Vietnam definitely caught me at the right time. After
traveling off and (mostly) on for the past 10 months I definitely hit that
lull. Missing people and life back home more than my desire to see the world
around me left me with a huge amount of anxiety. I have done a lot in Vietnam
this past month and am going to leave out a lot of details for the sake of
time. Vietnam culture is pretty intense, reminds me somewhat of India.. you
can’t seem to escape it but with more Western influence in the South. Vietnam
is similar to the rest of SE Asia but more independent and obviously affected
by years of fighting and a struggle for identity, which at times makes the
people slightly more abrasive and unpredictable.
After having our plans of taking the bus across the border
from Laos and train up to Hanoi fall through we found a sleeper bus straight
there and boarded late at night in Phonsavan. After an uneventful, but long,
border crossing we made it to Hanoi,
“the scooter capital of the world” as I like referred to it (at least until I
got to Saigon that is!). Hanoi is a city rich in culture and about as crowded a
place as I can remember. Not that there are so many people necessarily but the
scooters and narrow roads leave you feeling quite claustrophobic. Kelli’s birthday was May 7th so we
properly celebrated it while joining up with Tim (Aussie) and Alex (Canadian)
who we met in Laos and our buddy Ed (from Denver) who will be with us until the
end of May. We stayed at Hanoi Backpackers, which I highly recommend if you are looking to meet
fellow backpackers and enjoy the city. Some of my highlights of Hanoi were the
prison, or Hanoi Hilton as it is referred to, the Vietnam War Museum, a seedy but
amazingly cheap water park (just $6!), the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (where the
flying communist flags eerily waved overhead), and of course the Lake which we
walked by daily.
Our first of two 3-day excursions took us to Halong Bay. Located about 4 hours
east of Hanoi, Halong Bay is a series of islands with stark rock formations and
blue waters, not to mention tons of boats carrying tourists! Our boat trip was
organized through the hostel and was really quite fun but overpriced. We
sea-kayaked to explore a cave, dove into the water off the top of our boat,
went to a private island where I rock climbed, went water tubing, and played on
the beach. Although Halong Bay was
beautiful it was also a bit polluted at the same time. Glancing 30 yards in the
distance you see the beautiful landscape of the protruding rock and blue water
but looking directly below, you find dirtier than expected water and jellyfish
all over. All in all, it was a good trip
that I give 3.5 stars out of 5.0.
My favorite place so far in SE Asia was Sapa. I truly could write forever on the views of rice
fields in the mountains, interacting with the local tribes, and playing with precious
children we met along the way. However, I will focus on just one woman that
touched my group and made my trip there. Standing at about 4’9,” Churchill, as
she goes by to us Westerners, immediately caught my eye. Dressed in her
traditional navy blue robe and flat black hat she approached Tim and I while we
were withdrawing money from an ATM, a clever place I thought to catch us with
our hands full of cash as she was trying to sell her hand sewn bags and other
items to us. Like many Hmong women in her village Churchill worked in the rice
fields for years but whenever she became proficient enough with the English
language started taking the 18 mile round trip trek into Sapa every day to make
money for her family (which we were told was just $50 a year). At first we
tried to ignore Churchill but her infectious smile and ever present “I’ll follow you forever” phrase eventually snagged
us. Our group decided to do a 2-day trek from Sapa to various villages and stay
in the homes with the local people and many Hmong women followed us, in an
attempt to hopefully build a rapport with one of us and sell something. I,
being cheap as I am, had made up my mind that if I bought from anyone it would
be Churchill. So, after the two days passed I came back and bought one of
Churchill’s bracelets gave her some snacks and food I bought from the market;
she seemed very appreciative. The following day we decided to rent motorbikes
and ride through the villages ourselves for Ed’s birthday (a little ‘man-day’
if you will). Wanting someone to guide us we decided to take Churchill and I
being the smallest took her on the back of my scooter up down the winding rocky
roads with her right behind me all the way. What a brilliant day of planting
rice with local farmers, exploring a cave with our tiny elderly friend, and
experiencing as much culture as one could in a day. Sapa to me was more than
just a beautiful place. It was even more than just the pure authentic culture I
finally had been longing to experience on this trip. In Churchill I saw a joy
for life and openness with us foreigners that I had yet to see. Initially, she wanted to make a sell to us
but after days spent befriending her she appeared so much more excited to share
her life with us. In the end Churchill
made about $40 off our group I’d say and ate meals in restaurants overlooking
the valley in places she had only dreamed about. If you are ever in Sapa perhaps you will find
this new found friend of mine.
We took a sleeper bus back to Hanoi and then began making
our way down south to Saigon. Compared to Sapa and Halong Bay the trips along
the way really do seem fairly uneventful. The format for traveling south is to
purchase an open bus ticket with a certain number of stops and then check-in
for the bus on the day you are ready to take off to the next tourist town. Our
first stop was Hue, a small city in Central Vietnam best known for the
Citadel it has there. We rented
motorbikes and explored the town for just one day and also got our first taste
of the beach in about 6 weeks. Next up was Hoi An,
a popular place to purchase tailored suits and jackets, also with nice beaches
and a really fun old town city center. I finally started exercising again here
and went for a couple of runs. Anyone that knows me knows my commitment to
mental, emotional, and spiritual health. It really is remarkable what not
exercising for 2 months did to my mind. Thanks to superior Preast genetics, I
never deal with gaining weight or looking any different when I travel, but
mentally and emotionally I was beat after two months of it. Needless to say,
I’m approaching normal again and stoked about summertime in Denver!. Our final
stop before Saigon was Nha Trang,
a beautiful coastal city 10 hours to the North. Here we went to an
amusement/arcade/aquarium/water park that was one of the most fun things I’ve
done on this trip. A day (or two for some of my group) of scuba diving and
snorkeling, and another day exploring the city by bike made Nha Trang my
favorite stop.
After all the time on the road it was nice to finally reach Saigon. The largest city in Vietnam
and quite literally the “scooter capital of the world.” (I wish it was possible
to effectively describe the madness there!). We went to the Cu Chi tunnels up
north our first and visited a large Cao Dai temple. I really enjoy war history
and exploring other religions so Vietnam has been the perfect place for me on
this trip. We also celebrated Tim’s birthday whose falls just a few days before
mine (out of our group of six, five of us have May or June birthdays!). I’d
feel bad if I didn’t mention the Lofi Inn Saigon,
our hostel. It is just getting started up under Vietnam management and was a
‘pretty neat’ place to stay, check out their website/Facebook page and see if
you can find any pictures of me! I wish we had more time in Saigon but with Ed
leaving on the 31st and expiring Visas we had to get moving towards
Cambodia.
For the entirety of Vietnam it has been Ryan, Kelli, Ed, Tim,
Alex and a few others and as always the people I have met along the way truly
have made this trip. I am sad to be ending my travels for a while but am ready
to come home and see my friends and family. Bringing back normalcy into my life
is such a desire of mine right now, just 3 weeks left!
Adios,
Bryan
The girls in traditional clothing
Bryan
Bridge in Hanoi
Communist Flags in Hanoi
Halong Bay
Trekking in Sapa
Our trekking guide Lee
Tim climbing on a water buffalo
Churchill and I
Hmong Women
Red Zao women with Ed
Planting Rice
The girls in traditional clothing
Temples in Nha Trang
Cu chi tunnel hiding spot
People praying at the temple
