I first want to say Come On to Viet Nam for helping me encounter some amazing people and unforgetable experiences. "come on" means "thank you" in Vietnamese, which depicts exactly what the attitude of the last month has been. Feeling tired? Come on! Feeling unsure of your next move? Come on! Vietnam gave me a severe case of the COMOs (Come On Or Miss Out). So I went along, no fear, no doubt, only spontaneity and adventure. Try doing that in every day life. The amount of opportunities to "go with the flow" or "come on!" Are enough for anyone to find themselves using excuses. I think of how many excuses I must have in my daily life if I don't consciously get over myself, and go with what I feel. Sometimes my body is telling me "no" but my mind, my mind is telling me yes! I classify listening to my body as good health, not an excuse. Since I've been traveling, the way I care for my body, and my every day decisions directly manifest in my health. Good attitude good health. Negative attitude? Get ready for the flu, diahhrea or some obscure thing that never normally happens, like a skin rash, fainting, food poisoning, worms, bladder infection or even just crampy legs or an achy hip. If I don't go with the flow and listen to my body, then karma ensues. When Vietnam told me to come on! My response was why not? And sometimes Vietnam would retort back, I'm not asking, I'm telling.
This has been my life for the last month.
There
are so many backpackers traveling through Viet Nam, North to South or South to
North, usually starting in either Hanoi (in the north) or Ho Chi Minh
City/Saigon (in the south). I find myself taking most of my advice and
suggestions from fellow travelers, and sharing the information I learned in
return. Sometimes I would take advice, and just go with it - even if I knew nothing about what I was going with. My last month in Viet Nam has given me a fair amount of
knowledge about backpacking in Southeast Asia, booking, eating, friendships,
nightclubs, tours, culture, and the overall does and donts of the Southeast
Asian travel hustle.
The same same, but different come on attitude all over Asia.
Here's
a brief low down on the places I visited this month:
Hanoi - Capital of the north, famous for water
puppet shows, and eating snake hearts.Ha
Long Bay -
UNESCO World Heritage Site of many islands and caves that make the bay appear
as though it is a sinking jungle. (best to travel to from Ninh Binh, Hanoi, or
Haiphong).
Dong
Hoi - quaint seaside town where ships are built
(and a wayward point to get to Phong Nha National Park).
Phong
Nha National Park - UNESCO World Heritage Site consisting of the second largest dry
cave in the world, as well as Paradise Cave (one of the tallest enclaves), and
Dark Cave (completely consisting of mud and including zipline, and kayaking).
Hue - Seaside town consisting of the ancient
UNESCO World Heritage Site Citadel - the Vietnamese version of the Forbidden
City of temples and pagodas.
My
Son - UNESCO World Heritage Site of ancient Chang
tribal Hindi ruins and temples. Built completely without any water - and still
a mystery as to how this was accomplished.
Hoi
An - Seaside town famous for their
handmade-to-order clothes and tailors, a nice beach, and floating markets.
Da
Nang - A large westernized seaside city in between
Hue and Hoi An.
Nha
Trang - One of my favorite
places. It is a fairly large westernized city on the beach, perfect for water
sports, relaxing, and absolutely fantastic local food as well as backpacker
parties.
Da
Lat - A beautiful mountain city
known for its trekking, canyoning, and even ostrich riding.
Saigon - The capital of the south. No
Vietnamese call it Ho Chi Minh City - that was the name it was given by the
Americans, and its "official" name - Saigon seems to work better.
This city is absolutely chaotic, and the roads are dangerously filled with
motorbikes, and fantastic street food. Right up there with Hanoi and Nha Trang for deliciousness.
After
going to all of these places and having countless COMOs, I can say without a doubt
that at least 80% of an experience is all about the people.Whether its for a day, a week, a month, or a moment - its about who I am and who they are and how the Universe brings us together.
The only place in
the last 6 months that I did not like was Vienna, Austria. And why? Because I
was sick, and could only manage to stay in the city for 3 hours. More time, and
no sickness might have meant time to fall in love with the city, to have the energy to explore, and interact. Some of my favorite
places (a frequently asked question that I'm beginning to form an answer to) have
been Ireland, Norway, Switzerland, Morocco, Turkey, Greece, and Nepal. And why?
Because in all of these places I made absolutely amazing friends whether they
were travelers, locals, friends of friends, family of friends, or some little old gleaming lady selling rope bracelets on the sidewalk. I had positive encounters within the environment
every day. I'm telling you this, because my Does and Don'ts have a lot to do
with my experience,
the people I met, the environment I was in, combined with what I bring to the table. Ask someone, who isn't me, about these same places and
their experience in Vietnam, and they'd say differently.
Here are some simple Does and
Don'ts, and a few anecdotes, from my travels north to south in Vietnam. Many of the cities in Vietnam were same same... But different. A favorite Southeast Asian phrase which I've adopted since I began in Nepal almost 3 months ago. It basically means - its almost the same and thats good enough. Sometimes the places were same same, sometimes they were different, and sometimes it was same same... but different. Most of what made it different was the fantastic people, the locals I met, the guys and girls I met traveling around, the loving and fantastic staff in the places I stayed. Same same, because it was all fantastic and full of adventure... But different with different places, people, and authentic adventures to be had.
Lets starts at the very beginning, its a very good place to start.
Since
I was in Hanoi for 9 days, waiting to receive my passport back from the Indian
Embassy after applying for my visa there, I had the opportunity to travel all
about the city and experience as much as I could. All of my days were spent with new people, eating, resting, and doing errands. It wasn't until my last few days that I decided I should get out and see some recommended cultural sites before I moved on.
My first museum stop was the Women's Museum.
The Women's Museum Was downright badass. This
museum was so enlightening in terms of learning about beginnings and the infinite
girl power that supports Vietnamese culture. It captured most of the
senses - sight and sound with videos and descriptions of daily life, as well as
the opportunity to see how food is prepared, and what traditional dress and
spiritual beliefs are founded in the name of girlpower! I watched 20 minutes of a video about
the women who sell street food in Hanoi. Now, most tourists might say that
the bargaining, the nagging to buy, and the constant having to walk away,
ignore, or say "no thank you" to someone selling something on the
street can grow irritating. Not me, because I like making friends - but some people.
The video in the museum showed the women on the
street selling useless trinkets, donuts, corn, sticks of BBQ, and almost always
wearing the traditional Vietnamese conical hat and a cloth face-mask. This was
my experience in Hanoi too. However, the video went from this surface understanding of
Vietnamese women, to the true struggle of everyday life. Most of them travel
from outside of the main city, and work and live in the city for two weeks at a
time - leaving their children and family behind, in order to sell on the street
and eventually return home with an award winning 500,000VND ($23). Selling on
the street is illegal so they are chased off by police frequently. Sadly, I've
witnessed, on countless occasions, the sort of disrespect the women receive from
foreigners who have grown far beyond irritated with the vendors. I felt
so moved by the information about these women who are working 16 hour days in
the hot sun, dealing with disrespect and being chased off, just to put food on
the table for their family - families they had to leave in order to achieve their
goal.
The
other museum we went to was the local prison. It was only 20,000VND to get
into the prison, and although it's not all fancy lighting and exciting exhibits
like the Women’s museum, I liked it because it gave me a visualization of what
the people - Vietnamese, political prisoners, French, and Americans - suffered
through during war-times. All about the French war in Vietnam for independence, and
eventually what the Vietnamese call the "American War," and the "Indochina" war.
There is
propaganda in every system of education, and it was apparent the propaganda
was trying to show how the Vietnamese treated the American political prisoners so well. Whereas, no matter
what you learn in school in the States, there are movies like Platoon, Good
Morning Vietnam (a favorite phrase here in VN), Full Metal Jacket, Born on the
4th of July, and Deer Hunter that speaks to the hardships of Americans and Vietnamese during the war.
Particularly the first mentioned, which depicts the pain that Americans caused
for the locals. I am into the human experience, and empathy, so prison
tours are usually really interesting and solemn to me. I wont even get too far into the unforgettable emotional experience I had at the War Remnants Museum in Saigon. The building was devoted to the history of oppression in Vietnam due to the French and Americans. The first floor was all about Agent Orange and the struggle with chemically induced diseases - an inherent struggle, which has not yet resulted in justice, care, or cure. I'm so happy that my journey took me here. Having already gone through the month falling in love with Vietnam, this museum served as the icing and the cherry. I can understand the struggle, I can feel for these people because I've come to know them and love them. The museum was heart breaking with the visualization of war, disease, and suffrage. There was a nauseating section describing the abuse of the disabled, and infant deaths due to Agent Orange - including an area of incubated, dead, premature babies. Jaw drop, then tears. Followed by horror that this was put in a museum. After that, and reading a sincerely heartbreaking letter written to President Barrack Obama, by a young Vietnamese girl. She begs him to love her, to bring justice to the chemical companies that made napalms, Agent Orange, and other chemical weapons that broke the foundations of human and international rules of warfare. Not only that, of course, the Vietnamese people simply want to be loved and respected in many ways. I have seen firsthand that in a lot of places in The United States, Vietnam Veterans have not yet experienced their own justice or appropriate level of care. The Vietnamese want at least that. To be cared for like the Americans have been cared for. To be apologized to by way of exemplary action. To save-face from the shame of the U.S Government? I don't think it's necessarily to right a wrong anymore. The Vietnamese people seem to understand just as well as I do, that we can't right a wrong by undoing. We can, however, show exemplary love doing what is kind, endearing, and open - right now. Maybe to some people that means righting a wrong. My love for the Vietnamese people is overflowing. It was the same aw of the Vietnamese drive, speed, and intellect used during the war in Viet Nam. On my CuChi Tunnels tour in Saigon, I spoke with my guide, a Vietnam Veteran, and he told me stories about working with the Americans, the torture devices, the tunnel conditions used to survive the deserted and bombed earth's surface. He was passionate, and out to teach me, the only American on the tour, a lesson in what really went on in Vietnam. It was amazing to experience more American and Vietnamese war remnants for a visual understanding of what veterans went through.
I love people who are passionate to teach, because I am open to learn.
Also I got to fire an M30 machine gun off the back of a 1960s Vietnamese ATV.
Now let me tell you about one of the best things about Vietnam - the food.
Here
is a brief Vietnamese Food Breakdown According to Me
Skip
this part if you’re not interested in cooking or learning about Vietnamese
traditional foods. These are classic, filling, and cheap dishes that are a
must-try. Rice (in a dozen different ways), noodles (in a dozen different
ways), green leaf vegetables, spring rolls, soy sauce, and hot chilies are the
cornerstone of Vietnamese food. Some of the Vietnamese words I see a lot have
led me to the best food I’ve ever eaten for less than $1.
Bánh -
is any sort of rice cake you can think of – usually mushrooms, veggies, or pork
- steamed and topped with things like chives, onions, accompanied by a sauce
that I don't know the name of, but is a must-eat.
Bún – is the word for Vermicelli. There is
the classic Bún chả, which is rice Vermicelli, but Vermicelli is also frequently in the soups.
 |
| Phở Bở (Beef Phở) |
Gỏi cuốn - spring rolls, any way you want it that’s the way
you eat it – or order some simple meat and veggies with rice paper, and make
them yourself at the table.
Phở - is one type of noodle soup. Usually the difference between the names of the noodle soups is solely based on the type of meat and the thickness of the noodle. There are so many different forms of Vietnamese noodle soups that I can’t begin to list them all. Phở is a spaghetti thickness and is a basic cornerstone to a Vietnamese diet. It is usually served vegetarian, beef, pork, or chicken and has bean sprouts, mint, chilies, garlic, and other green vegetables. The northern Phở was my favorite and is a clear broth, whereas the southern Phở is combined with more flavored sauces and has a yellowish dark broth.
Bánh
mì – is the Vietnamese spin on the traditional French baguette. They stuff some
veggies, chili sauce, pork buns, fried fish cakes, or anything else at the
sandwich stand into the baguette, including some mystery sauces. It makes for
the perfect lunch! I even had one in Hanoi with pate. It was an absolutely
fantastic mix of spices, meats and veggies.
 |
| Seafood Banh Xeo |
Bánh
xèo – was a favorite must-eat in Nha Trang. The meaning of it is “sizzling
pancake” and what it is, is an open-faced or folded over (omelet style) pancake
with fish (anything from octopus to shrimp), pork, or chicken (which may
contain any sort of vegetables and even quail eggs). I ate the pizza sized
open-faced version as well as the miniature omelet-looking version. I ate the
meat and I ate the fish. I’d say, since I was in a seaside town, the fish was
the best. The pancake batter is made from rice flour, turmeric, and coconut milk, is served with a
heaping side of green leafs, shredded carrots, sauce, and thin leafs of rice
paper for rolling it all up into one delicious spring roll. Nomnomnom.
Cahn – the generic and basic umbrella term for soups in the
south of Vietnam.
Banh
Chung / Banh Tet – banana-leaf wrapped rice cakes, mostly eaten during lunar
new year, and the holiday is in the next month!
Rau
muong – the Vietnamese name for Morning Glory/Water Spinach. Its poisonous
unless cooked, but once steamed or sautéed with loads of garlic, or thrown in
almost any soup or noodle dish, it is absolutely the most delicious green
vegetable the Vietnamese use.
Cao
lầu – a thick noodle dish mixed with salad and pork. It’s a dish unique to Hoi
An.
Ca
Phe (Coffee) – It’s regular coffee, but if you ever have been or go to Vietnam
you will notice that they poor a thick syrup (the coffee) and combine it with
hot or cold water to your preference. No milk either, if you want milk then you
will have to make due with the sweet milk (condensed milk). I find that it
makes the dark coffee maintain its strength while adding a slight tint and
sweetness. There is also egg coffee in Hanoi, which is a mixture of sweet
condensed milk and egg poured into coffee. Makes for a foamy deliciousness. The
Vietnamese latte I would say.
Luk
Lak – basically, it is beef stir fry with a combination of coriander, morning
glory, basil, and loads of garlic.
Muscles
– cooked on the street over a grill and topped with roasted peanuts and parsley
Sticky
Rice with Ice Cream – prepared with any kind of ice cream, but traditionally it
is sticky rice with a little bit of milk, coconut ice cream, coconut shavings,
and roasted peanuts.
Dragonfruit
– not an authentic dish or anything like that, but definitely a delicious white
version of dragon fruit, juicy and sweet – the Vietnamese watermelon.
Coconut
– the perfect snack, fiber, and rejuvenated quencher. On the streets there are
always coconuts being hammered open with machetes for only 10,000VND. Drink up
the half-liter or more to quench your thirst, and then have the seller cut it
in half to scoop out the fruit inside. The greener the better.
Which
leads me to the point that, in Vietnam you MUST
EAT LOCAL FOOD and street food. I had locals take me to where the best
street food could be found - particularly in Hanoi, Saigon, and Nha Trang. When I first
arrived, Craig had already been all over Hanoi, and so he took me to all of the
best and the cheapest eats in town over the span of 7 days. After that, I would
never spend more than 35,000VND ($1.6) on a filling street meal. Also, notice in the photo the seating at the local street food restaurants. I had the hardest time explaining to my Vietnamese friend that, where I come from, these chairs are only for small children.
 |
| BBQ... rat? |
The only time
I made a mistake was in Hanoi when I ventured to the BBQ street food on my
first night in the country. The first few days in a country is always
rest-time, get-my-bearings-time – so I had not yet fully understood the way
things are done in Vietnam at that point. For BBQ street food everyone has
their own little burner in front of them, and cooking my own food seemed like
the best bet to start-off testing whether the street food would be doable or
not. I believe it is only a problem in Hanoi, but sometimes you order beef BBQ
on the street and they do not bring you beef. I ate rat the first night that I
ate street food in Hanoi. The flavor was good, but too chewy to swallow, it
registered with me that I was eating rat when I noticed the meats were chopped
up in calamari shaped Os, and it was way too chooey to be beef. Os… like around
the neck of a rat. So DO NOT eat
BBQ, unless it is vegetarian, but also do not let that deter you from the
fantastic and cheap street foods elsewhere.
The
most expensive and interesting thing I did in Hanoi was go on an overnight trip
to Ha Long Bay. From this I learned, DO
take a day tour of Ha Long Bay, but DO NOT book a cheap overnight tour. I
was in Ha Long Bay during the cold season, and so at night I bundled up in my
winter clothes and silk liner in order to keep warm on a boat that did not
contain heat, did have rats, and was
overall not enjoyable or comfortable to be on. The day tour, however, was
perfect and I was able to see a large bit of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. At
night our boat rafted to another boat, and I snuck off in the dark to drink and
dance with the excitement next door while the workers on our boat began to set
up their bed cots in the lounge area. Springing for a more expensive overnight
or not doing the overnight at all is all that would have made it better. I
never want to change bedrooms because there is a nest of rat shit underneath my
pillow. If that never happens to me again I will be overjoyed. The other option
would have been to sleep for several nights on Cat Ba Island and enjoy biking
around the National Park there. I just didn’t have the time to spare.
After
I picked up my Indian Visa in Hanoi, the next thing I did was book an overnight
train to Dong Hoi, blindly following some advice of an American girl I met who informed me to go there to visit the national park. Dong Hoi is is a seaside
town, an hour away from Phong Nha National Park. It was a quiet one bar town. I
enjoyed the serenity and took the time to relax, workout, write and read. From
there, I traveled to Phong Nha National Park where I met a group of English
guys on my tour. We explored Paradise Cave and had a few good laughs while
walking through the world’s second largest dry cave. Then I went off to Dark
Cave on my own, where I joined a group of two Frenchmen for our tour. After
putting on my helmet light, swimsuit, life vest, and wrapping my waterproof
camera in plastic bags, I zip-lined from a tower down to the entrance of the
cave. As opposed to the Paradise Cave, and the caves in Ha Long Bay, there were
no fancy light fixtures. There was no nothing. It was a Dark Cave. We went in, walking barefoot on stones and rocks,
through warm pools of water until we had to turn on our helmet lights as we
reached an entrance leading deeper into the cave. At the entrance I saw a
spider the size of a softball running away from us down the mud-lined corridor
we were about to walk down. I felt like Ron from Harry Potter when he goes into
the Forbidden Forrest following an unusually giant spider. “We have to go in there?” I decided, in my head, that
saying my fear out loud might just attract more spiders to me, so I said
nothing and continued onward as if I was fearless. The walls were lined with
mud. The floor sunk in up to my knees. Everything around me was squishy and
dirty. Nevertheless we trekked through until we entered an opening where a
giant natural mud bath waited. I jumped in soaking myself all around in thick
goopy mud, and had trouble keeping my legs from not floating to the top. Apparently mud baths create buoyancy. After
a good long soak, we exited the cave, dipping in the fresh water to wash off
before kayaking back to our starting point. I would certainly do it again.
Perhaps with friends, perhaps in warmer weather, and perhaps taking my own
motorbike to the starting point in order to save money on the tour.
When I arrived back in Dong Hoi I was determined to replace my lost waterbottle so that I could purify my own water and save money. Waterbottles in Vietnam, are not really a thing, which I learned after 4 hours of looking. I saw the entire city of Dong Hoi on my hunt for a new canteen. Eventually I found what I was looking for, and in my journey met a girl my age who was teaching English at a local foreign language learning center above the market where I bought my water bottle. She invited me to come and speak with her students. I noticed her English was not very good. I learned in China that it is best to be taught by native speakers, otherwise there is always something that doesn’t get passed down that should, or something that does get passed down that shouldn’t as far as lingual habits go. I went to the class and spoke with the teacher and the students for an hour or so, asking them questions to answer in English, and answering their questions about traveling or American culture. It was a fantastic spontaneous gift from God to meet these amazing women. They were all about my age and were excited to get to know me, just as much as I was excited to meet them and be welcomed so warmly.
The
next day I left for Hue. That was an adventure in and of itself. The minivan (not bus) took us 7 hours to do a 4 hour journey, and then they dropped me off in the middle of no where with my two bags so that I traveled on a motorbike with two bags and three people. It was so fun! I love absolutely loved the adventure and ridiculousness of it all.
The common debate among travelers and
backpackers is, since Hue, Da Nang, and Hoi An are relatively close in distance
(within 4 hours), which cities does one with limited time choose to visit? Firstly,
there is not one city that I’ve been to that was
not worth visiting, so that is just a silly question to begin with.
Secondly it’s about the experience and personal interest. I liked Hue because
it had religious sites and I met a lot of really sweet locals when I went out dancing. They welcomed me with open arms and kept trying to feed me drinks. They were so excited to take pictures with me and high five me. I was able to see everything in the city in 24 hours, with
only one overnight. I might have stayed for a second overnight and gone through
a bit slower, but I was happy to arrive in Hoi An which I loved even more!
Thanks to the party-nature of my hostel in Hue I met a group of fun guys from Germany,
Australia, New Zealand and England. I made particular friends with an Aussie
named Murray who rented a motorbike with me to tour the city, and later
traveled with me to Hoi An and Nha Trang as well. Hoi An was perfect for me
because it was a good place for running along the river, a great place for
shopping (its known for its custom tailors), it had delicious authentic food like Cua Lua, and my
hostel offered a cheap day trip to My Son UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE for only $8.
On the second day at the Sunflower Hotel there I bumped into a Dutch friend,
Esther, whom I had met earlier in my trip. She’s funny and open so I enjoyed
talking with her, and together we shopped, had dresses and shirts custom made,
and enjoyed playing cards and chatting before deciding to meet again later in
our journey. I only drove through Da Nang and it was a big city like any other,
beach, parties, expensive. I would go there if that’s what I wanted out of my
experience, but over all
Hue and Hoi An
were a must do.
Maybe you get the
gist by now, but it was really terribly easy to meet people, fellow travelers,
or expats in Vietnam. People
often buy open-bus tickets that allow them to map-out their route and purchase
all of the buses they would need for one lump sum to be used within a month. To
go one step further, most of these people stop in the same cities, and stay at
the same cheap but well-rated hostels. I did not do the open bus thing. I found
that the reviews of most tour companies were not good, and so I didn’t want to
be stuck taking the same company all over the country if I wasn’t sure if I
would be comfortable and happy with it. I have taken overnight buses, and I
will again this evening as a matter of fact. It’s similar to sleeping in a
lounge chair with air conditioning. I enjoyed it, and slept like a baby the last
time, but when Murray traveled with me to Hoi An he had to put his feet over
the top of the end of the bed because it is not a bed made for people taller
than me. 5’5”. It served to be uncomfortable for him. When it came to the long
overnight journeys – 10+ hours from Hanoi to Dong Hoi or Hoi An to Nha Trang, I
opted for purchasing a train ticket. It was double, sometimes triple the cost
of the bus, but completely worth it to have my own bed, an accessible bathroom,
and even an outlet and a nightlight. It was a worthwhile investment, and I
would say that it is a DO for taking an
overnight train.
“Expense” is also relative in Vietnam. Being in a place
where I could get away with spending $2-5 on necessities began to make things
like $25-$40 tours, bus and train rides seem extremely expensive. I don’t skimp, but Vietnam has made me
more of a cheapskate then I have ever been. You know it’s the truth when I only
allow myself the occasional splurge for a $5 dinner.
It felt like gold when I purchased a tour to the UNESCO
World Heritage Site in My Son for only $8. It was a perfect
must do as far as cheap and enjoyable
tours goes. The ruins were fantastic to see. They were mysteriously erected
without any water, and have remained for thousands of years. Some even have
Sanskrit descriptions and messages. All-in-all I think you’re beginning to
understand that there’s not much that is
not
amazing about Vietnam.
Although I didn’t experience it too often, money can create
an interesting and sometimes less-than-desirable dynamic between locals and
tourists. The nature of generosity in Vietnam is very much according to money
in the north, and in the south it becomes more about kindness.. I have learned the hard way on a few
separate occasions all over the world, that if a price isn’t established first
then a ridiculous price will be established after, and you will not have any
say. However, the Vietnamese are also very friendly. The more south I’ve gone
the friendlier they’ve become, and so the more south I’ve traveled the less
inclined I am to bargain, and the more frequently people have given me things
for free out of the kindness of their hearts. I have learned though, DO NOT let locals give things to you unless
it’s abundantly clear that it is free or a price has been established
beforehand.
Money in Vietnam is a mixed bag. The price might be all
about the location you are buying within in the city, or it might be a
wealthier city altogether, or there is a local side of town and a tourist side
of town, or everything is cheap, or everything is expensive. Aside from local
food, there is no consistency throughout the country for what things cost, and
in the north it was my experience that if a Vietnamese person were going to
receive money from you then they would be extraordinarily kind and courteous.
However, the second I would decide that I wasn’t going to spend money the
kindness evaporated, and sometimes the it felt like the local would either cry
or punch me. There isn’t really a strong and clear-cut sense of how to properly
do business in the north in order to build cliental and create consistent
revenue. Outside of Hanoi, and pretty much in the rest of the country, most of
the Vietnamese have been friendly to me for the sake of friendliness, but being
up front about money has been really important in my experience here.
It was for this reason that I chose to spend a week at the
beach in Nha Trang, and skip the popular windsurfing town of Mui Nei. I wanted
to be around lovely weather and lovely people.
Definitely Do visit Nha Trang. If not for the beach, the surf, and
the sand, then certainly for the backpacking camaraderie and friendly locals. I
stayed at a hostel called the Mojzo Inn, and although the hostel itself was
nothing special, I became good friends with the kind staff there. One of the
girls, Gem, took me and another Dutch friend of mine, Vincent, on a local food
tour of the city.
We road motorbikes across town to the local side where we ate
three courses of authentic foods all for about $3. The seafood was amazing.
MUST DO. It was totally affordable for
only $10 and I enjoyed every second of it. Vincent and I always explored the
local spa where we could use heated or cooled pools, mud baths, and mineral
water baths for only $7 for the day.
During one of my days in Nha Trang I took a tour with Vincent and Esther, who
met up with me again. We did the Funky Monkey tour for snorkeling, sun-tanning,
and a delicious seafood spread of local eats. The tour made for a perfect day full of miracles and goodness.
When I left Nha Trang I was sad to go. Luckily, however,
after driving through the mountains northward to Da Lat, I bumped into a group
of Irish fellas that I had met a few days earlier. Da Lat was a crazy
experience overall. I stayed at a place called Mr. Peace’s hostel, and Mr.
Peace himself is a dirty mouthed, sex crazed, tiny little 25 year-old with a
baby and a wife who runs the hostel with him. The dirty words I heard come out
of this guy’s mouth in English made my jaw drop. Vietnamese are typically conservative
people. I mean, his hostel is in a town where everyone wears long sleeves and
long pants even though it’s terribly hot out during the day. Of course I’m
sarcastic, and naturally a ball-buster, so Mr. Peace and I immediately created
an insultingly loving tit-for-tat way of communicating. Watching him get drunk
and dance to rock music at the bar that the group of us went to made me feel
like I had met the Vietnamese Mick Jagger.
On my second day in Da Lat the Irish fellas, James, Michael,
Peter, and Joe, along with Andrew, and some Kiwis Lilly and Jess, and I went on
a canyoning tour. An
ABSOLUTE MUST DO.
It was maybe the best tour, and best day experience I have had in all of
Vietnam. The company was outstanding, and it would have been hard to not have a
good time with them, but the added bonus of this adrenaline adventure made it
the perfect day. At Datanla Waterfalls we apsailed down cliffs of 18m (59ft)
and 17m (55ft), a waterfall of 25m (82ft), cliff jumped 11m (36ft), body surfed
over the river rapids, enjoyed a picnic, and free beer at the end. It was an
absolutely amazing experience for me to do this. I had always been afraid of
heights. But rather than say “I can’t” I try to say, “can I go first?” I
apsailed through thick gushing waves of water down a 25m waterfall – completely
trusting in my strength and the taught of the line – and eventually free
falling 4m (13ft) back first into the water below. The group of us stayed
together for the few nights that I was in Da Lat, and while Andrew, the Kiwis, the Irish and I moved on to Saigon.
Saigon is a city full of motorbikes, where it is dangerous to cross the road. The market was amazing, and of course I already mentioned how moving the exhibits and war remnants were deeply moving. Now I will begin my journey from Saigon to Cambodia and Laos with a group of fantastic Swiss-French people I met in Nha Trang.
The journey continues.
Vietnam, I absolutely love you… but adventure is out there!!
