Today I ate a horse

But before that, let's update! After Hoi An, an American that I met and I took the night train to Hanoi. (15 hours with a connection) The majority of the time was either spent making faces at the chubby Vietnamese kid on the sleeper next to me (or rather he was making faces at me) or sleeping. It was surprisingly one of the best overnight travel experiences I've had, save for the 5am Vietnamese-techno wake-up call.

Hanoi was nice. Well, I suppose it depends on your perspective. Yes it's still huge (4 million +). Yes it's still loud, what with what seemed like 8 million motorbikes and a continuous stream of "hoooonk". But at the same time, it's better than Saigon. The architecture is nicer. Hanoi actually makes scattered attempts at crosswalks and other things American pedestrians take for granted. I spent a solid day and a half in the city, and saw my fair share of Vietnamese history (aka: propaganda). The Hanoi Hilton was littered with all kinds of "oh we kicked the French out but really took care of American POWs. Yay Vietnam!" rhetoric. Apparently the way the photos made it seem, Americans who spent time here were treated better than in their home towns... what with ample space to play basketball, cook the festive Christmas dinner, and read at their leisure. Now I've heard how some Americans described the living conditions, and I know the truth lies somewhere in between... but I'm sure it wasn't as cushy as the Vietnamese would like us to think.

On to the Ho Chi Minh museum! Unfortunately the mausoleum was closed the day we were walking around, so we didn't get to see Uncle Ho's embalmed body (he actually requested to be cremated. Ain't that a b*tch). What was missing there was more than made up for in the museum. Note to the uninformed: did you know Uncle Ho was good at everything? I know, I didn't believe it either, but I saw with my own eyes (through careful photography) that Uncle Ho was not only good at kicking French/American ass, but he's also an expert farmer, weaver, mechanic, poet, and pretty much everything else conceivable. No joke, photo captions read: "Here Uncle Ho shows farmers more productive harvesting techniques. Increases productivity by 45%!" "Here Uncle Ho explains different ways of making silk more durable. Increases efficiency by 75%!"... so on and so forth. You get the idea. Needless to say, I'm sold on Communism.

After having our fill of Hanoi, and a brief flirt with a pickpocket... we were off to Halong Bay. What is commonly regarded as one of the natural wonders of the world, Halong Bay is an immense series of emerald islands off the northeastern coast of Vietnam. Now even though I tend to avoid tour groups like the plague, we booked a 3 day/2 night tour of the joint. (we didn't have much choice as it's pretty much the only way to see the area) After several days accompanying 2 Brits, 4 Aussies, 4 Scandinavians, and a couple of Frenchies (sorry France, but I love the term 'Frenchy' too much to stop using it. You can still take consolation in your bakeries. They are... how you say... magnifique!)... I've determined the following:

-Halong Bay is beautiful, everyone was right
-When you corner a group of tourists on a boat for 3 days, you can charge whatever price you deem appropriate for drinks. (we're talking American prices for water and sodas, ladies and gentlemen)
-Tourists that visit Vietnam are pretty cool. It's not a #1 vacation spot like Thailand, but the people that do come are really open minded and interesting.

Only pictures can come close to the beauty, so you'll have to view for yourself.

Next up to bat: SAPA. After arriving mid-afternoon from our Halong Bay tour, I jumped the night train to Sapa that evening. This town (25k people) is set in the Northwestern highlands/mountains and is considerably more comfortable than it's coastal cousins. The temperature drops probably 20+ degrees as you make the journey up to Sapa. After recovering from a mild cold the first day, I booked myself a motorbike tour to the famed Bac Ha market. Little did I know that the tour would include 6 hours on some of the worst roads I've ever ridden on. (free of charge no less!)

Upon arrival, the first part of my day was spent fending off evil bracelet/hat/blanket sellers... then we came to what I was really interested in... buying a water buffalo! Sure, I tried to haggle, barter, anything that would bring me closer to realizing my dream of owning a water buffalo... but in the end, it didn't matter. They wanted too much money, and I realized I couldn't fit a water buffalo in my backpack. (drat!) I tried to console myself with pigs, horses, you name it... but none of it mattered anymore. The only thing that took my mind off my distinct lack of water buffalo was lunch. And that, boys and girls, brings us to the post title. I wish I could say that I didn't know what it was before I ate it. I wish I could say that the tiny compassionate voice in my head said "David, what on earth are you doing eating a horse? They're beautiful creatures and friends of humans!". Alas, none of it would be true. I asked my tour guide what he wanted for lunch (also adding that I liked everything). He quickly scanned the area and brought me to a giant caldron of horse stew. (less stew, more horse... and every part of the horse immaginable) I also wish I could say it was terrible and no one should ever eat one... but well, it wasn't half bad actually. I prefer the shoulder meat to the various intestines, but I guess some people like chocolate, and some like vanilla. (I guess in this case I like horse)

On that note, I'm back in Sapa soaking in the relatively cool mountain air. I think I'll stay one more day and take the night train back to Hanoi tomorrow night. I still have my Vietnamese cooking class mission, and intend to complete it before I flight out on the 5th. For those of you who need a travel update: I'm flying to Kuala Lumpur on July 5th, doing Malaysia for a bit (can you say tea plantations?!?), heading to Singapore for a few days, then finishing off with some Hong Kong and a side of Macau (and maybe some green tea ice cream for dessert).

Until Malaysia...