changes

Well, I have left HCMC and I have seen the central region and now my time is consumed with the exploration of HaNoi. This city is much more like Portland than HCMC, although perhaps that is due to the cool overcast weather. Hanoi has numerous lakes and parks which provide for a great escape from city life. We arrived here last night at approximately 9pm after a 13 hour train ride. Today we were shown around town by a few Portland State alums and then left to wander on our own. This weekend is pretty much free and we start classes again the following week. Tomorrow we meet with a group of Vietnamese students that are appointed to be our friends and guides around the city.
I should probably fill you in with details from the last ten days or rather since leaving HCMC. On our second to last night with the roommates we were able to gain access to the guest house kitchen to cook an obscenely large meal together. It was our first opportunity to cook our own food since being here. It was phenomenal and somehow all the food turned out to be better than we could have possibly imagined. After a few long nights with the roommates we left for HoiAn. A smallish city in which every other building is a tailor shop. I managed to escape with a custom jacket, shoes and shirt. We had about three days here. The first day we rented bikes and headed to the beach. The following days consisted of more biking (some of the first exercise other than walking that has been possible) and making sure clothing orders were filled. One of the days we took a trip to visit the site of the My Lai massacre. Along with viewing the few foundations that still remain and the bullet pocked coconut trees there was a museum that was filled with photographs from the tragic day. The majority of the group left crying and or silent. With all the war sites that we have seen (quite a few) this was by far the hardest to take in. From there we left to Bach Ma Mountain. It is the wettest point in Vietnam with a total of 25ft of rain a year. It would have had beautiful views however all we could see was white mist 20 ft in front of us. We did a few hikes, tried to stay somewhat warm, staying dry was hopeless (our clothes still reek from being constantly wet) and of course the highlight of this portion of the trip was the insane amount of leaches. Our guide was the only one to have a serious bite (on the neck and it bled for over a day) but I think I can safely say all of us have had our fill of fighting off the creatures. We hiked to a gorgeous waterfall that was 400 meters tall and down 689 stairs, most of which came up to my knees. From the mountain we drove on to Hue. Here we saw a few royal tombs, the old citadel, and the forbidden city. A few day trips were taken during our stay in Hue as well. We took an excessively long bus ride to the DMZ to see a the Ho Chi Minh Trail, an old US Air base, tunnels that housed an underground village, and a VietCong cemetery. We had a free day in which I rented a bike again and biked out of the city limits into the country side. It was a gorgeous day, the first without rain in at least a week. And as scrambled and poorly written as this was, I think it summarizes almost everything we have done up to date. I am currently trying to maintain my health as I believe the stay in our last hotel has something to do with the runny nose that seems to be ruling my life. I recommend avoiding damp hotels in which things never seem to dry.

Comments

Andrea Ward said…
i'm imagining you couting all 689 of those stairs, though i'm sure the guide just told you how many there were.

what a lovely post. and lovely to hear from you again. i'm glad you're having a lovely time.

LOVE!!!!!!!!