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As we flew into the air on a late afternoon on Saturday the 7^th of January, I peered out the window and said “Goodbye Laos,” and began to listen to music.

When we landed in Vietnam, it was chilly. Our guide Truong greeted us at six in the evening and we rode for an hour until we reached our hotel, Silk Path Hotel. Truong told us to call him T, and we introduced ourselves to him. He insisted that he call my parents Mr. Kober and Mrs. Kober. He told us that it’s polite to call people older than you by their last name. T gave us some background information about Vietnam. He mentioned safety on the streets: Take care of your bag so pick-pocket-ers don’t steal anything and be brave while crossing the street. I noticed that motor bikes, cars and taxis ride the rode at their own will. You got to go out there and walk across the street without rushing or you die. T was right.

The next morning we explored the streets of Hanoi. T took us to see the many things like the Temple of Literature (http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-252517.html). We visited the mausoleum of Vietnam’s most honored leader in history, Ho Chi Minh.

There were several uniformed guards telling us to hurry up as we walked along a carpeted hall, turning corners until we reached the room. As I walked in my eyes had widened. There he was, sitting – eyes closed, hands crossed on his chest – inside a glass case that was lit. There he was lying in the tomb. We walked slowly around the gated walkway, looking at him. There were four guards on each point of the large case. It was really him. He looked pretty good for a man who’s been dead since 1969. During the summer, lots of Vietnamese people crowd the door waiting to see him because they really honor and look up to him.
We exited the mausoleum and T was waiting for us. We then saw Ho Chi Minh’s house.

T led us to the Museum of Ethnology, where we learned about all the different hill tribes and the way they lived. We explored history behind the glass of each exhibit. Then we ate lunch. All the beeping and honking of cars still gives me headaches. I climbed into a rigshaw wagon and he peddled down the streets. T was going to meet my dad, my mom and I at the end. We saw tons of shoe shops. I was admired by the beautiful dresses they had for sale. People were vrooming their way to places on their motor bikes, tooting their horn for people to get out of the way! It was interesting and scary!

The driver peddled down some more until we stopped to walk back to the hotel. That was a day. Back at the hotel we packed up for a three day trip to Sapa: a town high in the mountains of Vietnam. At the train station we settled into the overnight train and slept for several hours.

We arrived at the Sapa View Hotel early the next morning, so we got to sleep for a little while longer. We woke up and ate our breakfast then T showed us around Sapa. There wasn’t any heat in the hotel whatsoever, and at night we were all freezing. It was so cold in Sapa!  Not just Portland cold, but a stinging, penetrating cold. We bundled up and began to explore some more. We found a book shop and we managed to find a book to read until we got back to Hanoi.

The following day, as we rode in the car to the Tuesday Market, T talked about Sapa.   At the market, Flower Hmong Hill Tribe women with beautiful embroidered purses and cloth followed us around asking us to buy stuff from them. Two pretty women came up to my mom and me smiling. “Madam!” That’s what they would say and then wave some of their products in our face grinning. I thought it would be nice to buy something from the Hill Tribe so I could remember them. After my mom and I bought a little handmade purse the women came running after us. “Here! Another!”  I laughed. It was funny. We explored the insides of the bustling market. It was huge! From far away you could see at least twelve long covered tents. We climbed a steep hill and at the top we saw lots of water buffalos tied to a pole with a string looped around their snout. The water buffalo were for sale.

It was so fascinating to examine the Hill Tribe outfits.

The dresses were so unique because they were hand stitched and woven with bright colors and patterns. The shops were filled with earrings, handmade bracelets, mirrors, scarves, hats and rugs. They also had wallets, bags, and pins.

As we walked further down the market, we saw tons of tables for people to eat at. Steam floated in the air, filled the atmosphere with the foggy smell of chicken broth and smoke. I looked around the place, and saw people laughing and talking. People were sitting on low tables chowing down on soup with their chopsticks. In the end I bought a bookmark with a bamboo sheet and a nice design on the front. My mom bought a pillowcase made from the Hill Tribe people. My dad didn’t buy anything, but he also found the market was bustling with people.

Then we took a walk to a non touristy village. We saw a really nice school and walked some more. We saw some girls and my mom snapped a picture of them.

As we finished our walk another group of girls came by and gave my mom a dried rice stick. Then we ended the walk and hopped back in the car. The market was a really fun and interesting experience. An experience that doesn’t happen all the time!