Friday, February 21, 2014

north Vietnam


I am doing this post the same as last. I have hundreds of photos and really words do not do justice to what we have seen. I only wish my photos were better. I do not want to experience Asia from behind a lens and yet I so want to capture the essence to trigger the memories.

Well here goes. North Vietnam.

Hanoi. A big city. Not unlike Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City. HCMC is 11 million, Hanoi 5. Hanoi appeared a bigger city to me. Very Asian, in contrast to Singapore. Sights like this. Traditional dress. These hats are so practical. Rain, sun, a basket, made at home, and seen in all those uses.



A lovely old man on the street of Hanoi. Reading someone's astrology signs.



The Jane and Jane team, dressed for the cold in Hanoi. It was very uncharacteristically cold in Hanoi. I, once again, forgot my coat. When packing to go in 90' weather, a winter coat hanging in the closet did not come to mind. So I went to a North Face store (North Face is made in Vietnam) and bought another winter coat. That makes one from South Africa, (forgot a winter coat for SA (?)) and one from Hanoi!


A woman carrying a full load on her bicycle. Mask and hat, socks and sandals.



I think I might have posted a similar photo of the wiring in HCMC. You see indoor extension cords plugged in to the outdoor wiring!



The will to live.

A lovely lady taking a break. That is quite some load, carried on the ends of the pole over her shoulder.




The traffic. Mostly motorbikes, very few cars. It looks like chaos, but does seem to work. I have not seen an accident, nor have I seen a tourist have a heart attack at the prospect of crossing the street. Just sheer terror in their eyes.




Step in the door from this chaos on the street to a mall. You could imagine yourself on Fifth Avenue in New York.



Now we have taken a 9 hour overnight train to Lao Cai. I have pics of the train which will be at the end of this post. It was not as bad as it appeared it was going to be. We slept in our clothes. The important thing is we slept. Met at the station, breakfast of noodle soup and off to the Can Cau market. The drive was amazing. Hills shrouded in fog. The drive was just long enough. More time on those "S" curves and I might have felt less than  well. The women are gorgeous. They are all in traditional dress. No jeans and parkas to be seen. Wrapped in embroidered cotton, layer upon layer.


 

I have fallen head over heels over Asian babies. And then to see them in these colours.




The market had everything. And I mean everything. This guy is getting a hair cut. Behind him way off, there are the horses being traded. Pigs, water buffalos, birds, of course produce and meat, clothing, and then the inevitable STUFF from China.




Water Buffalo are very valuable. Expensive. Often part of the marriage dowry. The weather has been very cold. This family has given their buffalo a sweater. They have surprisingly little hair. Kind of like a pig. The are milk, meat, and heavy labour. They are very well treated and cherished by the farmers.




No such thing as child care. The mom and dad are down the hill digging the fields, and the kids are just there.




Our hotel room was freezing. Our hotel was freezing. The north was freezing. We had a room with 20' ceilings, and no heat source. They gave us a space heater which we left on full blast all day and all night. The room barely got the frost off. We pushed our beds up to the heater hoping to catch any heat that might come from the heater. Being the second day and night with no clothes change  I was thinking this is like a camping trip. This is first class in north VN? Yup. No going down to the bar for a whisky. The bar is not heated. We ate in the same restaurant both meals out because they brought a little charcoal bbq to near our feet. It was a small crowded place so there was body heat. Slightly warmer. Ate with coat and scarf on, taking gloves off only when the food arrived. We slept with hat and gloves!


 
To another market the next  day. I have hundreds of pictures of the fantastic colour.


Even their rubber boots are decorated.


It was big news. Somebody lost their buffalo who succumbed to the cold. So he was slaughtered and they were selling the meat. Butchering it on the spot as the orders came in. (You can see his head.) This would be tragic because a water buffalo is needed for the hard work in the fields and they are amazingly expensive. So sad.




We went to the Chinese border. Jane was very excited to "see" China. We went to a pedestrian bridge. The Vietnamese get a pass for $5 a month to cross the border. They bring their wares home on a wagon pushed and pulled by man power.



The two Janes survived the cold, and finished up on the deck after a warm shower. Gin and tonic has never tasted so good!




I would love to post more pics.

Now I am of to look at Hong Kong. We are going next week. To see Alex's buddy from pre-school, Matt Sears. And to have some clothes made. Just a few days.

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