Vietnam - the beginnings

We have arrived in Vietnam - safe and sound! There is so much commotion in this country, it's insane.

We went to Busan the night before - Sunday. That was a hectic day. We had to clear our apartment, get our stuff ready to go, and head to the train station. Luc and I said our goodbyes to Korea the night before. We went out with all our friends and it was great. We didn't get home until about 530. Sunday, we had to transport our enormous amount of luggage to Nadiras house where she had placed just the right amount of room for everything for us. I hope she'll be okay because there is cat hair on some of the bags, and she's allergic. It was hard to say goodbye to Whitney and Neal. They we the first people we met in Korea and the last people we said goodbye to. There were many tears shed, let me tell you. Our "love motel" in Busan and actually not bad. We ended up staying beside the trainstation, which is apparently, one of the more sketchy places in Korea. Full of Russian prostitutes and gangs. But we saw none of that, and it wad fine. It was an early morning to the airport.

We were, of course, the only foreigners on the plane to Hanoi. We also sat beside a woman, with such a cute baby. But the baby was a) sick and b) not liking the plane. So she wailed for take off and landing. When we got to the airport in Hanoi, I was surprised by the size of it! So small, for the capital of a country. Immigration too forever too. There were a lot of Koreans on the plane over, and of course the ajumas (Korean women) butted in line. Our bags took a long time to get onto the belt too, but there were so many other people still waiting, it was okay.

We took the airport shuttle to the Old Quarter where our hotel is. Vietnam used to be under French Colonial rule, and it shows in the artchitecture and language. There are A LOT of French tourists here, and many of the people speak French. Lucas hasn't really been busting out his supposed French Immersion schooling though.

This is the land of perpetual honking. You cannot go literally 10 seconds without hearing honking. There are so many motorcycles around. More so than cars, by far. Mom you would have a heart attack trying to cross the streets. There are crosswalks, but they aren't controlled. You just have to start crossing - slow and steady.

We finalyl found our hotel, after a little bit of searching, and they told us that there are problems with the room, so they have to take us to another hotel just down the street. Turns out its a nice place, and breakfast was pretty good. All the buildings here are tall and skinny, so it's hard to miss, but there are so many hotels and hostels everywhere here.

Last night Lucas and I went to explore Hoan Kiem Lake, which is in the heart of the Old Quarter. There is a temple (Ngoc Son Temple: Jade Mountain Temple) in the middle of the lake that has a giant embalm tortoise on it. Apparently, there is a giant Turtle in the lake, but the last time it was seen was 2006. Legend has it that the turtle took a sword from an emporer (who got it from a god) and he returned it to it's divine origins. We also saw a Water Puppet show. Vietnam is know for it's water puppetry, and it was interesting to watch it. We also saw St. Joseph's Cathedral, which is a stone's throw from the hostel. It's been nice to hear the bells ringing every 15 minutes.

We met a couple of Australian ladies who have been travelling Vietnam for the last three weeks. They have been having a ball here, and had a lot of info to share with us. It's been great. So many Aussies. You either hear Aussie or French.

We are constantly being bombarded by people. "Hello, motorbike?" "Hello, please buy". You have to keep walking. If you stop, they pounce.

Today, we went to see a temple: Bac Ma. It has a statue of the legendary White Horse that an emporer used when he was building the wall...or something like that. We also went to Hoa Lo Prison, which is where John McCain was held as a POW during the Vietnam war. That was an interesting place to see. Very depresssing though.

Tomorrow we are going on a one night - two day tour of Halong Bay. We will be sleeping on a boat, and kayaking, and taking millions of pictures! I'm suuuuper excited to see it. Halong Bay is the place that you see when you think of Vietnam, with the crazy rock formations and the gorgeous water. Friday, we booked a flight to Ho Chi Minh. We don't have time to take a 35 (yes thirty five) hour train from here to there. We are on a schedule. I want to see Cambodia and Thailand!

P.S. Vietnamese food kicks Korean Food harder than hardcore. Soo delicious. I love this country thus far.