It really has been a fast month here in Hanoi. It seems like we just switched schools and moved across town, but it has been 4 weeks already! Since then we have gotten into some routines, settled permanently into a new apartment, visited Ninh Bing and Perfume Pagoda, networked with fellow teachers and gotten paid for the first time in NAM!! I suppose it only makes sense that September flew by when all of these things were happening.
Its been a great transition into our new jobs. Days are busy and go quickly. We usually have errands of some sort to run after school. Whether it be lining up our weekend trips or finding the post office, it seems that we are often on our motorbikes for an hour or two after school. It really clears your head after being inside all day and it is always nice to find more places in the city. We have gotten to know the Tay Ho area pretty well on our bikes, but are still hesitant to get out into the other districts. Although, if we keep getting cheated by 9 out of 10 taxi's that we take we probably will be driving everywhere we go! It is sometimes infuriating how they try to take advantage of you.
Our past few weekends have been filled with trips outside of Hanoi. Last weekend we went to Ninh Binh-Tam Coc. We left Hanoi, Saturday around 8:00 with our friends Shelby and Sangmi. Tam Coc was about 3.5 hrs away if you include the customary stop for the roadside tourist trap. On the way we also stopped at a temple, which was a first for me. The locals were out in full force selling goods and wanting to take pictures of you on their Ox for a small fee. At the temple, there was a group of 70-90 year old ladies praying, probably about a dozen of them. The temple had beautiful woodwork and was very quite.
Well, as the ladies were praying, Brittney Spears magically starts singing "Baby, Baby"!! We looked around and were stunned to be in this spiritual place as some terrible 90's U.S. pop-culture starts blowing up this old ladies phone!! She slowly creeps away and answers it! We had quite the laugh over it! It was a defining moment in Vietnam. It symbolized the modernization of Vietnam. The culture is beautiful but is being overtaken with fast, easy ways to live, but on the other hand the overall standard of living is improving because of this. Either way, socially Vietnam was wrapped up in that moment! The Vietnamese will never turn their phone to vibrate, much less off, and it is common practice to answer it in meetings, talk in a restaurant, in a movie, or wherever they please! This area was the capital of Vietnam thousands of years ago because of its natural protection by the jagged Mountains around it and its river system. In these mountains are wild mountain goats all over the place, and it really is quite amazing how they can get around the steep hills.
When we got to Tam Coc, we ate lunch and then got a boat ride from some friendly ladies, who row the boat with their feet. It was a slow, relaxing two hour ride with some beautiful scenery and plenty of goods peddled at us.
When we got to Tam Coc, we ate lunch and then got a boat ride from some friendly ladies, who row the boat with their feet. It was a slow, relaxing two hour ride with some beautiful scenery and plenty of goods peddled at us.
It was really great to get some vitamin d and fresh air. It really felt nice to get out of the pollution of Hanoi. We then took a 30 min bike ride around the small town of Tam Coc before the rest of the group headed back to Hanoi. We were the only four staying another night. I really think the day trips are great in getting out of Hanoi and seeing some new places, but it really is a lot of time on a bus for only a few hours of sight-seeing.
Sunday we woke up and took a private car to Cuc Phuong National Park. We were hoping to drive motorbikes, since our travel agent told us it was really easy to get there! But it was 60 km away and the route seemed to go through alleys and dirt roads, and would have been impossible to navigate without a guide. It was a quick trip in the park. We saw a turtle sanctuary and some monkeys that were protected. Got a little hiking in and saw an awesome cave for a bit that used to be a home to a cave man (so the story goes!). The cave weaved around and was huge inside. We had to use flash lights to look around, which can be a little eery!
It really was a short day as we had to be back in Tam Coc by 2:00pm for lunch and then to catch the bus back. We weren't complaining too much because again it was great to get out into nature and break our routine in the city.
It really was a short day as we had to be back in Tam Coc by 2:00pm for lunch and then to catch the bus back. We weren't complaining too much because again it was great to get out into nature and break our routine in the city.
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