The North Face or The North Fake?

I didn't know that The North Face brand was manufactured in Vietnam until I began this month-long Asian adventure.  I also didn't know until I met up with friends in Bangkok that had just been in Vietnam that North Face gear can be purchased very cheaply in Vietnam.  So while in Sapa, I bought both a backpack and a Gore-Tex rain coat complete with a zip-in fleece for next to nothing.  However, I heard conflicting reports on the gear from various sources throughout the trip.  These are the three things that I was told:

1.  North Face gear sold in Vietnam is the real deal - it's just cheap because it's manufactured in-country.
2.  North Face gear sold in Vietnam is the real deal - but what you can find is only sold in Vietnam because it has a defect or few.
3.  It's all counterfeit crap from China.

Hmmm.   Did I buy something real (albeit possibly imperfect) or did I just pad some Chinese pockets and end up with something that will fall apart and/or leave me soaking wet in my moment of need?  I gave the once-over to the backpack first.  All the zippers worked, the straps worked, and the stitching, fabric, and straps seemed sturdy enough.  The only flaw I found was with the rain cover, which didn't seem to fit over the backpack very well.  Well, shoot, if that's the only defect I can find, then I can live with that.  I paid $9 for that pack.

I picked over the jacket next.  Zippers work ok?  Yep.  Snaps actually close?  Sure do.  Seams strong enough?  They survived a frantic flailing-fest around the room, which seemed like a legitimate test to me.   But was it waterproof?  I didn't have it with me during any of the monsoon rains we got caught in throughout the trip, and there is no such thing as monsoon season in the US (I'm not going to wait for a chance hurricane to come through for me to not only test the jacket, but test my ability to not get blown down the street).  So I came up with an alternative - the shower.

Yes, I donned the jacket and jumped in the shower.  What, do you have a better idea?

Well, throw me down and call me Sally.  It's waterproof!  Maybe it really is made of Gore-Tex, after all. So after my Super Much Thorough and Scientifically Proven test, I have concluded that the truth is....  #2.  Real but defective.  I can easily live with that.  Now - who wants to go camping?

Update:  check out what happened to my North Face backpack here.

These are a few of my favorite (Vietnamese) things

Dan and I made it to Cambodia today.  We celebrated not killing each other or ourselves by enjoying a lovely, ice cold Angkor beer at lunch!  There are a lot of fantastic things from Vietnam that warrant their own write-ups, but they will have to wait a bit.  Frankly, it'll be easier to do so when I have access to a computer that doesn't try to auto-correct my typing to, say, Vietnamese or Cambodian.  So when I return to the states next week (BOO), I will go back and fill in the blanks.  But until then, here are a few of my favorite things from Vietnam:

1.  Watching our homestay host in Sapa go to town on a bong while his 2-yr old son sat in his lap.

2.  Eating pho on the street on a plastic stool that was clearly meant for the 2-year old in #1 above.

3.  Realizing that Dan and I were the only people in the country not wearing face masks. 

4.  Buying a conical hat, then 48 hrs later actually putting it to use in the rain.

5.  Dan wearing a conical hat with a big yellow ribbon.

6.  Finding beer for 20 cents a glass in Hoi An.

7.  Having said beer in Hoi An served to us by a 3-year old.

8.  The one phrase that everyone in Vietnam knows:  "Hello, you buy!"

9.  Laughing at sunglasses vendors trying to sell me sunglasses despite the fact that I was wearing... sunglasses.

10.  Attending Champocalypse:  the all-you-can-eat and all-you-can-drink-Veuve-Clicquot brunch at the Intercontinental Saigon (my stomach is still in recovery from that).

11.  Dan getting attacked by a chicken.

12.  SUPER MUCH FUN!! 

Good morning Vietnam!

Ahh, new morning, new country!  Almost.  Dan and I arrived in Hanoi super late on the night of the 25th (or really, the morning of the 26th).  We spend yesterday navigating the maze of the old city of Hanoi, which reminded me a bit of India, except I didn't see any cows and no one tried to take my picture.  Women did keep trying to make me hold baskets of fruit, though...  not sure what the appeal of that is supposed to be.

After a day of walking around and enjoying a beer or 2 on a rooftop deck, Dan and I hopped a night train up to Sapa where we will spend the next 2 days trekking in the mountains and staying overnight with a hill tribe family.  If this morning's sunrise drive from the train station to our starting point is any indication, this is going to be an absolutely gorgeous weekend!  There are mist-topped mountain peaks all around, rice paddies going up and down the slopes, and smiling hill tribe women already hoping to sell us their wares.  Good news, none of them (thus far) have tried to sell me a whip like the hawkers did in Agra.  That's a relief. 

And on a side note, Dan got a great night's sleep on the train, while I listened to a mysterious banging sound from a trail troll or something of the like all night long.  Dan has been instructed to carry my weekend supply of coffee as revenge :). 

So here's to hoping we don't walk off the side of a mountain or plow face-first into a rice paddy.  More in a few days!