Vietnam

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Hanoi

It's 5am in the morning. I'm tired after 2 days of travel and the lack of sleep on the train. It's raining outside and the humidity is probably at 200% or well, it feels that way. Even though I have no idea where I am and I'm getting pretty wet from the rain carrying my backpack and probably looking like a tortoise instead of a little butterfly, having no money what so ever and no internet. Ok, Stop. Breath. I'm in Vietnam. I'm in Vietnam!! Wow. 

The train ride to Vietnam was frustrating as I had to wake up and do something every single time right after I just fell asleep. Let me not moan to much. Hanoi is the North capital of Vietnam and one of the busiest cities in Vietnam. It's devided into the old town and the new town which is obviously more modern. I stayed in the old town which to me was a really beautiful part of the city and also more in touch with the local influence. I arrived at my hostel via a short taxi ride  and received the warmest of welcomes by the Hostel staff. They did it right. I received a hug as if i'm family and got asked "coffee or tea?" Best way to greet me in the morning after a night of almost no sleep. I checked in and took the nicest shower in the world. After being on trains not being able to shower for 2 days it's glorious to smell clean and not smell yourself. 

Hanoi is one of those cities where you could hardly move during the day and you need to constantly look around you just to make sure you are not in the way of a biker and at night you hardly see a human being. The amount of scooters in Hanoi is definitely in competitions with Amsterdam and the bicycles. The bike garages are stacked and if you do end up parking your bike you'll have a hard time finding it again. There is no road rules and everyone just drive as they please even if that means going up a one way street or skipping a traffic light. But even through the chaos there is somehow a system and it works. 

I fell in love with Hanoi and Vietnam. The food is amazing and so healthy. The local people always smile and nobody knows anything so everything you do is a mystery. It's a city that moves and even though everyone is on their way somewhere they have the world of patience even for a foreigner who doesn't know exactly where she's heading, like me. In my defence I was a pretty great driver and didn't make any stupid mistakes even though I was driving on the wrong side of the road, or the other side of the road. They drive on the right hand side, opposite from South Africa and it's tricky. 

The first two days I dedicated to chilling. Running through China was exhausting although it was the greatest fun. I opened my laptop and started doing admin. Blogging, sorting through 2200 photos and videos and getting my energy back. I also caught up with the series I've been missing and I must say it was fun. It's exactly what I needed. Running through a country and doing so much is extraordinary but you do need time to take it all in. 

So what did I do in Hanoi? Well, not entirely nothing. The first night I was in Hanoi I met a guy from Norway in my dorm and he showed me where the party is at. We had some local beers (Hanoi beer) with the locals on the street and there after joined the foreign backpacking community at a local club. Even though it wasn't the idea to go out it still happened. It was one of those "let's go out for one beer" type of nights. It was about 12:30am when sirens went off and red lights pulled in to close down the club for the night. It's pretty common in Hanoi that at 12pm the police shuts down all the street food restaurants as everybody sits on the street and enjoy their beer and their food. It's also pretty cheap to drink beer here so people can get a little load if i could put it like that. But nonetheless a sight to see and something to experience. Three dutch guys moved into the dorm room and as I always look for opportunities to speak I took them out to the same street the next night for dinner. Dinner turned into drinks and playing coinage which in turn ended up in everyone being a little intoxicated. 

Day 3 I crawled out of my shell or the hostel rather and joined the dutchies on a bike hunting expedition. I ended up being the advisor as I apparently have knowledge about bikes. I won't say I'm completely clueless but i definitely don't know everything. I got bored halfway through the whole process and decided to grab a bike too. So I jumped on a scooter and drove off. I got back to jaw dropped men staring at me. It was hilarious to see 3 guys in awe. It was rather good I did take a bike because even though i drive a pit bike off-road at home it's not the same as driving in the traffic of Hanoi. There is so many bikes and if I say many I'm not exaggerating when I say by the 1000's. Most foreigners think I'm crazy if I tell them I rented a bike in Hanoi. I also think I was a little crazy but it was entertaining. I went to see the turtle towers and the temple in the centre which was beautiful but small and it didn't take very long to see. After leaving the temple grounds I wondered the streets on a leisurely walk through endless little shops gazing at the local people breathing in street food aromas and listening to all the different hooter pitches of scooters passing by. The vietnamese love hooting and laying on their hooters. They are a pretty noisy bunch of people but definitely some of the friendliest people I have ever come across. 

Sapa

I booked myself a trip to the absolute must-see Sapa rice terraces. Sapa is a splendid little town in the north of Vietnam about 500km north from Hanoi. Two days, one night in a sumptuous space between the evergreen mountains looking over a patched blanket of rice fields. As the sun bedazzled the landscapes I walked on the foot path with the local tribes over the streams through bamboo woods towards the homestay. I was with 14 other foreigners from 13 different countries enjoying the exact same thing, a walk in the mountain valley and a ice cold beer the evening. It's shockingly amazing. I fell asleep in the hammock as soon as we arrived at the families house all 14 of us stayed at. I was just to tired to keep my eyes open. Later the evening we played spoons the adult way (with alcohol) and joined other trekkers in a local backpackers bar. I'm not sure where everyone came from but it was from all over. The stories and insights of the people I spent time with was remarkable. A moment of impact in time. The food that was given to us was delicious rice, chicken and vegetables. One annoying thing was the sales pitches of the tribal ladies at lunch the first day. Even though I loved walking with the ladies and enjoyed their company I was pretty upset after they tried to emotionally guild trip me into buying their products. They also didn't take no for an answer and as soon as you looked at one persons goods 6 other also pitch up pushing their goods on you whilst literally nagging you to buy things and that whilst you are having lunch and chatting with people around your table. I was pretty mad after lunch. Best of all was that they quit walking with the group after lunch and it was only the guide with us. On day two I struggled enjoying the hike as I had to deal with an upset stomach and no toilet around to release myself from the pain. The journey home couldn't have been any longer for me. It was intense. 

Halong Bay 

I was in Hanoi for one night after Sapa before heading to Halong bay, just enough time to grab some well needed Imodium. Halong bay is East of Hanoi on the coast in the north of Vietnam. Halong bay was a bit rushed and extremely weird. Besides for the rude and unorganised guides who kept us uninformed majority of the time and we only found out about things as they happened the ride through the islands of Halong bay was a majestic sight to see. We climbed onto the about at about 1pm and were only allowed into the rooms around 4pm. Not having anywhere else to go after receiving lunch chilling on the deck of the boat was the only option. But not such a bad option after all we were there to see the islands. We stopped in the middle of the islands and canoed around for about 30min (that was what we were allowed) had dinner, played card games with the english tourists and drank a really weird pink lime and water. As I ogled at the sunset across the waters and the mountainous islands, boats were hovering and eagles filled the sky creating a sensational sight. The guy clearly didn't understand me when I ordered water with lime. The second day we had breakfast at 7am, had to check out of the rooms at 8am and had lunch at 10:30am before heading to the bat filled caves of the famous Cat Ba island. 

Hue

Even though I didn't stay in Hue very long this city was something different. Much more relaxed than Hanoi and much less to see as well it was kind of a halfway stop to Hoi An. 

I got to Hue at 8am the morning as for every bus or train I take the first thing on the agenda would be to find the hostel I booked myself in. But this morning was a little different. Different in the sense that i got dropped off right in front of a restaurant and as I was starving, had to charge my phone and needed time to search for the hostel it was perfect to go for breakfast first. As I searched the maps didn't make sense. The pointer didn't go anywhere when I said show direction. I ended up asking the staff if this was a hostel as well and by my surprise it was and it was my hostel. I got dropped up at the door of my hostel. How lucky am I? 

I met 2 people from Canada who ended up inviting me to their hostel for a swim in the swimming pool. Being around 30ºC outside and not having much else to do I joined eagerly. The pool water was perfect. Not to hot, not to cold but just right to cool down in the heat. it was a pretty chilled day. The evening i got asked on a date, all expenses paid and company to wonder around Hue. From starting with delicious traditional street food called Pho soup to wandering over a rainbow coloured river crossing bridge, dancing to the beats of some Vietnamese DJ in a park, cocktails and fireworks it was definitely a great way to spend the evening. I also organised myself a bike the evening. Yes, that's the way to do it every time.

I decided before my trip I will take a bike from Hue to Hoi An through the Hai Van pass, a master piece in nature. The total journey was about 200km on a 125cc automatic scooter. Perfect for comfortably cruising all the way stopping where ever there was a beautiful view or coffee. Vietnamese coffee is honestly as nice as they say it is. It was extraordinarily beautiful through the pass. I woke up the morning with a urge to ride and that's exactly what I did. I jumped on the bike after breakfast around 9:30am and headed towards Hoi An via Danang. On the way there was a few pitstops to make of which one was Elephant springs, a stream flowing from the mountains into ponds. I wasn't sure where to take turn off towards the elephant springs so I followed another bike with foreigners. Of course they were doing the same as I was, why else will they be on the highway in the middle of nowhere. We ended up meeting and finishing the trip to Hoi An together. It was pretty sweet meeting people from Wales (Owain) and England (Alex) this time round was a little closer to home or actually just closer comfort I guess as english is not a problem and neither is culture.

  

Hoi -An

Hoi An, the place to get clothing made. With over 6000 tailors in one little town it's no wander people from all over the world come here to bring their designs to life or to get the perfect suit. It's a mega of tailors each bringing something unique to the table and that at a really good price. Knowing this i designed my own clothing of course. Ever since high school I have designed dresses of all sorts for different occasions but never have I designed something and asked someone to make it. So this was the first. 

The first day in Hoi An I set off on a mission to find a tailor who could make my designs at the price I budgeted for. This was a job and a half as everyone just want to start with you clothes immediately. I went to around 6 or 7 tailors to discuss materials and designs and prices. Not knowing anything about materials I had to learn very quickly what will work and what won't work. Learning curve much. I ended up at a shop by accident, asked a price with somebody else in mind already but that decision changed in a second after the price for making 3 pieces was exactly in my budget. Jackpot I thought. And so the journey began. In the meanwhile whilst my clothing were made at Minh Loan Tailors I kept myself busy with other things in Hoi An. The clothing took 3 fittings, 4 days and some redesigning but all worked out pretty great.

Hoi An is known for its old town which is where most of the tailors are situated. I walked those little streets of souvenir shops up and down, drank the best coffee ever and did a lot of people watching. Alex and Owain joined me for dinner and drinks the first night and we explored a little of town together. My Canadian friends i met in hue was also on their way to Hoi An and so date number 2. The town had lanterns everywhere and candles where sold to all. There was lanterns on the water surrounding the boats rowed by the vietnamese. It was really romantic. And so was date number 2. I was taken on a boat ride on the canals followed by a walk in around town with beers in the hand. The evening didn't stop there though. It just turned into a dubble date. Alex and Owain joined us and then the party started. Bar hopping started on a floating bar on the canal and ended with a beer on the side walk after all the pubs closed. 

Alex and I also made time to visit the beach and tan a little. It was time for the girls to have some fun like only girls can. We rented a scooter and headed to the beach to send the day. We paid for parking at the beach and received a ticket to keep but of course I lost the ticket. When we wanted to leave the lady didn't want to let me go. I had to show her that it's the bike I rented and still she stood behind the bike holding it preventing me from driving off. Eventually I managed to get away but I was still late for my fitting. A fitting where my whole jumpsuit was completely wrong and didn't look like my design at all. after choosing new material, explaining the design again and having another fitting the next day it was all sorted out and i got what I wanted. 

This did cost me an extra day in Hoi An. I decided to use the time and head off to My Son ruins. It's a hindu temple in the middle of 9 mountains which has a holy resemblance. I was a little crazy and told them I wanted to do the sunrise tour which started at 5am in the morning. This was a little crazy as I only went to bed at 12:30am. With 4 hours sleep, no coffee and a long bus ride I struggled a little. The sunrise was beautiful but not the most beautiful I've ever seen. So I could've done the later tour actually. My Son was quite interesting and beautiful in its own way. Still sleep deprived I tried to remember most of the things that was said, walked the whole route and even gave the dogs at the ruins some attention. I definitely miss my hairy friends back at home. I arrived back home a little later the morning, went for a fitting once more, found a coffee shop, drank some coffee, made some phone calls and just chilled... oh and I went for a nap. I also managed to organise myself a bus ticket to Dalat for some waterfall fun. 

Dalat

"Aaaaah" The girls scream. "Fuck" the guys scream. There is glass everywhere. The bus driver leaves the bus locking everyone inside. "What the hell just happened?" everybody on the bus start asking. No body knows. Everybody's faces look like they just saw a ghost. There was a bus crash between our bus and a truck and maybe a scooter, who knows. The bus got hit on the side at the back after swerving out for something. This is how the journey to Dalat started. When the bus driver came back the he hit the shattered glass outwards and put a mattress in the window to prevent the glass from falling in, started the bus and continued driving. This time much more chilled that before, not speeding at all. You never know what to expect in Vietnam. 

But through it all I met some pretty decent people. When we arrived in Dalat in the afternoon I went to my hostel and settled down a little. These sleeper buses are amazing but you don't get to much sleep whilst using them. I started talking to the girl who had a bed right across from me and turned out she also only arrived the morning. Hungry and new to the city we headed out to go explore town, find food and meet up with my Canadian friend I met in South Korea. The world is big but oh so small. Keeping in touch over Facebook it turned out we'll be in the same town at the same time and that just called for some party time. After the bus left the morning everybody kind of scattered in search of their hotels and I didn't get anybodies details. Nicole (my roommate from Hong Kong) also met some guys from Australia on her bus and they organised to meet up later the evening. Of course Rachel and I joined and the evening just got more interesting. Whilst sitting at the bar one of the guys, Ohad (Israeli) on my bus passed by, I called him and he joined as well. Again 6 people together from 5 different nationalities. I'm still in awe about this. Pub crawling, drink to much beer and dancing the night away wasn't part of the plan I had when I started the day. But that is the way it turned out. 

The next day we all headed out on scooters to go swim in the very famous waterfalls around Dalat. Dalat is known for their waterfalls all scattered through the mountains. Breathtaking as waterfalls are they are pretty addictive as well. I could keep staring at them for hours, almost the same effect as the waves of the ocean; I have no idea how water could have such an effect on the soul. We headed to  falls first. About an hour out of Dalat centre following a beautifully scenic road through the mountains and past farmlands the first part of the journey was awesome but the second part was a little different. We hit as stretch of 30km of road works, gravel roads and dust everywhere. Not really being able to see very well and having to pass stone filled trucks we pushed through. We ended up being extremely dirty of course by the time we got to the falls. When we arrived at the falls we stupidly ignored all the signs pointing towards the waterfall so we never found it until heading back where we parked the motorbikes. I was with the two lads from Australia at the time. We headed to Elephant waterfalls next to meet up with Nicole and Ohad.

A marvellous waterfall of I don't know how many gallons of water crashing down the cliffs leaving only a mist of enjoyment. We couldn't swim in this one even if we wanted to. The water was extremely muddy and a little dangerous with whirl pools everywhere. But it was still a nice sight to see. After taking it all in and several photos later we headed back to Dalat and chilled in a jacuzzi. I still had a bus to catch the evening. A bus to take me to Hoi Chi Min or Saigon.

Ho Chi Minh City

Even spending only one day at a place can create a story to tell. It's strange how it works. Not having to much money and having to buy a bus ticket to Sihanoukville, Cambodia I ended up having 6$ worth of Dong in my hand. Still having to buy two meals and a whole day to survive my options was a little limited. But that didn't stop me. I took a city walk created by an app, Triposo, and saw some of the old french buildings such as the city hall, Notre Dame church and post office in town. Once being french colonised the architecture was pretty impressive. I guess the most impressive thing that happened to me in Saigon wasn't the buildings but my dinner. I went over the street to get some dinner just before they would pick me up from the travel agent office. I ordered a nice burger with the little money that I had and asked for the WC. As a walked to the bathroom another single traveler offered me a seat at his table and as I have nothing else and it's pretty awkward to say no I agreed. He ended up paying my whole bill and a beer at another bar just down the street. Being a solo traveler definitely makes you more approachable to people from across the world. I caught the bus the evening and headed to Sihanoukville via Ha Tien border crossing

In conclusion.... 

Vietnam was one of the best places I've been and I'll definitely recommend it to anyone. The vibes, the people, the scenery... it's all just gorgeous. I fell in love with every single city I visited. I met the craziest and nicest people along the way and solo travelling is something I'll do over and over again. I'll never be able to stop.