Vietnam, The Hidden Charm

So the Vietnam Administration of Tourism says.
BF and I left for Hanoi, Viet Nam on Friday, February 1st. The flight was about 4 hours on Viet Nam Air (Viet Nam is one hour behind China). A work colleague and his family were also traveling on the same flight to Hanoi. When we got off the flight, we struggled a little bit with finding a transfer to the Sheraton Hanoi. We shared a ride with my collegue and family in a van to the hotel.

We did little, to no preparation for this trip. We don't know how to say hello, what the currency and foreign exchange rate is, etc. So at the ATM I was presented with an option to withdraw 2,000,000 Dong which is around 135USD. It turns out many things are quoted in USD and can be used, but coming from Beijing we really don't have any USD with us. The first thing that I noticed was the great number of motor scooters on all the streets and the amount of honking horns is way more intense than Beijing. The scooters make for a chaotic scene on the streets. The cars are swarmed by them.

We are staying Hanoi just for the night and then traveling to Nah Trang for a beach vacation. The weather is around 50 degrees F and is rainy. We ran into 3 accidents on the way to the hotel. We checked into the Sheraton on a special floor for Platinum members (not clear how I got that but it guarantees a suite if one is available, and a Jr. suite was waiting for us, very nice). We checked out the hotel, had a drink and then called it a night. Below is the view from our hotel room:On Saturday, we had a continental breakfast then waited for Sheraton shuttle to take us to the "Old City". We walked around the narrow alleys looking at the goods for sale and did some people watching. It was amazing to me some of the scooter jams on these narrow streets with shopkeepers and pedestrians to contend with. The other amazing sight is the small orange trees for Tet that are being sold and transported on the scooters. These trees are similar to our Christmas trees for our Christmas holiday. People are also buying a cut flowering tree as an alternative. These sellers everywhere in Hanoi. We took a taxi back to the Sheraton in time to eat before going to Nha Trang. In the taxi we were met with a huge traffic jam. BF took the opportunity to jump out of the taxi to buy a couple of handmade hand brooms she saw on the street.

We ate lunch at the Vine Restaurant near the hotel. It was recommended by work colleagues' wife. The Vietnamese meal was excellent. Then it was off in a taxi to the airport to travel on to Nah Trang. The domestic flight took close to 2 hours and it landed at an airport about 40km from Nah Trang. It took a little time to find our transfer transportation to the Sunrise Beach Resort in Nah Trang. When we did find the driver he took us on a new scenic coastal highway in an SUV. We arrived at the hotel and were met with a complimentary juice drink and an introduction to the hotel. I think our biggest surprise is that this is not the time of year for beach swimming and water sports. We talked to the concierge to get an idea of what types of activities and excursions we could do. We will need to do them in the early part of the week given the Tet Holiday is coming soon. We also looked into church services for tomorrow. The concierge gave us a great recommendation for a local Vietnamese seafood restaurant not too far away. We took a taxi which is amazingly cheap (20,000 dong or 1.25USD) as we did not know the exact location of the restaurant. Truc Linh 3, like most most establishments here are totally exposed to the elements in the front. They had a great selection of fresh seafood and grills to cook the food at the front entrance. We had a great meal and fantastic service. We then walked onto the main street near the ocean towards our hotel. We came upon an open stage where hundreds of motor scooters were assembled. They were all watching a Chinese Dragon Dance by a young group of performers. It was like a drive-in movie theater where everyone was sitting on the scooters watching ther performance. We stayed for 30 minutes to watch two different dance groups perform their version.

On Sunday we got up early for 7am mass. We walked to the church which looked quite old and fairly spartan. The cross above the alter was outlined in red neon light. The mass was mostly attended by primary school children with youngest in the front extending most of the way to the back. Listening to the whole mass in Vietnamese was interesting.

We went back to the hotel for a very nice breakfast buffet. We then walked to a large local market where BF bought a couple of items. The market was similar to those we have seen in other Asian coutries. Everyone wanted you to look and buy from their small shop.

In the afternoon we took a taxi to the Louisiane Brew House. They had great beer and food. But interestingly, they had their own swimming pool and beach front area. People were bringing their swimming stuff and either laying by the pool or out on the beach under umbrellas and loungers supplied by the brew house. BF and I played rummy at our table.

We decided to stay in for dinner and feast on a Vietnamese buffet at our hotel. They had a great seafood grill. You selected any seafood you wanted as well as other Western, Japanese or Western foods. All of this for 25USD and as much wine as you wanted............

On Monday, we decided to go on an excursion. We wanted to get a local flavor so we went on a village tour. We visted many different types of craft people. Makers of Vietnamese hats, bed matting, bread, rice noodles, clay grills, etc. We had lunch at a local restaurant on the Cai River. What amazed me is BF's determination to bring something out to the villagers. Our guide suggested pencils, pens, candy for the kids and fruit for the villagers. The candy was a huge hit with all the kids. I don't know what we would have done if we had not brought something out into the villages. The people that we stopped to visit were extremely nice and welcoming. BF bought a Vietnamese hat and a couple of matts. They were of course happy about that.

We took a swim at the hotel pool in the afternoon. Then I went to go get a haircut for $8 at the hotel and a $7 Shampoo (what a nice head massage). I needed my hair cut since it is considered bad luck to get it cut for one month after the Chinese New Year. BF went to the gift shop at the hotel while waiting for me.

In the evening we tried to go to the Nha Trang Seafood Restaurant by taxi. When we got there we found out it was closed for the Tet Holiday. We ended up walking back to Truc linh 3 and we ended up with the same waitress. She was happy to see us.