I'm 9ish days into my adventure and everything is going well. So far we have visited a few different places in Vietnam and it has been quite the experience. We havent had too many chances to get the internet, so now that I have it I will do a brief highlight reel of my thoughts and experiences in the different places as well as a little background info...
Hanoi...the capital of Vietnam, a pretty big city (about 6 million), in the north. some words to describe it...1. motorbikes-so many you wouldnt believe. zooming everywhere. you can't escape them. crossing the street is pure madness. 2. foreigners-there were so many tourists there, there are still so many tourists. it has been a long long time since i have seen this many white people. but it is frustrating being treated like a western tourist. i am not on the same budget as they are and in a lot of ways dont think the same way because of my time in China, just small stuff, but noticable none the less and a pain on my pocketbook. i went to bed exhausted because i had to argue for decent prices all day long. it actually made me glad that guiyang doesnt have much of a western presence. 3. coffee-vietnam has some powerful and amazing coffee, i think i have had some everyday i have been here...good stuff.
Halong Bay...in Northwest Vietnam on the South China Sea. Over 5000 limestone islands. Just beautiful. some words... 1. boats-we slept on a boat one night and cruised a couple afternoons on a boat. there were so many boats and tourists, but you didnt notice when we were moving. the boat wasnt too nice, but it was nice enough. 2. mice-jen and susie had some food that was eaten by mice in there room on the boat (or maybe rats), but I am thankful i didnt run into any. 3. kayaking-went kayaking for 40 minutes, a little disappointing, i would have liked to go all day, but that wasnt part of the tour. 4. Cat Ba Island-stayed on this island for a night, a nice quiet break from hanoi, it was beautiful, felt like i was in Jurassic Park-minus the dinosaurs. 5. $45-the cost of the 3 day/2 night tour 6. 100+ Pictures-number of pictures i took from the top of the boat of the bay around me, it was amazing, just epic. pictures and word can't describe.
Hue...in the middle of Vietnam. historic capital. some words...1. sleeper bus-second sleeper bus of the trip, much better than the first, but at the same time not. i took a middle bed and found myself crunched, literally. i woke up every 45 minutes after having my body scream at me in pain. i found out at 5 am that the other beds were longer and had totally gotten the short end of the deal. oh well, i was rested enough. 2. the citadel-just cruised around the ancient walled portion of the city looking at older sites, laid back, nothing too exciting, only stayed 24 hours
Hoi An...120 km south of Hue. Coastal town with river. some words... 1. Tailors-tons of them here. you can get ANYTHING made. if i a.) needed a suit b.) had a place to put a suit c.) wanted to pay the $50 for a suit... i would get a really nice suit made. but instead i think i am going to opt out for some man capris...yeah...i just feel like i should fit in with all of the european tourists traveling through vietnam. 2. my current location-i am here now, for a few days. there is a beach i am hoping to bike to tomorrow. it was rainy today though, so hopefully tomorrow is better.
Some side notes...i havent been too impressed with the food, it is all kind of bland. i am used the the spice of guizhou. i havent paid over $4 a night for lodging. we have gotten some deals. it has been a cheaper part of the trip. i am not sure where jen and susie are right now. i left them roughly three blocks from the hotel about an hour ago and they have yet to show up, even though i feel like they should have finished at the tailors 40 minutes ago. i am going to look for them. thus, more updates later.
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