Beyond a page...: My Month in Nam'

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 7^th 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 31^st 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