Liz in the North

Hey all,

So this past week Liz and I headed up north to close out her adventures in Vietnam!

We arrived in Hanoi on Monday evening, then headed straight for the Rising Dragon Grand to check in. The Rising Dragon Grand, former residence of mine for the month of August, has turned over a lot of its former staff. I only saw a few familiar faces as Liz and I checked in.

The new faces were just as friendly as the old ones, though, and it wasn’t long until Liz and I felt right at home. The delicious breakfast and rose petals on the bed definitely helped.

Breakfast at the Rising Dragon Grand

We began our tour of Hanoi with a quick stroll over to my favorite bánh cuốn stand, and a nighttime walk to Hoan Kiem Lake.

First meal in Hanoi, Liz's favorite Vietnamese dish

Breakdancers at the statue in Hoan Kiem Lake

The next morning it was off to the Temple of Literature, to see some beautiful traditional Vietnamese architecture.

Entrance to the Temple of Literature, Tet decorations still up

At the entrance to the Temple of Literature

The lake of clarity

Courtyard of the temple of literature

Standing in the courtyard

Students taking graduation pictures

A man writing blessings in chữ nôm, or Vietnamese written with Chinese script. It was the written form of Vietnamese from the 13th to the early 20th century. 

Liz watches as the man writes her blessing. I asked him to write "hạnh phúc," or "happiness," for both of us. The man also wrote my name "Việt-Anh" in chữ nôm, which was pretty cool to see. 

Traditional musicians performing at the Temple of Literature

The shrine of the three emperors in the Temple of Literature

In the afternoon we went on a bike ride around West Lake in Hanoi. I had never really been to the West Lake area, which lies about a 30 minute taxi ride away from the main touristy areas of Hanoi. Liz looked up a place in the guidebook to rent bikes, and we set off on the 13 km road around the lake.

The path was smooth and well-paved, with only the occasional descent into the madness of Vietnamese traffic. We passed other bikers, pedestrians, and only the odd motorcycle roaring by broke the tranquility.

Liz with our bikes

The views we saw of the city were varied and confounding. We were as likely to dodge a sudden chicken that darted into the road as we were to gape at a luxurious colonial resort. Fishermen dredging the lake were as common as sporty locals riding expensive top-gear bikes.

Hanoi from the lake's edge

Twin dragons at one end of the lake

Farmers growing oranges, high-rises in the background

A Ferris wheel in the background, a fishing pond in front

Fishermen with their catch

I have no idea what this is. It looks like the gate to a pagoda, but with dozens of figurines in these glass cases. 

We stopped at two pagodas on the way, Tay Ho (West Lake) pagoda and Tran Quoc pagoda. Neither pagoda is particularly historic, but both are well-kept and still in frequent use, which lends its own interesting air. Amusingly, people at both pagodas also seemed pretty used to tourists. When we asked them to take a picture of us at Tay Ho pagoda, they immediately assumed that we wanted to take pictures of them, and cheerfully posed for us. They seemed a bit nonplussed when I explained that we wanted pictures of us at the pagoda, not them.

Gate to Tay Ho pagoda

Inside Tay Ho Pagoda. Note the offerings of Coke and Pepsi on the altar.

Gate to Tran Quoc Pagoda

From outside the walls

A man praying at Tran Quoc Pagoda

An offering tray

I am sure this structure has some symbolic meaning, but it just looks really cool to me. 

Walking through the memorials surrounding the pagoda

Worshippers during prayer at Tran Quoc Pagoda

We finished off our bike ride around the lake with a stop back at Don's A Chef's Bistro, where we had rented our bikes. The bikes were perhaps a little expensive, but the restaurant itself was fantastic, with a rooftop bar that had a generous happy hour and delicious mojitos.

Gazing over Hanoi

We capped off the evening with dinner and desert at Tyler’s favorite spot in Hanoi, the Italian restaurant Mediterraneo.

Tiramisu!

The next day we headed over to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. The crowd was as somber as ever, and we saw some pretty emotional reactions from older Vietnamese people viewing Ho Chi Minh.

The Presidential Palace

Ho Chi Minh's old cars

One-pillar pagoda

We also explored the Ho Chi Minh Museum, which I had not been to before. I was really interested in learning about Ho Chi Minh's history, and I had never been there before, so I eagerly went to check it out. 

First floor of the museum

Ho Chi Minh conducting an orchestra. The happiest revolutionary.

The museum is…pretty weird. It’s a mix of history and art deco, with a lot of symbolism heavy art and a lack of a really coherent historical storyline to follow. 

So, this is the first statue you see in the Museum. And it doesn't get less weird, it gets a lot stranger than this. 

There was a lot about Ho Chi Minh in France, the Soviet Union, and various Asian countries, but I still left there pretty confused. While I know a fair amount of Vietnamese history at this point, I still know relatively little about Ho Chi Minh, and I reminded myself to do some more reading about him when I got back home.

That evening we went for a stroll in the Old Quarter. Our ultimate destination was the market, where Liz showed her bargaining chops with the acquisition of some souvenirs for friends and family back home.

Painting decorations in the Old Quarter

General Old Quarter traffic insanity

Inside the market

Liz bargaining

We finished the evening with a wonderful dinner at the Diamond Elegance Hotel’s rooftop restaurant. 

At dinner

So yeah, we took pictures of our food

It's okay, I'm only doing this for Emily Chen

The food was delicious

Being at a classy restaurant in Hanoi, seeing the whole city beneath you, drinking good wine and eating good food. And all with a girl who is exceptionally good company. Sometimes I feel pretty lucky in life.  

Next morning it was time for Ha Long Bay! We boarded a boat with about twelve other people, including four Germans and one Frenchman we became very friendly with over the course of the journey.

On the boat!

First shot of Ha Long Bay  

Unfortunately, our tour was not run incredibly well. There were many delays where the boat was not on time, or there was a miscommunication between the guide and the crew, and so we were forced to hurry up and wait a lot. This meant a lot of our activities, while lots of fun, were punctuated by long periods of waiting and the activities themselves often felt rushed. Still, its hard to really complain when you’re in Ha Long Bay, and it’s hard to ruin that experience.

Our first stop was the caves, which remain incredibly mesmerizing. Unfortunately, we were arriving at peak time and so the caves were very crowded, detracting a little from the experience. I was still able to get some nice pictures though.

Looking into the caves

Shadows

Inside the cave

Crazy rock formations

From the top of the caves

Then it was time for kayaking! Unlike last time, we were kayaking much closer to the islands this time, so we were able to go up right next to the islands. Thanks to the shallow bottom of the kayak, we were basically able to ride right up into some of the narrow channels in the bay!

Setting off!

The kayakers

Taking a brief break for photos 

Don't know how I got this effect but it looks pretty cool

We were able to get real close to the islands

Beautiful landscapes

A fishing boat

Silly, silly Liz

That night we had another delicious dinner, highlighted by us making spring rolls! Liz first learned how to make spring rolls at my house, so it was a pretty nice experience for both of us.

Making spring rolls

Success!

Pretty picture. Oh, and nice shorts Liz.

Sunset over Ha Long Bay

Day 1 in Ha Long Bay comes to a close

The next morning we woke up and the bay was absolutely gorgeous. With the chillier winter months, the fog rolls off Ha Long Bay in the morning. The islands are shrouded with mist, looking like mountain peaks towering over massive valleys of water.

Morning in Ha Long Bay

We went to Titov island, where there is a small beach. Last time I went in the afternoon, the beach was incredibly crowded. This time we went in the morning and there was basically no one there! Liz and I threw a frisbee, and went for a swim as well. 

Liz on the beach!

We also climbed to the top of Titov island, and looked down from the pagoda onto the whole bay.

Top of the island!

Ha Long Bay

Then it was time to get back on the boat and cruise through the rest of the bay before saying goodbye to Ha Long Bay!

 

Model

Fighting cock island

Oh hey cutie

Saying goodbye to Ha Long Bay

We went back to Hanoi, where we met up with Kate and her parents and Michelle. Our last meal in Hanoi was with all of them, at a delicious restaurant. It is always a pleasure to hang out with Kate and Michelle, and Kate’s parents are wonderful people. It was a great way to end our time in Hanoi.

With Michelle and Liz

The next morning it was time for Liz to board a flight and head back to Paris. It was definitely hard saying goodbye to her. I had a wonderful time with Liz here, and I’m not exactly excited about spending more time apart. But I’m looking forward to another exciting three months in Vietnam, and then I’ll see Liz back in Chicago! As always, things are exciting and fun around here.

Still looking cute, even at the airport

Highlights:

- My Vietnamese is not particularly good, but it’s good enough to impress Liz. Score.
- I am now way too trusting of people after living in the chill countryside of Ben Tre, so Hanoi shopkeepers regularly screwed me over.
- Never planned to be talking to a gay German couple about life in Saudi Arabia, but it was still an entertaining conversation.
- Our tour guide was the only Vietnamese person I have met who uses and appreciates American-style sarcasm. It was beautiful to watch, he had a perfect deadpan.
- If your girlfriend is in better biking shape than you, just make sure you have the better bike. Then race ahead with impunity.
- One crazy night in Saigon can leave you recovering for literally a week.
- Love you Liz

More to come this week on life in Vietnam in general!

Oh, and my family is coming on Friday. Yeah, my life is a little hectic here sometimes. Stay tuned!

Xoxoxoxo,

Jefferson

P.S. No puppy or other animal picture for you this week. I am only human, please be sympathetic.