my experience in Vietnam...or "hello, motorbike??"

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So sorry for the delay everyone! I have been getting grumblings and threatening messages for weeks now telling me to update my blog, but it has proven to be a much bigger task than I ever thought it would be. For one thing, pictures are now impossible. I don't have the time to sort through 800 pictures, to choose 20 to post on here that are representative of my travels. Secondly, when I was traveling with the group, we always got free internet and since I am now traveling solo...i must be much wiser with my internet dallying or I could spend all my dinner money on blogging and facebooking. So that is my excuse, although I know its probably unsatisfying to most of you.

Anyways, on with the update. I think the last time I wrote it was about Cambodia. Since then I have been in three countries: Vietnam, Laos and now back in Thailand. Vietnam was definitely an experience. I am glad I was traveling with my group through Vietnam. We started in the south of Vietnam, in Chau Doc on the Mekong Delta which was a very cool area. We took motorbikes up to the top of a mountain (more like a large hill, and no i did not ride the motorbike myself, and yes mom I did wear a helmet) and watched the sunset over the delta. It was beautiful and one of my favorite memories of Vietnam. Then we went to Ho Chi Ming City (Saigon) which was a different story. It was busy! And loud!! If there is one thing the Vietnamese know how to do instinctively, just like we blink our eyes or breathe, it is to beep the horn!! The beeping starts at 5:30 in the morning and continues until sundown. And the traffic is everything they say it is, although theres such a chaotic ORDER to it, I'm sure you have to be born there to be able to pick up on it.

Anyways i was soon able to navigate the roadways safely, and you should be happy to know that i have now cured my fear of jaywalking completely. I don't remember much of Ho Chi Ming City except for the thunderstorms and the insane traffic. Needless to say it was not my favorite city. But we did have some amazing Pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) so all was not lost. Next we went onto Nha Trang via a quite lovely overnight train. Nha Trang was right on the beach and we were all so excited to see the ocean once again. It was actually a very beautiful place, where we swam and relaxed for a few days. We had an insane Aussie man as our local guide, he fulfilled every Australian stereotype i have ever heard about and was absolutely hilarious!! We were there during the Vietnamese "Independance Day" so everyone was celebrating. He and his wife took us to a gorgeous beach outside of Nha Trang, absolutely packed with celebrating Vietnamese where they fed us loads of Vietnamese beer and rice vodka, cooked us a seafood BBQ and taught us the phrase "moy..noy..bai...HO!!" (the cheer before you drink..keep in mind I am 100% positive I have remebered it incorrectly, but you get the gist)

From there we went to Hoi An, which was a beautiful little town along a riverside. All the buildings were heritage buildings (in the old town anyways) and the streets cobblestone..it felt very European (or so a group member told me, I've never been). We got more rain in Hoi An but most people spent the entire time inside the tailor shops, designing their own clothes and having them made by hand. I held out for the first day (what do I need a tailored suit for? I'm no professional. obviously i dont have a job) but by the end of the second day I was ogling dresses left and right. Eventually I ended up having a pair of pants made (very funky blue silk vietnamese style pants that i probably wont ever wear) and a beautiful dress! so much fun...

We moved furthur up the coast on the NASTIEST train in existance...i prefer not to remember it, although i'm afraid my nose will never forget that smell. We went to Hue, a city completely unremarkable. Not sure why we even bothered to go there. I really have nothing of interest to say about it. Then we went by bus (i think, the memories get garbled) to Ha Long Bay which was SPECTACULAR!! If you've never heard of it, look it up. Its one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. We spent a wonderful afternoon sailing around the islands, eating a glorious seafoood buffet and snapping loads of pictures. I even went for a swim, theres a great picture of me mid-jump off the boat (sorry, you'll have to wait until i get home to see it). And then at night we stayed in Ha Long Bay City in a hotel with an awesome view of the bay.

After that it was back to the big city - Ha noi. The second largest city in Vietnam. Another loud, busy, pushy, insane city. Some people like this sort of thing. I do not. We spent 3 nights here and went to a traditional water puppet play, which was fun. On the third morning, the group was finished. I said goodbye to all my friends and bravely soldiered on alone. I spent one more day walking along the same route from lake to hotel so that i wouldnt get lost, mailed a package and some postcards and then said "I gotta get the hell outta here!!" And early the next morning (I was up at 4:30 am) I jumped in a cab and took a magical one hour flight to the gorgeous, laid-back, underrated little country that is Laos.

Thats all for this episode folks. I'll try to make some time in the next few days to write about Laos. I am coming home soon, only a few more weeks and I am getting excited if you can believe it!! But first, the Thai islands for some diving (wish me luck) and beach-lounging before I go. Save the best for last!!! Love you all and hope everyone is doing well!! Take care of yourselves!!
xoxoxo

Jamie

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