Boats ‘N Ho (Chi Minh)

Day 5 – Our Second Day Afloat
After waking up and getting ready, we started the day with a very nice breakfast spread in the main dining room as we steamed to our next destination, a traditional fishing village. Like the boat people in Hong Kong, people here have lived on the water for generations, with small floating houses and boats. They make their living off of the fish (and in this case, guided tours). The launches took us from our boat to a dock complex which included a small snack shop, there we boarded rowboats crewed by one woman standing at the stern with two long oars (think the Asian version of the Italian gondola). We were rowed around an island and through breathtaking scenery, the only sounds coming from the creaking and splashing of the oars, and the occasional whisper between groups. The most striking things were the floating houses, some painted in bright bold colors, they seemed mostly abandoned. I don’t know if the occupants were all out working or just not home, but each house seemed to have a door ajar, and no visible sign of life. Intentional or not, it added to the serenity of the area, though parts could certainly be described as eerily quiet. After completing our circuit, we landed back at the dock, where the launches were ready to take us back to the boat.

Unfortunately, that concluded our time on the boat, and once everyone was aboard we started our journey back to the harbor. Our luggage had been collected earlier, and after settling our tab we hung around the dining room with most of the other guests, but decided to head up to the top deck to take in some more spectacular views before we had to get off the boat.

Luckily, our ride home was not as arduous as the trip out. The van still wasn’t up to the standard of the first one, but the time seemed to pass more quickly (though this might have been due to the fact that now we actually knew how long we had to travel). K and I passed the time reading books, listening to music, and looking out at the view as we passed through the countryside. The roads weren’t any better on the way back, and the ride was rough and the traffic slow, but eventually we made it back to the city and started dropping off our fellow passengers. Our stop was towards the end, and by the time we arrived at the hotel, both of us were very ready for a very late lunch.

Banh mi was on the menu, and we walked a short distance to a shop that I had found online. The food was served from a small cart (think of a larger version of one of those mobile popcorn poppers) where all the ingredients were in their respective containers. We both got the standard with pork and pate, as well as the usual veggies and other garnishes. Seating was first come first serve at small tables on the sidewalk. Along with a cold beer, the sandwiches really hit the spot. The bread was super crunchy and light, the grilled pork and pate rich and flavorful, which were balanced nicely by the pickled veggies and cilantro. Once we were done with our food, we got up to leave quickly in order to give our table to some of the waiting crowd.

Continuing our exploration of Hanoi, we kept walking around the city. We were on the lookout for a 7-11 or similar store to pick up some cough drops for K, who was in the early stages of a cold. It took a while to find a store (we probably weren’t looking close enough), and our exhaustion was starting to catch up with us. Nearing the hotel, we stumbled upon a convenience store, where K was able to grab her cough drops while I looked at the local snack options. I was searching for some blueberry ice cream oreos (something that we had tried in Thailand on a previous trip), because while we both found them incredibly gross (the ice cream “coolness” is achieved by using menthol in the creme), a friend thought they sounded great, and had asked me to bring some back. No such luck at this stop, but we did pick up some waters and beers for later. A few doors down was a second store, and somehow they did have the gross oreos as well as some mint ones. Intrigued by the mint flavor, we snagged a bag of each, along with some other snacks, and continued on the way back to the hotel.  

Back at the hotel it quickly became apparent that we were completely beat from the long day (and probably the not super great sleep the night before), and that we likely weren’t going to make it out of the room again. Instead we turned to the snacks that we had bought and made an impromptu dinner of ritz crackers from the mini-bar, our oreos, and a beer or two each. When we were done it was only slightly after 8pm, and we passed out as soon as we hit the pillows.

Day 6 – Last Day in Hanoi
With the heat, humidity, and blaring sun, jeans were not something that I wanted to be wearing as we stood outside in a never ending line with only moments of shade. We were waiting to see Ho Chi Minh at the mausoleum, and to show the proper respect, shorts and other revealing dress is not allowed. So both K and I donned long pants before making our way downstairs (not stopping for breakfast, which was a horrible mistake), and taking a taxi across town. As we closed in on our destination, the crowds of people started to get thicker, and thicker, and finally our driver couldn’t get any further so we hopped out. The main gate was easy to find, but the line was already stretching farther than we could see… When we finally arrived at the end of the clump (not a line at that point) we’d been walking brisking for about five minutes. After joining the clump, it did not move nearly as quickly.

It was at this point that we realized our plan of “a quick trip over to see Ho Chi Minh, and back to the hotel for breakfast and then to change” was not going to happen. Luckily I had a granola bar that we split, and I got us a bottle of water, but a proper breakfast, it was not. Our “quick trip” seemed to go on forever as we slowly trudged back towards the gate, and then wound back and forth around even more barricades, corralling the endless sea of people. I don’t know if we screwed up by not hiring a guide or tour, which might have let us skip part of this for a price, but the wait was misery, and anyone going should definitely try to make other arrangements. Finally, after what felt like months (but was probably closer to 2-3hrs) we were allowed to enter the mausoleum. The dimly lit building smelled of formaldehyde, and was shockingly cold after being out in the baking sun. We were ushered by armed guards to keep moving up the stairs and down the hall. Walking into the main room, there he was, lying in the middle of the room, surrounded on three sides by a staircase we would use to descend towards the exit. Again, it was very dim, so it was a little hard to get a good look, and there were some reflections off of the glass box that surrounded the body. While doing some research for the trip, I’d read that every year for a few weeks, Ho Chi Minh is shipped up to Russia where they do the annual tune-up. The actual time that one is allowed to spend inside after waiting in line forever, is about three minutes… Back in the heat and sun (but fresh air), we decided that rather than exploring the rest of the grounds, it was time for food, water, and shorts, so we hailed the first cab that we saw and booked it back to the hotel.

Brunch (really more lunch by this point), was another banh mi place, this time the one that was recommended to us two nights earlier. It was a small shop, but inside, and we quickly ordered our sandwiches with grilled pork and pate and drank our bottles of water. The food was really good, and not just because we had been surviving on half of a granola bar each. With sustenance and shorts taken care of, it was time to do some shopping for souvenirs. K wanted to find some of the lightweight pants that were for sale at all of the touristy shops. We walked along, until she found some that were to her liking, and in the local fashion, bartered our way down from the ridiculous asking price to something that we were willing to pay (probably still leaving a very hefty margin for the seller). I wasn’t sure what to get, but I had seen some paintings that looked pretty neat. They were mostly black and white of a city or building, but had a splash of color coming from a tree or other natural object. One caught my eye earlier on the way to lunch, but I lost the shop in the myriad of others selling similar artwork. These were not high quality pieces by any stretch of the imagination, but I thought they looked cool. After several failed attempts, either because the shop didn’t have what I wanted, or because they wouldn’t budge from a way higher price that I didn’t want to pay, we headed back to the hotel with only K’s pants.

After taking in the AC for a little bit we started getting ready to head back out when I checked my phone because it the weather looked a little iffy. The forecast was for rain, but the more pressing issue was the real feel temperature of 117 degrees! Having already braved the heat for the mausoleum, we didn’t really feel the need to go back out, and instead took a siesta while until the temperature fell, and the rain went from torrential downpour to just downpour. We then ventured back out, and in a stroke of good luck, I was able to get the paintings that I wanted for a price that was agreeable at the second or third store that we stopped into.

By this time it was getting close to dinner, and we had some Pho to eat in order to round out the Vietnamese culinary adventure. The place was another recommendation, and we found it, and were seated with little wait. The large bowls and ice cold beers arrived quickly. The noodles and beef were both very good, and the broth was fine, but I didn’t like it as much as my usual go-to spot for Pho in NYC. After doing some research, there appears to be a difference between the northern and southern style, and I guess I prefer the southern. The Pho wasn’t bad, just not as mind blowing as expected, and we both made a significant dent in the bowls, but couldn’t quite finish them. Making our way back to the hotel in the rain, we grabbed our last Vietnamese beers, which we drank as we packed up.

Cheers,
-N