I was suppose to arrive in Vietnam at 10:39 am on Monday the 2 of February but my plane was delayed for 4 hours due to fog. I finally landed at Hanoi’s Nobele airport at 2:45 and it was about 3:30 by the time I finally got my bags and cleared into the country. Though a bit time consuming the process of entering the country was very easy and went smoothly. I had been awake at this point for almost 30 hours and was really out of it.
As I walk through the security gates into the waiting area and like a dream come true, this beautiful little Vietnamese girl in a green silk ao dais runs toward me and jumps right into my arms. At that moment I knew that I had made the right chose over a year ago, when I decided to answer an e-mail I got from half way around the world. The instant we met everything just felt right, there was never any uneasy moments and it was as if we had been together for years. She handed me a single red rose she had gotten for me and I give her the chocolates I had brought for her as we catch a taxi to the hotel.
On the taxi ride to the hotel we talk as if we are old friends that have been apart for awhile. Then we get to the Thang Loi Hotel. Trang has taken care of all of the arrangements before my arrival and everything was waiting for me when I got there. The Thang Loi is a nice quiet hotel located on the shore of Hanoi’s west lake. It is a little bit older but is in good shape and well cared for. We go to my room and I take a well needed shower. When I get done with my shower Trang suggests that I should take a nap. I am very tired from my trip, but I protest a bit saying that I did not travel all this way to go to sleep right after meeting her. She says that I should sleep and that she will stay there with me,. So I agree and immediately pass out. When I wake up about 2 hours later she is still sitting in the chair next to the bed with a very content smile on her face. I get up and we go to get some dinner.
We eat at one of the hundreds of little family owned Vietnamese restraunts that are everywhere in the country. The Vietnamese have this incredible ability to cook hundreds of wonderful dishes in a very simple kitchen that is no bigger then the average American closet. We order about 7 or 8 different dishes and every single one is delicious. The hole meal including my 2 beers cost me the equivalent of $6. After dinner she takes me around on her motorbike and shows me the city of Hanoi. For those of you that have never experienced Asian city traffic, it is quite an exciting experience. I do not think anyone in Asia has ever heard of traffic laws, and if they have the openly ignore them. We return to the hotel about 11 PM where she leaves me with a kiss and a promise to be back as soon as she can the next morning. I sleep very well that night and do not get out of bed until around 9 am. Trang had to go to her morning classes ands expected to get to the hotel about 11 am. I took a shower and went to get breakfast. Trang arrives at 10:30 am and we go out to see the city, so I can take some pictures. Hanoi is a very interesting mix of so many different influences, it is a wonderful place for a shutterbug like me. We have a wonderful lunch and then go to visit a Friend of Trangs. Paula is an American woman from Washington D.C, who is working in Vietnam for the Vietnamese government. Trang is teaching her Vietnamese and they have become friends. We have a wonderful visit with her and a delicious dinner. After that we go back to the hotel get our stuff and go to the train station to catch our train south. We get on the train at 10:30 PM and as our train travels through the night, Trang curls up in my lap and falls into a very peaceful sleep. I just sit there and watch her sleep, wondering how I got so lucky.
Our Train arrived in the town of Hue at about 11 am the next morning. We got a taxi and headed to our hotel to check in. We stayed in the Huong Giang hotel, which is a beautiful hotel overlooking the perfume river. It was still pretty rainy so we just wondered around town and did a little shopping. We book a boat trip for the next morning to go an tour all of the anciant sites around the area. Hue is the Acianet capital of Vietnam, so there are many ancient sites. Then we enjoyed another great dinner at a local Vietnamese restraunt. The next day we got up early and went to get breakfast. The hotel did an excellent job with the breakfast service and the many different kinds of fresh fruit were very enjoyable. At 9 am a driver arrived at the hotel to take us to our boat for the tour. All of the tour boats in hue have been decorated to look like dragons, the Vietnamese symbol for the king. Our tour guides where a Vietnamese family who operated the boat for tours during the day and lived on the boat at night. It was clean and nicely decorated, but very simple inside. The couple where friendly and pleasant, if only maybe a little to persistent that I buy some of the silk clothing they where selling. The first site we went to was the Thien Mu Pogoda. This a very famous religious site that is always crowded with pilgrims and monks. It was very interesting and I had a wonderful time taking pictures.
Then we headed to the Tomb of Minh Mang, about a ½ hour down river. During the trip Trang and I had a nice picnic lunch she made us and talked. We have been talking endlessly sense I arrived and it is just great. Our conversation is so natural and there is no misunderstanding between us at all. The Tomb is a huge site containing everything the dead emperor would need in his afterlife, even a lake to take boat rides on.
The next site we visit is the Tomb of Tu Doc, the most famous tomb in Vietnam. This site is incredible massive because all of Tu Doc’s over 100 wives and concubines all have temples there. The site contains some beautiful gardens, a pine forest and a very pretty lake. It is well worth the visit.
The final site we went to visit was the Great Purple City, the Vietnamese version of the forbidden city. This is an interesting site but allot of it was destroyed by the French and is now just stone foundations. The Nine Dynastic Urns, massive bronze castings, are interesting to see and it is amazing to think of how the where cast and transported in the early 18’th century. We wondered the site for about an hour and then it started to rain heavier so we decided to go back to town. We had a very nice dinner and then went to a little bar in town and I taught Trang how to play pool.
The next morning we went and did a little shopping. There are many wonderful little shops in Hue selling any thing you might want. The silk is the best in the country and the dress makers are very skilled. We find some very nice dresses but nothing in Trang’s size. We do not have enough time to have anything made for her so I promise her we will get some stuff in our next stop. We have lunch and then go to the train satiation to catch the train to Danang. Again Trang falls asleep in my arms during the 4 hour train ride to Danang and I am very happy just to watch her nap.
When our Train arrived in Danang we got off and caught a taxi for the 35 minute ride to the beach town of Hoi An. Danang is a busy city in the middle of the stone cutting region of Vietnam. There are hundreds of shop along the streets making everything imaginable out of these huge slabs of marble carried down from the near by mountains on rusty old Chinese trucks. Many of the stone cutters are very skilled and the works they sell are of top quality.
When we get to Hoi An our taxi driver claims not to know where our hotel is eventhough he told Trang he knew right where we where going before we left. He tries to charge us more money then he originally told her but she quickly puts him back in his place and we pay no more then the original agreement. Trang really takes wonderful care of me and is always worried that I am spending to much money, I spend the hole time wondering how I got so lucky and weather I am going to wake up from this dream or not. We finally get to the Hoi An Beach Resort where we will be staying for the next 3 nights. The Hotel is directly across from the Beach and rests on the shores of the Thu Bon river. Again the hotel is beautiful and the service is top notch. We check in and then catch the shuttle into the center of town. We have a wonderful afternoon exploring the town, eating and then end the night in a little bar overlooking the street in the old town. We drink and talk and laugh as we watch the people go by below. The next day we go back to town to do some shopping. The silk in Hoi An is some of the best anywhere, and the dressmakers are very skilled. I have several silk shirts made for myself and a beautiful Ao Dias made for Trang. I try to get her to pick out more then one but she will only let me buy one for her. She keeps telling me that I should spend my money an myself. We also book a boat trip and tour of the aciant Champa site near by. This Great empire that once ruled most of central Asia is most famous for the city of Angkor Wat but has hundreds of sites through out this region. Though little remains of this great kingdom, the giant stone buildings and temples at this site where very impressive. The trip down the river back to Hoi An town was also very enjoyable and offered me may photo opportunities.
The next morning we take a walk along the beach. Once you get past the little area of beach around the hotel, the beach is completely empty except for the occasional fishing village. As we where passing one of these villages I noticed some of the fisherman where fixing some of their nets. I asked Trang to ask them if I could take their picture and the not only agreed but also motioned for me to join them. I handed Trang the camera and went to watch. One of the fisher men handed me his tool and proceeded to guide me on how to tie the fishing nets. We spent the next hour talking with then as they showed me all about the traditional fishing methods they use everyday. Every thing they use is completely hand made. Their boat are perfectly round and are woven from split bamboo like big baskets. They take these funny looking little craft right out into the surf and they really work much better then one wound think. The nets are all hand woven and the fishermen spend most of there time repairing the nets or making new ones. Well after a very pleasant tour of their little village area we said good bye and headed back to the hotel. That evening we got a taxi back to Danang to catch the overnight train to Sia Gon. This Time I fell asleep in Trangs lap.
As we head south through the night, on or way to Ho Chi Minh City, I sit quietly in the cabin watching Trang as she sleeps. My head is spinning with so may thoughts and I can not get over the love I feel for this girl I have only just meet. I wonder how I every got so lucky as to find a girl like this, and what I would do if I lost her now. As I take her in my arms, she awakens and asks me if I am OK. I am so in love with her that I just can not stand it any longer and I ask her right there if she will marry me. After a very long couple of seconds, she kisses me and makes me the happiest person alive. We both fall back asleep in eachothers arms.
At about 11 am the next morning we arrive at the train station in downtown Ho Chi Minh City and catch a cab to our hotel. The Rex Saigon Hotel is a very famous hotel right in the center of the city. It is a beautiful elegant old hotel and the room was wonderful. It is sunny and getting very hot outside so we decided to go see if we can find a bathing suit for Trang so I can teach her to swim like I promised. A short distance from the hotel is Ben Thanh market, so we decide to go there to look for a bathing suit for her. For anyone who has never been to a real Asian market before, it is an amazing experience that can not be discribed. The noise, the smells, the sights are all completely unlike anything else. We wonder through the market looking at all the amazing variety of things for sale. Trang finds a bathing suit she likes and after bartering with the girl for a few minutes gets it for the equivalent of $4, which she thinks is still way to much. We finish exploring the market and head back to the hotel for a swim.
Trang has never learned to swim and is not very comfortable with the water but after a little coaching I get her to come into the pool with me. At first she attaches herself to me like a barnacle, but after a few minutes I get her to relax a bit. I hold her by the waist and move around the shallow end of the pool with her. She says her eyes are bothering her and I think she would be better with a pair of goggles but she says she wants to continue. We stay in the pool for about 1 hour and she grows more comfortable in the water all the time. When we are done she makes me promise that I will continue to teach her when we are together again. After that we go back to the hotel room to get ready for dinner. That night we have a lovely dinner but Trang is very concerned because everything is much more expensive then it is in the north. That night we get dressed up and go to find a club to party for the night. The girl behind the desk at the hotel recommends the club Apocalypse Now, which is not far away. Apocalypse is a very trendy night club decorated with various memorabilia from the movie who’s name it bares. If you like sexy Asian girls and loud music this is the place to go. We have a great time drinking and dancing until the club closes. We then catch a taxi back to the hotel and pass out.
The next day we get up and spend the day shopping and just wondering around the city. We spend several hours going to all the different jewelry stores until we find a pair of rings we like. I again ask Trang if she will marry me as we get the rings and she says yes so I place the ring on her finger and we are then officially engaged. That night we have a very spechial romantic dinner and return to the hotel early.
The next day we go and tour the city so I can take pictures. We go to the Reunification Palace, the Jade Pagoda, and the Botanical Gardens. We try to go to the zoo but it is closed to the public for fear of the bird flue. We then get a quiet dinner and go to sleep early because we are flying to Hia Phong at 6 am the next morrning to meet her parents. I am pretty nervous but she tells me that she is sure they will love me.
We left Ho Chi Minh City very early in the morning and flew to Hia Phong to meet Trang’s parents. I was very nervous because her parents do not speak any English and I know only some very basic Vietnamese, with a horrible accent. When we got to Hia Phong we went to the hotel and decided to take a nap before going to her house. After a nap and a shower we headed to her house for lunch, which her mother was making special just for me. I was very excited and nervous as we got to the gate to her house but as soon as I met her parents that all dissapered. Trang parents are both wonderful people and even with the language barrier we had no problem getting to know eachother. After only a few minutes I felt very comfortable with them and started enjoying the royal treatment I was getting. We had a wonderful lunch and then spent the afternoon drinking beer and talking. Later that evening we all went out and they showed me around the town. We then had an excellent meal at a beautiful Chinese reatraunt. The next morning we went to meet Trang’s Brother. We had a nice lunch with him and took many pictures before we gathered our stuff and headed for the train station to go back to Hanoi. As we sat together on the train the thought that I would have to leave the next day loomed over our heads.
When we got to Hanoi we quickly went to the hotel, changed and left to meet Trang’s friends for dinner. We meet Trang’s 3 friends and one of the other girls boyfriends at a very nice seafood restraunt in downtown Hanoi. I lucked out in that, the other girls boyfriend was also an American, so I had someone to talk to wail the girls where chatting in Vietnamese that was not meant to include us. We had a very wonderful dinner and Trang’s friends are all very nice girls. After Dinner we go to the Apocalypse Now Club is Hanoi. The club is smaller then the one in Ho Chi Minh City but it is free to get in and the crowd is more to my liking. We have a great night drinking and dancing that lasts well into the next day.
The next morning we spend just holding eachother and talking. We try not to think to much about my leaving or about how long it will be until we see eachother again. We have a very quiet last lunch together and then finish packing up my stuff. The taxi ride to the airport seamed to last forever and reminds me of what a man walking to his execution must feel. We are both trying very hard not to cry. It is incredibly hard for us to say good bye and as we Hugh for the last time I can no longer hold the tears back. I board the plain and cry the whole way to Taipei.
The end but yet just the beginning
