Similar to Hanoi, we only left ourselves 2 nights in Ho Chi Minh City — HCMC, or Saigon as most of the locals still refer to it. We booked a day trip to the Mekong Delta, allowing ourselves to be upsold $15 to the deluxe package, which guaranteed a max group size of 14 and a better lunch. This proved to be a big mistake, as the only difference in our 11 person group was the table they sat us at for lunch and a few so-so extra lunch dishes.

The tour was extremely “touristy” — a scripted march of tour groups between locations where locals are eager to extract dollars and dong from tourists. Looking past this aspect of the tour (it wasn’t expensive at all), the delta was a fascinating tropical area.

A 2 hour van ride to the delta town of My Tho ended at a marina where we loaded onto small boats to ride across the mighty Mekong river to some small village towns. At Unicorn Island, we were served local fruits, including pineapple, mango, papaya, dragon fruit, and longans, all while listening to some talented local folk music singers and musicians. We then boarded small 4-person canoes for a nice ride through low-hanging vegetation to our next stop: a honey and tea tasting. The honey came straight out of the honeycombs, and was mixed with tea, lemon, and pollen to make a wonderfully sweet and refreshing honey tea. Then, naturally, they brought out a python for (only brave) people to hold.

This was followed by a motorboat ride to Ben Tre, “coconut island”, where every part of the coconut tree gets used in products or the making of products (ie. coconut shells are burned to provide power). The specialty was coconut candies — very tasty! We also indulged in very our own chilled coconut (the water and the meat) –> quite refreshing. After making our way to the lunch place via horse-drawn carriage, we were separated from the main group for our “deluxe” lunch. Check out our elephant ear fish, from which fresh spring rolls were made (not worth the extra tour cost though). This photogenic water buffalo was busy bathing himself in the background during our lunch:

Near the end of our journey back to HCMC, the tour stopped at a handicapped handicrafts place. Most of the artists were affected by, or descendent from those affected by, Agent Orange. Using eggshells, seashells, paint, and laquer, they craft some very impressive works (if only we had a way to fit more stuff in our bags).

Other than Halong Bay, we did not leave time for tourist activities in Hanoi so we set off the next day for Hoi An via Danang. Our flight was due to depart at 2pm, and they made sure to get us off on time because there was a shrinking window between the outer bands of wind and rain from Typhoon Nari, scheduled to make landfall in Danang around 2am. Vietnam gets hit by about five typhoons every year, so this was mostly business as usual for them. This particular typhoon was forecast to be the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane and had just left a path of destruction in the Philippines killing 13 people. Note: the detailed weather forecast in English was surprisingly hard to come by in the days preceding landfall — we did not have a good idea of what we were getting ourselves into.

Our Australian pilot informed us just before landing that he might have to take more than one pass and not to be alarmed if the plane pulled up. Turns out the first try was perfect — quite possibly the smoothest approach and landing we’ve experienced.

During our 15 second descent from the airplane door down the stairs to the terminal bus, we got absolutely soaked by driving rain. The airport was mostly empty. Our hotel’s driver met us and set off for the 30 minute drive south along the coast. The roads were eerily empty except for the few groups of Samaritans adding stakes to young trees in hopes that they could withstand the winds.

Arriving at our beautiful hotel Ha An (thanks to Jolley’s recommendation), we received some delicious tea and fresh fruit, and were instructed to be back at the hotel by 8pm due to the impending storm. I donned my bathing suit and flip flops, and we set off for a short walk around town in the rain to get our bearings. We walked along the river and over the Japanese covered bridge before heading back to the hotel for dinner.

The typhoon hit later that night, bringing with it lots of heavy wind and rain. Nicole didn’t sleep much, and was surfing the web for more updates on the storm. She found that over 180,000 Vietnamese were evacuated from the storm’s path, including many in the city of Hoi An.

We awoke to downed trees and debris everywhere in addition to continued rain and wind, but the worst of the storm was over. The morning was spent chilling in the hotel room, attempting to watch some of the bootleg DVDs supplied by our hotel: sound quality was too awful on J. Edgar to hear it, Skyfall kept getting stuck in the middle, Ghost Protocol started somewhere in the middle with a chase scene. We were getting ready to head out around noon to survey the damage when the phone rang. The river 1 block south was expected to flood to about waist height in the lobby, and our hotel was evacuating all guests to other hotels further inland from the river!

Our self preservation genes kicked in. We packed quickly thinking this was an emergency and ensuring we were some of the first guests to get transportation to safety. Turns out the flooding was not expected until late that night so we were safe. Our new digs were not nearly as spectacular as the Ha An, with signs of water damage in our room, and intermittent power and internet, but at least we were on higher ground.

Our walk around town later in the evening produced these images of the storm’s destruction. The locals were out in full force the entire time repairing metal roofs, cutting downed tree limbs, and repairing their own telecon connections. The entire community seemed to work together in good spirits making this a very warm and inviting place to be.

Turn around. Don’t drown.

Boat washed ashore on a street

And there were just funny photos:

Vietnamese Telecom

Vietnamese telecom

P.S.  Happy late b-days Robin and JJM!

[with contributions from Nicole]

Our stay in Hanoi was short, only 2 nights, and the one common piece of advice we were given about this area was to see Ha Long Bay (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). So we booked a private tour through the hotel. It turns out we’re not the biggest fans of private tours because there’s a lot of pressure and awkward silences. It was made even more awkward when halfway through our 4 hour drive to the Bay our driver pulled off for the advertised bathroom break and coffee at a ceramics/pottery factory that employs local disabled people. They had a local tour guide meet us, walk us around the premises, and then follow us around a large souvenir shop, hanging onto our every word about their goods. We weren’t going to buy anything because this was an unexpected part of our private tour of Ha Long Bay (that and we can’t really fit any more souvenirs in our bags). I think our (very friendly) tour guide eventually got the point because the rest of the trip he was extremely transparent and personable. We learned his views on communism (he’s fed up with it), North vs. South Vietnam, and the pervasive problem of government corruption.

We passed many rice farms and a few coal towns and power plants. When we arrived at the Bay, we were surprised to board a large vessel made for maybe 50-75 people. But it was just the 2 of us, a cook, our tour guide, and 2 other shipmates along with their captain. Our dollar goes a lot further in this country!

We enjoyed a cruise across the bay to a cove where we walked through 2 natural caves with amazing stalactites and stalagmites.  Afterwards, we were treated to a 10-course meal of local seafood on the boat as we cruised around the amazing karst mountain scenery. Along the way, we passed a water town where a small group of fishermen live on their boats, with their families year round.  They even had a floating school (sorry, no pictures.  We were too busy stuffing our faces with food).

We had one of the best meals of our trip that night in our hotel: Meatballs and beef in a tasty broth, shredded beef and onions in bamboo stalk, and a veggie soup that reminded us peach fruit cups. Very tasty!