We are still in Vietnam - currently in the North, in Hanoi. We are really liking Vietnam a lot. The cities are CRAZY, the mountains and beaches are beautiful, and for the most part - the people are cool too. The one hassle that does start to wear on you after a few weeks is the constant pestering of people trying to sell you stuff - mainly bike rides and sightseeing tours. If you are white, you are a target. That is the general rule.
Hanoi is a crazy city with tiny windy streets in the old city, where you have people in pointy straw hats, walking around trying to sell you anything from pineapples, to phrasebooks, to motorcycle rides. I don't know how they squat on the street so low, for so long. Many families just squat the sidewalks, cooking and eating and feeding their children.
We thought crossing the street was a challenge in Saigon - we had no idea! It's insane here. Tomorrow, we are taking a boat tour for a few days, into the beautiful islands and caves of Ha Long Bay. We are on a junk boat the first day - seeing caves and islands. Then, we sleep on the boat...and the second day, we kayak all day, and then stay at a resort on Cat Ba Island. Doing a tour like this is really the only way to see Ha long Bay - so I hope the tour we chose turns out to be a good one. They are a million places selling basically the same thing for vastly different prices. It's hard to figure out when you are being scammed or not, but the one we chose was recommended to me by a traveler I met in Nha Trang, and he said it was good.
Updates...
Da Lat
The motorcycle tour with our Easy Rider guide, Dung (when he pronounces it, it's much better), was personally a real highlight for my time in Asia. I was on the back of the guide's motorbike and Tucker held his own on his own bike! Dung toured us all around amazing green mountains, scary winding roads, and into some really cool spots including a silk factory where we saw the process from start (worm) to finish (scarf). Much to my surprise, I really enjoyed being on a motorcycle! It was so fun and I felt totally safe...even though it rained a lot of the time. Also, it was cool to chat with the guide as we rode...he told me about his family, religion, politics, real estate...all sorts of stuff that you can't really get reading from a book. We took a hike down this somewhat scary and extremely muddy and slippery rock path down to the bottom of the "Elephant waterfalls." Dung actually got injured and couldn't finish the hike with us, but Matt and I tried to go as far as we could, until we were locked in by surrounding water. It was pretty cool - but I was really sore the next day! (Shock shock) After the hike, we walked around a Temple, where there were all these Vietnamese woman sharing lunch together, and I assume also praying together. On top of the mountain, there was this HUUUUUGE Buddha...pictures to come.
The next day, we took a taxi to Langbiang Mountain for some hiking. To be fair, I was sore from the day before and didn't get TOO far up the mountain, but Tucker had some cool experiences that I'm sure he'll fill us in on later.
After Da lat, Tucker and I split up for a few days - we each did our own beach thing. He went to Mui Ne, and I went to Nha Trang.
Nha Trang
Nha Trang is a little town mainly popular for it's beautiful water and beach. There are a bunch of little restaurants and hotels in the area, as well as the usual tourist shops and tailors. I thought traveling alone would be a little scary - but on the contrary, it was really fun. Also, i was hardly alone! It is so easy to meet other travelers. So, the first few days, I hung out with my "Irish boyfriend" and the next two days, my "Israeli boyfriend." If only it were this easy in the U.S. :)
It was sooo amazing to just relax for a few days and literally, just sit on the beach, read, and recharge. I did not want to leave! The beach was beautiful and the water was so warm. Also, they had a brewery there (Lousiane Brewery) that had the best beer I've tried since I got to Asia. I stayed in a nice hotel, treated myself to an amazing spa massage - and even got a dress custom made for myself! Everything is so cheap so treating yourself is so much easier to do! Tailors are everywhere and it's quite common for tourists to get clothes made.
That is the trip update as of now. More to come soon...
PS Remember to vote! Even if you are in one of those "my vote doesn't matter" states... your vote DOES matter. We are trying desperately to figure out how to vote now that we are abroad and it's harder than you would think. I believe this election to be a life-marking event as I'm sure many of you do as well. It is a little hard to be missing it.
Happy Birthday Steve and Happy almost birthday Matty Z and Patrick French!
We thought crossing the street was a challenge in Saigon - we had no idea! It's insane here. Tomorrow, we are taking a boat tour for a few days, into the beautiful islands and caves of Ha Long Bay. We are on a junk boat the first day - seeing caves and islands. Then, we sleep on the boat...and the second day, we kayak all day, and then stay at a resort on Cat Ba Island. Doing a tour like this is really the only way to see Ha long Bay - so I hope the tour we chose turns out to be a good one. They are a million places selling basically the same thing for vastly different prices. It's hard to figure out when you are being scammed or not, but the one we chose was recommended to me by a traveler I met in Nha Trang, and he said it was good.
Updates...
Da Lat
The motorcycle tour with our Easy Rider guide, Dung (when he pronounces it, it's much better), was personally a real highlight for my time in Asia. I was on the back of the guide's motorbike and Tucker held his own on his own bike! Dung toured us all around amazing green mountains, scary winding roads, and into some really cool spots including a silk factory where we saw the process from start (worm) to finish (scarf). Much to my surprise, I really enjoyed being on a motorcycle! It was so fun and I felt totally safe...even though it rained a lot of the time. Also, it was cool to chat with the guide as we rode...he told me about his family, religion, politics, real estate...all sorts of stuff that you can't really get reading from a book. We took a hike down this somewhat scary and extremely muddy and slippery rock path down to the bottom of the "Elephant waterfalls." Dung actually got injured and couldn't finish the hike with us, but Matt and I tried to go as far as we could, until we were locked in by surrounding water. It was pretty cool - but I was really sore the next day! (Shock shock) After the hike, we walked around a Temple, where there were all these Vietnamese woman sharing lunch together, and I assume also praying together. On top of the mountain, there was this HUUUUUGE Buddha...pictures to come.The next day, we took a taxi to Langbiang Mountain for some hiking. To be fair, I was sore from the day before and didn't get TOO far up the mountain, but Tucker had some cool experiences that I'm sure he'll fill us in on later.
After Da lat, Tucker and I split up for a few days - we each did our own beach thing. He went to Mui Ne, and I went to Nha Trang.
Nha Trang
Nha Trang is a little town mainly popular for it's beautiful water and beach. There are a bunch of little restaurants and hotels in the area, as well as the usual tourist shops and tailors. I thought traveling alone would be a little scary - but on the contrary, it was really fun. Also, i was hardly alone! It is so easy to meet other travelers. So, the first few days, I hung out with my "Irish boyfriend" and the next two days, my "Israeli boyfriend." If only it were this easy in the U.S. :)
It was sooo amazing to just relax for a few days and literally, just sit on the beach, read, and recharge. I did not want to leave! The beach was beautiful and the water was so warm. Also, they had a brewery there (Lousiane Brewery) that had the best beer I've tried since I got to Asia. I stayed in a nice hotel, treated myself to an amazing spa massage - and even got a dress custom made for myself! Everything is so cheap so treating yourself is so much easier to do! Tailors are everywhere and it's quite common for tourists to get clothes made.
That is the trip update as of now. More to come soon...
PS Remember to vote! Even if you are in one of those "my vote doesn't matter" states... your vote DOES matter. We are trying desperately to figure out how to vote now that we are abroad and it's harder than you would think. I believe this election to be a life-marking event as I'm sure many of you do as well. It is a little hard to be missing it.
Happy Birthday Steve and Happy almost birthday Matty Z and Patrick French!
2 comments:
Vietnam looks beautiful. Beaches, jungles and is that desert?
It seems like a lifetime ago you were in HK! ANd now you're in Bangkok! Say "hi" to Matty for me when you see him!!!
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