2012 October Vietnam (moved from old blog)

 

Originally: Monday 18 February 2013
And I am back!
1. VIETNAM, NATIONAL DAY 2012, HANOI, HA LONG BAY

My bedroom in Ha Long Bay

 When the October holidays rolled around last year (2012) we realised there had been a slight lunar calendar fluke, in that national day and mid-autumn festival were within a few days of each other. This lead to the school closing for ten whole days. It took me all of about three seconds to decide I was leaving China and returning to Hanoi for a further week of relaxing and generally avoiding doing anything even remotely taxing. Something I can definitely say I achieved! 

I flew from Kunming's new international airport, which although huge didn’t have a direct flight to Hanoi, I had to fly 2 hours in the opposite direction to Guangzhou  and then 2 hours back to Hanoi, not too much of a problem as it still was faster than the train but a pain none the less. I left Kunming when it was starting to get chilly, and landed into humid hell. Although not too hot the humidity was killer, I was taking 3 showers a day and the 30 meter walk to the nearest food vendor brought about a nasty sweaty sticky feel that really never went away. 

Needless to say I was not prepared for this and went off immediately to buy some cooler clothes. 

Would just like to point out the book was a
 present for Karina.

Hanoi is still one of my favourite places and I really cant say why, there is just a relaxed friendly feel to the place that is really nice after the stressed out parts of Chinese living. Of course living there is most likely a different matter but for a week for holidays its great! I basically did the same holiday that Tom, Karina and I had done in January just a little warmer, and I was on my own so I could do or not do anything I wanted. I spent days just wandering about the old quarter or sitting by the lake (with various ice creams) and people watching. I also found a book shop in the basement of a bar and was there for a few hours at least. 
Of course I went back to Ha Long Bay, I was a little disappointed to discover that the hostel didn’t run the Jolly Rodger party boat tour anymore but instead offered the Castaway Island experience. Intrigued I signed up and passed three days two nights on our own private beach on a private island deep in the heart of Ha Long Bay. We slept in bamboo huts on the beach with no beds just a mattress and a mosquito net. But honestly what else do you need, the water was 15 meter away and the bar about 30 meters from my bed, and that was all there was. The island offered rock climbing, canoeing, wake boarding (which I am not good at) and a long sandy beach. All three days were bliss and at the end of our time there, no-one wanted to leave. Ha Long Bay is still bar none the most beautiful place I have ever been lucky enough to visit, the place that takes that crown has its work cut out for it. 

The only guillotine in Asia

 I finished off my trip with a last 2 days in the city before having to head back to real life. I visited the Hanoi Hilton, which is actually the prison where American Pilots who had been shot down or captured in the city were sent.  The museum was only small and took less than an hour to see everything but was interesting, it turns out it was the prison where the French had  held the Vietnamese during French occupation. I have to say I now appreciate the reasons behind the anti-French feel. Compared to their treatment of the Vietnamese, the Vietnamese were hugely hospitable  to the Americans. The Americans were even allowed a small patch of garden in which to grown vegetables and were competitors in a local football league.  
All in all a perfect holiday (not counting the unbearable humidity) and I will certainly be going back to Vietnam in the future, just maybe it is time for a change of destination. 
Back at school things are still plodding along in their usual manner. I have now been teaching some of these kids for 18 months and I am getting  a little scared by how fast they have grown up. I found pictures from one of my Kindergarten classes and was amazed at how much they had changed. i suppose that is what a year does. 
The next instalment will be Mam and Dad in Beijing for Christmas. Stay tuned....