Hue: The Final Stretch

This morning my night train arrived in Hue, Vietnam from Hanoi as I head down the coast to Saigon for my last seven days on my vacation. I’m wracking my brain for any stone I’ve left unturned or animal I’ve left uneaten so I can finish this mission. With only one week and several small cities between here and my departure from Saigon, I may finish out this trek with a bit of beach time.

The trip to Ha Long Bay was simultaneously amazing and boring. So much of my time out here has been spent whooping it up into the wee hours of the morning that the idea of relaxing on a boat that’s imperceptably rocking among the craggy limestone peaks of Ha Long Bay was a bit anti-climactic. Part of this was brought on by the fact that this is the off-season for this area. Our 16-person boat had six people: a Austrian/German couple and British parents with their daughter. Not big partiers among that group.

Ha Long Bay truly is a wonder. Gliding over the glassy water you get that incredible feeling of awe and wonder that matches the first time you step into the Yosemite valley. Of course the Vietnamese treat this natural wonder with the same reckless disregard for their environment as everything else. The water is littered with flotsam of wrappers, cups, and plastic bottles.

Luckily we were able to boat out to an entirely closed bay. The only access to this mini-harbor was through a cave with a four-foot ceiling that is entirely closed during high tide. At this point I jumped from the boat and floated in the cool, green, salty water. The limestone cliffs around me carried a layer of hardy green bushes and trees and bird calls echoed in the chamber. Quite peaceful.

The next day I made another attempt to see Ho Chi Minh’s body but he again eluded me. That mausoleum is closed more than its open! Instead I enjoyed some bia hoi on the corner of an insanely busy street. Let me try and describe what this corner is like.

I’m sitting there with bia hoi in my hand. Bia hoi is a light, micro-brewed beer that is sold for pennies. It’s usually delivered in a thick, cheap glass of questionable hygiene at temperatures only slightly below the air. Above the tangle of electrical wires sparked and smoked and developed the attention of a whole crowd of screaming Vietnamese. In the street there are 500 motorbikes waiting for the light to change and 450 of them are honking as they jockey from the pole position. Old women are hawking maps, bread, jewelry, and hats. The entire city of Hanoi seems constantly on the verge of all-out riot.

From what little I’ve seen in Hue, things are a bit more calm. But more calm for the locals means more rowdy for the backpackers. Where things are cheaper and backpackers can spot each other and condense to groups, inevitably reaching critical mass resulting in an explosion that sends drunken revelers into every bar, restaurant, club, bowling alley and god-knows-where within miles. Let’s see how things shake up tonight.