Hopping through Hanoi [Vietnam]
After Ho Chi Minh in the south and gorgeous Central Vietnam, our last stop was the northern city of Hanoi! Well, kinda — we mostly used it as a home base for a bunch of day trips. The hotel we stayed at was mostly fine, albeit with some interesting self-expression among the staff.
For our first and only real day in Hanoi, we did a cooking class with Apron Up! The class was so worthwhile. Not ONLY did we learn how to make my fav Vietnamese dish (aka pho, in case it wasn't abundantly clear from the fact I ate it every day in Vietnam), but we ALSO got to pick up the ingredients from a local market and make a ton of other dishes: fried and fresh spring rolls, bun cha (meatballs), papaya salad, and Jenny's fav: egg coffee (a Hanoi specialty!). We also participated in the class with a fun dude from the University of Florida named Rob. We chatted over dinner until 10 pm! I'm glad Rob was our tourmate, as there was another group tour happening simultaneously with some VERY fratty bros from Cornell. Backpacking in Vietnam post-graduation truly makes you feel like a cliche, but I loved every second of it.
By the time we finished up at Apron Up, it was pouring rain and pretty late, so we went straight to bed.
Mai Chau (aka discount Sapa)
Ohh Mai Chau. Despite calling it a "discount Sapa," I truly did enjoy frolicking in the rice paddies here. My main gripe with this tour was that my bank information got compromised from booking this specific tour on a site called Klook, which had a data security breach a few weeks after this excursion.
We were promised that we'd get to see some traditional Vietnamese villages as part of the day trip, but they turned out to be tiny roadside rest stops rather than actual cultural enclaves. The most authentic part of these rest stops were the restrooms themselves, which still haunt me in my nightmares. Once we arrived in Mai Chau, we were slammed with humidity. This was the first time I've ever felt literally sweat drops start rolling down my back. Is this how rice grains feel inside a rice cooker?
Complaints aside, the rice fields were BEAUTIFUL. We got to frolic in the fields for a bit, then split up according to mode of transport: I chose to take a bicycle while Jenny motorbiked. I must say, it felt freeing to take the wheel for once (or should I say, take the pedals?). I am grateful to Jenny for motorbiking us everywhere, but I really do enjoy the leisurely pace of a quiet bicycle ride!
We made our way to some surrounding buildings that FELT authentic but were probably built for tourists to gawk at. We saw a traditional White Thai home, which was surprisingly small and a bit rickety. I tried on some colourful clothing while Jenny tried her hand at spinster work. Surely they make more from tourist income these days? Perhaps this was actually the Vietnamese equivalent of a pioneer village.
I continued on with our tour guide while Jenny diverged onto a less trodden path. I had a chance to cut a stalk of rice with a sickle and thought I was getting the "authentic experience," only to discover that Jenny befriended some REAL farmers and got to operate the modern rice-picking machinery! The rice paddies were straight up MUD, so while I delicately walked across the fields like I was balancing on a tight rope, Jenny dove right in, knee deep. There are two types of people in this world, I tell ya. It was so comical for her to roll up on her motor bike long after I'd finished (and had been hanging out with some local women as they prepared beetle-leaf snacks), completely covered in mud and demanding a hose to clean up. I have so much respect for the local workers who start their days harvesting rice from 5 am until 6 pm every day (or even past dinnertime during the high season) — it's back-breaking work, all to get enough grains of rice to fill our bowls.
To end the night, we walked around a place called the "Backpackers District." It truly lived up to its name, in the sense that it was completely packed with boisterous American tourists on their grad trips. I can't really complain, since that would be like a pot calling a kettle black. BUT it was great to come to the realization that this was not the grad trip experience that Jenny and I were seeking out; that we much preferred a quiet day sweating by some rice paddies over getting rowdy with people we could probably meet stateside.
Magical Ha Long Bay
Ha Long Bay lives up to the hype. It takes around four hours to get from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay, so we went with a tour bus that picked us up at our hotel. As with most guided tours, there was a rest stop aka shill zone / tourist trap. In this case, it was a needle work shop where all the workers were mute. It made me wonder how these workers ended up here and whether they enjoyed such menial work, or if they were being taken advantage of but had no way of negotiating for better working conditions. I suppose there aren't as strict worker protection laws, much less protections for those with disabilities, compared to the west.
All that aside, the Ha Long Bay cruise was AWESOME. The boat was fancy, and I experienced absolutely zero motion sickness! We saw stunning sunsets among the rocks. The staff put in a lot of effort to make sure all the tourists were having a grand time, and Jenny and I even got to peek behind the curtain and join the staff for their meal. All credit for that goes to Jenny—she can strike up a conversation with anyone!
Literally and figuratively peeking behind the curtain.
The Ha Long Bay cruise included a bunch of fun activities to entertain us. We went kayaking—it was my first time, and I enjoyed it a lot! What a work out!! We also went to a place called Titop Island, where we sprinted 450 steps for the #views. As a planned excursion, we only had a few minutes to run into the water, but it was so worth it. The water in the bay was exquisitely warm. We also met some fellow Canadian gals on their grad trip! Moments like that make you realize that your experiences aren't unique, but also compound our collective privilege. Let's just say I felt blessed to be there.
The next day, the primary boat excursion brought us to a cave. It was surprisingly peaceful in there. I've come to appreciate the value of having tour guides to share additional information about the things we see. For example, can you believe the tiny stalagmite pictured below is already 500 years old?! IT'S SO TINY! It made me appreciate how long all the other stalagmites and stalactites have been around for us to witness.
I kind of felt like we were transplanted into a scene of Avatar: The Last Airbender (unfortunately, I suppose it would have to be the live-action version).
Finally, to round out the cruise, we did another spring roll-making session with the staff. I got judged hard for not adding any veggies to mine, womp womp. Before we knew it, we were at the end of our Ha Long Bay cruise.
On our way back, I tried a matcha chocolate Haagen Dazs bar at the rest stop. FYI, it was underwhelming and mostly tasted like an average vanilla or chocolate bar.
For our last night in Vietnam, we made one more mission to Cong Ca Phe. I experimented with another drink called a "passionfruit freeze," which was far too sweet. Word of advice: skip all of the other drink options here! Cong Ca Phe is known for their coconut coffee, and if you don't want that, just grab a drink somewhere else. It was rainy again, so we leisurely walked around and got super cheap manicures to end the night. This was my first manicure ever, and I found the nail filing to be quite uncomfortable. BEAUTY IS PAIN.
Thanks Vietnam for the beautiful sights, affordable prices, copious pho and sugar cane juice, friendly people, and high-octane experiences. It was the perfect place to visit for this period of my life. I don't see myself going back, so I'm glad I got to go from coast-to-coast to see everything this country had to offer.