The Rest of Vietnam

We realize that there are many people who may have in fact had worse experiences while 'visiting' Vietnam, but most of them did not voluntarily go. And since Vietnam has opened its doors to tourism, we'd heard nothing but good things about the communist country. But while we managed to escape with our lives (and our limbs), like many before us, we will continue to relive the horror of Vietnam for the rest of our lives.


After Hanoi, we traveled via a pleasant overnight train to Hue, a historical city in central Vietnam. The central area of the city is surrounded by the unoriginal moat & gigantic wall combo. However, within that wall is yet another walled city, known as the Imperial City. Unfortunately, this once incredible city remains in shambles after enduring numerous battles during the American War (the wall & moat did nothing), and has yet to be repaired. The surprising high'light' of Hue is the light show that takes place on the Trang Tien Bridge each night (see picture above). The arches of the bridge light up in a cornucopia of colors so spectacular you begin to think that Vietnam might actually have its act together. Not the case.


The country's true charm is contained within the small town of Hoi An, located in central Vietnam. On a tour of the city you'll see beautiful buildings and quaint streets, and even a Japanese Covered Bridge (see picture above). However, most tourists spend their time in Hoi An at the tailors having shoes, shirts, suits and coats made for unreasonably low prices. I say unreasonably low because this is an instance where the saying, "you get what you pay for" seems to ring true. Of course, if you don't mind wearing a dress that makes you glisten as if you were a freshwater trout or a suit that suggests your shoulders are different sizes, this is the place for you.


It's worth noting that we were traveling in Vietnam during their holiday season, the Chinese New Year. The Vietnam version of this early-February holiday is known as "Tet", lasts for many days, and is like everyone's birthday, Christmas, and New Years, all wrapped into one. Needless to say, it's a celebration of epic proportions. Upon arriving in Nha Trang, a beachside town in southern Vietnam, we were invited to a Tet party at our hotel. We marched downstairs with the belief that we'd be exposed to a cultural celebration, it turned out to be more of a frat party-like environment. For an hour we were continually hazed by the organizers, ordered to finish our beers after every cheers - in which they recited some foreign phrase we could never quite grasp (probably a result of the alcohol consumption) - and fed exorbitant amounts of Vietnamese food. We learned a valuable lesson that day: gluttony is not just an American thing.


Lastly, I'd like to comment on the country's obsession with Ho Chi Minh. Ho Chi Minh was instrumental in unifying the country, so it completely understandable that most Vietnamese dig the guy. However, they dig this guy so much, that when he died in 1969 they wouldn't dig him a grave. Instead they embalmed him and stuck him in his very own Mausoleum in Hanoi (see picture below). From 8am-11am everyday, people literally march through (without stopping, do not stop) to see him. If you are into creepy dead guys with goatees, feel free to visit him; just make sure you don't go during the three months out of the year that he is in Russia for routine maintenance.

Good Morning (in) Vietnam

The Giants win the Superbowl!!! This makes me happy because I recall in an interview from before we left (which was in early November mind you), Brady was already being asked the question of the Patriot's potential for perfection. In reply, Brady simply responded, "The only thing that matters is winning the final game." Thankfully, we had to hear nothing about his perfect season from that point on, and I watched the computer screen with a grin on my face as Brady's season ended with an interception, (the most imperfect thing a quarterback can do), clinching the loss.

This was also good news because we had just received news from NYU, that Lauren's application has been accepted. This officially (possibly only temporarily) made our football team the New York Giants, (screw the Jets), and means that we just won the Superbowl! It's like reliving the Montana/Rice years all over again! Anyway, a big congratulations to Lauren for her first, of many, acceptance letters.

On a note completely unrelated to the Superbowl, I found out that I passed 2 out of 3 of exams for the professional engineering exam...and 2 out of 3 ain't bad, in fact, that's as well as I had hoped to do.

As if that weren't enough, we saw the sun today, which has been in hibernation for the last week. And for that twelve minute period, Vietnam began to glow, as I'm sure it's known to do. It was a beautiful moment that had the power to totally redeem our trip to Vietnam up until that point... then the sun went away, our bus driver began to honk his horn again, and I knew our perfect day had come to an end...

Southeast Asia Photos Up

Click on the "Our Photos" under "Links" in the top-right hand corner. These photos are better, bigger, and more dangerous than those which preceeded them....parental advisory, explicit content.

The Concrete Jungle

Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, is much like what one might expect from a large city in Asia: full of people, people on scooters. In fact, even the people who are not currently riding their scooter, still wear a helmet. Perhaps this is meant to be fashionable, possibly it's to alleviate the burden of carrying it in one's hands; but more than likely, it's a safety precaution.

Hanoi is indeed a jungle, not in the Vietcong hiding in the tropical trees sort of way, or the Forrest Gump running through the tall grass carrying a dying Bubba, or the "me love you long time" sort of way that movies have led us to believe. It is instead a concrete jungle, where they have given every lunatic a scooter to drive around in a city with few traffic control devices. These maniacs wander around aimlessly, with the sole purpose of honking their horn until it breaks on them, producing a dull sounding wheez...no matter though, because within hours your senses are so overloaded with the incessant noise and 'exotic scents' (as our guide book so romantically described these putrid smells), that you become numb. To add to the numbness, we just happened to arrive in Hanoi during a freak storm that dropped temperatures to 50 year lows; more unfortunately our hotel wasn't blessed with the modern convenience of "air-con" (the term that applies to both hot and cold air conditioning).

In Hanoi, just crossing the street is a complicated process. First, you must make a list of pros and cons to evaluate how badly you need to get to the other side of the street...there are four blocks that you can explore safely without ever having to plunge yourself into the street. But if you do decide to take the plunge, it's as if you've entered a real life game of frogger. You'll find yourself stepping forward a few steps, then jumping back, and at some point when you realize you've passed the point of no return, you take a leap of faith to the other side. At the same time you breathe a sigh of relief for having made it through the battleground known as the street, you realize you've entered an even more chaotic zone commonly referred to as the sidewalk. Here you'll dodge open flames, parked scooters (you can really never get away from them, not even inside), and worst of all: the pushy Vietnamese. These are a people who will push you shamelessly if you are in their way, literally hit you to get your attention, and tickle you if they want you to buy something. There's really nothing more annoying.

(The Murky Hoan Kiem Lake)

Ater a few hours in Hanoi, we were already craving some relief, so we begun our search for a sanctuary...which, according to our guide book, was at the nucleus of it all: Hoan Kiem Lake. This small lake is right in the center of town, colored green from algae, and is the fabled home of giant tortoises. Crossing a short red bridge to a tiny island provided some relief as the sound from horns seemed to fade (although never completely). On the island is a strategically located Pagoda, the holy home of Vietnamese Buddhist monks. Yet, in this Pagoda exists the ultimate paradox: a souvenir shop. Instead of monks taking the "middle path" to an enlightened state of mind, free of wants and desires, and chanting melodically to pass the time; people (even monks), are shopping.

Try and look beyond the laundry list of complaints from a traveller who has been on the road now for over 3 months to see the moral, Hanoi stinks. I'm sorry, but it had to be said so that future travelers don't make the same mistake we did. On to greener pastures.