We started out in Hanoi. Hanoi was very cool. The whole Indochine-feel and architecture. Great! There were many little squares with nice café's (where baguettes and café au lait is served). The beautiful houses, colonial buildings and the cutest courtyards was something that amazed me.
The streetfood is something else. Supposedly fantastic. This was a bit of a challenge for me, since I'm 'a difficult eater'. I just don't like bits and pieces in my food.
And yes, dogmeat is a favorite dish. I've seen it on the menu; I saw a man drag a dog to some alley (with a stick in his hand), but I haven't seen a dead dog or eaten it. I. Would. Never.
We stayed in a 'boutique-hotel'. Sounds impressive, right? Well. We learned that the term 'boutique' has found it's way in this part of the world. A tiny hotel with an extra bouquet of flowers and chandelier in the lobby calls itself boutique. Cute.
But, the staff was the best. They were helpfull to the max. Sometimes we were in doubt if it was genuine, thát helpfull. But, yeah, they were really cool!
The downside? The traffic, in my opinion. It was very dense and crazy. Never have I seen so many motorcycles in one square meter. Somehow you get used to it. To be honest, it was pretty cool to sit on the side of the street, or on a terrace, and sip on a local coffee or fresh beer and watch the crazy traffic go by.
After a couple of days it was time for our first trip. Halong Bay. We went on an organized tour. There was, supposedly, no other way in doing this.
The scenery was stunning, but it was very very very touristic. Oh well.
We spent the night on a boat (a boutique-boat). Ha ha ha!
We were served delicious food, lots of it and many times.
The other guests/travellers were very nice. People from Holland ( 'we' are everywhere, amazing!), New Zealand, Australia and Argentina.
Halong Bay is an archipelago, an area with hundreds of tiny islands that stand out really tall in an emerald sea. Beautiful.
After that we went up North, to Sapa, by means of the nighttrain. We had a compartment coach with 4 beds and A/C. Soviet-luxury. It wasn't very bad. I actually loved it. I watched the jungles, lakes and little houses pass by, in the moonlight. It was actually a pretty romantic sight. I was seeing all this from the comfort of a bed with a duvet and a fiercely blowing A/C-unit.
We spent two days in Sapa. This is a place way up North, next to the border with China. A lot of indigenous people live here. Most of the tribes still live by their old beliefs and traditions. Most of these people are dressed in their traditional clothes. It was a lovely sight. All those costumes are handmade and many of their outfits took months to make.
We did a trekking with a local guide. A girl from the Red Dzao-tribe. Her name was Pame and she was 24 years old. Married since she was 18 years old and blessed with a 3 year old child. She explained that most of the marriages are arranged and that the average age of the bride and groom is 16.
We actually went to a marriage-fest! Our guide was invited and asked us if we didn't mind coming along for awhile. Ofcourse not! We felt like anthropoligists for a split second, there!
So. Halfway during the trekking we had to cross A LOT of ricefields in the sizzling heat to reach the village where the wedding was being celebrated.
When we arrived we saw: the pig that survived the feast, dogs everywhere (problably survivors as well) , some men vomiting and quite a few men that were passed out.
We were led to a table next to a shed (where The Elder Men were busy passing out, due to the rice wine).
First things first. Food and drinks. Porc, rice, morningglory and rice wine. Actually it was more like bio-gasoline, I reckon 50% alcohol. To the bride and groom! (i took fake sips...)
After an hour or so we had some food, (fake) toasts and after that were excused and continued the trekking.
Sapa is highly recommendable!
Back to Hanoi, to the airport to fly to Hoi An.
My Vietnam-highlight, without a doubt, Hoi An.
We stayed quite some time here. With good reason. It is the best! The cultural & architectural heritage survived the many wars Vietnam has suffered. This town has it all. History, the cutest old town and many culinary highlights, a dish I couldn't get enough of: White rose. Dumplings filled with a shrimp-mousse. A secret recipe, only 1 family in Hoi An knows how to prepare it. It has quite a lot of lovely café's, beautiful beaches and around 500 tailors! Yes! The only town in the world with that many tailors. Ofcourse we couldn't resist and had heaps of clothes made ( I left Amsterdam with 12kgs and came back with 20kgs. I rest my case). A lot of the stuff I had made is already in the garbagebin. But! One piece stood out from the rest, a sleeveless motorstyle-jacket, that is a favorite piece in my wardrobe at this moment.
It was time to go to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City).
A. Hysterical. Place.
We saw some highlights; the war remnants museum, markets, etc.
From there we did the coolest thing. A trip on vintage Vespa's through the Mekong Delta.
Sizzling hot. But such an adventure! So worth doing it. In many parts of this area life stood still. Life (seems) so simple, there.
After 2 and a half weeks in Vietnam we traveled to Bangkok and indulged in luxury, shopping, footmassages and culinary highlights ( thank God, I lost those vacation-kilo's again).
As mentioned before, more exploration to be done in that area. I can't wait.
May I say: I love Vietnam!
PS, my apologies for any misspellings, since I am writing this on my ipad and via a crappy blog-app. Double troubleI. I'm sure I will edit it in the near future.
Also the pics. All mixed up. Pffffff.
So for now, bear with me. :-)
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