halong bay - dragon's pearls, day 3

halong bay. what a miraculous demonstration of nature's potential. we were picked up at 8ish and swept off through the country's red river delta, amidst a sea of motorists gone insane. we made it through border towns, passing gigantic trucks at our peril in the opposite lane. the 3.5 hour drive over was simply hairy; some kind of chicken game ferociously played for terms of lives on the asphalt. i learned to just look at the countryside. more than once we had huge trucks belting at us, head on and astoundingly enough, i'm still alive. perhaps it was my donation at the temple yesterday? motorbikes, by the way, are the craziest folks, and if i'm not nudged/bumped/killed by one before i leave, i will scratch the buddha's belly in triumph. finally, we started seeing some halong signs, denoting we were in the city.

halong seems to be a smaller version of hanoi. bustling and bursting with activity, but rural and spread out. if it wasn't for the awesome tour guide and fellow travelers, it wouldn't have made quite the impact. i was told you need to witness the 2 night, 3 day tour and with my reckless/ignorant/last minute plans, this was impossible. instead, i was on the one day tour and it turned out pretty well. carrie, a londoner on a jaunt around the world, had more than a couple of hints for me, as well as some advice on blogging. then there were paul and susan, a couple of brits living in singapore. after we got into hanlong bay, we were herded off the death vessel/bus, onto the floating (piece of) 'junk'; just kidding, our barge was in really nice condition.

the islands in halong bay are incredible soapstone peaks jutting from the tea green sea. apparently they are numbered over 3,000 and were created by the dragon father of the vietnamese people, (their mother is reported to be a fairy; for serious). as myth or the truth goes, the dragon spit pearls into the ocean and created the peaks to protect vietnamese people from the invading chinese.

we ventured first to a fishing village to commune with our soon-to-be meal. the floating fish marts save seafood in sunken nets for lean times. they have a plethora of seafood: fish, octopus and shellfish. we were briefly looking at the fish one moment, then the next, back on the boat for lunch. First course was french fries, (which the brits call crinkle chips), spring rolls, and a cucumber salad. then on to seabass, garlic octopus and sauteed greens. for desert, they brought us a huge bowl of rice and some slices of pineapple. then we were off to the cave of wonders!

well, they should have named it that, although disney would surely have a lawsuit. they call it the cave of surprise, an island where we saw gigantic limestone caves which were moodily lit. as the trip guide was offering free drinks if you could correctly identify formations; it seems who ever named them was doing so after numerous drinks.

seakayaking. a sport where carrie and myself set an olympic record for circling craggy islands. it was fun and i was surprised at how deft we were able to maneuver. the water was cool and refreshing to touch and i was extremely tempted to jump in, although that would have been to both our woes if i tried to get back in. we spanned quite a distance in only 30 minutes and saw some caves which were too small to enter as well as a shrine to swimmers who were eaten by the dragon. ok, i made that up, but who knows what it could have been for? maybe swimmers who drowned? the other weird thing is at these offerings i see boardgames and white castle cookies. call me ignorant, but i thought buddha would be better fit with keebler cookies and monopoly, not jenga and white castle. then onward and inland on the boat.

although we missed sunset, there was a beautiful blanket of fog, still enshrouding the islands and the sun made it's final wave to use as we docked. the ride back was another 3.5 hour white knuckle affair; equally maniacal. i tried to sleep with no success and chatted a bit with carrie, who passed out after deeming my blog's title worthy.

back in hanoi, where the party in the city, don't stop even though the heat is on. i made a short visit to the nightmarket. (insert thee more shallows 'night at the knight school' reference). it was filled with haggling people and after a moment of entertaining a vendor for some shades, i decided i was too exhausted to talk him down. i was that tired. but i promised to meet carrie for a drink and a few beers later, we closed the bar. at 11pm. for serious, how can a town with a party reputation keep it's title if bars close at 11? oh yeah, because all you have to do is walk up the street and there is an even dingier bar, one where some s.o.b. peed all over the bathroom. we chatted some more and even met a news correspondent. by this time my eyes were having a difficult time staying open; due to alcohol and jetlag, i promise! i said goodnight and bon viagems to carrie and conceded to sleep.

hanoi from a spectator, day 2

waking at 4am and trying to go back to sleep was almost a waking nightmare. however when you are in a beautiful new place, i don't think twice to get up and walk around. i showered briefly and walked around hoan kiem lake in the rain. no, not the seattle rain, but the warm and cathartic rain from south east asia. with the rain and the clouds, there was an unreal pastel light that bathed the lake and all the surrounding buildings. the vietnamese were en mass surrounding the lake, doing various forms of what looked like yoga to my untrained set of eyes. as i breathed in, the weight of the air rushed into my lungs and as bizarre as it sounds, almost was fortifying. i remain unsure whether it was the dense humidity or the warm rain that held me like my mother when i was young. after a walk around the entire lake, i ate some free pho from my hostel/hotel and prepared for a day of walking.

 

first up: the ho chi minh masoleum. you can't really prepare yourself to see interred remains, much less minh's and even though we were pushed in and out of the masoleum faster than you could say 'communism', there was something haunting as i left. maybe the fact vietnamese school children were all around me, some maybe as young as 6 and seeing a dead body of a former leader; a different time, place and world entirely. there were no real notable reactions from the crowd that i had anticipated. the whole complex is absolutely gigantic, so i strolled around further. hcm's working houses remained well taken care of, but at the same time not thoroughly engaging. sure, i get that they are trying to give the impression that he was humble, but i think they clubbed that bullseal to death. the ho chi minh museum was truly ghastly to me. on top of all the propaganda, there were monumental piles of horrid art neuvo, (in my opinion, as always), and splashes of documents from the man himself and other officials and leaders. 

 

the first pagoda seemed like something special until i laid eyes on the gleaming led lights giving a gentle glowing effect to the buddha. apparently, mcdonald's has paved the way and it's simply a matter of time until the pyramids have bright neon outlines with flashing strobes behind them. the one pillar pagoda was actually beautiful and serene. a gift from an emperor who believed he met the goddess of mercy while perched on a lotus flower, (desperately trying to avoid a radiohead reference... shit). it had more of simplistic beauty, even if the buddha was glowing in neon again. the pagoda itself is perched precariously on one pillar signifying a lotus flower and i'm surprised it hasn't seen the leaning tower effect. 

 

the temple of literature had some interesting points too, but simply reiterated - everything will eventually crumble into dust. sitting on the park bench waiting for a water puppet show, this sentiment hits me like a gong. my sweat, my tears, my smiles, my love: it will all be nothing, but a speck of dust in some generation's eyes. all this potential to set kinetic energy free. it doesn't mean it's not worth every single labor; it's always worth it.

 

the water puppets were a tourists dream. in fact, i wouldn't be surprised if a tourist came up with the whole show as a way to get fellow tourists to watch puppets splash and listen to traditional vietnamese music. i was definitely entertained when one of the dragons was a little bit off; call me a cog, but seeing one element of a choreographed act just a little, teensy bit off makes me understand the world still has elements of chaos and disparity. and somehow that comforts me.

i ended up passing up hanoi's nightlife again, as i was thoroughly exhausted after such a full day. i keep telling myself, i need to stage and work towards more.