by Lindsay Shapka in Culture, People
I have found that one of the best sources of advice and inspiration on writing comes from other writers.
We all approach our work in different ways — keep in mind that there is no right way — and sometimes we need to be shaken out of our comfort zones. This can be attained by things like reading each other's work, conversation, or attending lectures.
Read Moreby Lindsay Shapka in Culture, People, Travel
I had to blink a few times when I half stepped, half tumbled out of the van that my bag and I had been crammed in the back of for almost five hours.
We had left Hanoi extremely early and I had slept for most of the 170-kilometer drive, making the people that were piling out of the van behind me still complete strangers.
Like lemurs, we followed our tour guide to a long wooden dock and onto a creaky boat which would be our home for the night.
After dropping my bag in my room and splashing some cold water on my face, I headed up to the main deck to make some new friends.
I was surprised to discover that in the fifteen minutes I had been in my room, we had pulled out of the dock and were already surrounded by the majestic, tree-covered limestone cliffs, rising mysteriously out of Halong Bay.
Considered to be one of the Natural Wonders of the World, Halong Bay consists of thousands of islands that rise out of the water in the Gulf of Tonkin on the east coast of Vietnam.
The name of the bay — Halong — literally means ‘where the dragon descends into the sea’, which comes from a local legend that explains how the awe-inspiring islands were created. According to this legend, one day a great dragon came down from the mountains. As it charged towards the coast, it’s flailing tail gouged out valleys and crevasses. When the dragon finally plunged into the sea, the areas that it had gouged out filled with water, creating the bay.
In reality, the islands are the peaks of a vast underwater mountain range that are dotted with beaches, grottos, and forested slopes filled with birds.
Visitors from all over the world come year round to visit this UNESCO world heritage site that boasts amazing coral reefs, mangrove forests and small freshwater lakes. They come to take boat cruises, explore the massive limestone caves, and kayak in the emerald waters.
Halong City is the gateway to Halong Bay, and where you will find information offices and the boat dock where tours begin from. If you are visiting the bay on your own, you will need to purchase an entry ticket at an information office. This entry ticket is usually included in the price of your tour if you are going that direction instead.
If you have the time, you definitely want to take an overnight tour. There is nothing like sleeping in a boat floating on the calm water in between the giant cliffs of the bay. It's breathtaking.
There are a bunch of different boat operators. The easiest way to book is through your hotel or hostel, or you can check out one of these tours that are recommended by Lonely Planet:
While floating silently through the bay, the sun staining the sky pink, the wind and waves gently rocking the boat, it was easy to understand why these stunning rocky islands are often referred to as nature’s sculptures.
by Lindsay Shapka in Culture, People, Travel
Have you ever wondered why we associate certain items with certain cultures? Where do these items come from?
Why does a floral lei make us think about Hawaii? Why does a double-decker red bus bring up images of London, and why does a triangle shaped hat make us think of the rice fields of Vietnam?
I couldn’t help but ask these questions while walking down a quiet street in Hoi An, Vietnam while watching a woman, wearing a stereotypical triangle shaped hat, as she pushed her bike, laden with pineapples, slowly down the street. Determined to discover the story behind the hat, I started asking around about its origin.
I didn’t have much luck.
When I asked a man selling these hats on a street corner, he looked at me like I was nuts and told me that he made them, while the women at the front desk of my hotel said that the goddess made them through her people’s hands. I even asked a bartender later that night, but his response was that he would tell me only if I came home with him — I passed.
Realizing that I was getting nowhere, I decided it was time to do some research of my own.
This is what I’ve discovered.
The triangle shaped hat of Vietnam also called the Non la, or palm-leaf conical hat, made its first appearance over 3,000 years ago. Its origin comes from a legend related to the history of growing rice in the country:
There had been non-stop, monsoon rains and the countryside was being washed away when suddenly a giant woman came down from the sky. She wore a hat made of four, huge, round shaped leaves that were stitched together with bamboo sticks to guard her from the rain.
She stood tall, twirled the hat back and forth and dispersed the clouds and rain.
She then taught the people how to grow rice in their rain-soaked fields before disappearing back into the sky.
The people built a temple to her, The Rain-Shielding Goddess, and tried to mimic her hat by stitching together palm leaves in order to honour her.
Today, the conical hat is made out of palm leaves, bamboo, or bark from a Moc tree and was once different shapes depending on a person’s sex and ranking.
Now, it is mostly worn by farmers, boating people or tourists and is mainly made in the standard shape seen in most tourist photos.
In some rural areas like Sapa, north of Hanoi, locals still make high-quality hats with designs and poems sunk into them that are only visible under direct sunlight.
Not only great sun protection, these hats can be used as baskets, fans, and are great shields to hide kisses behind.
They are not as easy to find in the big cities anymore, because they can’t be worn on motorcycles, the main mode of transport in the country, but you should have no problem finding hundreds of them for sale at one of the many smaller towns and villages throughout the country — just remember that they are a difficult souvenir to take on a plane!
