Happy Spring Break!! Fortunately, Spring Break is celebrated around the world as a time when teachers and students have hit a wall and need some time away from each other if they are expected to see summer with any remaining sanity. This year I had an added bonus because Blog Fan Favorite AT came to visit in Hanoi!!! She popped over to a few countries on her way to Vietnam and spent a little over a week here in Hanoi. She has been to Vietnam a few times and traveled all over the country but had never been to Sapa, the mountain region in the north of Vietnam. We went to visit the first weekend she was in town!
I had also never been and it turns out that the actual town of Sapa is intensely touristy and we have dubbed it "the Pigeon Forge of Vietnam." We were expecting a sleepy mountain village and instead it was a neon lights bonanza. Clearly we were not the first tourists attracted by mountain views, the tallest peak in Vietnam, and villages and rice paddies built onto the side of the mountain.
One of our first stops was to take the cable car up to the top of Mount Fansipan, the highest peak in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The mountain was in full cloud that day so there was no view at the very top, but I climbed a bunch of steps anyway to say I made it!
The next day we went on a walking tour through two of the villages in the valley. There were rice paddies just about to be planted for the season and we had a lovely walkabout!
Back in Hanoi, AT did some sight-seeing while I was back at school. We went to the fabulous store Chula and AT has a custom dress being made. Here she is in a fitting of the dress before final alterations and embroidery is added. And, of course, we swung by the local dragons!
After a week at school, it was officially Spring Break and we headed out of the Hanoi AQI for much sunnier skies! We flew to Honiara, Solomon Islands, a chain of islands just west of Papua New Guinea and northeast of Australia. The picture below is the plane we flew to Honiara- not to be confused with the first plane we boarded. We connected through Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, and at that airport they took our tickets and sent us outside to board the plane. We and the people in front of us naturally walked to the nearest plane that was sitting open and with the boarding steps ready. As we all got to the top of the steps and were about to walk on the plane, the gate attendant came running out to tell us that wasn't the right plane! Who knows were we would have ended up!!
Once in Honiara, Solomon Islands, we were greeted with sunshine and warm tropical weather! We had some quality time at the pool and the next day I headed out to find a beach! I had looked up a few different beaches and opted with one just outside of the city, about a 20 minute drive. I got a taxi to take me and when I realized that there was immediately nothing outside of the city I asked the taxi driver to come back and pick me up in a few hours. There was a bit of a language barrier and I had absolutely no confidence that I would see him again but, I had come all this way for a beach, I wasn't just going back.
There was a fee to enter the beach* and as I approached the folks collecting the entrance fee I saw there were a few people there. They included a woman about my age and a slightly drunk man that very much wanted to talk to me. In a beautiful "Solidarity Sister" moment that transcended culture and language, the woman handled getting change for me while she escorted me away from the drunk man, all the while telling him to go talk to his drunk friends instead. It was beautiful.
As Justine** escorted me to a nice spot on the beach, she asked me what my plans were while at the beach. I profusely thanked her for keeping me with the right crowd*** and told her I planned to walk along the beach a little bit. There was a shipwreck just down the ways and I figured I'd check it out. This seemed like such a good plan to Justine that she then spent the next two hours walking up and down the beach with me. I learned all about her life, her family, life in Solomon Islands and more. I quickly gave up thanking her and suggesting that I continue walking on while she returned to her life. I can only assume that she, like me, does enjoy long walks on the beach.
In reality, I think I was the biggest novelty of the day/week/year. There were exactly zero other tourists there**** and there was no one else on the beach that didn't happen to live alongside it. Justine and I had a lovely chat and when the time for my taxi to come back came and went with no taxi arriving, she walked up with me to the main road where, to my complete surprise, the taxi was just appearing. I did have an offer to visit her the next day but knew I would never have the luck to have a taxi return twice!
The next day was earth shaking! Literally! We woke up to an earthquake!! No one else at the hotel was bothered even one bit and a quick google search told me it happens about once a week. Who knew!!
We then visited the American War Memorial honoring those who lost their lives during World War II on Solomon Islands in the Guadalcanal campaign. The islands was crucial to the pacific campaign and had quite a bit of action from 1942-1943.
We also went to the local market and bought some shell jewelry and priced fruit and fish!
Solomon Islands was a lovely and restful stop- especially as the start to Spring Break. There is virtually no tourism happening there but we invited ourselves to tour anyway! From Solomon Islands we flew back to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, and this time connected to Mt. Hagen, a town in central Papua New Guinea. We stayed at a lodge on a mountain overlooking the valley below.
In Mt. Hagen we went on tour of three local tribes that shared with us some of their traditional customs and traditions. Our first stop was to see the Asaro Mudmen. The Mudmen are so named because they paint their bodies with mud that dries to a whitish color. They then wear elaborate stone masks (more like helmets) because they do not want to put the mud on their face. Legend has it that they first did this when enemies invaded their village. They went back into the village covered in mud and it scared the enemies away. This scene was re-enacted for us with two women as villagers around the camp fire and three Mudmen circling them and scaring them away.
AT was not scared.
The masks were incredibly cool and SO HEAVY!
We were able to walk away without fleeing in fear!
Out next stop was to see the Huli Wigmen. This tribe uses their own hair to create elaborate headwear that they incorporate into their costume and traditions. We talked with two Wigmen who explained all of the elaborate details that go into creating their traditional dress.
Our final stop of the day was to see a family practicing a traditional mourning ritual. They showed us how the neighboring villages would be notified of the death through smoke signals and calls and how the body would then be buried and honored.
Please enjoy this bonus shot that will, naturally, be the cover for my Anthony Bourdain-esque travel show.
Back at the lodge we enjoyed some mountain vistas and a walking tour of the gardens around the property with orchids and flowers everywhere!
From Mt. Hagen we flew back to Port Moresby for a night where we stayed at a hotel overlooking the airport runway and with it's own plane on display!
Our time in PNG was fascinating to see how the local cultures lived and observe some of their traditions. The area was very poor and undeveloped and did not feel like anywhere else I had been in Asia or the South Pacific. From Port Moresby we flew back to Singapore and I couldn't stop thinking about what a shock it would be for someone from PNG to fly to Singapore for the first time and see such a crazy modern city.
I had less than 24 hours in Singapore before I was back at the airport (complete with sunflower garden!) to fly back to Hanoi. AT stayed one more night in Singapore before flying home to the US. I can report that she has made it home safely and is just in time to celebrate UK's birthday!! Happy Birthday, UK!
AT, thank you for coming all this way to visit me in Hanoi and continue our travels together. You're the best travel buddy ever and I love you so much!! This trip got us to our 169th country- let's get some more together soon!!
-KT
*It was about USD$1 so I knew I could swing it
**I quickly learned her name and many many facts about her life.
***Sisters are doin' it for themselves and other sisters. Amen.
****This was a common theme for our entire trip to Solomon Islands.
