Vietnam. The North.
First Impressions of Vietnam
I’ll be completely honest: I never wanted to go to Vietnam. Not that I was dragged there against my will, but it never ranked high in my imagination when I pictured the world’s must-see places. Friends spoke highly of it, travel magazines showed glossy photos, but nothing about it stirred my desire the way the Louvre, Norway’s fjords, or Egypt’s pyramids did.
The rainforests seemed no different than those in Latin America. The cities looked overcrowded. The beaches? Nothing I couldn’t find in the Caribbean, practically my backyard.
But there are times in life when a man must admit how wrong he’s been. Vietnam turned out to be one of the most memorable trips I’ve ever taken.
Hanoi: Chaos and Charm
We arrived in Hanoi expecting the worst. Guidebooks painted it as a lawless city where crossing the street was suicidal and scams lurked at every corner. While not entirely untrue, these warnings didn’t diminish the experience.
We checked into the Sofitel Metropole in the French Quarter, greeted by French-speaking Vietnamese hosts. I understood neither language, but the atmosphere felt elegant nonetheless. The pool was serene, the service quick, and the cocktails plentiful.
Outside the gates, Hanoi was madness—scooters weaving through traffic, tangled telephone wires, pushy vendors. Yet beneath the chaos, it was oddly charming. After a few days, though, we were ready to move on.
Sapa: Into the Hills
Next, we boarded the train and settled into our beds for the night. The whistle blew, and the cars lurched forward as the engine began to pull us north towards Sapa. This was not a fast train. It crept up the river valley slowly and carefully resulting in the 150 mile journey taking up the entire night. And in the morning we were in Sapa. The day before in an urban spider web of scooters, telephone wires and pushy street vendors; and now surrounded by mountains, rice paddies, and Hmong village people – Sapa is a bona fide Asian paradise: the hillsides are all segmented into terraces paddied with rice, cows wonder around seemingly aimless through villages and fields alike, the family pet and milk source one day, a feast the next. Although Sapa seems among the most popular excursions out of Hanoi (based on it being plastered all over every tourism office we saw in the city), it is still peaceful and a welcome escape after having braved Hanoi.
Ha Long Bay
And then there was the boat. Ha Long Bay. The place where the legends say dragons descended and formed this endless expanse of peaks protruding from the foggy waters. If you’ve ever seen a National Geographic about Vietnam, this is the front page. I’m not sure what I make of the dragons story, but dragons or no dragons, it was a sight to see. We had a berth for two on our “junk” which we shared with a few Brits, some Aussies and couple with whom I never spoke. The Aussies as it turned out were to be engaged one night – so I bought them all whiskeys and we moved to the top of the boat. Squid fishing is best done at night under the lights, so we took turns at this as the night progressed into quite a memorable one as we anchored under the stars in the bay. The stars began to move about the sky a little faster and the ship seemed to leave its anchor as I went drink for drink with an Aussie. I found this to be inadvisable.
In the morning I made my way down the narrow ship’s hall to breakfast from our cabin and I was greeted by my newfound Aussie and Brit friends with a jovial “good morning director!” Slightly confused, I looked at Mrs Grimes, who reminded me of my foot thumping on the deck of the boat (unfortunately right over our cabin where she slept) the night before. It then came back to me that among other things, I had been directing the group in song the night before (I believe this to “In The Jungle” from the Lion King, which I can’t rightly explain). I’m not sure it’s anatomically possible, but I could swear that I was sweating whisky on our hike the next day with a 500 ft elevation gain under sweltering heat and humidity. Such is the cost of making Australian friends, I guess.
Only the Beginning
After Ha Long Bay, we returned to Hanoi and boarded a flight south. Our Vietnamese adventure was only just beginning—but those first weeks were enough to overturn all my doubts. Vietnam had caught me off guard in the best possible way.
