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Enjoying the street food
Even though we are sat on plastic stools that you sat on in reception it was really good food! Tofu, rice and salad...nom nom nomWow, after 3 weeks in China I hadn't realised how much I missed talking to English speaking people! It has really made me realise just how few Westerners I didn't see in China. I made my way to Vietnam by bus, a 8 hour journey crossing the border, I was so excited as Vietnam has been on my hitlist for so long and I have heard so many great things about the country, culture and landscape. The journey was as interesting as always, I got chatting to the Vietnamese girl next to me who translated everything the driver said which was good especially when the army got on to check passports! We drove to the Chinese border, got out and got ushered into a bigger version of a golf buggy to go to immigration, passports stamped with leaving China. I then got stopped by the officials and i'm thinking...oh no...turns out they want a photo of me posing with one of the officials, some sort medication and water!? Watch out for me on some campaign in Vietnam, famous! I then was able to cross the border which you do on foot, weird to think at one point I had one foot
The streets of Hanoi
I love all the little street shops selling different things, the colours, clothes, jewelry, everything is amazing in China and the other in Vietnam. After more passport checks and stamps I made it through, got into another golf buggy to get on another coach and make our way to Hanoi, the north capital.
The journey was good, the scenery was what I imagined and had hoped for, so green, rice paddies, men at work, it was lush.
When I arrived at my hostel it was a massive culture as it was full of westerners, I had not seen this many people in so Long that it was quite overwhelming! But you know me I just got involved, went down to the bar for happy hour and next thing I know I'm on the pub crawl! Always the best way to meet people..
The hostel offers a free walking tour of the city which is a great way to get your bearings, find out where is good to eat, shop and just generally get a feel for the area
As I have been on the go so much it is nice to take a break for a few days and really take it all in. I also wanted to base myself somewhere for my
Fish anyone..eel?
Look closely enough..this could be your dinner! birthday! I had a really great birthday, as most of you know I start the countdown a month before and have a week long celebrations, as it is all about meeeeeeeeee! So this was going to be a different one, and that it was. The day started by being greeted by my friend Sophia with presents! A beautiful purse and true Vietnamese style hat, we had decided to have a pamper morning by treating ourselves to a body scrub and massage, sounds good right? It was amazing however a very different experience as Sophia and I were in the same room, we had a few giggles and stripped down to what we thought was appropriate massage attire, underwear, only to be asked to take it all off! Like I said a very interesting experience, Sophia and I got to know each other very well. I then went on the hunt for some birthday cake as its not a birthday without cake and lucky for me I found a little slice of chocolate heaven, yummy. I had a great night out with people from the hostel, I met 2 American Guys in Nanning just as I was leaving China and they
Me and the girls!
Birthday fun with the girls! were arriving in Hanoi on my birthday so they came down to meet me along with the girls and we had a great night. The nightlife in Hanoi isn't great as the clubs get shut down at midnight as there is a curfew, so the police come and shut it down whilst you stand outside or round the corner, only to go back in 10 minutes later and the night goes on like that...annoying!
I know I always talk about food but my days do revolve around it and what new street food I can eat. I am loving the Vietnamese spring rolls, except when they're meat ones, was caught out by that the other day! The local dish of fried noodles with veg, meat, seafood etc sometimes in a soup is called Pho and you can get it for around 40, 000 dong which is just over £1 really yummy and a bargain. The cheapest beer I have found so far was 29p, maybe I should make that my mission...?
I have been in Hanoi for 5 nights and I am now taking a 3 day trekking tour to Sapa which is North and take about 12
Me and the lads!
The Americans celebrating with me! hours by sleeper bus to get there. The sleeper bus was interesting with its leather lay down seats, I barely fitted my feet were hanging over the edge. I actually moved 3 times to get comfy as one side of the bus had double seats and the other single, so I moved to the double side but the guy behind me kept flinging his arm through the gap and hitting me, which was totally freaking me out! So I then moved to the back seats, imagine the back of the bus but with lie down seats, I could finally get Some kip! We arrived early morning and played the game of charades with buses, waiting at the station for the bus to mive, to only drive round the corner and then back to the main station. Got to love Asia! The tour package included all the transport, tour guide, food and accommodation so we were sorted, the food was so good, especially for me! Loads of rice, tofu and speing rolls, I was in my element.
The Sapa tour was brilliant, I really enjoyed it, day 1 was a small walk/trek around the Cat Cat village, it's so interesting
The not so comfortable sleeper bus
As you can see I am struggling to fit on my bed, got there in the end though... to see how they live, some have no electricity, they sleep on mats on the floor, everything is made from what is around them. It is a totally different way of life. The village people are tiny, I was like a complete giant compared to them, ducking through their tiny houses! We got to stay in a hotel on the first night, it was luxury for me, I had my own room, own double bed, wow, I hadn't had this since leaving home, there was even a TV in my room! It was lush! The next day we set out for a 12km trek to the village where we would be staying that night, my group got on really well, I had booked this with an English and Canadian girl from my hostel that i have been hanging with, we then had 2 kiwi guys and an Australian couple who are my parents age, so there was a good mix. We all got on well having a laugh when one of us fell over! The trek was good, the weather was really hot and humid, I would rather that than rainy however where it had rained the night before it
Sapa!
My fab tour group in Sapa, we had a great time trekking, eating, drinking! was quite slippery so we had to be careful. We had our tour guide San, who was half the height of me and a load more of the village girls who come with you and everytime you stop they are teying to sell something, they send their daughters who are as young as 10 years old too so you feel obliged to buy from them as they help and guide you along. One little girl made a bee line for me she was 10 called Blaire and no word of a lie she was pulling me up when I was slipping, she kept grabbing my hand and it was so hard to say no to her, but I was so worried about taking her down with me! At the end I bought a bag from her and she gave me a bracelet so I gave her some sweets. Its hard to say no but it gets extremely frustrating when they are all in your face chanting "buy from meeeeeeeeeeee"
On the second night we did a homestay which was so good, its orgainsed by the tour, there was the 7 of us in the same house, it was extremely
The gang
Our tour group plus the hill tribe women who joined us trekking. comfortable. There were double beds with mosquito nets, a shower and everything, I was not expecting that. We played cards, ate, drank, got given lots of rice wine and just enjoyed our time away from the city and to see how the hill tribes really live. The sights we saw was like something on a postcard, the paddy fields went up so high, Some were so high and differet colours. I kept having to stop just to take it all in. Water buffalo were everywhere, people working in the heat. I cannot describe the beauty, the sights and the vastness of it all, incredible. I would seriously reccommend a tour in Sapa just to see the sights!
So from here on now it not only just Boom On Tour it is Boom & Hollis On Tour as Kate is joining me! I am looking forward to our adventure together, and having the opportunity to share it with someone. We are going to take on as much as SE Asia as we can.
So the next instalment will still be from Vietnam as we are going to start traveling down the coast once we have discovered the mystical Halong
Taking in the sights
Having a moment to take it all in, the beauty of where I am. Bay!
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