Five Days and Millions of Dong Later...

Vietnam. What a crazy place. So different from Laos, population 6.6 million, almost all living in rural villages. Over 80 million people live in Vietnam and they all drive motor bikes all day long every day. I wonder where are they going all the time? We arrived in Hanoi and found a room in the Old Quarter, where most of the backpackers stay. They are mostly shirtless and drunk British...no more Israelis or signs in Hebrew. Motorbikes. I can't write down in words what it is like to walk the streets of Hanoi, surrounded by swarming motorbikers who come within a centimeter of each other, constantly beeping their horns. It is sensory overload to the max. Assuming that the sidewalk is not torn up and laying in a pile that blocks your passage, you have to walk in the street most of the time anyway because loads of motorbikes are parked upon them. How do you cross the street with thousands of motorbikes coming straight toward you and no pedestrian crossing you ask? That's easy. You simply walk slowly into oncoming traffic and allow them to navigate around you. No problem. Chaos aside, the city reminds me a lot of Tel Aviv. It must be the influence of Soviet (ugly) architecture. But really Hanoi is awesome. We were instantly glad to be there, in a city a thousand times more complex and bustling than Bangkok.

Our food experience in Hanoi was surprising. During the taxi ride into the city from the airport, we found out that 'Pho' is actually pronounced Phaaaa and is not nearly as good as anything you get in Thailand. The weird meat component is a bit too scary for me. We discovered that the restaurants in Hanoi-- yes the ones that cater to tourists and expats-- are fantastic. We had one of the best Italian dinners we ever had at a charming place in the Old Quarter called Mediterraneo. The owner is a true Italian. We had black linguine with shrimp, squid, and tomato sauce that was outstanding. We were growing tired of Asian food anyway, so Hanoi was a great opportunity to do some gourmet dining at a quarter of the price of home. And the city itself is so hectic that escaping the streets and having your meals in a real restaurant is a treat. Also worth mentioning is Fanny's Ice Cream, located by the lake also in the Old Quarter. We went there three times. The dark chocolate is almost black and is by far the best chocolate ice cream I have ever had. In case you are wondering if we did anything but eat, we did make it around almost the entire city, important temples, etc. We even went to the Fine Arts Museum, which houses some pretty nice paintings, mostly depicting scenes of war. Actually the city has loads of galleries that make you want to start an art collection. The city's attractions are not very impressive, though, aside from Ho Chi Min's mausoleum. The best thing to do there is walk along the streets and markets and witness the insanity.

We decided to go to Ha Long Bay for a couple days before heading back to Thailand. We did not want to take a tour, because all the tours sounded lame (stay on a mediocre boat for three days bleh), so we hopped on a public bus. We knew it would be more of an ordeal doing anything on our own in Vietnam (the people are not exactly out to please you), but we could not have imagined what lunacy was in store for us.
At first, we managed to avoid being scammed. We planned to take a hydro-foil from Hai Phung to Cat Ba Island. We were able to find the pier on our own and board the fast boat, despite the woman who followed us around saying "No boat Today!" We even paid the correct ticket price! We were proud. We got to Cat Ba and found a decent 10 dollar room with an impressive view of the boat and limestone island packed harbor. The town itself is junky and well...ugly, but the scenery is certainly unusual. We got settled and had a delicious crab for lunch that must have been taken out of the restaurant's tank and killed five minutes before we devoured it.

Leeor had the idea to rent a kayak and go around the bay for a couple hours before sunset. We rowed (Leeor rowed) past the floating fishing villages and the garbage (they just throw everything in the water), and out to the undulating sea. We saw a small, empty beach on one of the islands, parked there, and went swimming. We collected some beautiful shells. We got back into our kayak...actually it was a canoe, before it got too late. The rising tide, however, filled the back of our canoe with water, and we were forced to return to our deserted (this time not in a good way!) beach and quickly scoop the water out. We set out again, a little nervous about the darkening sky. As my oar hit the black water (this time I had to help) I noticed a bright green flash in the water. I thought I was hallucinating and I asked Leeor whether I was imagining the phenomenon, but he realized right away that what we were seeing was phosphorescent algae. We splashed the water around, enjoying the little light show. It was cool. Nevertheless, night was upon us, so we hurried in, passing by the shadowed limestone islands that dramatically jut up out of the water at wondrous angles. It was a spooky scene that felt like the Pirates of the Caribbean with all the dark boats and the creepy quiet. We fortunately found our way back and returned the 'kayak,' feeling happy to be alive.

The next day we took a boat ride around the bay. A depressing five hour trip during which the extraordinary scenery became mundane. The captain of our junk was supposed to bring us back way before the last hydrofoil back to Hai Phung; but alas, we were in Vietnam, where non-truths seem to be the norm when it comes to dealing with tourists. We missed the boat. This was a big deal, since we had to fly out of Hanoi in the morning. Everyone tried to 'help us' by telling us we were stuck on the island and to come "stay at my hotel!" I refused to accept that we would miss our flight. We were getting off that stupid island even if it killed me. Someone finally told us that if we hurried, we could make the last ferry off the island to another island closer to Hai Phung. This ferry, leaving from the other side of Cat Ba Island could be reached by motorbike. We mounted two motorbikes and hung on tight as we were taken on one of the most thrilling and beautiful rides we have ever experienced. By the end of it, we were almost happy we missed the boat. Almost. Our drivers demanded more money than they asked for initially (very common practice in Vietnam) and we were suckered them into giving them a bit more, despite my feelings towards such scams. I genuinely felt bad for them. After all, it was a long ride and we survived. I know, I was stupid. Well that would be the last time. We got on the ferry-- some kind of shady cargo boat-- and escaped Cat Ba. We didn't know what we would do once we got to Cat Hai, but at least we were somewhat on our way. The whole dodgy town's male population came out to greet us and ask if we want a motor bike ride to a hotel. We responded by demanding any kind of way to Hai Phung. Finally, a wheeler and dealer kind of guy called his friend who has a motorboat. One hundred US dollars he wanted. We came back with twenty five. We settled (or so we thought) on 800,000 dong, or $40. There really was no other way. Thankful that we were moving on, we got on the sorry excuse for a boat and began the long voyage to Hai Phung City. After a few hours, and to our dismay, he let us out at a truly creepy industrial plant's loading dock a few km from the actual city. He had called a taxi for us at least. Of course, when I handed him the 800,000 dong, which we agreed on IN WRITING, he wanted $80. This time, I was strong and I refused to give him any more money. We got into the taxi, even though the s.o.b. was not going away, and sat there until he finally gave up. At that point, you can imagine how frightened and distressed we were. It was so stressful. Now we had to hope and pray that this taxi driver would bring us to the right bus station. "Sabeet Hanoi!" we yelled. He seemed to know what the hell we were talking about, but god only knows. We praised the heavens when he dropped us at the bus and didn't demand double the price he asked. We were so relieved to be on a straight form of transportation. It took us seven hours, a huge amount of tenacity and determination, and probably a few miracles, but we got back to Hanoi in one piece. We were tired of the scamming and the overall non-Thai mentality of the Vietnamese. We were excited to get back to happy Thailand, which turned into a paradise in our minds. It was late. We went to bed and woke up early for our flight to Koh Samui. Goodbye Vietnam! The islands here we come.