Vietnam

A number of people we have met in our travels warned us against Vietnam. In fact, I don't think we heard a single word of praise from any of them. We came expecting bad attitudes, high prices, and downright thievery... and we leave now having experienced warm hospitality, cheap prices, and an abundance of generosity. While Vietnam is not nearly at the top of the list of places we have visited, we have really enjoyed our short time here, made even better by the presence of David and Jason, who joined us for the last ten days.

After another multi-day transit we arrived in Vietnam early enough in the day to catch a six-hour combo of buses into the Mekong delta, where we spent a few days exploring the numerous waterways and floating markets around the town of Can Tho.
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This was our first taste of Vietnamese food, and our first night in the country we enjoyed crusty french-bread sandwiches, heavily-herbed noodles, and strawberry and avocado shakes, all delicious. The avocado shakes in particular were a pleasant surprise; very tasty. The vietnamese don't make heavy use of common sauces compared to other asian countries we have visited, instead relying on fresh herbs and vegetables to adorn their dishes -a very pleasant change. They do use fish sauce pretty heavily, which is a nice alternative to soy and salt. The French influence in Vietnam is present in the pleasing architecture and the quality and variety of cuisine on offer. The coffee here is really good; thick and chocolatey, and of consistent quality throughout the country. We had only one bad food experience the entire trip, involving a soup with the funkiest smell and taste we have ever had; we couldn't quite place the meat and stock they were using. Dave, Jason and Tatyana barely touched theirs (to their benefit), but as I've gained a special appreciation for food on this trip, I couldn't bear to waste mine. I steeled my nerves, killed it, and spent the rest of the day in relative discomfort as my abdomen tried to process the mystery meat. For days after, we could smell this soup as we passed various stalls on the street, and everyone was a bit soup-shy from then on.
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After a few days on the delta, we endured another string of buses and minivans to return to Ho Chi Minh City in time to greet David and Jason at the airport. Despite having traveled a few days to get to Vietnam, they trooped-up for a late round of beers -so nice to see our friends. To our great delight, they came bearing gifts: M&Ms, lotion for Tatyana, and a huge packet of my favorite peanut butter - chocolate bars from Sarah. So cool!!!!! Jason also brought along an electric razor, and begged me to shear the wool off my face. I compromised, shaving everything but the hillbillie mustache I now wear, which Tatyana seems to like. 

We hung around HCMC for a day of sight-seeing and shopping before catching a flight to Da Nang to enjoy the small tourist town of Hoi-An, as well as some sun-time at China Beach (where U.S. servicemen flocked to relax on their breaks from the action during the war. We were very pleased that the locals were so welcoming to foreigners, and Americans in particular, considering that many of them still remember vividly all the trouble our government and others brought to their country. Hoi An was nice, but way too touristy for our liking, so we enjoyed the stellar food and cheap 25 cent beer for a night before catching a train to Hanoi.

We all really liked Hanoi. HCMC is more modern and better equipped, but Hanoi is rich with French architecture and teemes with cafes and food stalls offering an excellent variety of dishes. While here, we took a day trip ti Ha Long Bay for a boat tour of the limestone karsts and some extensive natural caves. Really beautiful, but sooo touristy. On our second day in Hanoi, we visited the "American War" Museum, which is a bit one-sided but probably fairly accurate. Based on the case presented there, one can only deduce that the exhibit is intended to make foreigners feel guilty, and there are numerous amputees and other war victims that prowl the grounds capitalizing on the temporary sense of guilt in the selling of their various wares. We also visited some temples, which were much more accessible than those we have found in other countries.

We caught an overnight train to Sa Pa, playing cards in our four-bed sleeper and finishing off a bottle of rum that the guys had brought along. We spent the next three days exploring the rice terraces and neighboring villages around Sa Pa. More great food here; some really good egg sandwiches with onions and cuccumber (which Jason couldn't get enough of), as well as an array of fried breads and an empanada-type pastry filled with noodles and vegetables that was simply awesome. We also enjoyed a wide variety of strange fruits, as well as more 25 cent beer. On our second day, we accompanied a local Hmong woman to her village, which was nothing more than a small row of huts and stables, hidden up a steep, muddy mountainside, with a mud path between and more pigs and chickens than we could count. She cooked lunch for us, and we had a ball playing with her children -Tatyana's balloons went over double-well, and that made for hours of play. Jason also brought along some hot wheels cars, and the boys really enjoyed them. The woman's name was Pay ("pie"), and she reminded me so much of a young Hmong girl named Bao that was one of my mother's students when we were young. She was the sweetest lady, and at 25 had already been married nine years, with three kids (several others died, which is fairly common). Pay took us around some of the larger villages along the main tourist track, but we found these too mucked up with the typical throng of Tommy Bahama tourists, and we made a quick trip of it.

We bid fairwell to Dave and J yesterday morning, as they began their long journey back to Hanoi, and on the HCMC for their flight home. We jumped a van for a nine-hour ride through stunning mountains to arrive at Dien Bien Phu, near a remote border pass to Laos -only to find that the bus is out of operation. So we are stuck here for now, but we hope they can have it up and running as early as tomorrow so we can get on to Laos. We are really excited; we have heard so many good things about Laos and the people there. Tatyana has posted Vietnam pictures to Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033401&id=1081248185&l=1357636673