This guest post was written by Stephanie Long.

After the constant noise and crowds of Hanoi, Bat Trang feels like a ghost town. White-hot and silent, the stone buildings stand with their doors and windows wide open to the world. The Red River ambles along indifferently just a few hundred feet away. Apart from myself and Dang, the guide who is showing me around the village, there isn’t anyone in sight.

The history of Bat Trang, Dang tells me as we walk along the outskirts of the village, began when Vietnam’s capital was moved north to Hanoi. Many people journeyed north with the king, and when they stopped to make camp, they discovered abundant white clay in the ground. Over the years, a village grew around ceramic and porcelain making. Bat Trang’s ceramics have, for hundreds of years, been exported all throughout Asia and Europe. It is still one of the most famous places for Vietnamese ceramics.

Once we reach the buildings where the ceramics are made, Dang pokes his head through an open front door, and yells something in Vietnamese. There’s no reply, and he tells me most of the people have probably gone to their homes to seek shelter from the mid-afternoon heat.  He moves onto the next building. This time, a voice says something back, and he gestures for me to follow him inside.

My eyes need a minute to adjust. The large room is cluttered with 6-foot tall molds that make me think of sarcophagi, tubs filled with liquid clay, and the dim red glow of coal ovens. The air hangs still and thick and heavy, and the only light comes from the sun streaming in through the windows.

The man inside cheerfully shows us the various stages of making these vases: how the liquid clay is mixed, then poured into the molds, and finally dried and heated to make the vases.

Upstairs, we find another warehouse-like room. Vases, removed from their molds, tower all around us. Some have plain matte white surfaces, and others are painted in intricate blue-gray designs: feathered peacocks, gnarled tree branches, rugged mountains and swirling clouds. A few are resting on revolving stands, and others are on a sliding tray, waiting to be rolled into the industrial-sized kiln.  They will sit inside the kiln for as long as 3 days before they’re finished.

The only other person in the room is a young woman, sitting on a stool, painting a 6-foot-tall vase. Her brush dances across the white surface, in staccato jabs and long, elegant sweeps, drawing out delicate, feathery flowers.

I don’t want to distract her, but I ask if I can take a few pictures and ask her some questions.  My guide quietly says something to her in Vietnamese, and, not stopping her work, she nods. He translates, and her brush never stops moving as she answers.

She tells me that she learned to paint at a university in Hanoi, and decided to specialize in painting ceramics.  I ask how she knows what to paint.  A lot of painters use patterns, she replies, but after years of painting these vases, she only has to mark out a few ideas, and can see the patterns and motifs that she wants to paint.

A vase of this size, she tells me, will take her an entire day or more to finish.

We watch for a while, as the pattern she is painting takes form into a blossoming tree branch. On our way out of the shop, we pass a small room with finished, lacquered vases ready to be sold.

“How much do you think one of these vases would cost?” Dang asks. I know hardly anything about ceramics, but from the size and intricacy of them, I guess $500 to $600 US. He nods, and tells me that’s about what they would cost, but you can buy them in Bat Trang, straight out of the shop, for under $100 US.

The next place we visit specializes in making smaller ceramics. Outside, rows of gray frogs, bears, rabbits, kittens, and other shapes dry in a patch of sunlight. Inside, three women are chatting and laughing as they work. One woman is removing these little figures from their molds, while the other two paint.

We walk further into the village, between dark brick walls and past small, tightly packed homes. Big clumps of black coal are stuck all over these walls, and Dang tells me that, rather than waste the coal after it has been burnt, they use it to reinforce and repair homes and walls in the village.

Next, it’s on to Bat Trang’s ceramics market. Thousands of tea sets, vases, and figures sit on shelves, all packed together with just barely enough room for me and my backpack to squeeze through. Bat Trang might be a popular day-trip from Hanoi, but the market is definitely not touristy. In fact, I don’t see a single other foreigner there.  Most Hanoians will come to Bat Trang’s market to buy gifts, plates and bowls, or decorations, rather than buying them at the markets in the city.

I can’t very well walk through here and not buy something—even the most elaborate and beautiful tea sets don’t go over $20 US! After an hour of walking around, and a few failed attempts at bargaining, I choose a dark green tea set with a bamboo tray for my brother and his fiancee—for about $5 US.

On a practical note, Bat Trang is about 13 km from Hanoi, although the drive takes close to 45 minutes.  While it’s possible to get there with Vietnam’s busses, it’s much easier to hire a private car and a guide from one of the many tour operators in Hanoi.

A magical travel moment:  A pure beam of white light appeared before our eyes in the dim darkness of Hang Sung Sot, a vast mountain cave that winds its way through a few immense chambers before exiting out onto a narrow walkway that lends an unprecedented view of Halong Bay.

Hang Song Sot (Surprising Cave) in Halong Bay, Vietnam lives up to its name of being the biggest, the most popular and most beautiful cave system to wander through in Vietnam.  We rented a private junk boat to explore Halong Bay’s limestone islands, which are studded with caves.  Most of these caves are accessible by charter or tour boat.

One of our first day trips away from Hi Chi Minh City played an extraordinary part in Vietnamese history just over 35 years ago.

We went to see a small, but vital part of Vietnam’s famous Cu Chi Tunnel system, Ben Duoc Tunnel. Located 70km North-West of Ho Chi Minh City, this unique architectural structure forms a system of underground tunnels spanning over 200km in length.

An artist's rendition of the tunnel system.

The tunnels run several layers deep in the ground and form an intricate winding maze designed for accommodations, meetings and battle preparations during the Vietnam War.

Awarded the title of “Iron Land and Bronze Citadel”, the Cu Chi Tunnel system represents the extraordinary heroics of revolutionary Vietnamese and remains a symbol of pride and unwavering determination and will power.

The area features structures which demonstrate how the people of Cu Chi lived and fought before and during the resistance.

The tunnels are a huge tourist attraction and some of the safer parts have been hollowed out to allow visitors a glimpse of what life was like inside. I entered through a hidden trap-door in the ground that is no bigger than John’s foot. Within minutes, I was sweating profusely as I crawled through the tunnels to another trap door 50 meters away. Perhaps it wasn’t the smartest thing to do as these tunnels used to be infested with all sorts of poisonous creatures. Ah well. I’ve never been one to back down from a challenge.

These next three photos illustrate the size of one of the tunnel exits. In the first photo, John measured the opening with his foot to give you an idea of the size.

The heat in mid-April is stifling. I can’t imagine what the living conditions in those tunnels was like for the people living in them during the war. Just a few short minutes in the tunnels had me feeling dizzy. I don’t understand how people could live in them with the heat. Literally hundreds of people lived in the tunnels with American camps sitting right over their heads. Malaria ran rampant throughout the tunnels during the war and the Vietnamese only ventured out of them under the cover of darkness. Cooking must have been next to impossible, but the ever-resourceful Vietnamese worked out ways of concealing smoke while cooking meals.

Here is another entrance to the tunnel system. This one has been hollowed out significantly.

Here’s a photo of John stuck at the first turn in a tunnel. He was about six feet from the entrance and he had to back out. In addition to exploring the tunnels, we also got to see first-hand what American soldiers had to be on the look-out for. There were several horrifying home-made booby traps that leave little to the imagination in terms of the kind of damage they inflict. We also had a chance to go to the firing range, where we tried our skills with old AK-47 assault rifles.

The Cu Chi Tunnel system is an amazing historical relic from the war and says a lot about the distinctive character and will-power of the people who created it. It is also a true testament to the ingenuity of the Vietnamese people and to their ability to adapt and survive no matter what the circumstances are.

Making our way into Vietnam from Cambodia was not as easy as we thought it would be. We expected to find taxis once we had made our way across the Vietnamese border. Instead, we found half a dozen motorbike drivers lounging in the shade of a giant tree. We took one look at them and knew we were going to get gouged. There wasn’t another soul in sight. We were already marked for the day.

They wanted $16 US to take us to the bus station in Chau Doc. John immediately started arguing with them, which only aggravated the situation and made it worse. Sometimes he’s very good at negotiating, but when he threatened to walk, I interrupted by telling the driver we would pay $10 US each (highway robbery) and they could take it or leave it.

The drivers reluctantly agreed to the price, and swung our packs up on top of the gas tanks. They stuck filthy helmets on our heads as we settled in with the rest of our gear under our arms. I gripped the bike firmly with my legs since my arms were full and sent a silent prayer to heaven as we dashed madly around wild chickens and pigs and bumped over rickety old bridges. I prayed my driver wouldn’t hit a bump and send me flying. At one point, I lost sight of John and Moira and realised for the second time that day that I was completely at the mercy of these people. Anything could happen to me at this remote border in Vietnam and no one would know any better.

My arms were numb when we finally arrived in Chau Doc thirty minutes later. We were dumped at a shitty little shop selling bus tickets with no buses in sight. That’s because there were no buses or bus station. By then, it was close to three o’clock and we hadn’t eaten a thing since that morning. We paid $15 US for our tickets and were told the bus would come at 3pm, putting our arrival time in Ho Chi Minh City around 9pm. A few minutes after we made our purchase, we were told the bus had broken down and we wouldn’t be leaving until 4pm. We couldn’t do anything but wait. In the meantime, I managed to find some noodles for us to eat, but Moira seemed a bit uninterested in eating after I told her not to eat the cube of pig’s blood floating in her noodle broth.

The bus arrived two hours after three other suckers wandered in and joined our group. That’s when we discovered there really was no bus. We would be traveling by mini-van and we had to share our seats with nine other passengers for the next six hours. I thought John was going to lose it when they insisted we had to sit in the back. Apparently, our tickets also had seat numbers and our seats were at the back on a dirty cloth seat with springs poking through. My seat was broken and sitting at an angle. John had his long 6″9 frame crammed in to an impossibly small space. This drive was going to be six hours of hell. As we were leaving town, we spotted the real bus station. We were spitting mad.

I’m not going to get into the details of that long, horrible journey. Let’s just say it’s a journey I wish to forget about. We arrived shortly after midnight after traveling for 14 hours from Sihanoukiville, Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh City. After our entrance into Cambodia, Moira had had enough and put us up for a luxurious stay at The Renaissance Hotel. It was like being in paradise after some of the places we’d stayed at over the past three weeks. One thing’s for sure. The adventures never stop in South East Asia.

We made our journey from this border in April 2007. Apparently, this scam is still going on because I just found this travelers’ account of what happened at the same border in March 2008.

From Tales of Asia

Chau Doc bus station scam again (March 2008):I just re-read your tale of the scam warning at the Chau Doc border. In late December (’07) we HAD THE EXACT SAME EXPERIENCE. We were staying at the Orchid Guest House in Kampot and had a great time for 2 nights. The manager arranged a taxi for my wife and I for $25.00 to the border. We had debated getting a taxi to Phnom Penh then taking the boat down and would have done this but since we had just driven down from P.P. we didn’t feel like going back! Anyway, we went through similar events with the border officials, waiting a few minutes, filling out forms, then being told we were through. Not a bad deal, the whole thing took about 15 minutes, tops. Lots of people staring at us since we were the only Western-looking people around.

Then, we spotted the evil brigade of moto drivers, all obviously led by one sinister-looking Fagin type in charge. They wanted $15.00 each! We cited reports of $7.00 each and they laughed. So we started walking. A few yards later the leader caught up with us and we started the bargaining process again. We settled for $19.00 total — I only had that plus a $50 dollar bill and there was no way I was even going to let him know I had that.

Anyway, we got to the bogus “bus station” and tried communicating with these as*holes that this wasn’t the PUBLIC bus station but they insisted that it was. We tried telling the drivers (who we hadn’t paid yet), the woman behind the desk at the bogus bus station, even a customer who looked really embarrassed (one of the scam artists must have told her to split because she disappeared real fast) Then the drivers demanded $10.00 each for a total of $20.00. I guess $1.00 means a lot to them. I told them that the deal we made with their boss was for $19.00 and they started yelling. They looked pretty shocked when I yelled back. I was ready to hit one of them I was so pis*ed off. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I did…

Anyway, we backed down. I didn’t want to wander around a foreign city without a map trying to find the public bus station, and with such unfriendly people lurking about so we paid for the stupid minibus (I think it was $12 each) and then we (surprise!) drove to the real bus station. From there we road an increasingly crammed minibus to Saigon. What a pain. At least we got there by 7:00 pm.

We had more terrible adventures in Saigon with moto and taxi drivers trying to rip us off (we were successful — this time — in preventing this) but overall, we were having such a bad time we ended up staying 2 days instead of 3 (and flew to Hoi An where we had a great time!)

One thing is for sure, I don’t ever want to travel to South Vietnam again.

We tried this tasty local Vietnamese delicacy in a small village along the Mekong Delta. It’s known as Elephant Fish. This post is in response to the Bushman’s post on Tonight at Sushi Express.

Dear readers, if you’re at all interested in international food, be sure to check out the Bushman’s blog. Amazing recipes. Eye-catching photos and if you’re in the area, I can guarantee you’ll be welcomed with open arms for an impromptu grill party.

We just spent three days in Halong Bay. It was a great trip although I’ve kept saying my golden rule to myself over and over again.

When traveling, always expect the unexpected.

Nothing says it better than this. Our overnight train ride took us from beautiful Nha Trang to Hanoi in twenty-four hours. We made our way to Vicky and Jason’s hotel at 5am, dead-tired and travel-stained. We were able to check in for a few hours to shower and switch packs and then jumped on a bus at 8am, which took us directly to Halong City.

As usual, traveling in Asia always means traveling on a loose time frame. We interspersed our boat trip with a lot of extra waiting around. I’ve found that a pack of cards has become essential when traveling in Asia. Fifteen minutes can easily turn into an hour or two on an Asian timeclock.

Halong Bay is spectacalar. We explored some caves and then spent an evening on Cat Ba Island. We spent a day sea-kayaking and then boarded an old-fashioned junk boat for the night.

This morning brought a surprise. We were unceremoniously dumped off on the island with assurances that our guide would be along shortly to escort us back to Halong City. As we watched the other boats leave, we all became a little uneasy when we realised we were the only ones on the pier with no one else in sight.

A few minutes later, we were approached by a Vietnamese fisherman who informed us there were no other boats coming. They had left us behind and we were out in the middle of nowhere. After some quick thinking and some helpful advice from some locals and the police, we jumped on motorcycles with all our gear and sped the 30km back into the village. We were pretty angry, but the tour group rectified everything right away. They served us a huge meal free of charge and booked us on a high speed boat back to the port in Halong City. From there, we were ushered onto a deluxe bus for the rest of the journey.

In all honesty, we traveled back better than we traveled there. We arrived an hour or two later than we had planned, but we’re here and that’s all that counts.

I think I’m quite ready for another adventure.    Bilbo Baggins

We’re embarking on the last leg of our journey through Vietnam tomorrow morning at 4:30am.  We leave Nha Trang by train and will travel north to Hanoi, where we meet up with Vicky and Jason early on Thursday morning.  We’re so excited to see them.  Traveling with another couple is always fun and we’re going to make the best of our time together as they won’t be returning to Taiwan next year.

(PS> Range and Jo, we’re going to be doing this with you next year for sure if you’re up for it)

Our train gets in to Hanoi at 4:30 am and we hop on a bus at 8am to travel to Halong City.  From there, we will be taking a three day/2 night cruise around Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island on an old-fashioned junk boat. 

We’re quite sad to be leaving Vietnam as it has been a wonderful trip.  We could easily spend another month here, especially Nha Trang, which we’ve enjoyed immensely.  However, the Central Highlands, Hoi An and Sapa will have to wait until our return. 

We left Saigon last night at 8:20 and traveled by train to Nha Trang.  Saigon was absolutely wonderful.  We totally enjoyed our time there, in part, to Moira, who put us up in style at The Majestic and The Renaissance.  Both of these five star hotels are located on the waterfront within walking distance of all the great bars and restaurants within the area.  We were pampered for almost a week and I have to say, it felt great after two weeks of hard travel.  We managed to squeeze in a tour of the Mekong Delta, a trip to Cu Chi Tunnels, several museums and several walking and shopping expeditions.  The artwork here is incredible and we had a hard time restricting our purchases.  Since we still have three weeks left in South East Asia, we are quite limited to what we can take with us. 

Vietnam and Cambodia couldn’t be more different.  The people here are friendly and kind.  The food is terrific and we weren’t bothered by a soul.  Within a day or two of entering Vietnam, we knew that two weeks just wasn’t going to cut it.  We will definitely come back, despite a rather rocky entry at the land border of Chau Doc.

John and I opted to travel by overnight train to Nha Trang.  The trains here make Chinese trains seem luxurious by comparison and we were a little shocked at first by the small amount of space we were allotted in our soft sleepers.  We were the first ones to board and got settled in comfortably with hopes of having the cabin to ourselves when a Vietnamese family entered.  There were six of us crammed into one small cabin and we were just starting to regret our decision to take the train when the two young adults left.  They were simply seeing their folks off.  So, John and I were left alone with an elderly couple who spoke no English.  Nevertheless, they were very kind and we were quite glad we were sharing with them as the A/C in our cabin kept quitting.  Several times during the night, our Vietnamese friends jumped out of bed to proclaim, “Hot.  Very hot!”  Then they’d search for someone to come and fix it and we’d fall asleep again for another hour or so until it happened again.   I woke up this morning around 5am and watched water-filled rice paddies float by.  It was an incredible morning. 

We have used our Lonely Planet guidebooks every step of the way and they haven’t steered as wrong yet as far as accomodations are concerned. 

We are staying at Blue Star Hotel, a cheap 2 star hotel just off the beach.  We’re quite pleased with both room and service.  Our room is quite large and very clean.   The staff are really friendly.  They’ve booked our onward train tickets for us and our boat cruise tickets for tomorrow.  We even handed in our washing this morning and recieved it in record time.  I highly recommend this hotel to anyone traveling on a budget. 

We are absolutely thrilled with the beach as well.  It’s the nicest beach we’ve been to.  The beach extends around the entire bay and the water is clean and deep sea blue.  There’s no trash, no hawkers and best of all, hardly anyone here.  We practically had the beach to ourselves today and we didn’t leave until we were good and crispy.  It’s been a wonderful and most relaxing day. 

Tomorrow, we’re going on a boat cruise to explore the area and unfortunately, we have to leave the next day in order to keep on schedule.  We’re sad we don’t have more time here, but Hanoi and Halong Bay are coming up and we still have to make our arrangements for Laos.

All in all, our train ride was pretty good and we’ve decided to travel the rest of the way by train to Hanoi, where we will meet up with Jason and Vicky, two friends from Reach To Teach.  We quite excited to be meeting up with them.  We contacted them today and have made arrangements to meet up with them in Halong City.  We’ve booked ourselves on an old junk boat for an overnight cruise of Halong Bay and Cat Ba Islands.  From there, the four of us will travel to Laos.

I’ve barely had time to think about our upcoming trip to Vietnam. We’re utterly exhausted by all the traveling we’ve been doing through Cambodia. It’s been hard to turn our thoughts forward. Hopefully, our entry into Vietnam won’t be as hard and time-consuming as our entry into Cambodia. I’m going to write an entry about our journey into Cambodia at a later date. It’s quite a story and one that I need to sit down and write about properly.

This year’s trip has been really different from last year’s trip. Last year, we spent a lot of time relaxing on beaches and generally enjoying life. This year has been much more fast paced. We have jam-packed days and for those of you who don’t know, John’s Mom has joined us for three weeks and we are trying to show her as much as possible.

I’m not sure if she’ll be inclined to travel with us again after what we’ve put her through. This has been adventure travel at its best, and there have been days when we’ve traveled for 16 hours at a time with hardly any food. We decided to do all of our traveling overland, which has provided some major excitement, major body aches and pains, a lot of jostling around and some major travel hassles. Every day has been an adventure.

So, with all of this said, I’m not really sure what to expect from Vietnam. I expect to see lush green rice paddies and farmers working in their fields in their funny conical hats. We’re excited for Ho Chi Minh City. We have a tour of the Mekong Delta planned. John and I are really interested to see the tunnels of Cu Chi that the Viet Cong built to avoid American soldiers during the war. We are also looking forward to hitting the beach side town of Nga Trang for some more R&R. I have high expectations after Sihanoukville.

Moira will be leaving us in HCMC (Saigon for those of you who aren’t up on your geography). I’m definitely looking forward to sampling some authentic Vietnamese cuisine. I wasn’t overly impressed with Cambodian dishes, but I’ve harbored an intense love of Vietnamese food for years.

I’m particularly interested in the Vietnamese arts of silk-making, lacquerware and paintings. I’m a complete art buff, and I hope it compares to the art I saw in Ubud, Bali which completely blew my mind. One of these days, I’m going to take a few weeks on my own and take some courses, especially when I go back to Bali.

John and I are looking forward to traveling by train along the coast from HCMC to Hanoi. We’re planning on stopping at several sites along the way. I’m most excited for Halong Bay at the moment. It will also be interesting to see how the cities have developed since the war. I’m wondering how Americanised the culture has become. And, of course, I’m looking forward to people-watching. I can never get enough of it and I always have a great time chatting with the locals.

PS This is an old entry from a week ago. We’ve been constantly on the go and I’m still having issues with blogging. We’re actually leaving Saigon toda.