The final stretch in Vietnam

happy new year

After Halong Bay we travelled to the world Heritage Site of Hue; a lovely cultural and spiritual city in the heart of Vietnam. Unfortunately rain for us (24 hrs) so we didn’t explore the Citadel completely but have an idea of the private enclosure of the Emperor. Due to the weather I met another kind, interesting traveller which resulted in an evening out with the locals.  From Hue by bus to Historic Hoi An which was once a major port but now this riverside village boats the grand architecture with historic buildings. We visited five of the twelve historical buildings which are preserved by UNESCO world heritage. In the old town there are no cars allowed, only bikes and the annoying scooters but it gives the village a very relaxed and chilled almost Venetian feeling. We celebrated Christmas there and enjoyed the warmer weather. It seemed that the people were warmer and more approachable too. After 5 days we took a plane to Ho Chi Minh City (previous Saigon) as we weren’t looking forward to another long 24 bus journey. This was a 90 minute journey which took us to the South of Vietnam, the heart of this big city and warmer weather. We stayed there for 5 days including New Year. This city is for both of us (one of) our favourite places in Vietnam, it is a very cosmopolitan city, friendly / open people, busy but approachable, gateway to other places like the Mekong Delta or a border crossing to Cambodia. We met many locals there who were eager to speak to us and invite us for drinks, sightseeing or into their lives. Also meeting fellow travellers was easy at one of the local outdoor café’s where we met interesting and kind Japanese, Indians, German, French, Korean, Australian and Ozzie’s for a Bia Hoi (beer). It was a great finish to our Vietnam adventure and it gave me different view of this country.

HUE

HOI AN

HOI AN

Some of my thoughts an memorable adventures in Vietnam:

Food; this country does amazing food, after a couple of weeks getting used to Asian food and not feeding my mouth what my eyes saw I’m now happy to eat what locals eat and enjoy what other countries have to offer.

The Pho Bo or Go (noodle soup with beef or chicken) is available everywhere and I’ve enjoyed the best ones at the local street food stalls in many cities. The fried spring rolls (nem or Cha gio) are delicious and I had far too many but the fresh rolls are to die for! These rice paper rolls filled with pork, prawns or fresh fish with raw vegetable are a most. Both versions are served with hot chillies in oil or nuoc nam (fish sauce). In Halong Bay we had fish for lunch and dinner, in HCMC we had boiled crab as street food to go with our Bia Hoi and in Hoi An I had the best crab in tamarind sauce for less than £3 as my main course. The list could go on with fish hot pot or fried fresh fish with fresh vegetable. It really makes me think why we have to pay so much money in the London for decent fresh fish as I had such a great experiences here in Vietnam.

The Vietnamese; traveling from North to South I’ve noticed the difference in people and their approach to foreigners. The people in the North are reserved and come across as un- friendly, not interested in tourists and closed. My first two weeks I found it hard to connect with them as it’s hard to start a conversation or you feel they are not interested. This could be the opposite but sometimes there’s no time to find out. This does influence your experience and opinion that part of the country, Sapa is in the North and the journey there was sometimes a struggle especially if it was difficult to get the help from locals who know their way or could assist you. Traveling to the South you notice that people are open and more approachable; our Christmas never won’t be the same without the lovely front office ladies from our hotel in Hoi An who waved at us when leaving the hotel saying : Happy Chissmis….. The staff at the Landmark Hotel in Hanoi were ever so friendly and the owner of the tailor shop in Hoi An gave me a silk purse as I was so patience while Brad was getting his clothes fitted. Ha the Guesthouse lady in HCMC who laughed every time we tried to speak in Vietnamese and said she loved us. But most of all our local friends in Ho Chi Minh who shared their stories, drinks and food with us, introduced us to their friends and their city.

We travelled by bus, train, plane, tuk-tuk, taxi, bike and scooter in Vietnam. A couple of memorable stories:

We made many bus trips for longer or shorter journeys in day or night time but the longest bus trip and for me the one not to forget was from Hanoi to Hue. This was a 15 hrs night bus called a ‘sleeper’ with a toilet on board so no breaks during the trip! This sleeper was a bus which had 3 rows of bunk beds as its interior so the only thing you could do was sleep. The bus left and as usual we made many stops to let more people on but in this case not only people also a lot of cargo. I’m guessing they are making some extra money as a courier service too. So at some point the haul of the bus was full which meant the boxes were dumped in the free spaces between the beds. I was lucky to get a big suitcase and box next to me so I felt that I was ‘boxed’ in for my journey. I wasn’t happy and started complaining that this wasn’t safe as in case of an accident I was ‘boxed’ in. After a couple of times they gave in to shut this moaning Minnie up and just dumped the boxes to the other side of the aisle so other travellers had it between them….  They didn’t complain so it stayed there till the end. So far so good till I needed a toilet break, as we weren’t stopping I had to use the on board one which was first blocked by boxes and after that it was made clear to me that it looked and smelled horrendous. In the end I used it 3 times as you can’t sleep without emptying your bladder during a 15 hrs bus ride. To top it all off it started to rain followed by a downpour shortly after we left Hanoi all the way to Hue. While writing this down I have a smile on my face but at the time I wasn’t happy at all and only slept a couple of hours due to the commotion.

Scooters; well these are becoming a real problem for Vietnam. From Hanoi till the Mekong Delta these little vehicles rule the roads. They are everywhere and the roads are completely traffic jammed by them and not as we are used to with cars. I was told that some households have up to 5 of them as cars are taxed 300%, there is no underground system and limited busses so it’s no wonder that everyone is using them to get from A to B.  To experience this we had a couple of trips on the back of one to see it for ourselves…..

Bike; we used bikes to explore Hoi An which was really easy as there was limited traffic in the old town and they were so used to cyclists on the roads. And in the Mekong Delta we rode along the river and rice paddies and were greeted with many ‘hello’ or ‘how are you’ by most of all children.  It was a good way to get closer to the locals and connect with them or chat where possible.

MEKONG DELTA

MEKONG DELTA

MEKONG DELTA

ON THE SCOOTER...