I came to the north of Vietnam to do two things: kayak through the caves in Halong Bay and float down a river in my conical hat and trek up to the Perfume Pagoda. Sounds cool, right? Not so cool when there is a typhoon and it forces you to stay in town for three days.
Actually, the typhoon is quite tragic. As of now, 23 are dead. Lekima is a class one typhoon. As usual, I believe global warming is somehow behind it.
So I was a good little tourist. I went to see the Water Puppet show. I went for an early morning jog around Hoan Kiem Lake. You wouldn't believe how many senior citizens were out doing their tai chi! I went to the Ho Chi Minh Museum and Ho Chi Minh himself. He had his body embalmed and his mausoleum modelled after Lenin's in Moscow's Red Square. Strange when you consider that Communism recommends cremation as a way of preserving land.
I did the walking tour past the street markets. In Hanoi, the shopping is quite segregated. There is a spice street, a tin street, a bamboo ladder street, a paper street, a shrine-accessory street, a sweet potato street, a silk flower street, a chinese lantern street...I could go on. I went to the food market and took pictures of live eels for sale, hearts, brains, snails. I didn't inquire if any of the meat is dog. It's probably quite prejudice of me to have those thoughts at all.
I went to the Temple of Literature and finished the book I've been reading about Hmong culture, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. The title is what Hmong people, who are a tribe in Loas and north Vietnam, call epilepsy. The book goes into Western medicine's flaws in dealing other cultures' explanations for illness.
Then I went to the Museum of Ethnology and looked at pictures of the Hmong and other 51 tribes in Vietnam. I climbed up into the life-sized replica homes they have built in a huge garden and took pictures.
I finally learned how to cross the street in SE Asia. The first week I just waited for a local to cross and tailed him/her. Here is the trick: you feign confidence, pick a steady velocity and go for it. The motos and cars part around you as the Red Sea parted for Moses. I feel as Indiana Jones must have felt (if he were real) crossing the ravine by walking through air.
Accidents happen frequently--I saw two myself in the three full days I was in Hanoi. People fall off their motos, brush themselves off, get back on and drive back. In America, this would have caused a half-hour screaming session. Not so in Hanoi where Buddhist ideals of forgiveness govern everyday life. You wouldn't ever dream of blaming the at-fault driver for his/her actions. There are largers forces in the universe at work.
I ate roll-your-own spring rolls on the street. Vietnamese eat 10-12 times a day. Little meals of soup, noodles, rice, fried things in banana leaves. The sidewalks are lines with mini-cafes where diners sit on tiny plastic stools and drink Bia Hoi, or fresh beer. There are hundreds of brewers in the region and they sell for about 10 cents a glass. Light and not too bad, actually.
My last day, I had seen EVERYTHING. So I did what any crafty American girl would do. I walked around, drank lots of Bia Hoi and shopped my heart out. I bought chopsticks with albalone inlay, a silk cocktail dress for $10 US (this is the land of the silk worm), silk "lucky chickens" to hang in my room, some gifts, etc. Don't worry guys, I stimulated Vietnam's economy to the point that they have forgiven us for the war. Actually, I probably spent about $30 tops.
Then I went back to my hotel room, had a dance party and took pictures of myself in my concical hat.
I left a day early for Malaysia since there was nothing left to do. Vietnam, we will have to rendez-vous again so I can kayak your Halong Bay.
I went out in Kuala Lumpur my first night on the Asian Heritage Strip, a new area with lots of chic venues. The women here wear thick eyeliner and metal high heels. I found the clubs let me walk right in without paying a cover so I went to all of them. Found a fantastic club called Maison that had pretty great house DJs. The men kept offering me brown-colored drinks. No thank you, I'm on a rohypnol-free diet. My wrists and forearm are covered in dark blue stamps. I'm impressed KL. I intend to check out more tonight.
Actually, the typhoon is quite tragic. As of now, 23 are dead. Lekima is a class one typhoon. As usual, I believe global warming is somehow behind it.
So I was a good little tourist. I went to see the Water Puppet show. I went for an early morning jog around Hoan Kiem Lake. You wouldn't believe how many senior citizens were out doing their tai chi! I went to the Ho Chi Minh Museum and Ho Chi Minh himself. He had his body embalmed and his mausoleum modelled after Lenin's in Moscow's Red Square. Strange when you consider that Communism recommends cremation as a way of preserving land.
I did the walking tour past the street markets. In Hanoi, the shopping is quite segregated. There is a spice street, a tin street, a bamboo ladder street, a paper street, a shrine-accessory street, a sweet potato street, a silk flower street, a chinese lantern street...I could go on. I went to the food market and took pictures of live eels for sale, hearts, brains, snails. I didn't inquire if any of the meat is dog. It's probably quite prejudice of me to have those thoughts at all.
I went to the Temple of Literature and finished the book I've been reading about Hmong culture, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. The title is what Hmong people, who are a tribe in Loas and north Vietnam, call epilepsy. The book goes into Western medicine's flaws in dealing other cultures' explanations for illness.
Then I went to the Museum of Ethnology and looked at pictures of the Hmong and other 51 tribes in Vietnam. I climbed up into the life-sized replica homes they have built in a huge garden and took pictures.
I finally learned how to cross the street in SE Asia. The first week I just waited for a local to cross and tailed him/her. Here is the trick: you feign confidence, pick a steady velocity and go for it. The motos and cars part around you as the Red Sea parted for Moses. I feel as Indiana Jones must have felt (if he were real) crossing the ravine by walking through air.
Accidents happen frequently--I saw two myself in the three full days I was in Hanoi. People fall off their motos, brush themselves off, get back on and drive back. In America, this would have caused a half-hour screaming session. Not so in Hanoi where Buddhist ideals of forgiveness govern everyday life. You wouldn't ever dream of blaming the at-fault driver for his/her actions. There are largers forces in the universe at work.
I ate roll-your-own spring rolls on the street. Vietnamese eat 10-12 times a day. Little meals of soup, noodles, rice, fried things in banana leaves. The sidewalks are lines with mini-cafes where diners sit on tiny plastic stools and drink Bia Hoi, or fresh beer. There are hundreds of brewers in the region and they sell for about 10 cents a glass. Light and not too bad, actually.
My last day, I had seen EVERYTHING. So I did what any crafty American girl would do. I walked around, drank lots of Bia Hoi and shopped my heart out. I bought chopsticks with albalone inlay, a silk cocktail dress for $10 US (this is the land of the silk worm), silk "lucky chickens" to hang in my room, some gifts, etc. Don't worry guys, I stimulated Vietnam's economy to the point that they have forgiven us for the war. Actually, I probably spent about $30 tops.
Then I went back to my hotel room, had a dance party and took pictures of myself in my concical hat.
I left a day early for Malaysia since there was nothing left to do. Vietnam, we will have to rendez-vous again so I can kayak your Halong Bay.
I went out in Kuala Lumpur my first night on the Asian Heritage Strip, a new area with lots of chic venues. The women here wear thick eyeliner and metal high heels. I found the clubs let me walk right in without paying a cover so I went to all of them. Found a fantastic club called Maison that had pretty great house DJs. The men kept offering me brown-colored drinks. No thank you, I'm on a rohypnol-free diet. My wrists and forearm are covered in dark blue stamps. I'm impressed KL. I intend to check out more tonight.
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