Vietnam

Wow, it's been 4 months since I took my trip to Vietnam and I am finally posting this blog. Seeing as I have a horrendous memory, I will try to do my best to try and recall what I did for my week in the North of Vietnam. I was traveling on my own again (first time since my lame-o experience in Thailand) and it ended up being one of the best solo trips I’ve ever done.

While waiting at the airport to check into my flight to Hanoi, a guy walked past and made a comment about my t-shirt… something like ‘Algonquin Park, right on’ and strode away. It wasn’t until we were boarding our flight that I realized – I know this guy! It’s Les, a fellow Canadian teaching at Taylors college down the way from my school! Sure enough, it was Les and for the next 4 days he was my travel buddy. We met up with his friends Julie and Jeff who were treeplanters in the summer and travelers in the winter (man, I love Canadians). To make things even more interesting, Julie and Les randomly knew Jen Curtis (a friend from back home) from their days working at the Tim Horton’s camps. I say once, I’ll say it again – the world is a small place!

Our little group of 4 wandered around Hanoi, went for dinner and beers at the secret bar locations (all restaurants & bars close at 12 in Hanoi… it is virtually a ghost town. However, behind closed doors, there are several bars that secretly stay open and we managed to stumble upon (and stumble to and from) some of them). Hanoi was a fantastic city – one of my favorite big cities in Asia so far. There wasn’t anything in particular to do there, but just watching the daily life, walking around the Hoan Kiem Lake & the Old Quarter was exciting enough.

After a few days in Hanoi, our group went on a tour leading us through one of the most scenic and well-known UNESCO World Heritage sights – Halong Bay. Here we boarded a boat which took us sailing through some of the 1600 islands and islets which form the dramatic limestone pillars. It was truly remarkable and one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen in my life. We were out on the boat all day and had a beer in our hands when the sun set so stunningly behind the limestone karsts. That night we stayed on a private island with only our boat group, great food and a karoke machine for our pleasure. It was an enjoyable time spent with great people.

The next day I left Julie, Jeff & Les to spend a day on Cat Ba Island (Halong Bay’s largest island) where I explored the island on bike. I really enjoy exploring places on a bicycle and it was a great way to slowly take in the scenery around me. We made it back to Hanoi and I immediately hopped on the night train which took my way far up to the northwestern part of Vietnam to an area called ‘Sapa’.

Sapa is a small town nestled in a valley of mountains, rice terraces, minority villages and all the trekking trails you can ever wish for. As you can imagine, I was drooling when I got there. The temperature is cooler than the rest of Vietnam and the scenery was stunning. It was a perfect place to explore on foot. I took several treks in different areas around Sapa, visiting some minority villages and waterfalls. Unfortunately Sapa has become incredibly touristy and the villagers have associated a white face with raising prices and an easy sell. You had to negotiate hard for items and villagers (including young children) would demand money for any photos that were taken. It was so different from my trip to India where all the people were genuinely interested in me and liked having their picture taken just so they could see it appear on the little screen. Despite these hassles, it was still a beautiful place and my time trekking there was one of my favorite parts of any trip I’ve ever taken.

Vietnam was a fantastic trip and now that I am reflecting on it 4 months later, I realize it was one of my most favorite trips I’ve ever done. The country is beautiful with its lively cities, stunning landscapes, and friendly people and I hope that I can return someday to explore it further.

Mom and Dad arrive in just a few days and will stay for almost a month.  I'm really excited to see them and to show them how fantastic Asia - especially Malaysia - really is.  We are going to Bali for Chinese New Year, then Chiang Mai to ring in my 29th (ouch!) birthday.  Watch out Asia - here come the Collins'! :)

Thanks for reading,

Jenn