Going North

Wow - the time is just flying by. I think I could spend a few months in Vietnam, and am sad we have to be out of the country on the 19th. We haven't seen nearly what we wanted to, mostly because we spent so many days souvenir shopping in Saigon and then getting tailored clothes made in Hoi An. Now that we absolutely don't need anything else (other than what we'll buy when we return to Bangkok) :), we've come north to Hanoi and will be doing a few excursions to see the main sites in northern Vietnam before leaving for Laos.

When we left Saigon, we went to Mui Ne, a beautiful beach town that was absolutely empty since it's low season. Mui Ne is known as the place to go for kite surfing and wind surfing, but Cindy and I just laid on the beach for a few days and soaked up a teeny bit of sun. We woke up early one morning to take pictures of the sunrise, but it was overcast all day that day, so we spent time getting more pictures uploaded -- FINALLY! -- here's the link to what I've got so far (http://picasaweb.google.com/suzschreck), which isn't much because it's only what's left of Thailand and part of Malaysia, but at least it's something! All in all, Mui Ne was exactly what we needed - R&R - until the last night, when we met some crazy British guys (Mo and Ted) who kept us up all night talking because, believe it or not, they talk more than we do!

Our next stop was Dalat, which we reached by sketchy local bus since we somehow managed to miss our chartered bus. Good thing the ride was only about 3 hours because it was hot and sticky on our bus and the guy sitting behind me (who is a med student at San Jose State) kept kicking the back of my seat. Now I know why Mom and Dad used to get frustrated with us when we'd have our feet up on the back of their seats on long car rides. It was soooo uncomfortable!

Dalat was an amazing town, and I'm really sad we didn't get to spend more time there. The city has been compared to something nestled in the French Alps, which I've never been to, but can believe. Vietnam was ruled by the French for a long time, and you can definitely see the French influence everywhere. The architecture and food especially were influenced by the French, and we've run into a lot of tourists from France while we've been here.

The climate in Dalat is different from anywhere we've been so far. It reminded me of Eastern Washington in the spring/summertime - relatively cool at night (I had to sleep under a heavy blanket) and warm but dry during the day. Cindy and I took advantage of the weather for the one day we were there and climbed the two tallest peaks in Dalat (about 2600 meters and 2300 meters, I think) and didn't die from dehydration like we would've anywhere else. We were chauffeured around by the "Easy Riders," which is a group of motorbike tour guides who will take you for trips all around central Vietnam, who also took us to a pretty waterfall, a minority village, a flower farm (gerbera daisies and roses everywhere, which reminded me of the Skagit Valley in April/May), through a hillsides full of coffee plantations, and to a few other sites around Dalat. All in all, we saw quite a bit, but we both wished we'd had a few more days to explore the area since it looks like there's so much going on.

While in Dalat, we met a group of guys who are studying in Perth, Australia (Michael, Michael, Nick, Will, and Jack), which is where Cindy studied abroad, as well as some Canadians from Calgary (David, Victoria, and John), who we've run into a few times since leaving Dalat. Maybe they'll catch up to us in Hanoi or again in Laos. We'll have to see . . .

From Dalat, Cindy and I went to Hoi An, the tailor capital of Vietnam, with a 5-hour stop in Na Trang, a beach town that looks like Waikiki in the busy season, but is pretty laid-back but with a bit more nightlife than Mui Ne in the off season. That's where we celebrated the 4th of July with our first draught beer of the trip, a German stout that wasn't the best beer I've ever had, but was at least a dark, full-bodied beer, so I didn't complain.

Arriving in Hoi An the morning of the 5th, we checked into our hostel and took off to immediately do some price checking and place orders with tailors. What a maddening experience! I think what made it fun was the challenge of showing a tailor a picture of something you wanted and seeing how it would come out. All in all, we're both happy with everything we bought (which is way too much and has kicked my guilt complex into over-drive since we've seen some really poor Vietnamese people on this trip). There's only one thing I really don't like, so I might give it to a poor person here or in Laos before I leave for Bangkok again. All my stuff is on its way to Davenport, so when I get back in October I'll have some new things to wear, which will be fun.

After 4 intensive days of shopping - and not even seeing the city of Hoi An or the historical sites in Hue, which we both are disappointed about, Cindy and I boarded a bus for Hanoi. We barely slept a wink on the bus, but I did get to watch Dazed and Confused, thanks to Jason and Ellaine, and the guy behind me didn't kick the back of my seat for the whole 12 hour ride, so it wasn't completely horrific. :)

We've been in Hanoi for about 5 hours, and did some grocery shopping for coffee (they sell these coffee packets here that already have the cream and sugar added, so we've been saving money by filling up our thermoses with hot water and making our own coffee) and snacks for the train. Cindy is mailing her clothes right now, and I'm trying to catch up on emails since I've been MIA for a while. At about 8:00, we'll board a train north to Sapa, which I think will be one of the highlights of our trip. Sapa is known for the tribal people who live in the surrounding villages, and is supposed to be very picturesque. We're hoping to do some hiking while we're there and get to see more of the countryside. I hope the climate is a lot like Dalat because the escape from the humidity for just a day was wonderful!

When we return from Sapa, we'll have 2 full days of sight-seeing in Hanoi, which will probably be a contrast to what we saw in Saigon since the north of Vietnam is definitely not pro-USA and will probably present a different side of history as far as the Vietnam War is concerned. Then we'll take a 3-day tour of Halong Bay, which is just ouside of Hanoi, before boarding a 36-hour bus to Laos, which I'm not looking forward to, but the bus rides sometimes make for the best stories, so we'll see what kind of stories I come home with. :)

I hope everyone back home is doing well. I hear the Weber family campout was a big success, so I guess you didn't miss me too much. :) Happy belated birthday to Kylene Miller (July 7).