Wait. Just wanted to let you all know I was just served an in-flight breakfast for my 2 hour flight, and it came with fresh watermelon and dragon fruit (which is in a never ending abundance here). This seems like not that big of a deal, but this flight cost me under $100... yup. Winning even further. Ah the little things in life.
Back to the journey of events. I apologize but we will be skipping Wednesday. That was great, just like every day in this city filled with culture, soul, and an endless array of insanely delicious food. I did a ton of shopping with my little Ha, a tour of the temple of literature, and the usual school activities. In the evening Trung Vuong school hosted a good bye dinner for all the students families, and teachers in a buffet restaurant (nicest buffet of my life, hands down) which was on about the 20th floor of a tower over looking Hanoi... definitely a memory I'll hold close to the heart forever. Saying goodbye to my Ha was quite literally heart breaking and filled with quite a few tears, but I feel it was not a good bye but a see you later. The potential for this little girl who hosted me is unbelievable; her level of intelligence, hospitality, street smarts, and open-mindedness surpasses many of the adults I've encountered in my life, and I'm excited to see how her next few years play out for her. I wish I could have spent more time with her and her family, but alas, tis life and forward on to the next journey. Phi family, if you're somehow reading this, thank you from the bottom of my heart for the two days which you not only opened your home and life to me, but for also truly granting me the insider view into Vietnam culture and an experience which I will hold close to my heart and in my memories forever. It was simple but perfect, and I'll miss you all! Alright. Now, for the sake of blogging and the essence of time, we'll just move forward to Thursday.
It was an early start; 8 am bus departure. I am used to this time due to school anyways, so it wasn't rough. My sleep schedule is also just sporadic and a disaster in and of itself, so the trip went off without a hitch. We clambered into the bus at 8 am and set off for Ha Long Bay; a world wonder which lies off the northern Vietnamese coast. There are approximately 5,000 islands within three bays, and let me tell you, it is absolutely captivating. I have flown to various sites, cities, mountains, and sunsets in my life all across the globe, but this moment, standing atop a slightly rickety boat (beyond my father's comfort level, I'm almost sure) it was one of the moments where you just stop and truly feel that this is the beauty of the world which will never leave you, no matter how far you depart from it. I probably did not seem so awe struck to those around me, but to just be in the middle of such a scene of small, rickety fishing villages, towering island mountains, caves, fog lacing in and out between them, it just hit me. Life is truly good. Truly, truly good.
On the boat we were fed a basically 8 course meal containing all varieties of things from the freshest of the fresh crawfish (with arms and eyeballs thoroughly intact), to spring rolls (I am already going through withdrawals of leaving those behind..), to french fries. We were the only ones on the boat; an odd scene when it is a boat built to accommodate approximately, holds only 7 mere American tourists. But hey, no one is complaining here. Apparently the bay has a huge problem with pollution (much like many places here in Vietnam near Hanoi) and I'm fairly positive it could be due to the 500 boats that dock in the harbor, clamoring around, waiting for tourists and departing with small groups and half empty boats each. I suppose they'll never collaborate and run fewer boats with larger loads, but oh well. Not my culture, not my bay. On the bright side, it was thoroughly enjoyable feeling like Queen Stephanie and her friends on a full-staffed private tour group boat. Ahhhh bliss.
Just a random interesting fact, there is a fishing village located within the Ha Long Bay which has approximately 150 inhabitants. These people live on house boat platforms and make a living through the fishing industry. We briefly stopped at a house like this in the bay to see some King Crab, squid, and other sea creatures up close- it definitely was a whole another world.
The only downside to the day was the obnoxiously long bus ride. The distance is only about 130 miles (I think) but it took us four hours. Vietnamese traffic is not only insane, but also on rough roads and at slower speeds (which I am ever most thankful for). After about two hours, ones gluteus Maximus becomes quite square (or numb) and the bumps in the road begin to hit nerves mentally (and physically in some of our members' cases). We did make a pit stop at a tourist trap, but still. The total eight hours of driving were just almost too much. Getting out of the van at the end of it resulted in baby giraffe legs (I say giraffe due to my obnoxious height here...) and a deeper appreciation for walking and my half marathon training.
In the end of the evening, we met up with our new friend Austen from Alaska who we met Tuesday through the school. He took us all back to his apartment where his housemates were holding a good bye party for his house mate from Denmark (who is really only going on a brief vacation, so I'm not entirely sure what the good bye shindigs were all about, but whatever). It was a nice little gathering, and those of us of age tried a little bit of Vietnamese beer, or rather the southern asian pacific version of Keystone. Yup. It was called Tiger beer. Yay. Anyway. On the trip home, the taxi driver played the typical gip the tourist game and took the cab around the block a few times to make our fare two times the actual cost (we're not that dumb, seriously). We were pissed until we realized that the fare was $2.50... who's the sucker now? ha. Just kidding. But seriously. It feels odd to be the minority here and at a loss of language constantly, but I enjoy it. Life is always better in my world with a bit of mystery and element of leaps of faith. Besides, what is life if you don't participate in events that result in stories that begin with "So this one time in Vietnam..." or "You'll never guess what happened when..." If you don't agree with this and the sense of going with the flow, please don't travel with me. I've also taken on the mentality in the last year that I'll try anything once (naturally, with limits such as illegal substances and sky diving. Oh and Jelly Fish. Yeah, no.). Hence the dog. Oh sorry. Forgot you're all still overly sensitive about that one. Too soon, too soon. Pff
That's about it for now, mes cheries. Oh that's right. I'm quite pleased to announce that I have been able to put my french to good use here and have discovered that I can, indeed, quite actually speak french. This is quite a relieving discovery considering my flight for France leaves in 50 or so odd days.
I'm young, alive, happy, and in love with the world as a travel destination.
On to Ho Chi Minh!
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