Hoi an to Hanoi

Over a month in Vietnam and I'm still not ready to leave this place. The past two weeks have been just as wonderful and exciting as the first two, if not more so. After leaving the sandy oasis of Life's a Beach, Rose and I settled ourselves in Hoi An for a week of shopping and relaxation (a theme of my trip perhaps). I knew Hoi An would be my favorite city as everyone I've met has raved about it. It is a picturesque town with lanterns lining the streets and the friendliest locals I have met so far. With tailors on every corner of course I took full advantage and spent the majority of my days shopping. Tapping into my childhood dream of being a fashion designer, I designed some rompers and dresses and met the most lovely tailor to make them for me. I felt like I was on an episode of Project Runway, zipping around the streets looking at fabrics for my designs to come to life. Rose and I were lucky enough to meet Mie on our first day in the city. Not only did she make us beautiful clothing, she invited us to spend the day with her and her husband, taking the boat across the river to her hometown where we were invited into her mother's house and cooked a huge Vietnamese lunch. The generosity of locals never ceases to amaze me. It really is true that those who have the least give the most.

Hoi An is one of those places that I could see myself getting stuck for awhile but after a week of pretty much just shopping, eating, and going to the spa, Rose and I were itching for a little adventure again. We sent our bags to Hue, rented a motorbike, and headed North. The journey from Hoi An to Hue requires driving over a mountain range and along the Hai Van Pass, made famous by Top Gear. It is a stunning landscape to drive through and I'm happy I got to sit on the back of the bike and take it all in. As always with Rose and I, there was no shortage of excitement along the way. We stopped to fill up on gas along the mountain and after the woman already filled our tank she told us it would be 50,000VND ($2.50). We are well aware at this point that the price for 1liter is only 15-20k so we tried to argue this point and things escalated quickly. Fast forward 30 minutes and I have been pushed and slapped, Rose has been hit, bitten, and dragged off of the motorbike. This woman was an all out psychopath. I managed to stay out of the fight since I could hardly contain my laughter. In the end, the lady siphoned the gas out of the bike using her mouth and a plastic tube and we drove off.

We spent only one night in Hue as there isn't much to do and it was just a halfway point between Hoi An and Phong Nha. There is one main attraction in Hue which is the Royal Palace (I think?) so we figured we might as well check it out. We got to the entrance and had a serious conversation about whether or not the entrance fee was worth it. If its possible, I think I'm becoming even more of a cheapskate than before I left home. We walked up to the ticket booth and Rose non-chalantly says "one adult and one child please". Apparently I can't pass for 12 anymore, the lady laughed and shook her head. We took a picture and left.

The next 2 days were spent in Phong Nha, visiting some of the largest caves in the world. Hiking, biking, swimming, kayaking, zip lining, and getting head to toe covered in mud. Mother Nature is one fascinating lady! Per usual, Rose and I ran into some issues on the day we rented a bike to drive to two of the caves. We were originally given a scooter that was so tiny, Rose was more or less sitting on my lap while she drove. It broke down on a hill so we found ourselves sitting on the side of the road for 30 mins waiting for a new bike to come. The second bike was normal size and worked much better...until the sun was setting and we tried to head back to the hostel. The bike wouldn't start and we once again were waiting on the side of the road for a new one. The third bike was another baby scooter and as we were finally driving home, enjoying the beautiful sunset, we realized that the lights didn't work. I almost had to pull out a flashlight as a make shift headlight but we managed to stay close enough to other cars and bikes that we had some light and made it back. Then we dropped off the bike and the guy showed us the switch to turn on the lights...which worked perfectly. Oops.

I am now in Hanoi, the bustling capital in the north of Vietnam. Rose and I parted ways this morning as she's off to China and starting her journey home to Amsterdam via the Trans Mongolia Express. It was sad to say goodbye but now I can look forward to Amsterdam in the fall :)

I am surprised by how much I like Hanoi. I thought it was going to be dreary and freezing but the weather is the perfect mixture of hot and cold and the city is overflowing with action. The streets are packed with cars and bikes and food stands and locals selling everything you could possibly imagine.

Tonight I head to Sapa, a northern village with famous markets and stunning rice paddies. I'll end my time in Vietnam with a cruise through the infamous Halong Bay before returning to Hanoi and boarding a 30 hour bus to Laos. I don't know that I'll ever be ready to leave this country but there are more places calling my name and for the first time in 6 months, I have a limited amount of time left. I finally bit the bullet and booked a flight home! I'll let you all wonder when it is for a little longer though :)

Life's a Beach, I'm Just Playing in the Sand

I've been in Vietnam for just over 2 weeks and I am absolutely in love with it. I had no intentions of staying longer than 2-3 weeks and now I am already planning to get my visa extended because one month is just not enough time. I thought my travel bug had subsided but it seems I have been bit again! 

The journey began with a 2 day boat ride down the Mekong River from Cambodia and into Vietnam. I was very underwhelmed by the Mekong and found it to be a bit dirty. I was happy to arrive in Ho Chi Minh and experience the craziness that characterizes Saigon. Arriving during Chinese New Year, I spent the first few nights partying with new friends and celebrating Tet. I ended up staying in the city for 5 nights which was longer than planned but I was having such a good time I decided I didn't need to be in a rush. Visiting the war museum was eye opening and emotionally scarring for me. I found myself fighting back tears the entire time as I stared into the faces of those whose lives have been destroyed by a disgusting and unnecessary war with none other than my home country. I could go on for longer about my thoughts on the war but I'll save that for another day.

My friend Rose who I traveled through Burma with met up with me on the second day in Saigon and we have been traveling up the coast together. Our adventures have been endless and we aren't even half way up the country yet. Our first destination after HCMC was Dalat. We took the overnight bus from Ho Chi Minh expecting to arrive around 8am forgetting that the Vietnamese have no concept of time and instead we arrived at 5am, half asleep and freezing cold. We got the worst seats on the bus and while the 20 other passengers were comfortably sleeping, I felt like a popcorn kernel in the microwave bouncing and rolling around for 5 hours straight. We went to our hostel hoping they would have an open bed we could crawl into for a few hours...no such luck. Instead we found a lobby with 3 others already sleeping on a mattress on the floor and when we asked kindly if the boy could also fetch us a mattress or atleast some blankets and pillows we were met with a blank stare and shown the time repeatedly. Yes sir, we are very aware that it is now 5:30 in the morning, we have not slept and would like you to please provide us with a pillow. Communicating with Asians who don't speak English is like trying to use sign language with a blind person, it just doesn't work. We finally managed to clear off a wooden bench and secure ourselves a blanket and curled up in the fetal position for 2 hours before the entire hostel woke up and the day began.

Within 15 minutes of waking up from my 2 hours of sleep on a wooden plank, I was tying my sneakers and heading out for an action packed day of abseiling down rock cliffs and waterfalls. I was not entirely sure what I signed up for and once I saw the demonstration I had a mini panic attack. "I have no coordination when I'm this tired, I am totally going to be the one that falls and cracks their head open" was one of the thoughts going through my head. Good thing I have travel insurance! Knowing that it's all a mental game, I gave myself a little pep talk and stepped up to the plate. I successfully rappelled down an 18m rock wall into some frigid mountain water. It was so much fun! Once I did that, I was awake and ready for the rest of them. We slid down waterfalls like slides, jumped into white water pools and floated with the current through the mountains and up to a 25m waterfall. This time the fear got to me again as I watched the group in front of me hesitantly descend down with water plunging into their faces. A little Asian girl slipped within her first few steps and instead of trying to recover and stand up she sat there crying and yelling for help as the waterfall slammed into her head. I can not let this happen to me! I had to really hype myself up for this one, I considered skipping it but that would just be lame, I had to do it! My turn finally came and I am happy to report that I made it down without a hitch. I was actually surprised at how much easier I found it. I also had such a blast that I wanted to do it again! Instead I jumped 7m off of the next waterfall and floated down to the last 15m cliff. I had so much fun all day, I may have found myself a new hobby for the future.

A big family dinner with the hostel and quite a few bottles of wine called for a fun night and a not so fun morning and bus ride the next day. The road from Dalat to Mui Ne looks something like this: pothole, 5 feet, pothole, 3 feet, pothole...you get the idea. For FIVE HOURS. It was miserable. Anyways we made it to Mui Ne, a small beach town overcome by Russians with a beautiful coastline and sand dunes to marvel at. It's a main destination for kite surfers which was our reason for going since Rose is into that. I spent my days lounging by the pool or riding a quad along the sand dunes. Another favorite new hobby! Vietnam is becoming my little playground and I'm just having so much fun.

From Mui Ne to Hoi An is about 16 hours on the bus so we thought we would stop at some other coastal towns along the way to break up the journey. We spent a night in Nha Trang, another Russian beach town that is actually much nicer than Mui Ne but was desolate and therefore quite boring. Yesterday we left Nha Trang for Quy Nhon, another rather quiet and boring beach town. I have been pleasantly surprised by the parks in Vietnam. Almost every town we have been to has had a wonderfully landscaped park on the waterfront and has made the chore of going for a run much easier. Our main destination is the tiny village of Bai Xep 10km south of Quy Nhon and we were very eager to finally get there this morning after 2 nights in uneventful places. After a nice morning run we got on what we thought was the correct bus only to realize 45 minutes later that we were going in the wrong direction and were now 40km away instead of 10. I can't help but laugh in these situations. They are frustrating but with the right attitude, they are just another part of the adventure. After 2 hours on the bus we finally made it to Life's a Beach, a quaint little guesthouse right on the water. It is absolutely magical and I fell in love the second I walked through the gates. Worth the 2 days of traveling? Yes. The ocean is the most magnificent shade of blue and there are cliffs and rocks and fishing boats and smiling children and I'm just so happy to be here! For $6 including breakfast tomorrow morning, we are spending the night in hammocks. I am so excited! Right now I am sitting on a bamboo bed in the sand, looking out over the ocean at hundreds of tiny sparkling lights dotting the horizon and listening to the waves crash on the shore with an almost full moon in the sky above me. My mermaid heart is full! Life is just so perfect sometimes I can't do anything but smile.