Epic Caves!

You know how sometimes you witness something you know is "beautiful" while surrounded by over-enthusiastic people and aren't all that impressed? This is usually accompanied by a feeling of inadequacy and/or disappointment. Well, quite honestly, this is how I've always felt about caves. Until now. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's not that I haven't found caves impressive or beautiful before, it's just that I've always felt somehow cheated or disappointed by them. I mean sure, we are all standing in some large hole in the ground where thousands of years of dripping water mixed with minerals has created all these awesome looking shapes... On an intellectual level I always felt that I should be impressed by it all but in reality I always felt somewhat damp and scared of bats and well, underwhelmed.

Therefore, it isn't surprising that based on my past experience with caves I didn't have too high hopes for my recent trip to Phuong Nha Caves National Park. I was looking forward to being out of the city and surrounded by mountains. I was also happy to read that one of the caves was only accessible by boat, and I've always enjoyed a boat ride in the Asian countryside. And a third perk was a lovely eco-trail on the way to the other cave where we would be able to stop for a quick swim. However, I have to say that all of this dimmed in the sight of Phuong Nga and Paradise caves. What a sight!

On the first day, A. and I visited Phuong Nga, the most famous cave. This was the one we accessed by boat. The sheer scope of this cave dwarfed any other that I had previously visited. A. was able to get some great pictures with her camera phone: (our digital cameras weren't up to stuff!)

After this visit, we agreed that just visiting this one cave had made the whole trip worth while. But it was really just the teaser.

Our second day was quite the adventure! We rented a manual motorbike which I was quite confident I could drive. I wasn't expecting the freak thunderstorm and shower that accompanied it. I also didn't consider that going up and down hills alone on a motorbike is completely different than when doing so which a second person on the back! Slow was the key and nobody got hurt. That is, until we arrived at the hotel and when getting off the bike I brushed up against a neighboring bike and got a little burn on a calf!

Anyways, we spent the morning driving to Paradise Cave. Stopping at the eco-trail along the way for a much needed swim -- before the storm hit it was at least 40 degrees out and sun was incredibly intense. Then, as we made our way on foot to the 500-step climb up to the cave the downpour started. On the plus side, it meant we were about to climb the steps without passing out from heat exhaustion. On the negative side, entering the cave wet made for a very cold visit... but to be honest, I barely noticed my body I was so astounded by my visual field.Thanks to the railings on our pathway, I was able to get some pretty great pictures:

Paradise Cave is the longest dry cave in the world. Only the first out out thirty one kilometers is accessible to the public, but even that one kilometer is incredible.

The mouth of the cave is tiny. You then go down a lot (probably the 500 you just climbed up) of stairs just to reach the bottom of the cave. I thought this was it, and had I been right, I still would have written this exact post, but there was more and more and more. I can't even describe the sheer scope of this cave, it just was. (Side note for my fellow Shambhalians: I now know what to imagine for my second step of Maitri practice.) Here is the view from the bottom of the stairs:

I want to end by sharing our final experience of the cave. On the way back to the mouth of the cave, at around the half way point, A. and I realized that we were the only people we could hear. Before that we had been surrounded by tour groups, and then somehow we were completely alone. My ears hurt from the complete and somehow very deep silence. We were transported into this completely foreign world and we were alone. That first sound of deep, deep, intense silence will remain with me.

Shopping Spree!

This week I went back to Hoi An for a shopping trip with A., my fellow volunteer from Thien Phuoc. Upon my last visit, the sheer number of shops made me slightly nauseous and I quickly retreated to the beautiful beaches that surround Hoi An. This time around, I had no such luck as the main reason for our visit to Hoi An was to shop. And did we ever! Quite honestly, shopping is exhausting so we split up our days as follows: in the morning we checked on the tailored clothes/shoes from the day before, then we spent the late morning/early afternoon at the beach (complete with amazing seafood lunches!), and then in the late afternoon -- once the sun was almost set -- more shopping! My tally:

• 3 dresses
• 1 skirt
• 5 pairs of earrings
• 1 sweater
• 7 rice paper paintings
• 2 pairs of Aladdin pants
• 3 pairs of sandals

All for about 100$! Not too bad... A. was just as productive and here is a picture of our combined loot:

This was my second big shopping indulgence, the first being Sapa. I received a few emails asking to see what I bought on that particular trip, so here it is:

Once A. and I got back to Hue, we celebrated by watching "Confessions of a Shopaholic" a painful and hilarious movie to watch, though very appropriate considering the circumstances. Most of these things are gifts without any particular owner as of yet, so if something catches your eye please let me know! Two weeks to my flight back to Canada, I can hardly wait! The weather's been ridiculously hot...

Everyday life in Thanh Tien

As my time in Vietnam quickly approaches it's end, I've started to look at and appreciate the little things. The parts of my day that are unremarkable to me now as they have become part of my everyday life. Those things that are paradoxically the most unique and special moments for their simplicity. It is rare to get a real, "authentic" look into another culture -- I hesitate to even use the word "authentic" because I usually steer clear of any restaurant or tour that claim to provide an "authentic experience". All that aside, I believe that my daily visits to Thanh Tien have become routine for the locals and as such I've been invited and have gotten to see a different Vietnam, one that is at times foreign even to Vietnamese people living in the city!

Here are a few everyday sights in Thanh Tien village. It's funny for me to think now with a little perspective that these things no longer make me pause.

These little shrines are everywhere, as a way to remember one's ancestors

Paper flower making has become part of my daily routine

Though I've become accustomed to seeing copious amount of meat,
I still cringe whenever I see the live ducks, chickens, and even dogs
at local markets.

Now here's a sight you can never tire of! The kids were shy with me at
first but have since realized that I am a complete pushover and always
ask me to carry them around!

Mr. Dan's pillow factory, always busy, always full to the brim with pillows!

When in doubt, try to communicate with music! This is my friend Yen's
little brother. At first he was too shy to eat in the same room as me, but
he has since warmed but considerably and had me doing advanced
calculus with him over the weekend.... yikes!

This one is for you mom: a part of getting your haircut here is getting
your ears cleaned! Long tweezers and cotton ball things that make you
shiver. Quite the experience!

Rice, rice, and more rice! And apparently insecticide that you can
handle with your bare hands and toss out on your crops to keep them healthy?

Mr. Loan's got style.

Day of the Dead celebrations: Catholic or Buddhist, no matter, you still
celebrate with some praying, lots of food, and copious amounts of beer.
The men and women sit at different tables and you eat and drink until you
fall asleep -- all before 1pm!

Before arriving here I truly thought that the the conical traditional
Vietnamese hats weren't worn anymore by everyday people. Wrong! Here's
a normal day, at a regular local market. When I wear one of these, everyone
speaks Vietnamese to me!

This tree was planted next to the shrine dedicated to the harvest gods for
luck. It's over 150 years old!

HEAT.

Today in Hue it's HOT. I mean like really, really hot. In the forties hot. I had to rent a motorbike to go to Thanh Tien today, the idea of going there by bicycle was too daunting. I felt a little wimpy about this until the following happened:

• Locals complained that it was hot out
• The water in my water bottle was warmer than my mouth: i.e. not refreshing.
• When I got back from the village and entered by hotel room, I was hit by cool air (to the point where I shivered!), when I looked at my alarm-clock-turned-thermometer it read 36 degrees!!

 

My strategy consisted of a light colored thin white long sleeved shirt, a lot of water, and getting what needed to be done as fast as possible so that I could escape to my "cool" hotel room. On the other hand, my friend Yen's strategy was vastly different, layer up and protect yourself from the sun:

Sapa

After the all the drama and re-organizing it took for my father and I to finally get to Sapa, I was worried that I would be disappointed... yet, if anything I underestimated how beautiful it would be here. This is definitely the most beautiful place I've been in Vietnam -- perhaps even in the world! It is definitely in my top five...

 Due to our re-arranging, the hotel my dad and I had booked was full the day of our arrival. The manager offered us a two-day trek through the countryside, complete with a homestay in one of the villages nearby. Since we were planning on spending most of our time trekking anyways, this seemed like a great opportunity. In fact, it was probably the highlight of our trip! We had a private guide from one of the ethnic minority groups who was very knowledgeable and friendly. She also had a great sense of humor which made the whole experience even more enjoyable! Another perk was that she was almost eight months pregnant, so the pace was nice and slow giving us ample time to soak in our surroundings. Though the trek was quite tame, I was very impressed that she was able to do it all carrying around a miniature person inside her!

Our guide, leading us through rice fields -- watch your step!

Traditional wear of one of the many ethnic minorities
living in the Sapa valley

Another perk of doing the two-day hike was that our deluxe room was upgraded for free to a VIP room! Actually, the whole trip was quite on the VIP side -- private tour, great train, and the room! Much more over-the-top than I'm used to:

The only other activity to do in Sapa is shopping. I had been looking forward to seeing all the beautiful hand-made products available here ever since landing in Saigon back in September. While perusing the souvenir shops all over the country, I found myself time and time again attracted to the items that came originally from Sapa. I had been holding back on making any purchases, knowing that I was going to be able to buy from the artisans themselves once I was in Sapa. I was not disappointed with the beauty of the array of hand-made scarves, bags, pillow covers, jewelery... I was unprepared for the tenacity and perseverance of the women selling their items however. Reminded me of my PO days, just keep asking and keep asking and finally someone will buy! It was their lucky day, I was that someone and I bought a lot!

Cat Ba Island

In every country you visit, there's always that "one place" that you simply "must see". For Vietnam, this place is Halong Bay. It is a bay with hundreds of small islands that are ideal to visit by kayak and that are great for climbing. I decided to forgo the usual route of joining a boat cruise. These are usually two day, one night on ship affairs where you follow your group around on the schedule of your guide. Since I had a few days I decided instead to go and stay on Cat Ba Island, the biggest island of Halong Bay, and my stay was a great rest after all the drama that had awaited me in Hanoi!

Cat Ba Town itself is quite ugly, lots of hotels rising high along the harbor front. However, from the balcony of my room, the view was incredible! I enjoyed many evenings sitting up on the 5th floor watching the sun go down and playing my ukulele.

The island itself was gorgeous and I spent a great day exploring it by motorbike. The roads were deserted and the scenery was ever-changing and also beautiful. The locals were very friendly and were especially happy to try and communicate with me as soon as they figured out I knew some Vietnamese! However, I have to confess that the Northern accent is totally different from the Central accent that I've been learning a it was a struggle to understand even the simplest of sentences!

The highlight of my stay was the day I spent on a boat tour of Halong. There were only six of us in our group and four of us were solo travelers which made for great conversation. Included in the day tour were a short hike, a quick swim, a couple cave tours, and a kayak paddle time that was much more torturous than I thought it would be -- apparently my arm muscles have completely vanished from disuse during my time in Vietnam!

Dangers and Annoyances

Though not my favorite section of the Lonely Planet, I always make sure to read the "Dangers and Annoyances" column before venturing to a new place. I feel like it's better to be prepared and a little paranoid instead of regretting it later. I have to admit that I've been very lucky in these departments over the years, and I'm very thankful for that fact... However, this past week has definitely been a big challenge. Buckle up folks, this is not going to be a fun post!

My first encounter with the "Dangers and Annoyances" was a bite on the base of my spine. What exactly bit me is still undetermined, but it is most likely a spider. The bite itself was only slightly painful and over the next hour or so swelled up just enough for me to notice it. I didn't really think anything of it until I got a glimpse of it in the mirror. Instead of a little red bump as expected, there was a small squarish black thing. Weird. Still, by bedtime it hadn't grown so I wasn't too nervous. I slept fine until around 1am when I woke up because I was itchy all over. I mean everywhere, my toes, my elbows, my back, my stomach, my cheeks... It was so bad that I decided to try to shower in case there was something on my skin. It didn't help. I spent the rest of the night trying to sleep and realizing I was successful when I woke up with bloody nails from scratching! Eeekk.

As it often is, in the light of day, I thought that I had been exaggerating the whole thing. But as the morning wore on (after some urging from my mother) I realized that I really should go see a doctor. My now a rash had appeared on my lower back, red and bumpy and itchy. Off to the hospital for me! I went to the General Hospital of Hue and that visit in and of itself was stressful. Add in a spreading rash and you can imagine that my heart rate was pretty high. In all fairness, the people working in the hospital were very friendly and helpful. I was entrusted to a first nursing student who brought me to the emergency department, they referred me to the dermatology department who then sent me up to the foreigner's department where I got a new escort. With her we visited a few other departments before ending in the skin and allergy department where I got my final look from a doctor. (Doctors in all the departments checked out my rash before sending me somewhere else, I was very happy that it was in a spot that was easy to show!)

By the time I got back to my hotel with many pills and creams, the rash had swollen and taken over my upper back and arms. The drugs made me drowsy so I put on some gloves and slept. I did this for a couple days, and the rash slowly got better. It's not swollen anymore but it's still around even today, about a week after I got bit!

Now, if all that wasn't enough, I was hit once again by the "Dangers and Annoyances" in the form of my laptop. On the day I was leaving for Hanoi, all was well. I was checking my emails when all of a sudden my laptop just decides to shut off. The battery was full, it was plugged in, but no, no power. Hum... The little lights on the outside wouldn't even turn on. Worrisome. Still, I was scheduled to leave for Hanoi so I packed up and headed to the airport.

Hanoi. I actually really enjoyed the city, much more than Saigon. The roads and small and crowded, but the traffic is a lot less daunting. There's a beautiful lake in the Old Quarter, and I had a nice walk around it after dropping off my laptop to some dodgy guys with very little English skills. Perhaps I was still a little loopy from the allergy medication I was still on, or perhaps I got a little to comfortable leaving in a safe city like Hue, but I was definitely not on top of my game. I was getting a weird feeling but was unable to pinpoint why. Then I knew, bam! Another hit from the "Dangers and Annoyances" the top pocket of my backpack was raided and off went my wallet and cellphone! Arrrgh... That certainly put a damper on things and made me very paranoid! I spent the rest of my time in Hanoi double and triple-checking everything and worrying at what else might go wrong...

Still, it seems that bad things come in threes and that the universe is done with me for now. I also want to say that being in Vietnam made some things much easier. For instance, in Canada I would never have been able to fix my laptop for the great price of 30$ (which I'm sure was double if not triple the "fair price", but for once I was glad to pay a tourist price). Moreover, if I had needed to see specialists back home, we all know the deal with that. Referral, waiting list, referral, waiting list, etc. Even though I'm sure the doctors in Canada would have actually done more than glance at my back, I was happy with the quick service! As for the theft... well, even I can't put a positive spin on that!

I'm off to Cat Ba Island now, in Halong Bay. I'll hopefully get some kayaking and snorkeling in and perhaps even some climbing! Good times ahead, I've earned it!

Spicy!

Before arriving in Hue, I was told that the food here was delicious but spicy. I'm no stranger to spicy food (though in my family I'm known as the wimp, among my friends I can hold my own), so I wasn't too worried. I had survived in spicy Malaysia after all! Plus, so far my experience with Vietnamese food never approached the too spicy range. However, upon my arrival, Mr. Phuoc (my boss) brought me to breakfast and taught my first Vietnamese words in Hue: không cay, meaning not spicy... which made me a little more nervous. When our breakfast arrived, the famous bún bò hue (spicy beef noodle soup), I realized that there was no exaggeration in the description of Hue food: the broth was rich, tasty, and even this "non spicy" version that Mr. Phuoc had ordered for me made my eyes water and my lips tingle. 

After almost two months of living here and sampling the local cuisine everyday, I never forget those two precious words: không cay! The locals find me hilarious, my friends tease me and say that I have the mouth of a baby, and I can't argue with that. This week I was invited by Mr. Loan's wife to eat bánh canh cá lóc (fish noodle soup), which has recently taken up the spot of my favorite Vietnamese soup (that's right, it's beaten out phở which I've loved forever!).  Also usual, I politely tried to explain that I couldn't deal with spice and asked for the kid's non-spicy version. She accommodated me with a smile and I received one of the best bowls of fish soup I'd ever had:

Despite being the kids' version, when I drank the broth carelessly I was still attacked by spice-induced coughing and teary eyes. The pain is completely worth it though, the fish is incredibly tender, the noodles are some kind of extra-chewy rice noodle perfection and the broth is crazy rich tasting. Then I glanced at my friend Yen's bowl:

She obviously didn't get the kids version! She then added even more chilli to her soup! I don't think it would even be physically possible for me to eat that... Though the extra color does look good!

And now, a completely frivolous addition: a picture of our cook with the best vintage glasses I've ever seen (this is an authentic Vietnamese hipster ladies and gents):

The making of the Tết flowers

Ok, so let's start with showing you all my goal:

It's call hoa cây, which translates quite aptly to flower tree. Each branch is made up of ten flowers just so:

 

Seem a little daunting? Well, I now certainly think so! However, I have to admit that when I first decided upon this challenge, I didn't think it was going to be quite as challenging as it's turning out to be. The only experience I had of paper flower making at the time was of the final step which is to tie up the ready made flowers to the small bamboo branch using ribbon. That in and of itself is no easy feat, but I definitely under-estimated the effort necessary to reach said final step.

The craft of making these worship flowers in Thanh Tien village is over 400 years old. The techniques and tools have been passed down over the generations and is in danger of dying off, which is where Rose Vietnam and my volunteer work comes into play. I will write soon about the project as a whole, today I want to focus on the techniques of making these particular flowers. Here are the tools: (much to my surprise and delight, Mr. Loan said he was in the process of making my very own tool kit to bring home, so I can show you all how to make these flowers back in Canada!)

The first steps (that I have not yet learned) are to dye the paper and cut up bamboo into the right size pieces and dye these as well. Mr. Loan promised he would show me these steps before I left. I think he's just waiting to see me become comfortable with the hammer before he hands me the machete, or whatever it is one uses to slice up bamboo!

The next step is cutting. I never thought of using a hammer and a weirdly, but perfectly, shaped nail (I call it a nail for lack of better word, please let me know if this told has a name!) to cut paper, but that is how it is done. The execution itself looks quite simple, not so. Just today, I was getting comfortable with this step, thinking I had mastered it, think again! My most recent cutting were rejected as không đẹp, meaning not beautiful as they weren't perfect circles. Hum. The weird nail thing has to go down perfectly straight for this not to happen. Better luck tomorrow!

After the cutting comes the wrinkling or folding. For far I've learned to do this in two ways. Either with a bamboo stick and foamy thingny or with a rope and differently shaped bamboo stick. I think I've mastered the foamy technique to Mr. Loan's wife's satisfaction (I call her the "quality control") but my technique with the rope is most definitely not yet up to snuff!

 

Next is gluing, using the same starch as when making Bánh Lọc! Yum! Very sticky though... I learned quickly to keep it to only one finger at a time otherwise you end up with quite the mess. Most of the gluing is quite straightforward, but not so for the rose (Minh and Hao can attest to that).

Ah finished! Well except for making the stems, gluing on the "pollen" on the end of stems, assembling, oh and learning (and mastering!) the cutting, wrinkling, and gluing parts of each individual flower... Now the question is, what is such a flower branch worth? Any guesses? Well, in the markets in preparation for the New Year these go for about 2000 vnd a branch, less than 50 cents. Flabbergasting. 40 branches takes an expert 12 hours to make, which is less than two dollars for an hour's work. Really makes you think. Meanwhile, I've completed four branches in a week, with a bunch of spare flowers lying around. I need at least 150 branches to make a tree, and I've got 2 months to finish. A fine challenge!