Vietnam 16\17

Vietnam, one of my favourite countries on my world trip. Two years later, I decided to spent pretty much all the days I can get off from work to go there again, for almost 5 weeks. I somehow convinced a friend of mine from university to join me. We thought about India or Africa in the beginning, but Vietnam was our favourite.

On my last trip through Vietnam I did the area around Hanoi including the North and Halong Bay. Also I visited Saigon and sourroundings. This time we were about to go through it, from Saigon to Hanoi by motorbike, bus, train and what ever kind of public transportation there is.

Saigon changed just a little within two years: The backpackers area and partying street got bigger. The hotel looked the same as last time, ABC bakery was still there and offered a somehow German way of breakfast. Usually my second breakfast cause I didnt miss the hotel's breakfast as often as Moritz did. Moritz is his name by the way. I forgot to mention ;) He will get some other nickname later on.

One evening, after some partying (beer simply is too cheap here....), we walked to the hotel. And there was one thing I clearly remember from two years ago:

"One Dollar noodle, just one dollar. On dollar one Noodle"

She was still there! That lady and her little gasstove and her one dollar noodle with some greens and egg. Wow, I will never forget that. We had a lot of noodle, usually at night before going to bed. 

Despite that we wandered around in the city and Moritz got used to crossing the road, which indeed is different in Vietnam. But it is simple: Walk. Its like a hot knive going through butter. As long as you dont stop suddendly or go too fast everything is all right. Picture will proof the rest.

Two years ago I met Van, a german vietnamese guy visiting his aunt in Saigon. We drove to some Cu Chi tunnels and we were the only tourists there. This time is was different, loads of tourists were carried to this (different) location and I was told that all of it was a rebuild. They didnt show any original tunnels but the tourist version of it. I was a bit disappointed but at least Moritz was able to have a look at this very different and brutal kind of life.

In Can Tho we stayed in a pretty great hotel. It had a skybar and pool on the I think 12th floor. We also were able to get a two bed room (sleeping in a double bad in Vietnam with a male friend is not that usual there. Maybe thats why they treated us very well and smiled pretty often. We realized at the end of our trip). Therefor the bathroom was open, open in terms of a lot of glass that didnt cover that much. 

On day we got up at 5:00 in the morning to go on a 6 hour boat trip through the mekong rivers. That was the best tour we did on our whole trip! But remember to take enought money, we almost werent able to pay our food ;)

It is great to see how people life at and on the Mekong. It is so different from everything else, even different from the vietnamese countryside. Also the boats and other constructions are great to see, especially for an engineer.

The first ship we saw looked like it a sunken one. But we figured out that they somehow manage to put that much load on their ships, that the area you normally walk on is flooded but the ships dont sink. Sometimes they even used a water pump to keep the water out the cabin. 

Thats not sunk, it is loaded and balanced well.

Public transportation is part of the adventure in Vietnam. I met so many people arguing about the busses or trains in Vietnam. Hey guys, everbody knows that asian people are smaller and do you seriously think they would build special busses for tourists with bigger beds? No way...

On my last trip to Sapa I travelled by train, which was an adventure too. This time we mostly took sleeping busses. As usual beds are to small, sometimes your neighbour might be snooring all night but you get from A to B for almost no money. A 12 hour bus ride costs us 10$, a bargain. 

After a few more days in Saigon we took another great sleeping bus up to Mui Ne. Its a great area with beautiful beach for surfers, wind surfers and, as usual, beach parties. The small town offers a variety of seafood and as I read later in my Vietnam guide one of the most beautiful sunsets.

Moreover we found out that there is a police patrol on the way to the feamous dunes every day. They stop everybody on a motorbike to check the license, especially tourists of course. Moritz was driving for the first time and after 10 minutes of driving he was stopped right there. He was told that the police till seize the motorbike for a week and he has to pay 2 Mio (2Mio Dong of course which is around 80 Euros). Which is way to much. So I started bargain with the policeman, cause I do have a international motorbike license. We told him that we didnt know that this is a big scooter and what else we could do do handle this problem. We ended up paying, still way too much, 500.000 dong / 20€ and I was allowed to continue driving. 

Every other traveller we met was stopped in Mui Ne right there. So watch out and bargain. Usually you dont have to pay much more than 200.000. Put some money in another pocket and only keep around 200.000 in your wallet so you can show them that this is all you have. Usually works ;)

The dunes were pretty impressive, I didnt expect Vietnam to have dunes like that. Also we saw a big temple and some nice beaches on the way. Besides a graveyard we found a 100$ bill. Moritz thought that this would pay his fine but later we found out that this is giving to the people on funerals or other events as a gift. You give money, clothes and even phones and stuff to provide them a comfortable life in heaven or wherever they need those dowers.

Dalat is located in the highlands of Vietnam. On Christmas Day we took a bus from Mui Ne to Dalat. Which was two hours late and hat to climb up the steep road in first gear. Still it was a great ride even though we arrived in Dalat at around 7 in the evening. And different from what we were told, as usual, they didnt bring us to the hotel but the central bus station of the company. So dont worry, everytime you book a ticket they will tell you "of course, dropoff at hotel" but you will end up at some of theirs bureaus.

In Dalat we met Van and Wawa again. Two girls from Saigon where we crashed into Wawa's birthday way to late but had a great evening nevertheless. 

We learned that shops close early on christmas day, finding a good place to eat got a little bit harder then, cause we arrived that late. Anyway it was a great christmas evening including some gift exchange and hanging out with some locals in a great bar. 

One of the following days we drove to mountain Lang Biang for some hiking and we also found a canyon where they build stuff out of cement or what ever. Anyway it looks great, thats why I stop talking and pictures continue.

On our way to Hoi An we spent on night in Nha Thrang. It is a nice city with a biiiig beach, lots of bars and restaurants. To me nothing really special. We had some great burgers after some weeks of noodle and rice. They were amazing!

Hoi An was rainy but still a cozy city. No big buildings, food everywhere and the ancient town. Where you have to pay an entrance fee if you arent smart enought to find one of the small roads where no one will check you. So here is a tip: Dont pay the fee. I mean which city charges people to walk down the biggest shopping street? It is ridiculous. 

We tried some local food, Cao Lau which I can definitly recommend. I had 5 cao lau there, I think ;)

On New Years we enjoyed live music and the warmth and openness of the other travellers having a great evening. Definitly worth a visit, that cute city. And Moritz shows his serious face.

And something else is happening there: Vietnam becomes more and more touristic, which basically is a good thing. But there tend to be more scams, as some travellers told me. You get trips on terrible busses to tourist locations which are totally crowded. Sometimes you book a ticket and nobody shows up. You have to watch your belongings whenever you go out at night and even there, I have to admid, good looking girls try to get as much money out of your pocket as possible.

I am courious to see whether Vietnam is developing to a true tourist destination or if it will follow Thailands foodsteps becoming a place for drugs, sex and rock'n'roll.

Of course you have to differ between Hanoi and Saigon. In Saigon the party streets are open more or less 24/7 and no one cares about the closing hour. Hanoi is more controlled by the police even though the party continues behind closed doors, if you know where to go. 

Anyway, motorbike drivers at the side of the street usually adress you in this way: "Hey, you need a ride? Mariuaha? Cocaine? BumBum?". Maybe the order of the words change but at night on the street having money you can basically get everthing you want.

Please Vietnam, be carefull which way you choose to go the next years!

I also have to admit that steeling wasnt a problem for me. Not on this trip and not on my world trip. I think most of the hotels are safe, so I didnt hasitate to leave my equipment on the room and nothing happened. Thanks to booking.com, for sure there are fake reviews too, a hotel cant afford to have a negative reputation caused by stealing. And even if something happens, you can get an insurance for everything. Only remember to backup your pictures of save them online.

Which leads me to another technical topic: Vietnam has better phone reception and Wifi connections then we do. There is Wifi or mobile internet everywhere! It might not be as fast as you are used to in Germany but I was able to upload my picture pretty much everywhere. So I had a backup every few days.

Lots of tourist visit Asia countries for sex tourism. I didnt remember that many incidence two years ago. It is courious to see a western guy, propably 50 years old, hanging out or aparently having a 20 year old girlfriend. There are bars feamous for hookups waiting for tourists with pockets full of money. I am sure many of the girls dont want to do that kind of job but it might be their only option. Many of their faces look sad and bored on shows like those. Thats why I ask myself two questions: Who enjoys these shows or bars (expensive drinks and music is way too loud) and moreover who is crazy enought to spent his money for that.... sad world. And lets be hones: Supply always comes with demand. Watch out and dont go to the wrong locations. Some shows indeed are fun to watch but if nobody would pay a lot of money for these things, the girls and women would not have to do that. Sure it might be their only way of earning money. So just in case you decide to spent some time in a stripbar, at least tip them in an appropriate way. It is a though topic, I know.

But as a resume: Vietnam is a great country to travel to. German people could learn alot from their politeness and even sense of humor. If you use your common sense, not too much of distrust but keeping in mind that this is a third world country, you will experience the most beautiful places this country has to offer. And keep in mind: The best tour guide might not be the most expensive one you can book in an office, but maybe the girl or guy you met the night before at the bar. Thats where it all starts, getting to know the country AND the people.