Sorry mother, but I have joined a new family.
We’re not in Kansas anymore, Rachelita
We have officially spent more than twenty-four hours in Hong Kong, and I think the consensus (by which I mean my personal opinion which I’m imposing on everyone), is that Vietnam is very sorely missed.
Don’t get me wrong—Hong Kong is beautiful and thrilling, but I think we’re just homesick. (Is it possible to be homesick for a country that isn’t your home? Yes. Yes it is.)
Hong Kong, as a whole, is just an architectural feat of wonder. The city is made of more glass than it is … any other construction material, and buildings just don’t exist if they’re less than twenty stories. (We saw the second tallest apartment building today: 130 stories tall). The streets, although considerably cleaner than any in Vietnam, are just as busy, and the roads just as narrow. We have finally come upon crosswalks and other traffic laws that motorists obey, but I even miss the near-death experiences that accompanied my every move in Vietnam.
This city is also very expensive. Luckily, breakfast at the YMCA (don’t worry—even the YMCA is made of glass and granite) is free, and a buffet. Rachel and I (this is Neal, if you can’t tell by the sassy run-on sentences) plan on stuffing ourselves with waffles and bacon, so we can hopefully last until dinner, most likely to be purchased at McDonalds.
All in all, I do like Hong Kong. Regardless of cigarettes being $7 (and that’s USD) a pack, the beaches are free! Rachel and I, after our morning excursion, plan on hitting up the beaches tomorrow and shell/sea-glass hunting all afternoon.
Hopefully some time away from the hustle and bustle (and believe me, there is a lot of bustle) will get me into the mood to fall just as in-love with Hong Kong as I was enamored with Vietnam. On Friday I get to see some of the Hong Kong girls that attended Augustana last Fall, so I’m really excited for that.
This has been a dud of an ending, but I’m about to order dinner.
Be well,
Neal
In the land of Pho and French Fries
Rachel has had the assignment of writing about our adventures in Hue, and even though she hasn’t done it yet (we’ve been really busy, so it’s not her fault), I’ll let her stick to that. Be sure, though, that it was a great week, and we both had a really amazing time.
Today is our second full day in Hanoi, and as everything else, it has been a brand new experience. While Saigon was the bustling New York of Vietnam (I know I called it Chicago, but I changed my mind), Hanoi is the dodgier, Chicago-esque city.
Our hotel is in the Old Quarter, which means it’s an amalgamation of high-end clothing shops, street-side food vendors, family homes and hotels. It’s busy, the sidewalks double as parking lots, and traffic laws basically don’t exist. Despite a few close calls, however, we’ve all managed to cross streets with all of our limbs still attached.
Today we went to the picturesque Ha Long Bay, which is probably the most-photographed, movie-deatured, postcard-depicted area of Vietnam. It’s about four hours from Hanoi, in a province that I can’t pronounce. Ha Long Bay is deeply rooted in Vietnamese myth. According to legend, Ha Long Bay was sent from the heavens to protect the Vietnamese when they first fought the Chinese a long time ago (can you tell how much attention I pay to our tourguide?)
Ha Long Bay, of course, is located on the South China Sea (called the Eastern Sea by the Vietnamese, because they hate associating anything with the Chinese), and it is a maze of approximately 150 mountainous islands. According to legend, the mountains are actually the backs of dragons the descended from the heavens to protect the Vietnamese against the Chinese invaders. As the dragons descended, Chinese flotillas crashed into their mountainous backs, and Vietnam was saved. After their defense mission, the Vietnamese believe the dragons liked Vietnam too much to leave, and so no they create the many islands surrounding the bay. “Ha” roughly translates to “descending,” and “Long” roughly translates to “dragon,” so the area is aptly called Ha Long, or “Descending Deagon” Bay.
We embarked on a regular Giligan’s Island “three hour” boat tour this evening, and the scenery was absolutely beautiful. We were once again served a lunch that stared at us as we ate it (prawns, fish, the usual), but as seasoned Vietnamese cuisine eaters, we managed to eat it without gagging this time around. Our talkative tourguide, Ahn, also brought his own moonshine—ricewine that he claims is approximately 92% alcohol. We each got two shots, at which point our professors drew the line for fear we wouldn’t make it off the boat.
We also got to tour the “Cave of Wonders,” which was magnificent. Artificially lit and full of stalagmites, the cave was roughly the size of Mammoth cave in the US. Apparently, the cave was discovered by a few hunters who were chasing down a monkey (don’t ask me why). The monkey decided to descend into a hole roughly the size of a rather fat man, and the hunters, being of slim, Vietnamese build, decided to follow. Thus, The cave of wonders was discovered. They sold their secret to the Vietnamese government, and are now, according to our Anh, comfortable millionaires.
Ha Long Bay and the cave were definitely highlights of the trip. They were both gorgeous sites, and I’m really glad I pitched in the extra money to make the excursion. Every other tourist, and English-speaking local I’ve encountered has said it’s an absolute must, and I would definitely agree.
Rachel (both Bruce and Warmke) and I have also discovered a really delicious Pho (pronounced fuh) shop about two blocks from our hotel. Pho is the most famous/traditional Vietnamese dish, and it certainly is delicious. It’s basically Vietnamese beef stew. Made with rice noodles, thin slices of beef, green onions and assorted other spices, it is both filling and tasty. We’ve eaten it two nights in a row, and will probably go back tomorrow.
Don’t be fooled, though, we also stopped for a second dinner at the local KFC (the only American fast food chain in Vietnam) for some french fries and ice cream cones. After scraping the ribcage of a fish to earn my lunch, however, I think I deserved it.
Saturday we head for Mai Chau, the Northern countryside, and shortly after start making our trip to Hong Kong, and then the United States. The next few weeks are going to whiz by, and as much as I’m looking forward to using a fork and eating shrimp that don’t still have legs attached, I’m really starting to wish we had more time here.
Be well,
Neal
