January « 2012 « Michelle J. Enemark

Southeast Asia: Halong Bay, Vietnam

Before we left for Asia, everyone who had been to Vietnam told us to go to Halong Bay. They all said the same thing: it’s really touristy, and totally worth it. They were all right. Halong Bay is an magestic landscape of limestone rock formations jutting out of a moss green sea. It is also chock full of “junks” – 15th(?) century style boats, each one housing a tour group. That said, there are long stretches on the water where no other vessel is in sight, and in those moments, the landscape’s mysterious and lonely quality are stunning.

We actually quite loved our tour. It was fun sleeping in our own wooden room on the junk, and kayaking among the towering formations was a highlight of our entire trip so far. On the second day we biked and hiked through Cat Ba National Park, a jungle-y tangle of plants and vines, and stopped at Monkey Island, where Dylan nearly lost his face to a monkey attack. So if you’re planning a trip to Vietnam, go to Halong Bay: It’s really touristy, and totally worth it.

Pulling out of the harbor with a mess of other junk boats.

We didn’t have the best weather, but the thick grey skies certainly added to the eeriness as formations emerged out of the fog.

A floating village, of which there were many dotted throughout the bay.

This woman seemed to be scooping water into her boat, maybe keeping the day’s catch wet?

The dock to the beach where we had lunch.

Dylan takes in the view as we chug along.

A spider in Cat Ba National Park – just about the size of a grown man’s hand.

Dylan loves the hiking!

This photo was taken seconds before this outraged little monkey tried to attack Dylan. It leapt at his head, and as Dylan spun around to protect his precious face, the monkey sprung from his backpack into a nearby tree, and moments later, repeated the action. Dylan was so scared, he shrieked like a girl and pushed me into the monkey’s path, so I think it’s safe to assume that if this was a dominant male attack, Dylan’s response promptly ended it.

We never wanted to leave.

Southeast Asia: Hanoi, Vietnam

I’ll be traveling with my husband, Dylan, through Southeast Asia for the next 5 weeks, and will be attempting to capture each place with a few photos. First up – Hanoi, the vibrant, frenetic capital city of Vietnam.

Birds in wooden cages hang everywhere in the city, adding a nice chirping respite to the constant hum of motorbikes.

Enjoying extremely satisfying hot bowls of xoi (sticky glutinous rice, mine topped with a fried egg, Dylan’s with pork) and orange drink for breakfast.

Ho Chi Minh’s little pagoda.

Hanoi is all about the motorbikes. In busier areas, crossing the street can be hair-raising. But somehow it all seems to work, even the folks carrying entire orange trees on their moto manage to weave elegantly around other motorbikes, cars, bicycles, tuk-tuks and pedestrians.

Water puppets – a 1,000 year old art form, water puppetry was invented as entertainment in the flooded rice paddies of rural Vietnam.

Dragon heads at the Temple of Literature, home of Vietnam’s first university, from the 11th century.

The Temple of Literature features tons of stone turtles carrying tablets on their backs – each one has a face more delightful than the last. This curly-haired one is my favorite.

Dylan and I managed to get a tour of the little known Zoological Museum (it’s by appointment only, so be sure to call ahead), an incredible three rooms of taxidermy and specimens from the French colonial era. This elephant skeleton greeted us as we headed in.

The mammal room of the Zoological Museum – a menagerie of taxidermy crammed into a tiny room due to space issues, resulting in wonderfully whimsical arrangement. Every animal in the room seems to be charging toward you as you walk in.

Most of the taxidermy has seen better days, but to me the imperfections only add to their charm.

Lunation: Art on the Moon

This Saturday, I’m looking forward to the opening of Observatory’s first group-curated show, Lunation. Observatory is the art/lecture space in Brooklyn that I co-run with a group of artists and writers – with 8 curators, the show promises to feature a wide range of work inspired by the moon, including a piece of my own.

(I also designed the press image below, which didn’t take too much effort with such an incredible photograph to start with, by Noah Doely. I highly recommend clicking on his link to see more of his awesome work.) Join us for the opening if you’re in the area – there will be free wine aplenty.

2012

Some things I hope to do better in 2012: have friends over to dinner more often; make animations just for the fun of it; make our tiny apartment more livable through organization; pickle more stuff; start writing again; learn how to use my camera better; take a canoe trip through the boundary waters in Minnesota; shoot a rifle at some clay pigeons, later, maybe grouse, in which case, learn to field dress a grouse; bike more.