Hanoi Vietnam

Hanoi has been the capital of Vietnam for over 1,000 years and it shows, especially in the Old Quarter. Like the City’s beginnings, there are still some streets that primarily sell jewelry, fine art and crafts, silk, and now beer. The Old Quarter is noisy, crowded, and hazy from the traffic with its motorbikes, scooters, and tuk-tuks often laden with goods to be sold: fruits and vegetables, clothing, house plants, precarious boxes stacked high and wide (See all photos under the text).

Motorbikes are the family cars. We frequently saw up to 4 people on a motorbike, often with kids wedged between parents (this is also true in Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia). Also an interesting trend we have seen in Asian countries are women, urban and rural, who are completely covered head to toe with special clothing to avoid sun, and the pointed Non La or palm leaf hats. I think I’d pass out from heat stroke by wearing all that, but I did get a Non La hat. And, in Singapore many women carry umbrellas for the sun. Pale skin is revered in many Asian countries, and skin cancer is a real concern, too.

One of the unique aspects of Hanoi is getting around on foot, negotiating traffic with virtually no traffic signs and rarely breaks in traffic. We watched and learned how to the cross streets. First we joined a few people who were crossing, and then on our own we did what they did, walked slowly into oncoming traffic which slowed down and went around us. It was a bit daunting but also rather exhilarating.

The food vendors set up shop on the narrow sidewalks and cook on creatively made carts with small plastic seats for patrons. It was explained to us how so many people can sell in Hanoi (I don’t think I can say that they are making a living). Shop space in Hanoi is limited and very costly. Informal and likely illegal agreements are made where, for example, a shop space will have a coffee vendor set up from 6-9am, then promptly shut down and then the clothing store will pull out its merchandise and sell from 9-5pm, and after it closes, another food or beverage shop will open from 6-10pm. Many of the street vendors come from the rural areas with goods to sell from their bicycles or carts.

Hanoi’s Old Quarter has a big festive Night Market on the weekends with pubs, drink and food vendors, and many shops, like jewelry vendors, that stay open late. During the day, we walked around the huge indoor markets (a couple of square blocks 2-3 stories high, some with clothes, shoes, household goods, souvenirs, and the other markets that sell an amazing array of foods, most of which we couldn’t identify. And, Vietnam makes a lot of nice clothing. We purchased a traditional water puppet sculpture and a painting by a well-known local artists at a small gallery.

The city really opens up with its dozen lakes. We also wondered around the impressive former French Quarter. In the early 1900’s, this area was under French control and called French Indochina. During those years, the French built extensively adding beautiful government buildings, palaces, and hotels in the classic French style, and planted big tree lined boulevards.

Gene and I really wanted to see the Vietnamese Women’s Museum, a big four story building where we learned so much about the critical roles that women continue to play here, even fighting during wartime. And, interestingly, although this is a communist country, religion (primarily Buddhism), animism, spirit worship and superstitious beliefs are strongly held and openly practiced. There is at least one alter in every Vietnamese home (we saw impressive alters at each of the homes we were at in rural Yen Duc).

Tranquil Yen Duc Vietnam

When planning our trip to Vietnam, I really wanted to experience, if possible, rural life.  We’ve been to several large Asian cities in different countries and they all share vibrant but chaotic environments. In my research about Ha Long Bay Vietnam, the beautiful UNESCO World Heritage site, a couple travelers described their amazing experiences at Yen Duc. It was exactly what I was hoping for to balance out Hanoi, the high octane 1,000 year old capital. Life here is very simple, rustic, colorful and full of tradition. And in this communist country, spiritual beliefs and religions, primarily Buddhism, are practiced openly.

Indochina Junk, a tour operator that I found to be the best fit for us (and the first tour company we have ever used), has a wonderful guide named Thuy (twee). She was born and raised in Yen Duc, is fearless, and knows everyone in this beautiful village including a number of neighbors who are happy to share pieces of their lives with nosey tourists. We stayed at Mr. San and Ms. Tam’s new homestay, one of the few in the village. They started this business now that their three adult children are gone and have families of their own.  San and Tam don’t speak English, but between body language and Thuy’s insightful and continuous translating, we were able to communicate; they were very sweet and wonderful hosts.

Yen Duc is made up mostly of small, simple homes surrounded by large courtyards made of stone or brick walls. It was fascinating to see courtyards and streets covered with newly harvested drying rice. Many daily activities happen in the courtyard and is an extension of the home. Home cooking is of primary importance, and makes up a lot of time each day. At Tam and San’s in the morning shade we had a traditional breakfast in the courtyard; in the heat of the afternoon we lunched on many fresh vegetables on the living room floor; and after dark, we dined on the open front room floor. Afterward, Thuy showed us how to make two dishes including a dessert, while a couple of San’s friends came by to play Chinese Chess. As a sign of respect, shoes are never worn in the house, slippers are provided or you go barefoot (This is common throughout Asia. It is so prevalent that we do not wear shoes in our condo in Singapore or at anyone’s home).

We had a number of fascinating experiences in our action-packed stay. When we arrived around dinner time from Ha Long Bay, Thuy had us jump on bikes and go to the fishing pond to try our hand at catching fish using wicker baskets. The pond was shallow with deep mud and water plants. We had on waders up to our waists and I thought for sure the mud was going to suck the boots off my feet and knock me into the muddy water.  I caught a few fish but not without the help of a local directing them to me. Afterward we threw them back. The next morning, we rode bikes to the fresh market which was filled with mostly women who seemed pretty interested in us. We met three girls who were preparing fresh river clams, tiny crabs and things I’ve never seen before. I bought the requisite hat that nearly every woman wears in Vietnam.

Thuy took us to visit a Bee Keeper and his wife at their home. We had some lovely tea, sampled honey, toured his beautiful gardens of exotic dragon fruit trees, and saw his many bee hives. Then we visited a broom maker and her husband. She tried to show Gene and me how to make a particular type of broom but we were pretty hopeless. You need strong, nimble hands, infinite patience and lots of practice. As time drew near, we didn’t want to leave.

For anyone wanting a rural travel experience, Yen Duc is a delightful journey off the beaten path in a very beautiful part of the world. Oh, and ask for Thuy to be your guide. We are still in touch with her.

Urban Ubud Bali Indonesia

I love that nearly every place we want to explore in Asia is within a 2-3 hour flight from our home in Singapore. Gene and I had a great get-away to Ubud (pronounced Ah-bood), on the island of Bali, Indonesia in late April. It is one of eight major islands of the 13,000-17,000+ islands of Indonesia (see photos below the text).

Since we are not beach bunnies (not that into sun burning, or scads of kids and surfer dudes), we headed north to Ubud, 1.5 hours inland. It has a reputation for impressive art and artists, spas and retreats (apparently the Julia Roberts movie, Eat, Pray, Love took place there), ancient temples, traditional dancing, and affordable shopping.  Surrounding Ubud are swaying rice fields, lush forests, deep ravines, thatched houses and huts, numerous temples, and the Mount Batur Volcano which is supposed to have spectacular sunrises.

Although we were warned about motorbikes, we were still surprised by their sheer numbers and how they were used.  A common sight is an entire family, up to 5 people, riding together. And large quantities of goods are transported this way, too, an entire vendor stall of products are tied and balanced on these bikes.

Ubud is an interesting random mix of urban and rural sites everywhere you go.  As we walked down the busy shopping street of Jl Raya with it many ancient temples along the way, some of which are now homes and art studios, there is an expanse of forest which plunges deep with homes and shops in the canopies and shacks below.

Indonesians have a reputation of being friendly and they really are.  We had many warm conversations with a variety of people: artists, shop owners, and the hotel manager who were happy to share information about life in Bali and answer our questions.  This was the first place we traveled where we didn’t see any Muslims although we knew that Islam was the predominant religion of Indonesia. The Hotel Manager, who is from Jakarta, explained that Bali is the only island in all of Indonesia with a high Hindu population, and the multitude of other inhabited Indonesian islands have high Muslim populations.

I have to say that Indonesian currency tested my math skills. We felt pretty rich temporarily when we took out 1 million Rupiah on our first day, but it only amounted to $80 USD. We were having trouble knowing whether we were giving rupiah worth $1, $10 or $100 and often gave too little because of the enormous bills. It took a lot of effort to spend $30 a day. The food was wonderful, fresh, and creative. We had a fantastic barramundi, a thick white fish with aromatic herbs that I love to cook with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rural Ubud Bali Indonesia

We went on a beautiful 4 hour walk in the hills of Ubud (Ah-bood) just off the main street where rice fields and artists’ shacks dotted the landscape. We loved the swaying fields, huts where the farmers lived, numerous scarecrows that resembled farmers working, and palm trees set against the mountains. We met a number of fascinating people: several talented artists working in their small studios, a generous organic farmer, and a shy spice grower. We saw lovely holistic spas and retreats along the path and situated deeper in the fields and forests. I’m afraid we’re not good at actually getting any spa treatments. We even had one free massage from our hotel spa which we didn’t take the time to do! (see photos below the text).

The hike started up a large hill that opened to rice fields and became a very skinny, meandering path with some locals on motorbikes who were coming to and from town. And, as usual, it was hot, very hot.  There was a variety of structures along the way. Simple tents and shacks, one room art studios, and lovely two story retreats.

We had a lovely but also slightly disconcerting interaction with the organic farmer. He came over to chat with us in limited English and showed us the farm’s many fruits and vegetables that they grow for their restaurant downtown. He pulled a turmeric and ginger plant out of the ground to show me since I told him I enjoy cooking. He also gave us fresh peapods out of the ground to eat.  I ate mine while he showed me around. Afterward, Gene and I continued our walk and she said “I’m glad I remembered we’re not supposed to eat anything grown in water here so I tossed mine.”  “Crap, I ate mine,” says I.  Ok, if I’m going to get ill eating a tainted peapod at least this walk was worth it; fortunately I was fine. We’ve had several friends get ill in their travels in Asia and in Bali specifically.  So far, only Singapore seems to have safe drinking water that I am aware of, for travelers anyway.

The walking paths were so minimal that we took a wrong turn and ended up on a path by some small houses on the way back to town. we came to a lovely stream and small waterfall a few feet off the path where a handsome young man about 17 was standing bathing nude. He watched us pass and didn’t seem to mind the old white ladies walking by.

You may notice in some photos, and the feature photo above, small offerings to Hindu deities.  Twice each day, Hindus in Bali (mostly women I believe) create baskets of flowers, fruits and other significant symbols and place them at entrances wherever they are, work or home. Bali is one of the thousands of islands in Indonesia; I’ve read anywhere from 13,000 to 17,000 plus islands, but 8 of the islands have large populations. It’s one of the few inhabited islands that is predominantly Hindu (85%), the other islands have became predominantly Muslim, and Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world.

 

Ayutthaya Thailand and its Temples

My companions, Deb, Daniel, Patcharin, and I had a great adventure visiting Ayutthaya (Eye-U-Tie-Yah) and its many active temples and ruins. We hired a long boat and took a picturesque ride on the Chao Phraya river passing houses on stilts (in varying degrees of condition), bridges, boats, restaurants, and lots of temples, ancient and modern. Ayutthaya, which was once the largest city in the world with over a million people in 1700, is now about 82,000. (Photos are under text)

As with any adventure, not everything goes according to plan. We ventured out for dinner about 9pm and couldn’t find much open so we flagged down a tuk-tuk vehicle (in place of taxis) and got a ride to a central hawkers’ market that had many food vendors. When we finished our ten dishes(!) we went out to the street around 11pm and they were empty except for a few people riding bikes and motorcycles, and a number of dogs wondering around.

After standing on the street for a half hour we figured that the tuk-tuks were done for the night and had no other options. We began walking back along a large boulevard that was poorly lit with big busses parked along it, and too many packs of dogs for Deb’s and my comfort; we could see some of them and others we could hear howling. We thought we were quite a bit farther from our hotel than we were, but after about 20 minutes we arrived safe and almost sound. (Daniel and Patcharin, who live in North Thailand, weren’t too concerned, and Deb has a fear of dogs).

Ayutthaya was first established as the capital of Thailand in 1350 and its rein lasted until 1767. It was an absolute monarchy and its official religion has always been Buddhism.

This place was chosen for the capital because, “Throughout the centuries, the ideal location between China, India and the Malay Archipelago (Malaysia) made Ayutthaya the trading capital of Asia and even the world.

“After a lengthy siege, the city capitulated and was burned in 1767.  Ayutthaya’s art treasures, the libraries containing its literature, and the archives housing its historic records were almost totally destroyed, and the city was left in ruins.”

Many of the active religious sites throughout Ayutthaya are along the river which we visited by long boat; some if not all have monks in residence. And, some of the ancient sites seemed to be unharmed, while others were irreparably damaged from the attacks by the Burmese over centuries. These are sadly apparent from the many hundreds of beheaded Buddhas at several of the sites we visited. This city’s ancient temples form a UNESCO site.