Vietnam

Vietnam!

 

    I never want to leave! I had the absolute best time and I learned so much. I have posted a good amount of pictures with commentary from Vietnam so some of this may be repetitive.

    The ship had a later dock time than our past ports (noon instead of 8am) so we were able to sleep in a bit and finish up packing and hang out before we finally got off the boat around 1:30. It is always so hard to wait as they call different groups because we are so anxious and excited to get off! My sea was called last because we had the most people who were late getting back to the ship in hong kong. This is called  “getting dock time” and it is actually the worst punishment: if you are 1 second to 15 minutes late you have to stay on the boat  for 2 hours after the last person gets off the ship in the next port. If you are 15- 30 mins late you have to stay on for 4 hours. And it continues to quickly escalate until the ship has to leave (usually 2 hours after the “curfew”) and they will legitimately leave without you! So anyways- no one got left behind, but my sea had the most people who were late so we were called for customs etc last. Oh well, a lot of my friends are coincidentally in my sea so as soon as we got off we went to meet up with Erin’s cousin, John!

            We took a cab to a coffee shop he told us to meet him at and this was our first experience with how cheap Vietnam is- $6 for a 30 minute long cab ride! Getting in the cab and seeing all the wild drivers, and tons of people on motorbikes was wild. They are everywhere and no one obeys signs, lights, or pedestrians- its crazy. We learned that there are 30 deaths a day (maybe week- but still a lot) from motorbike and pedestrian accidents. We were very cautious and often would find old ladies or locals to walk behind as we figured they knew how best to cross and get around! Also on our cab ride the driver stopped the meter, parked the car on the side of a busy street, and went to a vendor to buy a new cell phone battery- it was so weird but really funny- took about 2 minutes and he turned the meter back on and continued driving- that would never happen in nyc and I loved it!

John is Irish, has a super thick accent, and is hilarious. We had lunch with him at a goofy Mexican restaurant that had Asian, burgers, tex mex, sushi, and pizza- it was pretty funny! Then we walked to his apartment that is in a cute neighborhood. We went up to his rooftop bar and hung out for a few hours before our flight. We sipped on Tiger beer and watched the sunset over ho chi mihn city- pretty awesome.

We had to head to the airport to catch our flight to Hanoi but before we left John gave us girls roses because it was valentines day! So kind! Since John is a pilot for Vietnam Air he lives about a 10 minute walk from the airport- so we walked- I have never walked to an airport before and I am glad we had him to walk with us!

Our flight was pretty easy and pretty empty so we spread out and got some sleep. We arrived in Hanoi and waited about 15 minutes for the hotel to pick us up. At this point it was me, ginger, erin, david, ne, and florentina. David is one of Ne and Florentina’s new friends and he last minute decided to come with us, which was so fun! He is from Puerto Rico and decided he liked our itinerary so asked me if he could copy it and join in- the only guy and it was great! We got to our awesome hotel, which was recommended by my mom and fell asleep right away- we had to be up in 6 hours and we were exhausted!

We woke up and had awesome breakfast that was included at the hotel- banana pancakes were the hit. Then the bus that was supposed to get us at our hotel got confused because Bridget flew in that morning and so they picked her up instead of the 6 of us and started driving just her to Ha Long Bay- these kind of things happen with the language barrier! We got it all sorted out and ended up getting a taxi for free to meet up with the rest of the group and Bridget!

The drive was long but fascinating. Passing tons of motorbikes- with many people squished on (like the picture I posted earlier) animals in cages in the back, AC units strapped on and massive plants were some of the things we saw precariously balanced on the back of these motor bikes! Going through beautiful country side and rice patty fields and cute towns, run down towns, and even power plants, then farms was really interesting and cool to see the variety.

We finally got to Ha Long Bay and it was much cooler than we expected. That was a bummer because it would have been nicer to have clear and warm weather but that didn’t detract from everything we saw and did and enjoyed! We got to the dock and got on our little dingy to the boat. It was a 12 cabin ship that was really cute and beautifully made. It was very authentic and well decorated. They served us an amazing lunch of traditional Vietnamese food cooked by the chef downstairs with ingredients he bought at the market that morning: fresh spring rolls, veggies, fresh fish, rice, etc. It was awesome! Then we headed to “Surprising Cave”. We were laughing at the name but after seeing it- we were surprised too!

There are a few massive caverns inside one of the limestone islands that was naturally created 5 million years ago from ocean erosion. It is actually indescribable- massive caves with intricate patterns in the walls from the ocean. The man who discovered it 15 years ago is now a millionaire in Vietnam. After the caves we went to a beach where we climbed to the top of one of the islands for fantastic views. Then Erin and Bridget went swimming (after putting on quite a liquor jacket!) The rest of us watched and laughed!

Then it was back to the ship for long hot showers, hanging out, and enjoying the incredible views while cruising among the islands. They served us wonderful drinks and another fantastic meal for dinner. Then we pretended it was Bridget’s birthday and the crew felt so badly they didn’t have a cake so they all sang karaoke for her instead- it was awesome! We hung out for a bit longer, attempted to fish for squid and headed to bed on the early side! We were up early again for a quick breakfast then kayaking through one of the floating villages! It was so beautiful and very interesting to see the people who have literally never left Ha Long Bay in their lives. Very fascinating to think about our very different lives..

After kayaking we had a cooking class and learned how to make spring rolls- then we had them as part of our lunch! Then it was back to the port and bus back to Hanoi. The 2 day one night tour was perfect-got to see the incredible natural wonder but left ourselves time for more adventures! Our tour guide, Hero, who was with us on the ship and along the way at Ha Long Bay talked to us a lot on the way back about Vietnamese culture. We learned about burial routines which include burying, digging up and reburying ashes. We also learned about the importance of your zodiac sign in your fortune and future wife/ husband (the first thing you do when you meet someone is ask how old they are so you can figure out their sign so you can see how you should act towards them and if they could be a possible love interest! Also age is important to know how you should address them- different terms for age to show respect). I was surprised how open he was when he told us his salary of  $4000 per year USD as a tour guide, which is very good. In comparison, a rice farmer makes about $1800 per year.  Also, most people, including himself, pay no taxes. All very interesting things to compare and contrast.

Back in Hanoi we changed and went out to dinner at a restaurant recommended by Ginger’s aunt that was pretty close to the hotel! The food had gorgeous presentation and tasted incredible. There is a very big French influence there due to French colonialism in Vietnam so the French- Vietnamese food combo is to die for! After dinner we bar hopped a bit and walked around Hanoi Old Quarter which is very cool- shops, restaurants, bars, etc.  My favorite place we went there was a band playing acoustic songs that we all know and there were mini plastic chairs on the ground and we all sat around and listened and the music was so cool!

The next morning we were up early again to go to Hotel Hilton and the museum before our afternoon flights. I am so glad we made it and got to see first hand how history can be written so many different ways.

Hanoi was a really incredible city I would love to go back to. There was tons of fun bargain shopping, fun streets to walk around in, great history, gorgeous lake in the middle, and more. One thing I love about Vietnam is seeing all the street food eaters and restaurants- they everywhere! Outside on the sidewalk are little mini tables with mini chairs and tons of locals sitting around eating and drinking and little ladies cooking pho, rice, veggies, fish, spring rolls, etc. Watching these people in their culture is so cool- Bridget and I lived like the locals do and had street food the last day in HCMC- sat at the mini tables and had the freshest fish, veggies and rice for about $2!

After the museums we all split up and just B and I headed to Da Nang! We were picked up at the airport by our hotel and drove about 30 mins to Hoi An! We kept joking that we were on a couples retreat. Upon driving around the outskirts of the town (only waling and bikes) we arrived at our hotel. We were greeted by drinks and a pleasant staff. This hotel was only $70 per night for both of us and if it had been anywhere else it would have been no doubt $500 or more- no joke it was insanely nice. Our room was huge, overlooked the pool and water, amazing breakfast served, $2 drinks- mojitos, margaritas, and pinna coladas to die for that B and I thoroughly enjoyed!

I got a massage and manicure and pedicure at the hotel ,which was so nice! I have never had such funny, cute, and happy people give me a manicure and pedicure. There was one girl working on my feet, another on my hands and a third, Nina, (who wanted to practice her English) sitting on my other side talking with me. There were about 5 girls working and they are all 20-25 and 2 of them are in University. They were all talking and laughing and painting each other’s nails and doing their hair- I could tell they were genuinely happy and having a lot of fun being at work together. I wonder if this is very rare and how much they get paid and if their jobs are considered good or bad or if they are just working side jobs next to school. That is one thing that is tough about semester at sea and only being in places for such a short time- I get to see so much but I am not able to get to know these girls in a more personal way. However, I really do feel that being able to see so many different places is widening my view of the world and teaching me more than would be possible if I was only in one place. 

Anyways, after showering and relaxing at the pool and joking to each other that it was just another  Monday at school ,we headed into town for dinner at another restaurant recommended by ginger’s aunt. The guy who owns it is from nyc and married a Vietnamese woman whose mom still cooks everything. Classic Vietnamese with fabulous drinks and only $ 15 later B and I were off for more relaxing, drinks, and listening to music by the water!

The next day we slept till 9:15 (latest the whole trip!) and had a huge breakfast, relaxed at the pool, then rented bikes and biked to the beach! Biking through the cute town (hanging lanterns everywhere, on the water, no cars, peaceful with bright colors on the buildings) then through rice fields to the beach was awesome! We hung out on the first beach for about an hour, then biked to another one- both wonderful soft sand, warm water, palm trees, and beach side restaurants.  We returned to the town to do a bit of shopping- and did more bargaining!!

Then we showered, got more drinks at the hotel and headed into town for dinner. We picked a cute place on the water and had another amazing, fresh meal for close to nothing. We walked around more then headed back to the hotel to sleep before we had to get up at 5am for our flight back to HCMC. As I am sure you can see, Hoi An was such a peaceful and fun escape (not like all the other places aren’t but it had a more “vacation” ish vibe). It was well worth the traveling to make it to Hoi An- I know I want to go back!

This morning in HCMC we took a taxi back to the ship, dropped our stuff off and headed out to explore. We went to the market and I got a new backpack because mine was falling apart after using it everyday since sophomore year at Deerfield! B and I kept running into friends from the ship and walked around and got street food like I mentioned earlier. Then we headed back to the boat around 3 to beat the rush of students boarding. I got a caramel ice cream bar and enjoyed that up on the 7^th deck before beginning to write this blog post!

Its funny being back on the ship- everyone is wearing their new purchases- pants, shoes, etc that I can recognize from the market! As a surprise we have a cook out on the 7^th deck for dinner! It is warm and the sunset is gorgeous here in the port so everyone is very happy!

We have a quick 2 days on the ship then Singapore! I am so excited and I get to see my mom!! And Happy Birthday again to my awesome dad!

Thank you friends and family for all of your comments, emails, insta likes, etc- it is so great to hear from you because I miss you all so much!