Vietnam Part II

Ha Long Bay

They call it the 8^th wonder of the world, a destination every country boasts about. A 3 hour drive from Hanoi and another 4 hour boat ride, we were there with the cutest tour guide. Affectionately, I called him ‘Anh’ translating to a young ‘Mr.’ We flirted our way through the day with his broken English and my hesitant Vietnamese. The tour provided lunch where we were able to pick out live fish from floating markets. We chose Crayfish cooked with Salt and Pepper and were served other goodies such as Tofu, Fish, Soup, Egg omelet, and oddly enough, French Fries. Ladies selling baskets of fruit at a dollar for livelihood amazed me; one young lady was 17 with 2 kids already. I could have been her Mom for god sake!!! A different life indeed!

Hue

Did I mention we had drivers everywhere we went? It was apart of our package for a very small price. Mom had booked in advance and did not realize that most of the tour guides could only speak Vietnamese. “Joe”, we called him because he resembled our close family friend would spew volumes of history to Mom for 2 full days. She desperately tried to translate but gave us the short 1 sentence abridged version. He spoke in some sort of Central accent which I had a hard time understanding; about the history of the Nguyen Dynasty, the 13^th emperors of Vietnam, the meaning of all 3 of the Vietnamese Pagodas we visited, and even Central Vietnamese cuisine. We ate Bun Bo Hue, a specialty of spicy noodles (fat) and beef, not to mention my favorite dish of the trip, Mi Quang, egg noodles with all sorts of fun; spring roll, peanuts, cilantro, bean sprouts, pork and pork broth.

Hoi An

This City was my favorite, maybe because it was bit more westernized, action packed, and very walk-able. We had our best meal there, at stalls but with wooden tables right by the water. All the specialties of the Central; ‘White Rose’ which I initially thought was wine (see how my mind works) instead white dumplings shaped like roses (filled with pork), fried wontons with shrimp, Calamari spring rolls, and more Mi Quang. Our hotel was quaint and tranquil, reminiscent of an Island resort. A scene and moment that is captured in my mind forever on this trip; walking by the River at night an inexpensive fresh meal, colorful lanterns, in the country of my roots with my mom. A ‘take my breath away moment’ for sure.