G-Drama JEJU: EPISODE 32: Hanoi-ng Our Friends, and Halong Bay, Vietnam!

So way back in October, we went on an adventure to Vietnam, our first foray into Southeast Asia! It was also our first time traveling with a group as a couple, and we had an incredibly fun time with our travelmates Mindy (aka Windy, as the sign the driver at the airport was holding up said), Josh (aka our "cousin" as the only other person with our last name we've ever met), Astrid (aka Zumba expert extraordinaire), and Kurt (aka king of the one liner). Hanoi and Halong Bay were the destinations, which gave us a great mix of the addictive, frenetic energy of Hanoi with its thousands of zooming motorbikes and colorful streetlife, and the incredibly chill cruise through the beauty of Halong Bay.

The main reason to show up, of course, was the coffee.

This was our first cup after arriving in Hanoi on our overnight flight, which we sipped on the balcony of a coffee shop overlooking Hoan Kiem Lake. We got to said shop by going down an alleyway on the ground floor level which seemed to dead-end where a guy with a huge back tattoo was pouring water over himself for a bath. He paused and looked at us for a moment, then jerked his head in the direction of a previously unseen staircase in the corner. We edged past him, trying not to partake in his morning bath, and then found this view.

Mindy seemingly confused about photo bombing.

Friendly neighborhood blondes: as we've discovered in our travels in Southeast Asia, they get what they want... except when it came to a good breakfast, as we discovered when we went to a restaurant down the street and ate our worst meal in Vietnam: spring rolls that were deep fried and filled with mayonnaise(?!) and a drink that we affectionately dubbed "Salty Lime Sadness," which tasted like seawater... with a splash of lime.

Hanging out at a café with our friends from HanoiKids, who took us on a tour in exchange for being able to practice speaking English with us. We were of little to no help at best... but as tour guides, they did an awesome job showing us around Bat Trang pottery village, consoling us after we failed multiple times in trying to make our own pottery with a wheel spun by hand, and artfully steering us toward a better plan: getting coconut coffee, which was amazing.

A very colorful nightlife...

was what I was enjoying right before death by Tuk Tuk.

There are actually Youtube videos out there about how to cross roads in Vietnam, and it did take a bit of getting used to. Unless there's a traffic signal near you, the way to cross the street through the constant flow of motorbikes around you is to simply find a break in the flow and start crossing the street slowly and deliberately, leap of faith-style a la Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. There is something exhilarating about doing it and discovering that you are still alive the first few times. ^_~

The vegetarian restaurant that we ate at every night, partly because Hannah could eat there, partly because it was good... but mostly because the staff was great and they kept giving us crazier and crazier offers to come back (including possibly naming a baby after Mindy? Our next friend to travel to Hanoi will have to check for us...)

Drunk?

Or just Hannah taking the photo rather than Ben?

To the rescue.

The next morning, we headed over to Hoan Kiem Lake again (where the famous king Le Loi supposedly gave the sword that helped him win a war against the neighboring country to a turtle, as a way of returning it to the Dragon King). Here we are exploring the temple situated in the middle of the lake... Josh and I may have been a bit hyper from coffee.

Bonsai Guy.

Ben is always super good at spotting these tiny details.

Statue of Queen Mindy after conquering the dreaded water puppet show...

More about that later.

View of the temple from the lakeshore.

Aww, I think it likes me.

...Although it is an unfeeling slab of cement I forced to kiss me against its will. I feel dirty now.

Another temple on the other side of the lake. Feels so tropical... especially because of the humidity.

The boys in blue.

The whole crew. We look great at this distance.

From there, we went exploring some more in the shops around Hoan Kiem and found the beautiful Mekong Quilts store, a fair trade place with lovely quilts, sweet bird mobiles that we ended up getting for our friends' Steve and Emily's baby, and even a bamboo bike!

After that, it was back to the hotel for naps/massages for some, but Ben and I--intrepid explorers that we are--decided to check out a Confucian temple which was also Vietnam's first university, founded way back in 1076: the Temple of Literature. With a name like that, how could an English teacher resist?

Topiary dragon seems high class 'til I point out the googly eye.

Yup, now this whole place is a joke to you.

...which makes petting the deer topiary totally cool, right?

It's hard for me to describe how cool the feeling of this place was. It looks rundown, but the rundown-ness makes it feel old and yet also somehow coexisting with the nature around it. As it's situated in the midst of a park, it's also an oasis from the constant sound of bike engines, horns, and shouts from the surrounding streets.

What is going on in this photo? Also, who hangs plants from plants...?

Every one of these masks is a total basket case.

The Brits on my football team always call me a bell end.

May not be positive, but they aren't wrong in this instance.

Cloudy with a chance of typical art from this period. That went boring fast; sorry.

The saddest incense I have ever seen. Just so flaccid and not even smoking anymore.

Really, just not in a happy relationship with those dragons.

I don't know what Vietnam has against turtles but they use them like tables.

(We know, we know: they are one of the four sacred animals, along with the dragon, the unicorn, and the phoenix. One of these things exists more than the others...)

The outside may look a bit unkept, but inside did not fail to impress.

Needs more TILE!!!!!

More stuff on the backs of poor poor turtles... in this case, stiles with the names of important scholars enscribed on them.

Hannah imitating a monkey topiary, or what we were about to do next, which was sprint-walk through the streets in order to get back to our hotel on time.

Sooo many bikes... I dare a train to use these tracks.

Back at that same restaurant, killing those livers. Delicious vegetarian pho!

Calling all aliens: back to the lake to see it at night, and see the infamous water puppet show at Thang Long Water Puppet Theater. It's about as cheesy as it sounds: Ben hated it because he thought it was too long and the puppets were in sad shape, while I thought it was cool to see how the puppets moved (using underwater supports and controls, so it appeared they were floating and dancing on the water's surface on their own). The fish leaping across the water and the dragons with firecrackers in their mouths diving in and out of the water were probably my favorites. Seeing the women singers and the instrumentalists stop and chat during the show and even take smoke breaks was almost a show in itself. I'm guessing the thrill is gone a bit after so many shows a day.

...Because this was expected.

Such a cool juxtaposition to see this Gothic cathedral in the midst of all this green, the lights, and the bikes. We discovered St. Joseph Cathedral while wandering to try to find dessert and the direct/fair trade store Oriberry Coffee, to which we returned once we arrived back in Hanoi for our first delicious taste of egg coffee! (Sounds terrible, tastes amazing: think whipped egg with sugar, like a meringue, and then you're starting to get there. But first, onto Halong Bay! (Via three-hour, crowded mini-bus, of course. We travel in style.)

Back of the bus crew, up to no good.

Pit stop on our bus ride to the bay: not your typical gas station.

Sometimes I hold my head in my hands when I'm upset, but this lady may have went a bit far.

Made it to our boat. Seems boaty.

Happy people not being on the bus of DOOOOOOM any more... and eating the first meal of our cruise!

Our room was really nice, with AC and our own bathroom. I seriously thought we would be on a bamboo raft with a tarp for a lean-to. Mindy was upset at the accusation she would book such an awful stay for us.

The bay itself is made up of thousands of limestone islets jutting out of the water, like the loops of a huge dragon sinking into the sea. It's pretty; what can I say?

...and pretty relaxing, to just hang out on the boat, take in the scenery, drink some fruit smoothies, and try to persuade your friend that his wife has just drank out of one of the margarita glasses that he was grossed out by looking at earlier.

Twin 1

Twin 2

Halong Bay is one of the Seven Wonders? No kidding... Somehow Jeju made the cut on this sign. CAN'T ESCAPE!!!

This cave inside of an islet was huge, amazing ,and lit with colored lights for scientific accuracy.

After cave exploring, we headed to the beach of an island named after a Russian astronaut when he came to visit. His name was silly like Titop... so we went to the Tippy top of the mountain on this island to follow suit. Soooo many stairs... it was like being in Korea again!

There would be a good view if these two people weren't ruining it.

Jumping to verify that my legs still work after the climb... and they do!

The next day, out to sail more of the bay!

An islet sculpted to make Titop's profile. Or Alexander Hamilton's; the trees make his hair look quite wig-like. Or just naturally formed. Choose your own explanation.

As you can tell, I started to lose my mind. I wouldn't make it on the show "Deadliest Catch."

Josh and Ben had a a fateful day Kayaking. Let's just say there was blood, sinking, falling, docking mishaps, and no pity from our friends.

You may notice how the back end of Ben and Josh's kayak seems to be a bit droopy. That's the sinking part. We just thought Ben was too muscular.

Cool way to get to see some of the islets close up and peer into some of the caves.

More sailing time = naps and artwork, with contributions from Josh, Mindy, and Ben.

A swim after some good jumps off our boat. Off the top of our boat, mind you!

We toured a pearl farm after this, feeling very high class in our dripping wet swimsuits, and a little sad for the oysters, having to be irritated all the time by the implanted pearl starters. Probably a bit similar to what Mindy felt like, shepherding us around all trip. ^_~

Around us in the harbor, there were always about a dozen other cruise ships. I helpfully only identified our boat by Triangle Circle Square, so whenever asked the name of our boat by other tourists, that's what I said. Most found my answers... useless.

More beauty and relaxing ahead.

TRIANGLE CIRCLE SQUARE

Hard to keep from snapping pictures with how beautiful the bay looked around us in the different degrees of light... but finally it got too dark, and it was time for eating dinner, futilely fishing for squid off the boat, and avoiding being recruited for a dance party by our very enthusiastic, brand new tour guide, Linda.

Mindy so trendy matching her smoothie straw.

The adventure came to an end, with us safely docking and then hanging out for an hour in a port smoky enough to rival the most European of cities.

True, the flowers you are made of will not last.

Guess where we're back to again?

And, as promised, back to Oriberry Coffee!

Whatever was said, I can promise you it was cynical as hell.

Coffee = smile. The delicious whipped stuff is the egg coffee.

So cool to see fresh fruits and veggies carried around this way! Our last day in Hanoi was primetime for wandering around the streets and taking in the atmosphere.

Sidewalks = bike parking lots.

Back to Cong for more incredibly delicious coconut coffee! It seemed ironic that this coffee chain was Communist-themed...

Traffic. Patterns. Boggle. The. Mind.

Coconut coffee + healing injuries from the kayaking mishap

It was fascinating to see all the things that happened out in the open on the street: dishwashing, hair cutting, dining at night... I guess when it's so hot, the difference between indoors and outdoors starts seeming pretty arbitrary.