Mai, we made our escape by train to Bangkok and caught our flight to Singapore. We arrived in Singapore and were impressed right away with the airport, which rivals or exceeds the Hong Kong airport, thus far the best we have seen in the world. We were happy to find that the subway/train system is connected to the airport and were able to get to our destination for only $1.90 Singapore dollars each (about $1.25). Also rivaling Hong Kong, the train system is clean, air conditioned and efficient. You can get anywhere you need to go in Singapore with ease.
Singapore is a fascinating country, famous for caning people, but not as strict of a police state as they have the reputation for. We saw only one police person in Singapore, just a squad car driving down the street.
Unlike our country, they have no such thing as deficit, they actually have a surplus of $170 Billion US dollars, which they tapped into for the first time this year, for stimulus. When we were there, they announced that their short recession was over. We couldn't see any signs that there had been one.
The thing that stood out the most is the harmony of the citizens. There are people of all races and religions, people from numerous countries, living here together without all of the tension one would expect. It's like what NYC should be, but can't pull off. This is the real melting pot of society. Their food is a true fusion, while they still have plenty of real Chinese food, it is side by side with Indian, Malay and International fare.
Singapore is famous for its hawker stations, which are basically food courts. We unfortunately had to pass on the hawkers and stay in restaurants because it is next to impossible to get anything without MSG without going to a nicer place. We were disappointed, and again, it is a shock that all Asian food is laden with this disgusting additive. We went to one restaurant that had a large selection and I asked if we could get our food cooked without it. The waitress said the one item was a cheese pizza. There had to be 150 items on the menu, but all had sauces or something else that had it in large quantities. Weird and gross. Upon researching MSG we were shocked to discover that U.S. junk food is laden with it, as it is addictive. Watch out for cravings for Doritos, Cheetos, KFC, Taco Bell or McD's, to name a few. They are using it to make America fatter, as if we needed any help.
We were pleased to find two really nice brew pubs in Clark Quay and tried them both. Brewerkz was the first and the interesting thing was that the price goes up for each pint, depending on the time of day, starting at $4 in the afternoon and hitting $9 by 10pm. The Pump Room was a little more quaint, but they both served pretty good fare and very good beers. The selections were impressive and they both touted some awards. Neither used MSG.
Singapore was under British rule from 1824 until 1963 and had a sad history of slavery and empirical tyranny. Singapore was built on the backs of workers who came from China, India, Malaysia, Arab nations & Japan. Each were segregated into their own neighborhoods where poverty, prostitution, opium addiction and overcrowding were deadly as disease swept through the area. Many of the Singapore laws were structured to combat the the four ills that plagued them; gambling, drugs, alcoholism and prostitution. We spent all of one day at the National Museum, which houses an unbelievably detailed history of the City-State. We started by having an amazing lunch at the museum restaurant. Not cafeteria food as we expected, but delicious risotto. We started the tour and they handed us interactive headsets which are used to hear about displays, and to use for audio on the many videos and displays. We read somewhere that to listen to the each item would take over 10 hours. This is for the historic portion only, not the new modern section of the museum that we did not have the time to go through. We wish we had another day to spend there. The displays take you through ancient Singapore, ruled by Malaysian people and then describe how it was taken over by England. The museum details the terrible abuses suffered upon the people by the Brits, the deadly opium dens, as well as the atrocities committed against youn girls who were nothing more than prostitutes, and terribly abused. One of the big women's rights victories was that the girls could finally buy their freedom from prostitution at the age of 18. This all happened under British rule. There was more than one display that was so disturbing that it made Cathie cry and we were both uncomfortable. The truth hurts, even when it isn't your own.
A large portion of the museum was dedicated to the Japanese occupation after the Brits retreated during the war. After Japan surrendered to the allies, the Brits returned to Singapore to reclaim their hold and acted as if they were responsible for winning the war and freeing Singapore. Many of the locals did not see it that way and thought instead that the Brits abandoned them and left them to rot (which they did) and tried to come back and act like they were heroes (which they also did). This was the beginning of the strong desire to be free of Britain, which gradually happened, ending with their release to Malay rule in 1963. This was short lived, and two years later Malaya gave them their complete independence. This is when Singapore blossomed.
It is an interesting contrast to have visited Vietnam shortly before, and then to see Singapore and compare the differences. Both countries were rebuilding, or really forming their futures in the late 1960's and early 1970's, and it is clear who came out on top. While Vietnam has no potable water, lack of education, terrible infrastructure, etc., Singapore is world class all the way; potable water, one of the best subway systems in the world, a highly dense population that never feels like it, a hodgepodge of races of multiple religions, educated citizens, Dali statues in public squares, friendly helpful people everywhere, very low crime, the 5th wealthiest nation in the wold per capita, the list goes on and on. The difference between the two countries and their results was in their leadership. While Vietnam had Ho Chi Minh, Singapore was graced with Lee Kuan Yew, who had ideas that national pride comes from happy, educated citizens. He believed that every man, woman and child should be able to read, so he built libraries and schools bringing their literacy rate up from 50% to 96%. He industrialized the nation and actually put the tax revenues back into the infrastructure, and it shows. Singapore is a glimpse of what Vietnam could have been, but never will be with their Communist rule.
For anyone making a trip to Asia, we highly recommend a stop here, to recharge, get some comfort food, speak English to people, be treated with kindness and respect and learn a little about a great success story.
How Terrorists & Travel Agents Ruined Our Trip to Bali
We were making arrangements through our ticket broker for our return trip from Bali to LAX, which is a tedious task, pretty much a nightmare when dealing with Ticket Brokers International, and in particular Mara. Yes, we received a pretty good deal on our tickets, but when she sold them to us, she told us in writing, "when you make changes overseas, there is no charge and no problem! We can make any changes you want." So the first change we tried to make caused us to stay in Chiang Mai an additional 10 days (wow), because they are not open while you are awake, even though they don't sell tickets for travel in the U.S. they keep only U.S. business hours. Second, this Mara person cannot answer the phone when you get up in the middle of the night to call her, nor will she call you back when requested (she did not once dial our number). Next, she only deals with you on email, and mostly you get an out of office auto reply, because she works maybe one random day of the week. Finally, to get out of Chiang Mai, we were able to get in touch with one of her associates, who actually knows how to dial a phone. When it was time to get our return trip from Bali, she again would not call, but sent an email stating "THE ONLY TICKET I CAN GIVE YOU IS LEAVING IN 7 WEEKS. I SUGGEST YOU DEAL WITH THIS ON YOUR OWN." Wow, so helpful. This company sucks. Every time at the airport, the airline asked us for our paper tickets, which we of course didn't have and we ended up taking 15 minutes to get checked in at the counter. Also, on the way to Bali, they had very tight restrictions on baggage weight which we were not told about by lovely Mara & they tried to charge us $70, so we had to move some bulk to our carry on and delay the line even longer. Use this company if they have the cheapest tickets, but use a different agent, for sure.
Upon researching the lack of tickets out of Bali, it seems that because terrorists just blew up the Ritz- Carlton and Marriott in Jakarta, everyone is getting the freak out of Indonesia. The terrorists were targeting Americans, and it is a very uncomfortable feeling when you are so far from home. Many times on our trip we felt unwelcome, by Asians as well as Aussies and Europeans, who have much disdain for our country's politics and wealth, but this time we actually felt endangered.
Because the flights were booked, there were also very limited rooms available when we arrived. We ended up staying at a lovely Ramada on the beach, one of the nicer resorts around. The pool was amazing and was actually built beneath and around an old temple which they preserved. In high contrast to Thailand, where the beaches and people are beautiful, this beach was covered in litter and the people were, to put in nicely, bothersome and greedy. We were laying on the resort chairs on the beach, in an area designated for guests of our hotel and they actually woke us up every five minutes to sell hair braids, fake nails, foot massage. It was embarrassing and kind of gross. We have heard that other parts of the island are great, that other people are not so rude, but we didn't enjoy it, not at all. The ocean was cold and murky, like California. The tourists were trashy. We wanted out.
We contacted Cathay airlines, and at first they said that our agent needs to make our arrangements, because they are supposed to deal with them and the ticket agent could see that they were purchased through a travel agent. I explained that ours sucks and read her the email. Cathay has great customer service and she found us two tickets that we wouldn't have to wait list for, but were for the next day. The deciding factor was being reminded that 202 people were killed in Bali in 2002. We watched the police holding machine guns while putting up banners on the beach to warn us of terrorists. We took the tickets and said hello and goodbye to Bali in the same 24 hours.
We were sorely disappointed by having to cut our trip so short. We had both heard Bali is wonderful and had originally planned to stay a few weeks. However, after first getting ripped off and extorted for our luggage by the porters at the airport, and being unable to relax on the beach, we really look back and are glad we got out. Never really wanting to go back. First impressions are lasting and Bali left a very bad taste in our mouths. Missing Thailand and looking forward to returning to the U.S.S.A.......
Return to Thailand in Chiang Mai...Same Same, but Different
The citizens of Chiang Mai are the friendliest we have met in all of Thailand. The people are friendly and gracious and everyone has a smile. There are several people we wanted to take home with us, Jeab, our favorite restaurant owner, our laundry person, baby panda... Chiang Mai has only been part of Thailand since the 1930's and the name means "New City" - it is only 700 years old. We learned a lot of history at the National Museum and were surprised to learn that after the 200 year Burmese occupation, the city was ghost town for two decades in the 1760's and 70's. Lanna means One Million Fields of Rice and this area was once know as the Lanna Kingdom. It was primarily settled by Chinese immigrants. The food is a little different than what we had in Bangkok, the rainforest and the islands; the spices a little different, the people a little different and the local greeting is Sawasdee Chao, in lieu of Sawasdee Kaa. Same Same, but different.
After a couple of days at a different hotel and still recovering from the Government Flu we caught in Hanoi, we transferred to the Chiang Mai Orchid. This was once a lavish hotel, but is now a little dated. The King, Queen and numerous Princes & Princesses have stayed here, including Princess Di. We normally wouldn't need something this comfortable, but why would we stay in a crowded smelly guesthouse for the same price? We had a great room, fitness center, pool & sauna, free internet, cheap mini bar and great staff. We loved it! We left the hotel for a weekend excursion in Hang Dong, and upon our return the manager greeted us at the front door and said, "Welcome Home!" The hotel is on the NW corner, right outside the city's moat and walls and next to the largest mall. Everything we needed was steps away and we didn't have to put up with the drunk college kids, pollution or high food prices (and watered down white man's curry) in the tourist area by the river. Most of the time we were the only Westerners. Again, we seem to be making a habit of this, but it works well for us. Ben sang Karaoke with Chinese businessmen and we were treated exceptionally well during our stay.
The cost of ten 2 hour massages at Spa Gregories in Newport Beach can get you a flight to Chiang Mai and 20 massages in a better spa, including hotel. We discovered the greatest spa ever, right in our own hotel, the Asia Herb Association. This spa is much nicer than anywhere we've been in the States. We discovered the wonders of the herbal ball massage. They make herbal balls and steam them in the room while you are getting your body worked on. The room fills with a steam of the aroma of kafir lime, lemongrass, ginger, mint, etc. After the massage, they take the balls and press them all over your body. This is supposed to detoxify and is beneficial for immunity. All we know for sure is that the bug we had in Hanoi was burnt out of Cathie and you come out of there looking 10 years younger. It is glorious!
Thai massage here is nothing like the "Thai" massage we tried in California. It is an ancient art, and when you get a masseuse who is properly trained, it is unbelievable. These ladies are part chiropractor, part physical therapist, all love. When you find a good one, they intuitively know where you are hurting and make the pain go away. Thai massages not only work out knots, it stretches tendons and opens up your energies. A little chi and a little girl smashing into your back. Actually, the middle aged women with lots of experience tend to be the best!
There are street markets here, the most famous being Night Bazaar. But the best one by far is the Sunday Market, where they close down the streets and performers play, college students sell their art, and the articles are genuine, not fake Rolex and Louis Vuitton like at Night Bazaar. There is food everywhere, and we saw the most incredible band playing (check out the video) on the street. Very catchy modern original songs with a wide range of instruments, from electric bass, melodica, bongos to a 5 gallon paint bucket. All of them were blind and were very inspirational. Amazing.
The food in Chiang Mai is so fresh, EVERYTHING tastes better here. Khao Soy, the local specialty, is a new favorite. A couple of local restaurants have been on our rotation, Lemongrass down the street from the Orchid, Brix at ThaePae Gate at the Mondri Hotel, and Beer House Restaurant on Rajamngkla. All affordable, all delicious and of course, the great Thai people that work there make them pleasurable, every time. The mountains and valleys around Chiang Mai are full of agriculture and we have been lucky to visit the markets and enjoy the glories of the fresh food in Chiang Mai.
Chiang Mai has at least a half dozen cooking schools where you can learn to create your favorite Thai dishes. We tried a school called The Best Thai Cookery School and enjoyed it so much that we tried a another called Siam Rice Thai Cookery School. The schools were Same Same, but different, like the names. We went to a market and reviewed the Thai ingredients such as lemongrass, galangal, kafir lime and turmeric. After learning about the ingredients, we went to the school and cooked a soup, curry, noodle dish, stir fry and dessert. The schools were equally likable, The Best has a little more flash and a little more fire, but Siam Rice has smaller classes and is more personable.
We made these!
The best part of these classes is that it takes the fear out of what is in the food you order around town. No wait, the best part is eating it all! We will be having a dinner party when we get back, as soon as we have a place to chop some lemongrass.
We spent a weekend in Hang Dong, south of the city, in the dense forest. We stayed at a very quiet resort (we were the only guests) and enjoyed a little hiking and the Night Safari, which was nearby. The resort is located in one of several national parks in the area and we had a nice, super sweaty hike to a couple of small waterfalls. Night Safari is a zoo, but the two largest sections are open only at night and are accessible only by tram. There are animals right on the road and these limited viewing hours are probably a little less bothersome to the animals who are left alone for all but 2 to 3 hours each day. In addition to an elephant, which you expect to see in Thailand, we actually petted a hyena, who thought that would ever happen! The Night Safari has had some criticism for deaths after opening, but they are working on it and have six vets on site. They have had many live births (including capybara!) and the most important thing here is allowing people to see the animals so they will have some empathy for them. Thailand and all of Asia have a terrible animal trafficking problem. Endangered species are taken, sold, eaten, stuffed and there is a huge profitable market for this, particularly when selling to the Chinese. We read some news articles about some traffickers that were captured with forbidden animals and compared to getting caught smoking a joint, the punishment is laughable. We hope the future generations will stop this insane business, and realize that people want to go to their forests in hopes of spotting an animal, not to eat their sex organs for virility.
A long day was spent at Chiang Mai Zoo. They are doing a good job of educating children with entertaining shows, much like those at San Diego Zoo. There are some things that were really different. We hand fed hippos some veggies, and fed an elephant some bananas. For liability reasons, this would never happen in the states, without signing a waiver and paying a bundle. Also, some of the animal habitats are very close, like having lions a few feet away from the viewing area, only an 8 to 10 foot leap over a ditch. The highlight here, of course, are the pandas. The baby panda was born on the day we entered Thailand and they didn't know she was pregnant! We viewed the mama and baby on closed caption and spent a lot of time with the poppa. They are so much closer to the viewing public than the pandas we saw in San Diego, it was incredible! Panda Fancy!
The Chiang Mai Zoo has a newly opened aquarium, which is one of the better aquariums we have visited. There are several displays, but the draw are two large tunnels, one fresh water, the other salt. They are designed for you to stand on a moving sidewalk for viewing, but it was not crowded enough to warrant this.
One of several day long excursions available are to visit the Hilltribes, ChiangDao cave, King Kobra show and the Butterfly and Orchid Farm. We always seem to go to caves and we have been to butterfly farms all over the world, so we couldn't pass this up.
The Hill Tribe people whom we visited are primarily refugees from Burma. There are seven tribes, but our favorite and the most traditional were the Padong Long Necks of the Karen Tribe, the women who wear a coil so that they appear to have very long necks. What this actually does is push their clavicles and ribs down. Their necks are not damaged, but we are sure it isn't the most comfortable. They also wear the brass coils around their knees. There are several theories on why they do this, and none can actually be confirmed by them. One is that they wanted to look like a dragon, because being taking away by a dragon is good luck. Another theory is that the women needed protection from tigers. If they had a long neck covered by brass, the tigers couldn't bite through. The last, and most believable, is that they wanted to be unattractive to the Mongols and Burmese so that the women would not be stolen.
Unlike the Akhatribes people, whom we saw as far south as Bangkok hawking croaking frog toys and hats on the street, the Longnecks are very low key. They charge a nominal fee to enter their village, which they share with the Big Ears, and sell beautiful scarves which are woven before your eyes. We were glad to buy things from them as their profits are sent to their homeland in Burma to help their people fight the junta. Big Ears and Long Necks do not go into the town, although some may send their children to school. The girls now have a choice if they want to wear the coil, which they must start at the age of five. They only remove the coil when they need to replace it with a larger one, but once they are fully grown, they never take it off again, even in the grave. This tradition may last for another generation or so, unlike the other Hill Tribes. Their kids are already dressed in Western clothing and do not follow traditions. We have probably witnessed some of the last of the Karen and Lahu and Lisu traditionalists as they were all elderly women. ChiangDao cave is one of the most beautiful we have ever seen. The Burmese discovered this during their occupation and it has several Burmese style Buddhas, including a well loved reclining Buddha. We saw stalactites, stalagmites, crystal, a giant spider, sky openings and the entrance is incredible. We highly recommend this cave and would have loved to have time to do the long tour, which is not lit and requires a little squeezing through small openings and crawling on all fours.
The King Kobra show was the option in lieu of Tiger Kingdom. There was just too much controversy around Tiger Kingdom for us to feel comfortable going. Mixed reviews regarding the animals being drugged, some claim they are beaten and they have seen bloody welts on their noses, others claim it isn't true, so we passed. We actually enjoyed the King Kobra show, since they can't beat a cobra. We got there just when a large tour group was leaving so we had the show to ourselves. We saw many types, included Thai or monocled cobra and king cobra, and we both held and kissed a python.
The Butterfly and Orchid Farm was nice, it is always lovely to walk around beautiful things, but it cannot touch the Butterfly Conservation near our hotel in Arenal in Costa Rica earlier this year, which was amazingly informative and expansive. As with many things in Thailand, at the Orchid farm, if you are interested in what a species is, or want more information, you are out of luck.
On our last night we finally went to Muay Thai Boxing. We had been handed fliers a half dozen times, then finally gave in. Muay Thai is interesting because of the tradition that goes along with it. They have a ritual at the beginning of each fight where they go around the ring and kneel and pray, stretch and do a little dance. It is much more technical than regular boxing and they are gentlemen at the end of the matches, going into each other's corners and accepting water and condolences or congrats from the opposing teams. We saw a couple of knock outs and the winner always ran over to make sure the opponent was not injured too badly before any celebratory gestures. The show consisted of eight fights, one with teenage girls, and two Caucasians in the last two bouts. Pretty sure this was a set up, but a hilarious one. The first was Canadian, who beat up an out of shape and overweight Thai boxer. The next was a Belgian, who looked like he studied with John Basedow. His opponent was more than middle aged looked like he stood no chance. It was like Jon Claude Van Dam came to Thailand to beat up his Asian Grandpa. It seemed apparent who the winner would be and the kids from Europe were throwing bets down like there was no tomorrow. Their enthusiasm for the foreigner soon turned to surprise at the local fighter's skill. A Brit sitting next to us, turned to his friend and said "he's got so much old man strength, it's sickening!" Sickened they were when old man strength won out in the best match of the night, the Brits left with their pockets empty and the Thais made some easy money with their ringer. We saw one kid actually sobbing, he had bet everything he had in hopes of making a fortune off the dumb Thais and now he was ruined. Serves him right! They are very smart and wise to the farang (gringo) greed!
Chiang Mai has the cozy feel of a college town, with educated people who have more money, more room to breathe, better housing and fresher food than other areas we've visited. There are currently only 250,000 people in town and 1.5 million people in the province. A far cry from gritty Bangkok, but it is growing at a rapid pace. We cross our fingers that when we come back here, and we will, that it still has the college town feel. We were very, very sorry to leave here. It is the kind of place where you can lose yourself in a giant bowl of curry and get lost in the sweet smiles of all the people around you who are genuinely living the Buddhist lifestyle. Our lives have been changed forever and we can't wait to see everyone to tell you all about it!
WE HEART CMX!
Some Comparisons & Thoughts About Home
We were a little tentative about the restrooms in Asia....some of us are a little picky about such things. The good news is that no restroom we've seen can touch half of the restrooms in NYC or even at The Harp in Newport, or any bar really. Some of them are actually beautiful!
There is at least one bowling alley. 130 Baht for 5 games and shoes. It is a steal! We were also walking distance to it from our hotel. It doesn't sound very Thai, but it was a great treat to relieve a little homesickness. It made us miss Panda Fancy, Mr. Gibbs and the good times we had for the last two years every Wednesday night!
The only people wearing "ethnic" garb (besides the Hill Tribe people in the mountains) are the Westerners. The locals dress in modest, casual, modern clothing.
We learned that Cathie's exploding swollen lips (she had them once in Newport Beach and all over Thailand and Vietnam) are an allergic reaction to MSG. Mai SaiPhongChurot! Once this was figured out the spicy food was much more enjoyable! It is shocking that almost every restaurant in every Asian country uses this in abundance, yet we've only run across it once back home. It is disgusting and makes food taste more "meaty".
TheWestern Pervs are not as skinny as they were in Bangkok, and there are less of them in CM. So the ones you see stand out more. They would never be able to pull off this crap at home. They try to convince the girls that they are rich, big spenders. The girls don't know what we know, which is that if these men were really rich, they certainly wouldn't need to go across the world to find a gold digger. It is just pathetic. Not sure what to think about it, but no matter how you look at it, it is WRONG. Eww.
The songtaews (pick-up truck taxis) cost a fraction of what they charge on the islands, (KoPhangan). We could go from one end of town to the other for 20 baht each (about 70 cents).
McDonalds delivers. Dial 1711, kind of like a mix between information and an emergency. While we would never stoop so low, we did actually have a great pizza at the Pizza Company on a day when Cathie couldn't eat the spice because of the swollen, puffy, MSG lips.
There is an Auntie Annes in the mall, just the right kind of comfort food that reminds us of home. Pretzels are great for soaking up curry in your belly.
Pandamonium has hit and there are Panda statues and posters going up on every corner. We lived in San Diego when they had their baby, and they weren't nearly as into it. Go Panda Fancy!
Hanoi was different. In celebration, we will be writing this post differently, showing good points in BLUE. If you are easily depressed, on the verge of suicide, or feeling hopeless, you may want to read only theBLUE sections. If you are Communist, you may want to skip all normal type and go straight to the BLUE. If you want the whole story, read on.
People
Upon arrival, we had a sketchy taxi driver and his partner who tried to take us for a ride, monetarily. He did not have a meter in the cab, but was offering the same rate (it is $7.50 per person to the Old Quarter). On the way there they tried to tell us that 300,000 dong is $2 US, showing us the dong and insisting. (They never counted on us figuring the conversion rates before we came and making a chart for quick reference). We looked up the actual value; $300,000 is around $17 and we told him so. We became very nervous because he was chatty before, but stopped talking when he realized we weren't that foolish. We wrote notes back and forth, which are pretty scary looking back, saying, "they could be taking us anywhere, they may mug us, try to over charge us, hold our bags ransom, or worse." We passed some police and they quickly shut off the light we were using in the backseat, which only made us more uneasy, as they clearly did not want us to be seen in their car. We decided to pretend that our money was in the trunk in our backpacks, and sure enough it was a good idea. They did take us near our hotel and the street was absolutely packed with people like we had never seen. Manhattan has nothing on these throngs of people walking, riding and sitting all over the streets and sidewalks. They pulled over and said "pay us, pay us now", in very unkind tones. We told them the money was in the trunk and they were very upset by this. We get out on the sidewalk and they threw our backpacks at us and insist on $30 US (twice what they should have and what we agreed to), but we really didn't want to get jacked for $15 bucks so decided to pay it and get out. However, when trying to pay in Dong, they tried to grab the money from Ben, insisting that they would take the equivalent of $30 and again got very upset when Ben refused. Luckily, we had some US money left and gave them that. They were very displeased. Welcome to Vietnam.
Unlike in Thailand, the people are not smiling in the streets. They have no shame in showing their anger at each other. We witnessed a lot of aggressive looks our way. It is important to remember that we went to war with them, only 35 to 40 years ago. Our troops were calling them "gooks", killing their women and children, destroying their villages, and they were punished for their geography and their government's politics. While the US GI's were following orders to win at all costs and kill whoever got in their way, the North Vietnamese soldiers were committing the same atrocities against their own countrymen in the South. We talked about Roger Rabbit, remembering the line "a Toon killed my brother." It is easy to understand why they don't appreciate our presence.
Our hotel had breakfast for us everyday and set up tours for the customers. They were surprised that we did not want to take a tour to Halong Bay (we did not want a 10 hour round trip on a bus, it is out of season there, and we just saw similar geologic formations in Khao Sok.) Instead, they set up a tour of Hao Lu and Tam Coc for us. Our hotel was called The Astoria at 151 Hang Bong. They were gracious, kind, helpful and all around great people. Returning to the hotel everyday was like coming into a sanctuary of kindness and a very cool air conditioned room. Comfortable rooms, very clean and well kept. We recommend this place if you ever have to come to Hanoi!
The young adults of Vietnam are an interesting lot. As in Thailand, the women who are educated or professional show it in their dress and would never be caught dead wearing revealing clothes, skimpy tops or short skirts. They take pride in the fact that they were smart enough to get real jobs, or go to school. They tend to dress in business casual attire, even for a quick bite to eat, so as not to be confused with someone who works in a bar, or worse. It is an interesting cultural difference, and they are very kind, smart and proud when they speak English.
Places
The first morning we were there, the streets were noticeably calmer than when we arrived. We walked to HoanKiemlake, a lovely site in the middle of the town where their version of the Sword in the Stone happened, but with a giant turtle. There is upscale shopping here, lovely couples sitting on benches, families enjoying the view. We went to Pho 24, recommended by our hotel, and had a satisfying bowl. We enjoyed watching the city around us from our window seat. We truly felt the appeal of Hanoi and were starting to understand why it is touted as "old World charm".
Water Puppet Theater
We had the greatest time at Water Puppet Theater. They have a live traditional orchestra with singers performing while amazing puppeteers put on a show. The puppets come out of a curtain, pop out of and glide through a pool in the theater. The puppets were glorious, the music was incredible and the story told was of the history of Hanoi. We thoroughly enjoyed this and it is not to be missed if you are ever in Hanoi!
Hao Lu and Tam Coc
We went on an excursion to Hao Lu and Tam Coc, and actually had to ride on the bus with a pedophile from Australia with his 13 year old girlfriend. We were furious, disgusted and exhausted. Tired of the evil around us and are sick that people from the first world support this. This particular person clearly still lived with his mother back home and actually had a FlowBee hairdo. He bragged on the phone to some of his friends. Despicable does not begin to describe! He was from Sydney and is an embarrassment to all Aussies!
The tour consisted of visiting the old capital of Vietnam. Hanoi has only been the capital for the past 999 years, previously it was here in Hau Lu. We were able to see the site for only a few minutes, then were told to follow the tour guide out. Upon departure, we had to get Cathie a hat (112F and laser sun, lost hat, longer story), and decided to get 20,000 Dong out and quickly buy a suitable hat from a local. There are vendors all over, begging you to buy their wares. We found the hat and paid the woman before the others attacked us like flies on rice and moved on. A girl from Israel who was in our group saw the hat, loved it, and decided to go back and get her own. She quickly disappeared in a swarm. All you could see of her were arms above her head with about 15 Vietnamese women dangling off of them. We told the tour guide she needed help and his response was "I told you people not to buy anything." The bike ride itself was unforgettable, the views of the limestone cliffs and rice paddies were stunning. They call this area the Halong Bay Inland, because the mountain formations are similar to Halong. We rode through scenic areas and villages until ending up at the restaurant that was included in our tour. We sat down for much needed water and a pretty decent buffet where Ben tried the local specialty, goat.
They took us to the river bank where they set us up with local boat guides to take us to the river caves. Our boatman was paddling with his feet and a woman, presumably his wife, helped out. We went through three amazing caves on the water and saw monkeys from the bank. A tip for the boat ride: bring extra cash to buy the boat people beverages at the turn around, to buy the woman's needlepoint and to tip. Otherwise, you will be grabbed roughly by the vendor, poked by the woman with the needlepoint and they may just leave you somewhere along the river.
We had an interesting and death defying drive back to the hotel in rush hour traffic, with buses and minivans careening toward our bus every three seconds. The trick is not to look out the window. Otherwise, the fear of death kind of ruins any fun you may have had during the day.
Ho Chi Minh Museum and the Vietnamese Ethnology Museum
We went to the Ho Chi Minh Museum by accident after our cab driver dropped us off at the nearest museum, disregarding our request even after we showed him the map. The Ho Chi Minh complex includes the museum, the mausoleum where Uncle Ho's body is kept, and the One Pillar Pagoda which was built in 1049 based on a dream the emperor had about a fertility goddess. The mausoleum holds Ho Chi Minh's embalmed body, despite his wishes to be cremated and spread across all of Vietnam. The corpse is maintained by the world's foremost communist embalmers, who hail from the former Soviet Union. The Ho Chi Minh Museum sits on an angular foreboding looking building, and once inside, is a bizarre mix of communist propaganda and surrealist art. The first floor is filled with photos and writings of Vietnam's most famous citizen, along with more recent photos showing how much progress has been made since his death by following his testament. One of his quotes, prominently displayed on the wall stated that the Vietnamese will never stop in their efforts to rid their country of US aggression. The second floor of the museum is full of art exhibits intermingled with sculpture, paintings, and walk-through exhibits interspersed with communist slogans, propaganda and posters. The only time we didn't feel the weight of totalitarianism was when a group of local teenagers asked if they could take a picture of Ben with their friend. He was a foot and a half taller than them, and might be on the next cover of Vietnamese TigerBeat.
The Vietnamese Ethnology Museum was a gift from the French government, and was the museum highlight of our stay in Hanoi. The exhibits encompass all aspects of the lives and cultures of the more than 70 ethnic minority cultures in Vietnam. Their tools and clothing are displayed, and their rituals are shown on video loop with explanations in Vietnamese, English, and French. A Vietnamese tour guide walked past us speaking perfect Catalan to his group of Spaniards. Everything is clearly labelled, and we could have spent another hour or two wandering around, but it was after lunchtime and we were out of water. Outside the main building, we found the oasis of a French style cafe with a great menu of familiar fare and reasonable prices. After a sandwich and a beer, we were ready to finish the tour of the various ethnic buildings that fill the grounds of the museum. There were many styles of long houses, tall houses, stilt houses, and shacks. The tiny shacks housed one family, while the larger ones house several generations at a time, and the tall house is meant for village gatherings and can hold up to 100 people. Leave it to the French to know how to put together a comprehensive, educational, and satisfying museum experience.
Politics, Facilities and Infrastructure
In the US we had a calendar counting down the days of Bush's reign. It was a gift from our brother-in-law. We never appreciated the fact that in some other countries this could get the entire family imprisoned.
Communism is not cute or funny. Anyone who has ever glorified it has never seen the results up close. Those friends you may have had in college who claimed to be Communists were just contrarians who have clearly never seen it in the flesh. We had the impression that Vietnam was practically a "free country". We thought that if they had anything to hide they wouldn't allow tourists. Vietnam is part of the World Trade Organization with one of the fastest growing economies. They have bike rides across Vietnam for tourists; how benign, how Dutch. We were both excited about the Vietnamese cuisine, fresh ingredients, Asia meets France, strong coffee, it all sounded so great.
To be awoken on a daily basis with propaganda played over loud speakers is fine to use as an alarm clock if you don't understand Vietnamese. Those that do understand the language don't discuss the messages. We were on the streets the first time we heard one, and we both thought it was advertising. (On Ko Pha Ngan, trucks with loudspeakers drive around saying "This Sunday! Buffalo Fighting! The best in Thailand! Come see the buffaloes fighting!!") Well, no one broke into English on this announcement and the people looked down and any chit chat buzz around us dissipated. We wondered if it must be illegal to talk during these messages. We never figured out the schedule, sometimes it was 6:30am, sometimes again at 16:00. Once it was music.
We have read some interesting pieces on the war and understand it much more than we ever could have by reading about it in the safety of our classrooms. We both have a lot of empathy for all sides of the war; the Southerners, the Americans who served in the war, even the Northerners who had to do what they were told. The psychological scarring of this war is downplayed by the US military, as it is by the Vietnam government.There are many more old women than old men in Hanoi. They look at us like we are evil. Even if they could not tell we were American, or what our political beliefs are, they know that only people who could buy their way into air conditioning in the 112 degree heat and only those who had a plane ticket out would come here. We didn't see it that way at all when we bought our tickets.
The people born and raised here, particularly in the North, have only been taught one way of living and thinking. They are taught Ho Chi Minh's principles as soon as they can hear and their schools are there to enforce the communist beliefs, certainly not to expand minds. It is hard to fathom, while in the U.S., they definitely keep a lot of news from the people and out of the text books, we at least have the freedom to seek information if we are curious. Those that do in Vietnam should be applauded for having the gumption and willingness to risk their freedom to obtain enlightenment, whether in religious or political viewpoints. One thing is clear, most of the kids in Vietnam that we encountered would give their right arms to obtain the opportunities that Americans throw away. Like graduating from high school, going to college, or telling off your boss. Americans get to learn what they choose to learn and can travel without special permission from the police. The list of our privileges are endless. Maybe our misguided teens should come to Vietnam to see what they are wasting. It's easy to forgive these people for hating us after what has happened to them and how they have been brainwashed. It's a little less easy to forgive the willfull ignorance, bigotry and intolerance of certain Americans, especially now that we have free access to all the ideas and information in the world.
Everyone tells us it is much nicer in South Vietnam, where they are still treated like lesser citizens than in the north and are friendly to Westerners. Over a quarter million South Vietnamese were killed in the war, yet the country does not acknowledge them or honor them in any way. Only those who died fighting for the Communists are revered.
In Hanoi, like most of Southeast Asia, the water is not potable. Their government has issued warnings that even the bottled water is not safe. Our hotel boiled water in a tea kettle, then poured it into an active carbon filter that fits onto a water cooler. We searched online and couldn't find it, but it was called The Clean Water Filter. This was some of the best water we have ever tasted, surprisingly. We both believe that everyone in the US who pays for bottled water should use one of these instead and stop the madness with the waste of the bottles and extreme cost. After being forced to buy bottled water all through Thailand, we have resolved to stop being part of the problem back home, where we are privileged to have potable water and in some cases delicious water right from the tap, (Colorado).
Hanoi has no use for waste bins, as a government employee comes by once a day to clean the streets. Communism at work. Apparently this is a good thing as it employs people but perhaps giving everyone the opportunity to take care of their own trash, or deposit it in a bin, would give them the idea that throwing feces and chicken bones in the gutter for everyone else to walk through might be downright rude. We saw some of the workers taking a break on the sidewalk to remove bugs from each other's hair. It is disturbing that in this day and age this is happening. Shop owners wash down their sidewalks everyday. They are trying, but without the trash bins, what can they do? The services are provided by none other than their lovely government.
Most of the streets have no traffic lights and most people have upgraded from bicycles to motor scooters here. Surely they would say this is advancement, even capitalism at work, that people can afford to upgrade. However, with no thought going into where they should park, or where to use traffic signals or stop signs, it is chaos on the streets. The amount of pollution and congestion this causes is like they let a bunch of unruly teenagers take over with no plan for the future. You literally risk getting hit every time you walk outside and sidewalks are not even safe as they are blocked by people drinking bia hoi (fresh beer), even at 7am. The scooters and motorcycles have no idea of what a pedestrian walkway is supposed to be, they are either parked on them or driving down them, skirting past the people squatting around. The pollution is so bad that most young ladies wear a mask to cover their mouths. Both of us were ill from the pollution. We met a man in our hotel who has been coming to Hanoi for 10 years and he said it is far worse every year and even two years ago there were less motorbikes and less pollution and he now finds it unbearable.
Pho Party
The delicious soup, Pho, that we enjoy at home, is cooked in pots on the street and back alleys here. Both of us thought we would try the street food, but could not muster the courage. Everyone who knows Ben knows that he will try just about anything, but stopped short here. We saw a 12 year old girl pick up a 32 liter drum of bubbling broth to relight the coals under it. There are buckets of animal parts lying around waiting to be tossed into the mix. Ignore the inhumanity of the street itself, add some questionable meat and throw in some child labor and the soup that is left is bubbling Hanoi. We only ate the Pho at the two restaurants our hotel recommended, and both were in air conditioned, modern restaurants. We did like the Pho, but appreciate the quality of ingredients and the genuine recipes we have back home in Little Saigon. Who knew that taking Pho Party to the source would make us so homesick. Hanoi is a brutal stew.
A Few Notes about Hanoi and Vietnam
Hanoi was much more expensive than we had hoped. It was closer to Hong Kong prices than anywhere in Thailand, without the amenities. If you have the bucks, stay at the Sofitel and hire a private driver, then you can avoid most, if not all of the ugly side of Hanoi. They do love money and will treat you very well if you are handing it out!
We had planned to go to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) also, but couldn't do both (we decided we are here for a good time, not a long time, so had to cut some things out). We read warnings that South Vietnam was very hard to enjoy this time of year because of the massive rainfall, muddy river deltas and washed out roads. We chose Hanoi instead because it has less rainfall, is a smaller city, has the French Quarter and was described as "Old World Charm". After getting back to Thailand, everyone we talked to said the South Vietnamese were very nice, and they had heard that it is much different in Hanoi and North Vietnam (angrier, harsher, more political). We wish we would have tried the South instead.
We learned that the government monitors all Internet use. If you say bad things about them, the National Internet Control Board can arrest you for spying or disseminating information harmful to national interests. They work with the ISP providers and cyber cafes. We didn't post anything bad about the government, but upon arriving back in Thailand, a few emails popped up that were apparently blocked while we were there. Not sure how this works, but it has never happened before, in any country. Read more about it here: the attached article is not available if you are actually in Vietnam.
We learned that this "progress" Vietnam has seen is largely attributed to opening factories to provide the West with our cheap goods, to compete with their enemies, China. They had no interest in involving themselves with the West until the U.S.S.R. fell. The U.S.S.R. were backing all of their previous interests and sending aid. Just like the Chinese manufacturers, we buy their cheap wares although they mock Human Rights and democracy. We all need to take a hard look at where our products come from and realize the real cost goes far beyond the price tag. Our Nike are made in Vietnam, our Keen and Merrell shoes are made in China. We found out that the majority of the clothing and knickknacks at Target and Macy's are made in Vietnam. Does anyone buy anything from North America? Why aren't we investing in Mexico or Canada, or doh!, the U.S.? We will be more conscientious of this in the future, although surely it is impossible to avoid it altogether. How did a country so anti-Communist crazy in the 50's become so pro-Communist for cheap goods crazy in the 90's? Blame Clinton or Bush, but the cronies wanted to make more money, so they did. They could have refused to lift trade embargoes until the police state subsided, but they didn't.
There are still at least 2,000 American MIA's. There are well over 300,000 Vietnamese MIA's.
When we arrived in Hanoi, we noticed something was missing, something we saw a lot of in Thailand, what could it be? Oh, there are no dogs here. We saw three total dogs, one owned by a wealthy man (purebred), two chihuahuas (owned by a shop owner and not good eatin'). The rest are, well, lunch. Or dinner, actually. If you are invited to someone's home, they may serve it like we would serve a roast for special guests. We weren't invited. A tour guide told us that some restaurants serve it, but they would warn us if we accidently ordered it. Also, don't worry they don't eat their pets, only farmed dogs. Doing the math, there are six million people in Hanoi and three dogs on the street...not sure about the truth of that last statement.
The North took over 100,000 South Vietnamese people and sent them to camps to get the freedom out of them and infill them with Communism. They were told they would be gone for a 3 days to one month. Years later, some never came back, many spent seven years or more in camps and they were not the same people upon their release. These were people who did not want the North to take over, many educated professionals, teachers, etc. Does anyone still think Communism is OK?
We tried the Ca Phe Chon (Weasel Coffee). Much talked about because the beans are extracted from the feces of civet cats, it is a delicacy and honestly, is some of the best coffee we have ever had. If not The Best. We bought some on our way out of Nam and there is no chance of it making it home with us. SO GOOD. MEOW.
While many will say there was no winner in the Vietnamese War, according to the U.S. they "never lost a major battle", but we did sign a treaty with the North and the South was taken and "unified". So, if we were there to stop the North from taking the South, but the North took the South anyway, how is that not losing? Many other governments in SE Asia feel that if we had not stepped in, they were going to be next (Malaysia and Singapore are examples), so they see it as a victory for them. At least someone was spared, maybe.We can't help but to feel badly for all parties who were injured, killed and maimed, no matter whose side they were fighting on. It is clear that the North Vietnamese troops were not given the chance to claim to be "Conscientious Objectors", and we will never know the real truth because the truth is kept like a secret in Vietnam.
Here is a great quote we came across printed in our Footprint guidebook, from Robert McNamara, Kennedy and Johnson's Defense Secretary: "Although we sought to do the right thing - and believed we were doing the right thing - in my judgment, hindsight proves us wrong. We both overestimated the effects on South Vietnam's loss on the security of the West and failed to adhere to the fundamental principle that, in the final analysis, if the South Vietnamese were to be saved, they had to win the war themselves." Who said history never repeats?
