I love Vietnam.
I started with the north and landed in Hanoi. Make sure to stay in the old quarters. There's so much character there. The traffic is best termed "organized chaos". Do not hesitate when you cross the road, in fact I recommend you to cross blind folded and I can bet you 9 out of 10 you'll make it across in 1 piece as traffic will go around you!
Make sure to walk to the lake just outside the vicinity of the old quarters. There is just so much to see. Taste the street food and do not miss the fresh rolls, drip coffee and their bia hoi (local beer). That makes Vietnam!
We then made our way east ward to the next town Mai Chau by motorbike. There's no way to travel other than the local way! It took about 4 hours but the views were worth the effort! However, food was a bit of a challenge as the only store that was open had no menu in English and we ended up with a whole very cold dry chicken and beer. It was hard to get that down, so we made a vow to only point at vegetables and eggs from that point onwards.
Another night at an unknown town, 2 flat tires and a little wrong turn, we eventually made our way up to Sapa, North of Vietnam. Not without getting a little lost but the locals were really amazing. Language is no barrier at all. The road map helped though. Luckily the national highway is a single lane road, so it was pretty straightforward.
Sapa is an amazing vibrant little town. I loved walking through the wet markets and the craft markets. It was never-ending. There was always a little alley around the corner to explore and a tiny street where someone would beckon you to check out. This town has character. They also sold a lot of good quality snow jackets, hiking attires, backpacks which you could bargain down to half the offered price (or more even if you're really good at it).
Leaving Sapa was hard but next on was Halong Bay. I was excited to stay on the junk boat.
It was nice for once to get off the bike and just relax on the junk and read. The weather was calm and left me feeling so serene and peaceful after all the honking on the road (it was the Vietnamese way of saying hi!). Accommodation on the junk included all meals, kayaking, a visit to the cave and also to a floating fisherman village. Nights of course was filled with out-of-tune drunken karaoke sessions!
We then made our way down to Historical Hue. It was fun exploring all the tombs and palace of the olden empire. The king apparently had 100 over wives!
That night we were in town and there was a huge football match between Vietnam & Malaysia. Just my luck that I was the only Malaysian in the restaurant. Everyone there was welcoming and even invited us for dinner with them. Malaysia won by 1 very lucky shot and I actually felt a little bad. However, everyone was such good sport they made me wear a Vietnam bandana the whole night! =)
The next day we crossed over to Laos , Savannaket.
I started with the north and landed in Hanoi. Make sure to stay in the old quarters. There's so much character there. The traffic is best termed "organized chaos". Do not hesitate when you cross the road, in fact I recommend you to cross blind folded and I can bet you 9 out of 10 you'll make it across in 1 piece as traffic will go around you!
Make sure to walk to the lake just outside the vicinity of the old quarters. There is just so much to see. Taste the street food and do not miss the fresh rolls, drip coffee and their bia hoi (local beer). That makes Vietnam!
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Sapa is an amazing vibrant little town. I loved walking through the wet markets and the craft markets. It was never-ending. There was always a little alley around the corner to explore and a tiny street where someone would beckon you to check out. This town has character. They also sold a lot of good quality snow jackets, hiking attires, backpacks which you could bargain down to half the offered price (or more even if you're really good at it).
Leaving Sapa was hard but next on was Halong Bay. I was excited to stay on the junk boat.
We then made our way down to Historical Hue. It was fun exploring all the tombs and palace of the olden empire. The king apparently had 100 over wives!
That night we were in town and there was a huge football match between Vietnam & Malaysia. Just my luck that I was the only Malaysian in the restaurant. Everyone there was welcoming and even invited us for dinner with them. Malaysia won by 1 very lucky shot and I actually felt a little bad. However, everyone was such good sport they made me wear a Vietnam bandana the whole night! =)
The next day we crossed over to Laos , Savannaket.
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