Discovering Northern Vietnam: Planes, Trains and an Indochina Junk

Thailand had always been on the top of my travel bucket list so when I finally figured out the plan to get there, I figured I had to try and see at least one other country in Southeast Asia (looking back I wish I had figured out a way to stay longer and see more!). When I decided I wanted to travel in Vietnam it was met with mixed responses. Many traveler friends raved about some of the beautiful landscape and interesting culture they experienced, while others, namely those of my parents' generation, were skeptical. "Why Vietnam? What did you want to see there? The people are very unfriendly, don't tell anyone your American…." No one can blame those for their judgements, after all, there were a few generations before me that lived through a time where Vietnam did have a lot of negative connotation. However, something about this country and these people intrigued me. After making some choices about the areas of the country I most wanted to see, it seemed it was all concentrated in the north of the country so we flew in and out of Hanoi from Bangkok and unfortunately did not make it to Saigon, which I do regret a bit. The beauty of the North, even amidst the absolute insanity of Hanoi, proved to be a great choice for our short visit.

Hanoi, definitely another world... Let's just say there are about 6 million people and 5 million motorbikes if that gives you an idea of the buzzing streets. That, coupled with no street lights/stop signs and apparently no speed limits proved to be an exercise in both extreme patience so as not to drive yourself mad from noise and extreme bravery to avoid death by crossing the street. Despite the strangling heat and humidity we made the most of the 2 short days we had to explore the city visiting main tourist highlights, walking the old city streets, eating delicious pho for almost every meal on the street and even finding a nice yoga studio geared towards ex-pats.

streets of the old city neighborhood

street vendors

excited to find pho with tofu!

One of the most interesting places we visited in the city was the Hoa Lo prison, now turned into a museum. This prison, which originally was used by the French to torture and hold Vietnamese political prisoners beginning in the early 1900's, is probably most famous for its role in the Vietnam war when it was used to hold and torture captured American pilots and other POWs. It was fascinating to view the museum, which holds articles such as a pilot uniform worn by John McCain, and witness the war propaganda videos shown as well as read the strong, one-sided point of view of how prisoners were treated there. The prison, sarcastically dubbed "Hanoi Hilton", is portrayed as a place where the shot-down pilots were simply "held" until their release at the end of the war. There are images of holidays celebrated and games played in the prison yard. There is no mention of torture and actually, quite the opposite, mention of how civilized the treatment was. I am not an expert on all the history and facts of the Vietnam war, but I have a hunch many Americans might disagree with this portrayal. I found the whole experience very informative, it's always educating to hear different points of view on important moments in history.

belonged to John McCain

From Hanoi, we took a 2-day, 1-night trip on Halong Bay with the highly recommended Handspan travel. Halong Bay is a bay in northeast Vietnam consisting of dense clusters of thousands of limestone monolithic islands topped with lush vegetation. Certainly a breathtaking site to view for 2 leisurely days aboard a luxury boat (referred to as a Junk). On the boat we met up with another sibling backpack team and had a great time together relaxing, hiking and kayaking during the short trip. Following Halong Bay, we made our way back to Hanoi and departed later that night for an overnight train to the north-west for a 2-day trip to Sapa.

gorgeous views

new friends

Sapa, near the border of China, was quite different from both places we had previously seen in Vietnam. The rolling lush green hills and terraced rice fields were a beautiful sight and perfect setting for daily trekking. What was also very interesting about Sapa were the indigenous minority groups that inhabit the small town. There are 5 main minority groups: Hmong, Dao, Tay, Giay and Xa Pho and each is known for a particular trade or craft and identified by the clothing colors and "uniform" they wear. Although tourism and the making and selling of handicrafts is improving the way of life for many of the minority groups, Sapa is still an agricultural-based community and most inhabitants live in near-poverty or worse. It was heartbreaking at times to see all of the beautiful small children running around without proper clothes or shoes and covered in dirt. Unfortunately as a gringo it is also difficult to make it down any road without getting accosted by young girls trying to sell their wares.

breathtaking views

women making handicrafts to sell

terraced rice fields

new friends

From Sapa, we took an overnight train back to Hanoi and flew back to Bangkok where we ended our Southeast Asia trip. It was such a remarkable experience, the culture and places so unlike anywhere I have ever been before. I definitely think my time exploring the East is far from over…..