Souly Positive

Vietnam has been amazing…there’s that word again:) I guess that is why I’m on this trip though…to be amazed and learn things about our world. So far, so good:) Well Vietnam has lived up to the hype. A beautiful diverse country that has some crazy traffic. My first stop was Hanoi. When I checked in to the hotel I was given a sheet of paper that tells you how to stay safe…. and yes, of all things, how to cross the street. They actually give you a 4 point strategy on how to cross the street:) Step 1) Be relaxed (spelled ralaxed:) and self confident (honestly this is a pretty tall order). Step 2) Always look both ways and make eye contact with the driver (which one, there are hundreds?) Step 3) Walk slowly confidently ( again a really tall order…I could almost fake the confident thing but there was no way in hell I was going to walk slowly:) Step 4) Do not hesitate (uh, yeah, good luck with that one too:) So literally every time I made it across a street, I felt like clapping, throwing myself a party and doing cart wheels. I’m being serious here! A group of Korean kids crossed with me one time and when we safely arrived on the other side of the street they said, “thank you” and I said, “no, thank you” and then they said “no, thank you” and we all just laughed. They asked if they could interview me for their academy. Of course I said yes. When they asked what I did for work, I told them I sold homes. They said, “oh so you’re a housewife.” I thought that was kind of funny and kind of accurate in a weird way….married to houses:)

I spent the first day in Vietnam just walking around, getting lost and practicing crossing streets:) I went to The Women’s Museum which was very interesting, all about the lives of women in Vietnam and the varied ethnic cultures here. It was beautiful and educational. I guess I was feeling too happy and decided to depress myself by also visiting The Prison, what became known as the infamous Hanoi Hilton sarcastically pinned thus by our POA’s. Really sad. I felt sad for our troops held there, embarrassed for our involvement in a war we should’t have been in and heartbroken remembering the horrible way we treated our returning soldiers. The people here have been amazing though and don’t seem to hold grudges….at least that’s what they say:) That being said their slant on history is sometimes a very glossy version. They make it sound like the POA’s were treated like family but if you look at the photos of some of them…well, that was obviously not the case. So many atrocities on both sides…so sad. Suffice it to say, war is ugly and I will say no more about any of that:(

So the hotel I stayed at was great and booked all my tours for me. I’m sure I could have gone out and got better deals etc. but this was easy and less brain damage for me. Even though I thought I could possibly get back some of my losses from my grossly over budget traveling, I opted to play tourist instead. The hotel is nice and the tours they booked were awesome. All for close to my daily budget:)

My first tour was Halong Bay. What can I say…beautiful, amazing, haunting and a lot of fun! I slept on a boat and the room was great. I love all that dark polished wood on boats. The private bath was also a nice perk. Best of all, the people sharing our little excursion were wonderful. My partner, because we were the only singles on board, was Maria. A beautiful, smart Brazilian woman who was an engineer with a doctorate, married and 32. She was at the fecal sludge conference in Hanoi:( She was great and we shared the dining table and a very fun kayaking trip. The other people at the table were, oddly enough, from Denver Colorado. They were also awesome but will be moving to Bend Oregon soon. Two more people, reinventing their life and who they are. At the table next to us was an Australian family. So sweet with two little girls 8 and 9 that brought pure joy to the boat. There were also folks from Denmark and Korea, all friendly and fun. We all got along great and even sang some karaoke…more as a group though. We also did a 6:30 AM tai chi session on the top deck. Unbelievably just about everyone showed up for that. Besides kayaking, karaoke and tai chi, we also went spelunking, to the beach, on a hike, saw monkeys:) and a few brave souls swam in the cold water. We also ate like kings. They served food family style and there was always more than we could eat and it was delicious. They even taught us to make spring rolls. All this in a 24 hour period. What a fun group and a great bunch of people! It was actually hard to say good bye.

The next tour was to Sapa, where the rice terraces are and various ethnic cultures of Vietnam. It’s again, beautiful and haunting. There were six of us in the van. Two women from Australia seniors at the university. Two guys from Singapore on a quick 3 day holiday and a backpacker, reinventing his life between jobs from the UK, Matt. Matt and I were the only two that had opted for the home stay in the Zai village. Poor Matt was 32 and got stuck with me, when I have a feeling he would have rather gotten stuck with the Aussie girls:) We got along great though and made for easy travel companions. We hiked our way down to the Dao village accompanied by our two tour guides and a group of Hmong women hoping for money. We didn’t buy anything in the end and was trying to give them money for hiking with us. I gave them each 5000 dong because that was all I had besides really big bills. They weren’t happy:( Once we got to our home stay I calculated what I had given. I was mortified, no wonder they were not happy…I gave them about 24 cents each:( I was handing out thousands, I had no idea it was so little…DUH, Side note here, I really suck at money exchange. I takes me forever to learn the money and I even have an app for that:)

Anyway once Matt and I are settled in the home stay we get a beer and soon dinner is served. We move our table to join the others and before you know it we are all like old friends. There was a tall ex airline hostess blond, beauty from the UK. She was so nice and made me want to start saying “brilliant” all the time:) A very quiet Muslim couple from Singapore who did not participate in our drinking. 2 Israeli’s, a couple around my age. Two more gorgeous, fit women from Israel who had just completed their mandatory 2 year duty in the Israeli Army. One young hunky Australian guy that had vietnamese roots and the Spaniard’s. The Spanish couple were a little younger than me. She was quiet and he was loud, boisterous and hilarious. Their guide was, I think, from the Dao village and she was probably one of the funniest women ever and pregnant due in 3 weeks to boot:) Her and the Spanish fellow were like a touring comedy act. They had us all in stitches most of the evening and into the next day. The Dao pregnant guide spoke unbelievable English and was quick witted and had a filthy mouth on her. She kept asking the Israeli girls if they were lesbians and then in the next breath accusing them of a threesome with the Aussie. She dropped the F bomb often. Her and the Spaniard never quit giving shit to each other the whole night…it was hysterical. Of course the happy water shots we kept drinking may have made them funnier:) We all ended up playing pool at a tiny bar a little way up the road. Where the English woman scored her and I a nice bottle of wine.

The next morning we all got up and while having breakfast outside, the village women starting lining up, eyeing us like prey and deciding which foreigner they were going to hook up with. I ended up with a very old woman and an young girl, probably around 11, that should have been in school. Off we go to hike the rice terraces…harder than you might think:) That little girl held my hand to help me several times and I was very appreciative…she was definitely going to get more than 24 cents:) Then after a while some of the groups took their people up and we went down…it was kind of sad to split up. I yelled “Bye Israel, Bye Singapore, Bye England, Bye Australia” and they yelled bye back. Funny, I never even learned most of their names…just their countries:) This left Matt and I with just the Spanish couple and soon they veered off too. We made it back to Sapa, had a nice lunch with the Australian coeds and finally headed back to Hanoi on a grueling 5 hour bus journey.

I’m really not a person that is in to tours but I must say these were both so much fun and must see places in Vietnam. The people were fantastic and I’m constantly amazed how quick groups bond. The getting there and back was not fun though…4 days and a total of 18 hours on a bus:( But…totally worth it!

From Hanoi, Halong and Sapa Vietnam…Licking old wounds, making new friends:)