Wow Vietnam
When travelling you discover yourself! A not so brief summary of our days in Vietnam, take it as a personal guide to explore this crazy country!
Hanoi
After a long flight we landed in Hanoi the sun was out even if in our mind it was night. A heavy fog welcomed us at the airport, making me wonder if we had even left Berlin. A step out of the plane was enough to clear any doubt, the heat and the humidity attacked or in other words: “It’s Hot, Damn Hot, Real Hot!”. No doubt we were in Vietnam.
Got the luggage and off we were on the way to our hotel, we were welcomed by a doorman and temperature below zero, or at least it felt like. We recharged, got changed and started exploring Hanoi, first we visited Ngoc Son Temple (One of the many pagodas we would visit) in the middle of Hoàn Kiếm Lake, it looked nice but over touristic. It was time for coffee but in Vietnam you can’t have a normal one, you got to try the egg coffee. Vietnamese coffee at the base and whisked egg yolk on top.
After coffee we decided to go shopping, bought a couple of scarfs and visited one of the famous made in Vietnam shops. They basically sell all the brands you know at a tenth of the price, some products look really legit while others are obviously fake. Then, we looked for snacks and found a place selling half a kg of dried mango per 2€, of course we had to buy it. Then we got some Pho in a place were they set us next to the freezer and asked us how many, since there was only one option (Love it). The food was delicious and costed us 2€, we then headed back to the hotel hoping to check in. Waiting for the room my girlfriend had a mojito and I got the classic beer, Hanoi Bia!
It was time for the train coffee place, there is a street where the train passes in the middle of the houses and not a small one, a proper big one. We went so excited and got stopped by the police trying to enter (Fail). Apparently the only way is to go to one of the bars and we tried but they didn’t let as through. We were tired and gave up easily and went for a Bahn Mi. The Bahn Mi is a filled baguette, basically Vietnamese started eating it when the French arrived and put their own filling, now it became one of their main breakfasts. After that we went to sleep, at 9pm.
Up at 9am to get the hotel breakfast, and off we were to the museum of literature, one of the oldest schools in Vietnam, pretty cool. There is even an area with all the names that ever passed the royal exams. We saw many altars were people leave food and drink to buddha, a lot of cokes ahah.
A now Bun Cha, Obama had it, it must be great. Got to this place with metal tables and tons of people inside, after walking up two floors and got the same question. How many? The Bun Cha is a noodle soup with pork and greens on the side, you are supposed to mix the noodles and add the greens, adding some garlic, chilli and lime. It was delicious and I was so ready for a nap! We spent the afternoon wondering around the city and had a chill dinner, and went early to bed ready for the bus on the day after!
Sapa
We arrived to Sapa at 1pm after a 6 hours ride on a sleeping bus. The scenery was breath taking with a light fog making the valley look unreal, first thing that came to mind was Kung Fu Panda.
These busses are amazing, you can completely lie down and have some good quality sleep (Not for self). So getting back to the trip, in Sapa we were greeted by a bunch of guides trying to convince us to visit their villages.
Since we had an already a booked experience, our guide Sua was holding a sign with my name, we went with her to the hotel to lunch and leave our luggage. They explained us briefly the itinerary and the adventure started. A small bus got us to the start of the first trekking, other people joined us so we were around 8 in our tour plus a bunch of locals who would do the walk with us. Anyway we went down a a bit and saw our first buffalo, apparently costing around 1000€ (If anyone was wondering) and started seeing the rice fields. We walked past 3/4 villages up, I was impressed by the diversity, in this small area of Vietnam there are 6 different groups all dressed up differently and speaking completely different languages. It was really interesting and scary to learn about a culture so different from ours, at first one the locals was trying to marry her daughter to one of the Italians in our group soon after the guide told us about kidnap weddings. Basically in these villages they have no pubs so people meet in markets, if a guy likes a girl he gets a couple of friends and force her to his house, were they spend three days together, after that they decide if they like each other or not, if they do they tell the families and get married. After more stories, a lot of people trying to sell us bracelets and amazing landscapes we got to our homestay, basically a hostel.
Dinner was simple but healthy with the other travellers we got a lot of rice, some chicken and pork, some veggies and a lot of spring rolls. Of course we had to get an Hanoi beer to celebrate the trek. To close the dinner we got some happy water (Rice wine) and headed for the bed.
Falling asleep was not hard but staying asleep a lot, dogs were barking the whole night and the rain was really loud, but when I got up at 8 I felt good! For breakfast we enjoyed some pancakes with banana and chocolate and then off to the second trek. We walked in the middle of some rice fields and walked though a bamboo forest, that was a first. Right after we had to climb up the mountain and we reached a beautiful view point, The way after was mostly down and got to a waterfall turned into a pool, it was the most refreshing thing ever! After that we walked a bit and got picked up by a minibus that got us back to the hotel. An hour later we were on the bus back to Hanoi.
You go to this trips to discover more about the world and be amazed by beautful views, but also the people you met along the way are a treasure. I met two Italians who left Italy early on, one worked in Spain and now they are both in Australia (Working a bit, travelling a lot). There were also two Australians, one living in a small town close to Byron Bay with her husband and two sons. She told me all about the right age to have kids, with my girlfriend cringing in the back.
Dalat
Wow Da Lat, we really needed this calm city after the craziness of Han Hoi. The airport is situated 30 km away from the city centre, so once landed we had to struck a deal to get us to there. We were greeted by incredibly green mountains and a light fog, which gave the city a dream like feeling. Our AirBnb was situated on top of a mountain and our room had a large window overlooking the valley. The host didn’t speak any English but was extremely nice and with google translate nothing is impossible.
The first day we visited the night market a tried some street food, first some salty fried pastry and some corn (I was hungry). After browsing the several shops we went for dinner in a washed down restaurant. Not a great choice, the fried rice with shrimps came with literally one shrimp (Cut in small pieces) and the tofu had no taste. After this bad experience we made it up with some local strawberries and headed back to our accommodation.
The second day started early, we were up at 6:30 and our guide picked us up at 7:20, after a cappuccino with a view and a failed attempt to get food (The only option was pizza). We were supposed to get a group tour, but since It was low season we got a private one. Before starting the climb (More than 500m of elevation) we stopped for a classic Bahm Mi. Two for 1€ and we were ready to explore the Lang Biang Mountain!
Our guide name was Su, born and raised in Da Lat, he learned English watching Friends, which you could easily tell from his accent and slang! We brought us to the dirt road, passing through coffee plants and meeting several horses. We then made it into the first forest, we were surrounded by pines and no other humans in sight. After around an hour of walking we reached the main road were we only walk few meters to reach the bifurcation, which led us to the ancient forest. Trees there were more than 200 years old and the vegetation it was exactly like you would expect in Vietnam, green and full of bushes. The hard part came when the path became vertical, and we had to walk in the mud while almost climbing the mountain. After an hour or so we made it to the top, excited to see the magnificent landscape. But we mainly saw fog, we still celebrated our achievement, since as Su mentioned: “We are at the top, everyone is under us!” (2167m), quite American I would say. Our guide started prepping lunch, we had some Bahn Mi with pork and tofu, some Mango and Dragon eyes and closed with some Oreo. Ready to go back we started the descent, trying our best not to slip!
Back to the bifurcation we decided to go for the second peak, but this time had to walk mainly on the road. We met some workers planting trees and got passed by many cars brining tourists to the top, the lazy ones, as Su said. We reached the second peak and were greeted by more fog but also a couple of eagles we took a couple of pictures and got down. Back at the entrance of the park we enjoyed some artichoke tea (Yes it’s a thing) and some dried mango, then our driver picked us up and back to the AirBnb. Slept a bit, took a shower an off to dinner in a touristic but delicious restaurant. My girlfriend had some some curry tofu and I had some stir fried beef. We were definitely ready for bed and headed back.
Third day, lazy start, got our of bad at around 10 and enjoyed breakfast in our terrace. We then grabbed a Grab to visit the Datlona waterfalls, after a brief conversation with the driver about Buffun and Baggio we made it the final destination! There is an amazing roller coaster there, which brings you to the bottom of the waterfall, exciting a scenic, definitely recommended. The falls were beautiful, we took some pictures and enjoyed a latte and went back up. Took another ride down, totally worth the 10€, also because the track was empty tand we could speed. After excitement was time for relaxation and mindfulness, so we went to a Pagoda. The air was different and really relaxing, even if we got washed on the way we were in peace. We did a short meditation and kept exploring the gardens, full of beuatful flowers and bonsai. At 4 was finally time to eat, so we went to the Chalet (Really Vietnamese) and enjoyed some noodles. After e got some egg coffee and headed back to the hotel. This time was Ramen day, and we went to a place at the end of dark street and were surprised by how cute and tidy the place was. We spent 9€ for 3 ramens and a drink and the waiter even translated us the menu. To close the nigh we first got an avocado ice cream and then visited the Maze bar. This bar is crazy, you get lost into it. The evening was over and we headed back to pack and get ready for early rise. As this flight finishes I will leave and visit Danang and Hoi An.
Danang and Hoi An
After arriving from Sapa we got a Grab and went to the hotel. The room was crazy, nice sea view, bath tab, modern and with a petite kitchen. After a short nap we started exploring Da Nang, went to the beach and first tried to walked and then Grabbed to reach lady Buddha. Lady Buddha is a huge statue 65m tall dedicated to the female version of Buddha, which resembles the Virgin Mary in many aspects, for one Vietnamese ask her for help, because they see Buddha as less relatable.
We got to the statue and visited the all park around it, we saw a monkey and enjoyed the many gardens. We also went into one of the Pagodas, I felt similar in the Da Lat one, a sense of calm I had never felt before. After some strolls around we went back to the hotel and went for dinner. We found a cute vegan place called Roots, which had a menu with the protein intake of every dish, a dream. We had two platters with falafel and hummus and drank some kombucha. Time for bed!
The second day we woke up a bit late, trained, went for a swim and grabbed to Hoi An. Probably one of the most touristic cities I have even visited, it once was a trading centre (The Venice of Asia), but now in the old town you can only find shops and a couple of museums. We got into the gate and immediately sat for a Saigon coffee and a salted Coffee, we then took a stroll mainly checking out art galleries, I was looking for a painting for my living room. It’s disappointing that basically they all offer similar paintings.
We headed to the Chinese bridge, one of the main attractions but it was closed. We enjoyed some curdled Tofu and visited the Kai house. In Hoi A you have all these houses belonging to Chinese families, which moved to trade. The are now museums and in each one you can see pictures of the family with representatives of the Vietnam government. It got pretty late and we needed to some food, we got Cau Lay and White Roses. The Cau Laa it’s a dish with pork, noodles and veggies, you basically mix it all, add soy sauce and eat. The white roses are delicious dumplings filled with shrimps.
After lunch we visited a Pagoda and some other museum, and then it was time for the lanterns festival. The city got super full, it was almost impossible to walk. The river was busy with boats carrying coloured lanterns (And tourists) you could also spot some little lanterns floating. The story goes that you can use them to let go something or someone, a new start! We headed back to Danang, grabbed dinner and went to sleep.
Day three started at 6am, we wanted to have a swim before going for our hike, a great decision. The view from the pool was gorgeous and you could see the skyline of Danang and the beautiful ocean and cost. Around 7:30 our guide picked us up and we went to My Son.
My Son is is a complex of temples built by the some tribe, differently from most Vietnamese they are Hinduist so the all architecture of the temples changes. We started the tour crossing a stone bridge and jumping on an electric car which brought to the site. The guide explained we needed to do a bit of walking because cars are not allowed, since it’s a UNESCO site. Few minutes after we reached the main complex, which is the most well conserved, but still heavily damaged. Mainly American bombs were responsible.
Nin Binh
Woke up early and run to grab a Bahn Mi it’s the day of Nin Binh. The bus picking us up was supposed to be at 8 but it ended up being between 7:15 and 7:30, so with the Bahn Mi in our hands we ran back to the hotel. Up on the bus we were told the itinerary, first we would visit the Bai Dinh Pagoda, Trang An and the Mua Cave mountains. An interesting story about the Nin Binh is that limestone is used to make cement so some families in the area really rich, build your own castle rich!
Getting back to the trip after two hours drive, an embarrassing sales event and a lot of sleeping we reached Bai Dinh. This pagoda was massive, so massive you go around with an electric car, we reached the entrance and got into the all. We were welcomed by two majestic statues representing the good and the bad guardian, you don’t want to cross their path. To reach the main temple we walked through a corridor with a lot of statues representing many of the students of Buddha. You could notice the hands, the knees and the bellies were dark blue while the rest of grey. Basically it brings good luck to touch the statues in those points so everyone did, especially a lady in our tour who touched them all (It was like 200 statues). The all structure was quite impressive, but also felt really manufactured, is wasn’t an historic temple, but one built quiet recently.
After Bai Dinh we went to Trang An, OMG that was amazing. We jumped on a boat with an old lady and spent an hour going through limestones, it was simply majestic. Despite the heat and the sun we really enjoyed the ride but also thought how amazing it would be to kayak there (More to come).
We were now heading to the Mua Caves Mountain, thinking to chill and walk around. Change of plans we had to climb 500 steps, my old enemy the stairs (Kung Fu Panda no one?), there was general dispair and people complaining. We even met some guys on the way up who suggested to go for the lowest pick, I got annoyed and just ran up to the main one (And almost died). The view was spectacular, you could see the lotus lake on one side and many green mountain with river in the centre on the other. At the top there was also a dragon, which everyone tried to hug and took a selfie with it. Down we went and visited the cave, just to find a closed door and the tour was over. Popped over to the Lotus lake and took some pictures. Went back to the bus and we were ready for Lan Ha bay the day after.
Lan Ha/ Halong Bay
Another early morning, we rushed out of bed and got ourselves a Bahn Mi. The pick up was at 7:30, late as usual… The guide picked as up and off we were for the last, fabulous trip of the vacation.
As we hit the highway our guide, Bryan nickname “Handosome, so so” (Read it out loud is more fun than it seems) showed us some fancy houses costing more than 1M each, impressing for a country where you can have dinner with 2$. After 2/3 hours drive, with a stop to buy some beer to bribe the port operators, we reached the pier, ready to board a ferry with our bus and arrive in Cat Bah. The ride was smooth, we enjoyed some fresh air on the deck on a day with crazy high temperatures.
In Cat Bah our bus drove us to another pier where we would board our cruise ship, generous term for a small boat with 6 rooms. The crew welcomed us and served us lunch, we were 9 people in total a couple of danish, one of Germans, one of brits, a Spanish who spoke half a word of English and us. The lunch was large and tasty, and provided us the needed fuel for our first adventure: kayaking between the limestones.
We got a nice yellow boat and started paddling, for some reason we would always turn in the wrong direction and had to work double to get to the centre. The temperature was high and the sun strong, likely there were many shades and caves. We passed the first one and were offered the option to swim, while half of the group wasn’t thrilled, us, the brits and the Spanish jumped in without second thoughts. The water was just right and the view was breathtaking, we tried spotting some monkeys but failed, instead we just floated in that blue ocean. Unfortunately we were on a tight schedule and had to move, another cave and back to the boat. We then reached a beach, jumped off the boat around 5 meters tall inside the water, the tallest jump I ever did and chilled on the beach and played some volleyball. Back again to the boat and after a break it was time for the classic: spring rolls making.
The legend goes the first spring roll you make looks like your future spouse, a lot of pressure, right? Well we already did ours in Hanoi and were more chilled, we just started churning out spring rolls like we had been taught since we were toddlers. The result was a mixed bag, but the belly is dark so after eating them we just had good memories. After the usual large and tasty dinner it was time for me to shine, time for karaoke.
I will dedicate too much space to my karaoke performance, so feel free to skip to the next paragraph. I debuted with Wonderwall, which got the party started, at least I thought… Few people were up to go next and I had to force a couple to follow. After I tried to involve the Spanish guy with a wonderfully sang Despacito, but failed. I closed with a classic Lemon Tree and picked a playlist called Ibiza to seal the night!
Up at 6, last chance to take a bath in that wonderful setting, everyone promised they would get up and nobody did, it was only us floating, it was delightful! After we went for break fast and off to a bike ride. Our bikes were not the latest model, had one speed and were half broken, despite that we led the pack (Obviously). After seeing the valley in Cat Bah we reached a local shop were you could get a special feet massage, basically you put your fit in a poll full of fishes loving your dead skin, delicious.
Talking about delicious things, it was time for happy water, as out guide explained in Vietnam there are there happy things. Happy water, happy room and happy woman. Happy water you guessed it, it’s some alcohol made out of rice, the happy room is the toilet (At least he said) and happy woman, because if Vietnamese women are not happy thy become tigers.
Coming back to happy water, Bryan brought us a multitude of options: basic, flower, some other flower and some stuff I don’t remember but then he went on rumble about the police, you know the police is next door… We were lost, then he told us to look at him, he ducked behind some forniture and showed us a huge snake inside the happy water, he said: “This water makes men strong in bed, but since there use to be many snakes and now none we are not allowed to kill them, so we need to hide from the police”.
Well the experience was over, we biked back, a bit drunk, got to the boat had lunch and checked out, time to go back to Hanoi!
