Vietnam

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We're off onto new adventures and our first country is Vietnam ! We've learnt and done so much more than we expected, it really was a great start to our travels 😊
After a lovely evening in Paris meeting up with friends and a 7h stop over in Dubai airport (slightly disappointing actually, we were expecting something a bit more glamorous), we arrived to chilly weather in Hanoi !
We got the bus from the airport and then walked through the old part of the city to our guesthouse where we were warmly welcomed and given tips about the areas to go for food and for an evening walk. Staying at the Sweet family homestay really made our trip to Hanoi enjoyable, it was cheap, clean, well situated and run by the nicest people we met in our time in Vietnam ! After quite a bit of hesitation we decided to head off on a day trip to Halong bay while we were in Hanoi and even though it was a long day in a bus + boat with a bunch of other tourists it was worth it because it really is fabulous.
Our next stop was Da Nang, we flew there from Hanoi and discovered a busy, modern city by the coast with quite a chilled atmosphere despite all the construction going on (huge tower blocks for hotels are popping up all along the beach which is a pity). We had a nice relaxing time there including a day trip to the beautiful but touristy village of Hoi An by scooter, plenty of time spent in the lovely coffee shop near our hostel and some surfing for Abdel.
From there we got a bus to Hue, a town known for it's imperial city and good food. The sun finally started to come out and our stay was short but sweet 😊
We were very unprepared for Ho Chi Minh city, we stepped off the bus from the airport and found ourselves surrounded by bright lights and loud music - it was a bit of a shock !
Initially we were a bit unsure about HCMC but in the end we had a good time, we found some great vietnamese halal food and another lovely coffee shop, we met up with our friend Esme and we found our trusty motorbike !
After braving HCM traffic, we headed off for almost a week of biking around the Mekong delta and then across the border to Cambodia - words, photos and videos aren't nearly enough to describe the trip ! There were times when we were a bit scared, times when we were tired or even hungry but most of the time we just felt really blessed to be able to see and experience such fantastic places. We made a habit out of eating the mostly delicious local food on small plastic stools, sipping cold coffees with condensed milk and taking selfies on most of the bridges and small ferries - it was perfect 😊
We really did enjoy our time in Vietnam and other than the landscapes, people and food we also tried to learn a bit more about the rich and very sad history of this country. From the prison in Hanoi to the war remnants museum in HCMC and Cu Chi tunnels, it was extremely sobering to realise how little we knew and to discover what the Vietnamese people endured during the French occupation and the American war...
Now we're in Cambodia, trying to get a glimpse of another culture - hopefully we'll have loads to write about in our next post ! In the meantime, check Olivia's Instagram account for more photos 😊

Pour les francophones on est sincèrement désolé mais Abdel a la flemme de traduire donc on vous laisse découvrir les joies de Google translate et on espère que vous vous en sortirez mieux que nous au Vietnam 😉

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