Vietnam – Nice day in the countryside + the grossest sight ever!

This may be surprising with a Shanghai address, but Karl really is not a city boy. While Lila loves city life, she’s also a country person as well. So after a day of sight-seeing and traffic in Hanoi, we hired a private tour guide and driver for the day trip to Ninh Binh & Hoa Lu. (Figured we could also do without the war memorials & museums.)

The first stop and highlight of the trip was a river cruise. The 2 hour journey was in a row boat, very low to the water. We were surrounded by rice paddies, limestone karsts (towering mountains), and a few other boats. Given the lack of westerners, we were a tourist site by ourselves for the school kids who were also on the river. We’ve had our picture taken with complete strangers, heard “Hello” countless times since moving to Asia. Although sometimes we feel like characters at Disneyland, it has also been charming. There’s not that much to say about the ride, aside from the fact it was beautiful, relaxing, and so hot that we were sweating endlessly! Lila even got some exercise in. She felt sorry for the old lady trying to row us, so she chipped into help. Clearly her professional strength is in the cubicle workplace and not on the river.

After a quick lunch break, we took country roads to the former capital of Vietnam, where we visited two temples that were 17th century recreations of the originals. Having lived in China, we have picked up 2 habits:
1) Our table manners have deteriorated relative to Western standards. We make a mess when we eat!
2) Chinese public toilets prepare you for anything. We can now go to any public bathroom and not be grossed out.

The drive back was so relaxing – passing rice fields with people and water buffalo. There were occasional towns with cathedrals jetting above the “skyline” – a reminder of past French missionaries who settled here in the early 1800s. It’s very picturesque and calming. The homes are quite narrow and tall. Taxes are based on the width of your land, and people save money for a decorative front facing. The facades are very colorful and ornate with unpainted concrete sides (assuming someone will build next door). Karl noted that this is reminiscent of a Hollywood set! The colorful facades are even found in the countryside, where you often see large rectangular ponds for raising duck and fish.

** Warning – following text may be too graphic for dog lovers **
Speaking of pets and food… we also passed a market where dog meat is sold. Apparently dog can be bbq or grilled. It’s often eaten in the 2nd half of month to rid bad luck. Our guide explained that the good news is that this delicacy is not the same as your pet. There are dog farms who specialize in raising tasty Fido. Despite all her travel, Lila has never seen this before. We did take a picture during a drive by. Upon close observation, the head of the dog is visible. Due to graphic nature, we’ve opted to keep it out.
** end gross story **

By the time we got back to the hotel, we were exhausted. We eventually made it to dinner, then had a long walk back to the hotel – successfully dodging mopeds. Although we’ve been gone a weekend, we definitely feel more relaxed and content. We’re both surprised by how quickly we were able to shut down from work!

Finally, a few key learnings about private tours:
* Always start 1 hour than they plan to start. It helps beat crowds and results in better lighting for photography. We only did 30min ahead – was good but not enough time.
* Make sure you don’t hit great photo sites in the middle of the day – if you do, then ask to adjust schedule (e.g. reverse order, starting earlier, etc.).
* Always do 1 thing off the standard tour schedule. We took country roads between sights versus standard roads. The result was a very bumpy – but very beautiful - drive.
* Ask to go to local restaurants and select off the menu versus the poor adaptation of local food tailored for western palates