Remaining reminders...

When deciding that I would travel to Vietnam, it came across my mind that I would probably learn about some of the immense history this country has. Through our trip, we've heard bits and pieces, but very recently I have learned a LOT.
One great day of learning was on a bike tour in a town called Dalat. In Vietnam people often make money by just randomly offering a service, or things/food for sale, to people in the street. A common example is offering a ride to somewhere on their motorbike. In Dalat, the most common offering one will get is for Easy Rider tours. There are, probably, some sort of official easy riders, and then every other person that owns a motorbike in the town who claims to be an "Easy Rider" tour guide. We found someone who seemed quite legit actually, as he had a jacket, could speak vietnamese, english, AND french, and had a very thick book of written references (always a great thing to find). Anyways, we chose him, he and two friends picked Karen, Sara, and myself up the next morning, and took us on a full days tour. We saw some amazing things such as:
- A dragon pagoda
- Where all of the vegetables are grown (a neat city center farm land kind of deal)
- A flower farm (Dutch inspired green houses)
- A silkworm farm
- The Elephant waterfall
- A coffee plantation
- A tea plantation
- A strange way of growing mushrooms
- How rice wine is distilled

The real learning however was throughout the day while our guide Stefan told us about Vietnam from his personal perspectives. Hearing his struggles through life, and how hard it is to make money to keep a family going was crazy to hear. Like that even though Vietnam is reunified, North and South are one, he still sees areas of unbalance.

Hearing his perspectives on the war really brought things closer to home for me. For example, he mentioned seeing his village evacuated and then bombed as a child. He mentioned being a soldier during the Vietnam war and because of that had some interesting comments. For example, he pointed out this bare looking patch that covered a hillside. To the uninformed eye, it just looked like a large area of grass, which it is. As he explained though, the area is like that because after the hill was lit up with napalm, the jungle could not grow there anymore.

My knowledge has grown from other days as well. Yesterday we went to the "War Remnants Museum" which is a museum of just that; remnants of the Vietnam war. I realized while being there that I really have no idea about what happened during that war, or almost any war for that matter. I learned in detail about so many things that I previously had no clue had happened. For instance, I now know about the mass quantities of chemicals used on Vietnam that caused not only immediate effects, but had repercussions on the environment and the people for years after they were used. I also found out about the massacres that happened in various areas, like the one in a place called Son My.

I guess before finding these things out, I didn't know why the war happened. I didn't know the extent of what went down, why the whole world was opposed, or what effects anything had. I now know more, but feel like I am just beginning to understand a history that is incredibly tragic. Learning hand in learning hand, I also recently have been reading about the Khmer Rouge occupation of Cambodia, the next country we are headed to. All of this makes me appreciate South East Asia so greatly. For countries with such brutal and horrific pasts, they are thriving so much now with such a commendable mentality. After all my findings, I get why Vietnam is SO PROUD, and I get why Ho Chi Minh is SO RESPECTED.

All in all, I will continue to learn onwards in my journey. Tomorrow we set off down the Mekong Delta with the destination of Phnom Pehn, Cambodia.

Things on Bikes...

Alright, so this post will be updated throughout my journeys here. Motorbikes are a huge part of the culture here in Vietnam, and they are absolutely everywhere. There is probably a motorbike for every Vietnamese person over the age of 16... seriously, there are thousands. The use of a motorbike in North America is basically to transport 1-2 people, in a normal traffic setting. The use of a motorbike here is to do absolutely anything, carry any amount of people, and to transport all goods.
The following is a list of things that I have seen on Motorbikes:
-Women sitting side saddle carrying large wedding picture while someone else drives through very busy traffic
- Man driving with one hand while cradling a baby in the other
- Sleeping toddler on drivers lap, half on half off
- A full bouquet of balloons
- A popcorn machine with small bags of popcorn
- 30+ boxes
- Corrugated steel
- Rebar + metal pipes
- Four grown men
- An 8ft across dresser, going uphill, with two men (one on either side) running with it to balance it
- Women in high heels and tight dresses riding side saddle
- Compressed air cylinder on the flat part of a scooter in front of the drivers legs
- Me, a driver, karens large backpack, and my large backpack
- Bags of live fish! Like 30 bags... crazy.
- A child sitting behind the driver, with an I.V in, with a person behind the child, holding the I.V pole (seen this more than once)

SUBSECTION - Bicycles:
- Hundreds of flowers
- Two people and another bike
- Steam buns and a working steamer
- 1 very large pig strapped horizontally

The Moments That Make Up The Dog Days...

Today was day three of a three day tour to Halong Bay and Catba Island. The first day we drove to Halong city and then took a small boat to our larger boat. We cruised around the bay which is filled with beautiful islands and a mist that makes it look magical. The tour was great because not only were the sights amazing, but we were with a great group of people from many different parts of the world. After drifting around, we did a bit of kayaking and ended with a swim around our boat. That night we stayed on the boat while floating on the bay. The evening ended quite late, as there was definitely some karaoke happening, and a lot of good conversation to be had. The next day we ventured off to monkey island where the people we met actually were chased by monkeys! A bit scary, but super funny to see. After that we headed to Catba island where we stayed that night. Basically the entire trip was relaxing, beautiful, and filled with great people.

Other than our small expedition we've been staying in Hanoi. The city has been MADNESS due to the festival/generally crazy lifestyle. Take the other day for example: there was a parade in the evening which we went to go watch. After waiting quite a while the parade started. It was a group of military people marching in sync, followed by cheers. Next was a differently dressed military group, marching in sync, followed by cheering. And so on, and so on, and so on. Oh and then the floats started. First up, a large red float with a big picture of Ho Chi Mihn (might be spelled wrong... oops!) and a "Hanoi 1000 years" sign. This float was followed by a group of people with signs of Ho Chi Mihn, then people with flowers, all cheering. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
A bit of a different type of parade, but their spirits were all good.

Anyways, things have been crazy but wonderful. Tomorrow night we're off to Sapa for a motorbike/trek tour, and a homestay in one of the villages. It sounds exciting and will surely be an adventure.

Quitters...

Today was supposed to be the second day of our volunteer project. The project was made to help out with the 1000 year anniversary of Hanoi which is 5 days from now. So, I say "supposed to" because things worked out a bit differently than planned.
Here is the story:
Karen and I cabbed over to the meeting spot yesterday morning where we met up with a few other volunteers from various projects, and waited around for a bit. After some time, the director lady told us to take our stuff, as we were going to the place that we were staying in (which we thought we were already at). We arrived at this place, met all the other participants, and then waited. After a while we introduced ourselves and looked at the itinerary which looked a lot like much touring of the city, going to museums and such, free time, games, and things like that. All of this is alright... minus the fact that it isn't volunteer work! After the group started asking about our volunteer work, it was told to us that it was pretty much for us to learn about Hanoi, and then make a poster/movie/slide show about how great the city is... not super awesome. Anyways, it appeared that it wasn't what we expected, and crappy accommodations (cockroaches and not enough beds!). We decided to ask for our money back, which we received the majority of (from the Vietnamese organization who were quite nice) and to leave on our merry way. The Canadian organization kind of sucked though, as they charged us more than the others, and none of the money apparently went to the actual organization. The battle will continue with them for sure.

Anyways, today we went to the Temple of Literature, which was nice, and would have been more peaceful if there weren't thousands of people in and around the area (the festival has drawn MASSIVE crowds). We also had an AWESOME vegetarian meal in the style where its all veg, but cooked to look like meat. This is in order to make carnivores feel more at home (a la padmanadi style). An added bonus was that it cost us about $3 each for more food than we could finish. Yes. Also checked out the festivities this evening, it was super crowded, but a really cool atmosphere. Cool performances and neat random street-happenings. Soon we will probably take a three or so day trip to Halong Bay, as well as a place called Sapa.

On the road again, and so much wiser.

Arrival!

Alright so I made it safe and sound, and am currently in a backpackers hostel in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Flights were all good, blah blah blah, but I can see that the adventure definitely started once I got here. I arrived at the airport, my visa on arrival worked out, and there was a man waiting for me with my name in the lobby (as planned). Once he started driving me I could tell that this place is quite different than anything I have ever known. Everyone here drives INSANE. No other word for it, its just pure chaos on the road. There are tons of motorbikes darting between cars, people driving in the wrong lane, and it seems that a 2 lane road means that its a 6 lane road if the fit is right. So crazy, but I saw no accidents... but most likely will.

The hostel is super awesome. Its really clean and beautiful. There are linens for the beds, free breakfast, free internet, free movies, etc etc etc. And it's only $5.50 US per night. Yeah. Soooo good. So anyways, that's my crazy first impression of Vietnam. Can't wait for the adventures to begin.