--- in a flash ---
Wednesday, September 22, 2010 at 5:54PM 
vietnam would happen in a flash ---
and what a fantastic way to go out - more time is necessary to take in all of the country's splendor so for now, my appetite has been appeased with a tasting; a tasting that will draw me back for more, i am sure...
unknown to me, my arrival into hanoi landed on it's independence day. i flew in from phnom penh, cambodia and i was expecting about an hour and half ride to get to my friend's house at 46 pham ngoc thach.. but i was not ready for the sheer chocker block stand still in the city streets for the independence day celebration. the streets were flooded. flooded to the amount, you could just not get by and many, many turn-arounds and switch-backs were necessary to navigate through allies to get to the destination. what a way to greet this city... hello vietnam. i was lucky enough to get my feet wet in this bustling city by having a home base at this seven bedroom house, inhabited by mostly french and by my friend, being a six year hanoian to date. and there was no trying to ride a motorbike here. the streets are buzzing with a number of commotion and bikes that i had not seen prior in other cities. hanoi is all of it's own. crossing the street is a skill to master - slow and steady, to allow the bikes to buzz by you, swerve by you, sometimes brisking you but they know what they are doing and all i had to do was keep my eye on the prize (my eye on the other side of the street, that is) a good way to get around here was with motorbike taxi. by day, i partaked in it much more frequently here and by night, it was my friend's bikes. much of the populated area is in the old quarter surrounding hoan kiem lake. buildings here are slender with narrow footprints and level upon level spiraling upward. the advantage point is always on the higher levels at restaurants so you can enjoy all that buzz from afar. some places of interest were the memorial house; l'espace; temple of literature; phan nhu tho area; bach ma temple; west lake; goethe museum and definitely the museum of ethnology. not only is the exhibition layout well thought out, there is an garden path traditional vietnamese dwellings. the museum itself has these great vertical slot windows encasing staircases at various points and a scalloped formed courtyard. for eateries - koto; bar 69; the cart; le place and tadioto is a must! tadioto is a multi-use space with galleries, bar, and private dining. one afternoon, i spent the time driving all around the various lakes and came to cafe mau which is a friends & family run gallery/teahouse overlooking one of the many lakes. we tried to venture and find horseback riding close to the flood lines along the red river bank but we had no luck. back along there, it is countryside and in a matter of minutes you leave the hectic streets behind you and get immersed in true rural life. we found ourselves invited by some locals to cross the river via row boat to a snake village. for nights out - we frequented a few bars that all have a large expat community, enjoying until the early hours (although formally, bars close by midnight and appear to be closed but with a nod of a head and a quick usher, you are brought into a lively gathering) - places such as cinematheque; cheeky quarter; roots reggae bar and the infamous change-over name disco located along the red river, stills has a strong foothold in hanoi nightlife. a good source of what's in is thenewhanoian website. the streets of hanoi have as much to take in as to avoid... bai noi is a good, easy, breezy way to collect up with friends. it is a home brewed light pilsner first brought over from the czechs and is so light, that you want to drink the pilsner quite quickly before it loses it's hold. even better, bai noi is cheap as chips. street life, bike life is what is it all about... transport of goods is a skill here - whether it is mounds of cargo, pig carcasses, fishing poles, construction materials or families of five all on one agile bike. by bike, you get to see a glimpse of all the faces and characters that make up hanoi and let's not forget the skill of keeping 'face' -
next, i went north - up, up, up in the hills is sapa.
getting there and back is a trek. we went via local bus, overnight bus each way with a 14 hour drive. either way you look at it, an afternoon nap is definitely required after this ride. sapa is something special. as it is now, the town has many many hmong villagers intermixing with sapa folk and the hmong women are the hawkers - out to make a deal, make a barter with new transients. the eldery hmong women are incredible - strong, vivid spirit, wise. it was hard to take my eyes off of them - and their dress, their handmade clothes are exquisite... patterns, stitches, forms layering up upon one another.. it was inspiration in the making. the married women wore their hair in a certain hairstyle. it was like an upturn french twist at the crown of the head, secured in position with a decorative comb. sapa is all about trekking. and trekking we did. the treks went from 3km to 12km - this may not sound that long of the distance but it is not the distance but the route that is challenging. steep up, down hills cascading rice paddy fields soaring upwards. the vistas are incredible. the endurance needed is incredible too. we visited the villages of catcat (hmong tribe), laichai (hmong tribe), tavan (dzay tribe) and giang tachi (red dzao). they move with such agility and ease traversing the hillsides. it does really do you in and by day's end, a tea and pastry is very much welcome. the air is cool and crisp with morning rains. the dance here, is the dance between the mist and mountains - that mist moves in an out and all around the town and mountains and that mist moves fast. most of the guesthouses are perched at the edge to get bountiful views. sometimes looking out, it is hard to discern face of mountain or sky with the mist closing in on you.. what a dilemma to be in.. the town is oriented around a central square with meandering streets stretching out beyond. there are two pit stops that i adored - Baguette & Chocolat and Sapa Rooms. Sapa Rooms is actually a boutique hotel but the lounge is nicely situated with good light, good food and good space. sapa would be wonderful in the winter months - all bundled, in the mountains, with wood fires in most rooms -- hmmm... it is quite tempting to go back for this.
then from hanoi - it was a quick, skip and a jump to the majestic halong bay.
i must say, i was a bit hesitant to go because of all the "talk" about this place but wow... my breathe stood still looking out at that velveteen jade water with islands after islands cropping up one after the other to greet you - it is as if the islands were sprinkled ever so delicately. done in a fashion, to seduce you time and time again. the islands here are made of jagged rocks with quite a vertical climb causing the palms and vegetation to really reach for the sun for survival. i did a three day getaway which was a good amount of time to stay on the boat. the boat was called the amigo - done up in beautiful woodwork inside and out, it looked like something a pirate of long ago would call home. the sleeping cabins were so well done, everything had it's place - smart and handsome. on the first afternoon, we took a visit to an enormous cave and all i kept thinking as we traveling deeper was what a incredible space this would be for a music performance. a cocoon formed in its own undulating ins and outs. the evenings, at dusk, were some of the most beautiful moments in halong bay. i felt very lucky to star gaze and sky gaze amongst the islands. pretty, pretty. maybe too pretty. and to sit and wait and watch the moon come up on the earth - it will be hard to find something better to live up to. i cannot forget the bathing, swimming, jumping in the waters - the water was saltier than i had expected. halong bay is an absolute jewel. i hope it keeps it's beauty without being overrun by us.
going south to central vietnam, i landed in hoi an.
hoi an has many curiosities to satisfy your fancy. the town is built on years and years of craftsmanship in woodwork, pottery and tailoring. shop after shop, or should i say house after house, opens its doors to one of these trades and it is quite common to find artisans working away on the premises. it is very quaint and charming. many of the houses in the old quarter are wood with a mix of marigold buildings splashed in between. all of which, have lanterns hanging out front which makes for a scenic glow at evening. there is this warm amber glow spilling through the streets at night, letting everything appear a little softer. in and around hoi an are some pulls such as cua dai beach which is about a twenty minute bicycle ride away. on the ride, you pass through a river/bayou area with cafes built on stilts perching along the water's edge. a cafe i stopped in time and time again is the son river cafe. it is all decked out in white washed bamboo furniture and the best spring rolls in town. and it serves as a good halfway point between the old quarter of hoi an and cua dai beach stretch. here in central vietnam, the fields are golden unlike the green fields of the north and there is much corn harvesting. the terrain is more planar than the north too. cua dai beach spans for about 30km and at this time, it is quite quiet and we really had it mostly to ourselves. the mornings were cloudy with a light fog, clearing for the day, then rains each late afternoon that came down in a downpour for a couple hours each and every day. another bicycle ride away is the village of thanh ha - here it's specialty is pottery. first and foremost, tailoring is the attraction and i went for it for a couple items. the tailors are lined up and down the streets. the process is quick, done in a flash from me sketching a design to first fitting to final tweaks of stitching, lining, details... it was done in about a day and half from start to finish for both a coat and a pair of boots. the key is you really have to know exactly what you want and the prices are very, very affordable for custom tailoring. my son is also in close proximity to hoi an - however, it does shadow in comparison to the temple gazing in cambodia. you see painters spending afternoons on steps painting away, creating their vision of the picturesque place. and the nights, the nights with the amber lanterns guiding your path are very good indeed. the bon river divides the town from the an hoi peninsula across the way and a bit further, resides cam kim island, known for woodcarving. some great gastronomic experiences here - places like tamtam, hai cafe and the local wine bar where i had a smoky, yellow curry concoction with poached fish and turmeric. fragrant, pungent ginger teas were also a regular order for me. roaming the streets offers much discovery of historic houses, galleries and secret gardens.
september swept by in a flash...
i did not make it through the whole of vietnam as there was a calling i could not ignore, the time had come for me to return to NYC. nevertheless, this gives me a good excuse to come back and pick up where i left off.
what a kaleidoscope of exposure... what a reel this nomadic voyage has been. by now, i am so attuned to this rhythm... and now standing on the other side of the world, NYC seems very unknown to me.
the unknown is good.
actually, the unknown equals only possibility and in that, that is where the magic lies.
i welcome it once again.
