Vietnam 08.04.17 - 24.04.17

Goodbye Vietnam

The longest leg of our journey is complete, 3 months in Vietnam has come to a close. It's hard to sum up this vast and wonderfully diverse country, the sheer amount of land we've covered, people we've met and climates we've experienced. The dramatic shifts in landscape are purely magnificent and the variation in culture is just fascinating. Vietnam is united by pride and hardened but still recovering from decades of war and suffering, and that was very present in everyone and everything we encountered. It's a incredible country that I would highly recommend spending any amount of time in. Xin Ciao for now, see you again sometime...

10 best images from 3 months in Vietnam:

Saigon 18.04.17 - 24.04.17

SAIGON 

Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh City), the former capital of South Vietnam is now known as the business capital of Vietnam. You can see why as you wander through it's mix of high rise modern buildings and busy coffee pitstops fuelling the daily grind. On paper it doesn't sound like my cup of tea at all. However, we thoroughly enjoyed exploring the city's many Shoreditch style eateries, markets and quirky second-hand shops. We stayed a short drive away from the city centre which ended up being a great choice of location. It felt very 'student-y', reminding us of some of Bristol's lovely inner city areas like Gloucester Road and Old Market (if we ignored the 1,000 mopeds and animals being butchered on the side of the street). As our last stop in Vietnam we had plenty to compare Saigon to. It was by far the most developed city, educationally as well; we met many locals with near perfect English. The big question is of course Hanoi or Saigon? I've thought a lot about this, Vietnam is the first place I could see us living in and so this question might need a definite answer one day! For me Hanoi came out tops for the few long weekends we stayed, however I feel Saigon is somewhere I could really see us settling (not forever, don't panic Mum!). It's a lot like London in that when spending a few days there can feel very big, busy and frustratingly hard to navigate. However I can imagine these aspects are all positives if you are a resident; there's a possibility you could be discovering new back streets full of unique restaurants, bars or shops every weekend for months, and that is an exciting thought. 

Here's our 6 days in the city in ten photographs... 

Poem

Air beats in abstract rhythms against my cheeks 
Streams of green swirl by either side like psychedelic blinkers 
Horns bleep and my heart leaps 
But all that hits us is the hot smell of rubber as the lorry moves slowly past

The blue peeps through and the tips tops are gleaming 
But we are climbing
Coat gripped snugly under my chin I look down and see toy towns 
A borrowers world amidst a giants land, soon the descent 

Waves of glistening green tessellate
Three dimensional fingerprints identify the nation 
Cascading in liquefying motion  
We too move downwards

At last flat land rolls out in front of us 
From a dot on the mountains crest to two sore thumbs, aliens from the west
A team of rosy cheeked school children hop skip jump and wave 
Two cocks fight in a cage and a woman carries far more than she should for her age 

Culture
Raw honest extraordinary culture washes over us in welcoming waves 
Heart rates slow, shoulders drop and ears pop
As finally we slow to a stop.

- Lucy Atkins

Daily Diary 30.03.17 - 18.04.17

Daily notes from the second leg of our Vietnamese motorbike tour, Hanoi - Sagon (most recent first!) ... 

• 18.04.17 Dalat - Saigon (290km, 6 hours, +50,000 VND petrol) // Notes - WE DID IT! One last (very big) push and our motorbike tour of this incredible country has come to an end. Longest ride, worst rain storm and the worst traffic on the way into the city, but now we are resting our bums and reminiscing about the adventures of the past 6 weeks spent on the road. Final stats blog post coming soon. WOO! 
• 16.04.17 Nha Trang - Dalat (142km, 3.5 hours, +50,000 VND petrol) // Notes - We are a day behind schedule as Dod was very poorly in Nha Trang, but today we made it back on the road for our last mountainous ride. Nearly all up hill and many scary lorries but we arrived unscathed, although very tired. Only one ride to go, but first time to explore the beautiful Dalat!
• 13.04.17 Nhon Hai - Nha Trang (239km, 5.5 hours, +100,000 VND petrol) // Notes - Longest ride yet today, but felt nice and easy as roads clear and fast. Arrived in Nha Trang with plans to stay 2 nights. 
• 11.04.17 Sa Huynh - Nhon Hai Beach Hostel (128km, 3 hours, +40,000 VND petrol) Gorgous ride along the coast. Really felt the drastic differences between landscapes in this incredible country. From flat roads running alongside the sandy beaches to winding mountain side roads looking over steep drops to the ocean we had it all. Originally we stopped at what was marked as a campsite on our map but after speaking to five people working at the resort and frantically pointing at the tent and grass all we got was 'no'. So we moved onto a small fishing town about 30km along called Nhon Hai. Luckily there is one hostel right on the beach offering cheap dorm rooms (the beach is too busy with fisherman to camp!). We've woken up this morning and decided to stay an extra night as it's so peaceful and beautiful! I've already read an entire book, written one blog post and started the next since we arrived at 1 o'clock yesterday. No pressure feels good after a few long days on the road.
• 10.04.17 Tam Thanh - Sa Huynh (122km, 2.5 hours, +50,000 VND petrol) // Notes - Spent the morning walking around a local fishing village full of street art, so beautiful! Then back on the road around 10am. Scorcher today, was a struggle on highway 1 for the first hour or so as lots of big lorries steaming through don't help with the heat. Better after some lunch and a few ice teas! Stopped in a guesthouse for the night near the beach as in need of a shower! 
• 09.04.17 Hoi An - Tam Thanh (60km, 1.5 hours) // Notes - Lovely ride along the coast today. Arrived in a small fishing village and found a kind man who will let us set up our tent for free outside his hostel - so we have some shade this time! It's intensely hot now, such a contrast from the last 2 months. Having to apply factor 50 whilst on the bike, Dod's watch tan line is hilarious!! 
• 07.04.17 Danang - Hoi An (29km, 45 minutes, +50,000 VND petrol) // Notes - Just a little way along the coast today to the hand made city, time for some tailoring! Staying here for a few nights as Dod has ordered a suit and me a dress for weddings come up this summer. Also right on the beach so time to top of the tan!
• 06.04.17 Hue - Danang (98km, 2 hours, +50,000 VND petrol (for an emergency litre s the top of the mountain!)) // Notes - Wow. The Hai Van Pass was breathtaking. 19 kilometres of road that winds around a fortress of mountains, and provides scenery I can't begin to describe! Photos don't cut it either. Definate change in the climate here, the coat is finally off and being used as a pillow for my sore bum. Also we found somewhere to camp! Guerilla camping sesh no.1 complete. After paying a lady in a roadside restaurant 30,000 Dong to look after our bike we trekked down to a small stretch of beach and set up camp for the evening. Waking up this morning was glorious, reminded me of our desert adventure in India plus the roaring ocean waves. 
• 04.04.17 Cua Trung - Hue (105km, 2 hours, +50,000 VND petrol) // Notes - Ahh coastal roads at last! Well, half coastal half highway 1 but the sun was shining and that's all that matters after 4 days of rain. Staying in Hue for 2 nights as it's a fairly large city (the former capital!) so lots to see. 
• 03.04.17 Phong Nha - Cua Tung (122km, 2 hours, +50,000 VND petrol) // Notes - Started the day in the Paradise Cave which was incredible!! Then back on the bike in the bloody rain! We gave in and purchased 2 of those ridiculous ponchos that go right down to the floor in an attempt to keep our legs dry (& in the hope that the rain would typically stop and we wouldn't need them). We needed them. Only a short drive today though, stopped in a small seaside town tonight to go and see some wartime tunnels tomorrow morning. Had the best fish of my life for dinner! Still no camping in this weather, pretty stormy and don't think the £25 tent would hold up. 
• 02.04.17 Pho Chau - Phong Nha (203km, 5 hours, +50,000 VND petrol) // Notes - Oooh bums are hurting today! And we are very soggy, again. When will be meet the sunshine?! Stayed dry for the first bit but we were hit by rain for a few hours midway through. Also did my first bit of driving since the fall in Thailand! Going to try and do a small amount each day when the roads are flat & quiet to build my confidence.
• 01.04.17 Nong Cong - Pho Chau (193km, 5 hours, +50,000 VND petrol) // Notes - Started the day with a walk around Ben En national park which was stunning. We saw some wild hogs and I nearly walked into a poisonous spider's web!! Then embarked on a very long one, though this time on a much nicer roads. 
• 31.03.17 Ninh Binh - Nong Cong (89km, 2 hours) // Notes - Rain bloody rain! Horrible drive on highway 1 so busy roads and the rain made it 10 x harder. We made it though, very soggy & dirty but found a cheap hotel to clean ourselves up in. No chance we are camping tonight!   
• 30.03.17 Hanoi - Ninh Binh (95km, 2 hours, +40,000 VND petrol) // Notes - Had to brave the Hanoi traffic for the third and final time, well done Dod for keeping it cool! On the highway all the way today so fairly speedy ride. Temperature already feeling slightly warmer but still so gloomy. In a guest house tonight as fairly big city so no camp-able grass, hopefully will be pitching tomorrow night!

Central Vietnam: Highlights 03.04.17 - 13.04.17

Paradise Cave

We visited the Paradise Cave from Phong Nha, a developing town fast becoming popular amongst travellers. The town itself is pretty average, baring in mind we visited when it was very grey and rainy so spent most of our time was inside the warmth of backpacker cafes. The cave on the other hand was absolutely spectacular. I'm not a cave enthusiast, and I don't know any technical terms other than stalagmite and stalactite so I'm not going to try and describe it to you; I'll let imagery to the talking instead:

The Mural Village  

Tam Thanh is a village right on the coast of central Vietnam. For us the town was only a short pitstop, somewhere we could pitch our tent and leave early the next morning. We were pleasantly surprised to pass through 'The Mural Village' on our way to the campsite and decided to pay a visit the following morning before leaving for the next leg of our journey. Placed roughly half way through the village the welcoming mural reads: "Tam Thanh Mural Village | Vietnam - Korea Joint Project: Art for a Better Community". Surrounding this are artworks of all sizes and styles painted loud and proud onto the sides of houses, hair dressers and village shops. The place is alive with colour, and true to their word the village feels united by it.

The works (some of which you can see below) are reflective of local people and culture, you can read more about this and the link to Korea here: 
hoiannow.com/tam-thanh-mural-village-art-better-community

Nhon Hai Beach

Nhon Hai is a small fishing town based predominantly around its extraordinary stretch of beach. For me it felt like a creatives' paradise, a place where there's nothing to do except be inspired by your surroundings. We arrived in Nhon Hai at 1pm on Tuesday with plans to leave early the following morning, but as we sat reading, writing and munching fresh fruit to the sound of the ocean we decided to book in for another night and let the feeling of no pressure translate into productivity. During our 1 1/2 day stay I read an entire book, wrote nearly 3 blog posts and collated and edited 2 sets of images!

A bit about Nhon Hai:
For me the the identity of the village is in the dozens of blue kitsch-y fishing boats that sit rocking on the ocean's surface, and the simple woven basket boats dotted along the shore used by fishermen to row out to their boats at sea. Other than the hostel (Nhon Hai Beach Hostel) there really is nothing else that caters for tourists in Nhon Hai and so residents are still getting used to the site of westerners. Walking along the beach at various points in the day brings some beautifully raw cultural sights; at 8am we saw around 30 locals hawling a giant raft made from wood and plastic tanks into the ocean, at midday a group of ladies sitting under a tarpaulin tent ripping up old nets and using the good bits to sew new ones and at 4pm dozens of kids playing football together using bamboo sticks for goal posts.

Hanoi, a love letter

A (well overdue) love letter to Hanoi 

After spending so long in the rural areas of Laos and our first week in Vietnam in the suburban parts of the country we were well over due that city buzz feeling. When we first arrived in Hanoi the hustle and bustle was like heaven to me; the last time I had that feeling was when I first moved to Manchester 4 years ago. From back alley shabby chic coffee shops, to affordable boutique style clothes shops, and - the best part - live music venues we felt able to identify ourselves within the city in no time at all. It actually made me pretty homesick as we were spending our time in a similar way to how we would back in Bristol or Manchester, minus our wonderful friends. Exploring arty back alleys lined with quirky shops, sitting off in the sunshine down by the water and seeking out a decent bar with live music as the sun sets. Hanoi was also our first real introduction to Vietnamese foods like pho and bun cha, and the incredibly low prices they come at! Every corner of Hanoi's streets is jam packed with happenings you feel urged to get involved in, and if you get the chance to look up from these bustling streets you'll see the overlooking rustic Parisian style apartments that give the place a sense of stylish chic. We first found it funny, and then extremely helpful that shops selling the same product are all placed along the same street, so for example you have sunglasses street, ceramics street, stainless steel street and shoe street. Although amusing this helped us to learn the city like the back of our hand. There's definitely something romantic about being able to comfortably navigate a city that's not your own. We also enjoyed the cultural side of the city wondering through beautifully curated exhibitions at The Woman's Museum, The Vietnam Fine Arts Museum and The Ho Chi Minh Museum as well as the very beautiful and ancient Temple of Literature. We were more than happy to be returning to Hanoi 5 times all in all, it was our to-and-fro base whilst we stayed and Everest and then visited the north. We both agreed that Hanoi was like an affordable Paris & London for us. A capital city bursting with activity and creative drive, but without the expensive price tag attached. I can't wait until the day we return, perhaps for longer next time...

Photos 04.03.17 - 28.04.17

Ten photographs from our traditonal experiences (North Vietnam)

See blog post to match 'Three traditional experiences' -->

The Wedding

 

 

Tranh Hung Dao Pagoda 

Nam My Van Homestay, Thai Nugyen