Vietnam!

I just got back today from a trip to Vietnam! My friend Amanda and I went to Hanoi and Halong Bay, which are both in northern Vietnam. When we first arrived we didn’t do much because we were so tired from trying to sleep in the Bangkok airport. But we did go out and explore Hanoi a bit. I really like that Hanoi is walking friendly. The weather was much cooler than in Thailand. It is nearly 100 degrees everyday in Thailand now, and it was in the low 70’s in northern Vietnam. Another big difference about Vietnam is the currency. They use the dong, and it is about 20,000 dong for 1 dollar! I thought getting used to the baht/dollar ratio was hard, but this was ridiculous. You look at something in a shop and they ask 150,000 for it and my mind is blown away. Or spending 30,000 on lunch! Thankfully I brought a calculator and was using it quite a bit.

Hanoi

After just one day in Hanoi we went to Halong Bay. This was about a four-hour drive from Hanoi. We got there and got on a “junk” boat, and cruised around for a bit. The limestone mountains/rocks were breathtaking! We saw many floating villages, where there are dozens on houses stringed together on the water. We got a chance to kayak around and through some rock tunnels, which was a lot of fun.  We also went inside an amazing cave that was gigantic and full of different formations. Only it was very touristy and they had put colored lights throughout it, which made it seem part cave, part light show. 

Floating Village, Halong Bay

Halong Bay

Sunset from the boat

Kayaking around the Bay

The next day we cycled through Cat Ba Island national park, which is the biggest island in Halong Bay. This was a great change up to walking or boating everywhere. We also went to Monkey Island, which is just what it sounds like, an island full of monkeys! Only they were mean monkeys that jumped on you or grabbed your stuff!

Baby Monkeys on Monkey Island

Biking through Cat Ba Island National Park

We then went back to Hanoi and spent our last day there. We saw the Temple of Literature, which was built in honor of Confucius. We also went to the Army Museum, which of course had lots of information about the Vietnam War. It was really interesting to see how they presented the information; clearly it did not put the US in a good light. We also saw a prison the French had built, but was used to detain political activist during the 70’s. This was a really sad but informative exhibit about the harsh treatment of those who were kept there. But on a happier note we also saw a water puppet show. This was um, interesting, haha. It was something that was unique and that I had never seen before, but I don’t think puppets are my thing. Vietnam was a great trip and we got to meet a lot of great people. We stayed at a hostel that was incredibly accommodating and had lots of friendly people staying there. Now back to classes and hot weather!

Temple of Literature

Army Museum