VIETNAM

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Exploring Vietnam has been a brilliant few weeks!


Made my way from 4000 islands in Laos to Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) via Phnom Penh in Cambodia. Was a pretty horrific journey with more people squashed in a minibus for 16 hours than you would think is humanly possible. Not to mention the people bribing the driver so they could hang off the roof! All during a monsoon rainstorm too. I guess its all part of the experience!! I left Emily and Louise in Cambodia and got the bus to Saigon- a pretty uneventful journey and an easy border crossing. Arriving in Saigon was insane. I had forgotten how busy a city it is and just how many motorbikes there are! Crossing the road means taking your life into your own hands...you just have to walk slowly through the motorbikes and hope for the best!


As I have been to Saigon before I didnt spend too much time in the city and instead booked onto a 2 day trip to the Mekong Delta. This is where the people all live on the river and their whole livelihood revolves around being by the water. The majority of the men are farmers. It was a lot bigger than I was expecting but still pretty amazing. Just getting the boat along the river you see people going about their day to day lives on the river at the markets, washing clothes, farming. The huts where they live are on stilts over the water or some people actually live on board their boats. We visited a couple of islands on the river, a coconut candy making shop, rice factories and paddy fields. Took a trip on a little rowing boat where they take you through the maze of narrow river channels like little secret passages with the trees hanging really low to the water. The highlight had to be the floating market we went to though. There are local people everywhere buying and selling fruit and veg from the women who row the little boats around with their big triangular hats on. It was a real hub of activity and it was only 7am! I just stood on the roof of our boat, looked around and took it all in, pretty amazing.


Left Saigon the following day and got the overnight bus up to Nha Trang. It is basically a beach resort party town. Reminded me of going on holiday after my A-Levels to Greece where everyone just goes to the beach by day and then out to the bars by night. It was good fun but a couple of days was enough for me! I did a boat trip islands hopping for the day and got the do some snorkelling out on the reef which was pretty cool. It is very colourful under the water but I did get stung by a Vietnamese jellyfish 😞 Spent the afternoon at a healing mud bath spa centre where you basically roll around in warm mud and mineral water. It was fun!


I decided to cut my time in Nha Trang short and got a motorbike 60km north to a place I had heard about called Jungle Beach. It was the best decision I made. This place was beautiful! A tiny homestay resort where you sleep in 3 sided bamboo bungalows on the beach and have big communal meals cooked for you 3 times a day. The beach was stunning- powdery white sand, turquoise water and palm trees everywhere. A little slice of paradise and such a nice calm oasis away from the tourist crowds. Spent my days reading, swimming, sunbathing, sleeping in my hammock, playing cards...its a hard life! Met some great people too so I absolutely loved my few days there. The weather was perfect- maybe a little too hot cos one day we trekked up to the waterfall and in 3 days it had completely dried up from the heat!


I had to force myself to leave Jungle Beach so I had time to see everything else. I felt completely re-energised and ready to explore some more. My next stop was Hoi An. This is a really pretty little town consisting of only about 5 streets, all lined with shops that very cheaply tailor make clothes. I got a bicycle and pedalled around for the day. It is such a good way to get to know a place quickly- especially one this small! Took a ride down the river, to the markets, to a couple of pagodas and the famous Japanese Bridge. Hoi An was at its best when the sun went down though. All the streets were lit up with Chinese lanterns and the whole place was just glowing. The shops all stay open late and spill out onto the streets. Met up with some girls from Jungle Beach and we went to a local market stall and tried some traditional Vietnamese dishes....who knows what was in them but they tasted pretty good!


Another bus took me up to Hue. I was expecting a small, quaint little town so was pretty shocked to find a big, motorbike filled, busy city. It is the ancient capital of Vietnam but I mist admit my first impressions arriving in the dark werent great! I got my bearings though, got a bike and the next day grew to love it. The Citadel is the ancient part of the city where all the Emperors and royal family used to live. The ancient ground and the Forbidden Purple City are so incredibly peaceful and you can walk around and totally picture what it would have looked like at its prime. Lots of the pagodas and buildings were destroyed by the Americans in the Vietnam war and just the rubble remains are still there. I thought it was really interesting and spent hours wandering around the massive grounds of this 10km perimeter of the old city. Hue is actually listed as a UNESCO protected world heritage site so that gives you an idea of how amazing it is. All around the perimeter of the ancient city is a moat which is filled with lotuses and pink lilies. The huge flagpole with the Vietnamese star flag soars up so can be seen anywhere in the city. I cycled out to a pagoda 5km down the river. In the grounds was a memorial for the first monk who set fire to himself in Saigon in protest of the negative attitudes and rules against Buddhism. It was up on a hill so you get a great view of the Perfume River from up there too. That night there was an immense electric storm with fork lightning illuminating the whole city and cracks of thunder loud enough it felt like the ground was shaking. Nature is pretty awesome!!


My last overnight bus (thank god) and 16 hours later I arrived in the capital city, Hanoi. It is a really nice city. Crazily busy but plenty of places you can go to get a bit of peace and quiet. I am staying in the Old Quarter which is a maze of streets meaning I spent plenty of time getting lost! There is a nice cathedral and a big lake where you can just sit and watch the world go by. People watching is just fascinating, I could do it for hours!


The last and final part of my trip in Vietnam was Halong Bay. What a way to end. We had perfect weather which is pretty lucky seeing as tours have been cancelled left right and centre recently cos of the typhoon storms. Sailing around Halong Bay is awesome. Deep coloured emerald water with massive limestone karsts towering above you in every direction. It is clear why they call it the 8th natural wonder of the world. Spent the night sleeping out on the boat having been cooked up a feast by the crew. Did some kayaking the next day into caves between the cliffs which open up into big peaceful lagoons. You have to stop and pinch yourself every now and again because it really is that beautiful. We spent our second night on Cat Ba island and had plenty of time cruising the bay on board our boat. I was worried that I might be disappointed by Halong Bay in reality as I have heard so much about it and seen so many amazing pictures but it exceeded all my expectations. A definite highlight of Vietnam.

Spent my last day in Vietnam chilling out in Hanoi. Also went to a traditional Northern Vietnamese Water Puppet show...interesting and surprisingly fun! I have really enjoyed travelling on my own in Vietnam. I am so glad I decided to do it independently this way. Have met some awesome people along the way and had plenty of great times!


Vietnam has proven to be such a diverse country- you go from busy cities to mountainous highlands to beautiful beaches to ancient cities and natural beauties. It has been challenging at times getting used to the feeling that you are constantly being ripped off and that you are just money to the people here. I certainly wont miss being chased down the street by moto riders, taxis and cyclos trying to sell you a ride but it wouldnt be Vietnam without it I guess. I have been amazed how the attitudes of the people, the lifestyle and general feeling you get changes so rapidly between these Indochina countries. Each one is unique in is own way and has something to offer that the other ones dont. Let the adventures continue!

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