Vietnam: Southwards

The ‘I'll get straight to the next blog’ thing didn't work out thaat well. But that was mainly because so much happened, I met so many great people and I was just too busy enjoying myself to take another hour or two to blog. I'm currently sitting at the airport in Ho Chi Minh City waiting for my flight to Kuala Lumpur where I'm meeting my London girls! But first: all the experiences since the last blog.

Cat Ba

The secret to a smooth overnight journey on a sleeper bus is as follows: complete exhaustion from the Ha Giang Loop, an emotional state of emergency from all the goodbyes, and Vietnamese travel sickness tablets, which are best washed down collectively with Katie and Tim and a can of beer. The result was an extremely tired Jo, who didn't even manage to watch 10 minutes of Netflix because those pills were hitting her so hard. And so I gave in to sleep and woke up 11 hours later, at 6am on a ferry, which really confused me completely. Another hour of looking out of the window and we arrived at the Cat Ba Buffalo Hostel. I had treated myself to a private room again, because I urgently needed to wash at least half of the contents of my rucksack, and that took up a lot of space.

Thanks to my great planning to do a day tour of Ha Long Bay straight after a 12 hour overnight trip, I had about 35 minutes to shower, sort my laundry and get dressed before the van picked me up. The group was very mixed, and after all the action during the loop, my social, physical and emotional battery had run out. So I sat on a bench on the boat and tried my best not to fall asleep. It was a great tour despite the tiredness, and after the kayaking I was responsive again. I chatted for a while with a very nice Canadian couple who invited me on a camping trip in Canada (maybe I really will do that one day haha).

After a power nap in the hostel, I met Tim, Katie and Marie, who had come straight from Hanoi, for dinner. My plan to take a break from alcohol for a few days was immediately thrown overboard and after an hour Tim and I embarrassed the 18-year-old backpackers at beer pong. It was really nice to spend a little more time chilling with the Ha Giang Loop people.

Ninh Binh

The next day, Katie, Marie and I drove together to Ninh Binh, more precisely to the neighbouring village of Tam Coc. My dinner date: Charlotte, with whom I did the Sapa hike! We excitedly recounted our experiences of the last few days and it felt like I was simply seeing an old friend again on the other side of the world. Lukas, a German from Charlotte's hostel, was also at the start, he did a motorbike tour from North to South Vietnam, which was pretty cool.

The girls and I booked a day tour of Ninh Binh for the following day (anything to avoid unnecessary brain strain). Unfortunately, our tour guide wasn't as relaxed as we were, her motto was more about walking than strolling. We climbed what felt like 20,000 steps at what felt like 38°C with what felt like 99% humidity. The view of the landscape was very pretty, the view of our bright red faces rather less so. But as always, we had fun, the highlight of course being the food.

The next reunion took place in the evening: dinner with Maud and Paula from the Loop! Although we hadn't seen each other for only 2 days, there was more than enough to talk about. Until my heart broke a little again when we said goodbye. I would be travelling alone on the next stop of my trip.

Dong Hoi

I actually only travelled to Dong Hoi to split the journey to Hué and chill out on the beach for a bit. When I arrived, it was pouring with rain, my room was far too stuffy, the hostel wasn't social, and my body took this as an opportunity to organise its first little mental breakdown. To be honest, it was good to just feel a bit homesick and spend a day reflecting on everything I'd experienced so far. OK, sunshine would have helped, but the weather just suited my mood. It would also be creepy if it was rainbow mood here for 6 months straight.

Hué

The sadness was short-lived! On the day of departure to Hué, I met Konstantin on the bus, who happened to be staying in the same hostel as me. We had a very funny journey onwards to central Vietnam, as we were on a bus for locals. As a result, the views were intense and we stopped at random street corners where people were getting on and off the bus or delivering parcels.

For lunch, we not only had a very legendary crispy pancake, but also the best company, Charlotte was also in Hué! We strolled through the city and I was more than pleasantly surprised at how much I liked Hué. Many travellers had skipped the city, but Charlotte, Konstantin and I rummaged in second-hand shops and sampled the local cuisine.

Day 2 started with some long-lost porridge and after Charlotte booked herself into a head spa, I treated myself to a massage. It was pretty good, especially as the 60 minutes cost me around 8 euros. I found the nearest cute café, which were mostly in inconspicuous side streets. Charlotte joined us a little later and together we scribbled in our travel diaries (I was still stuck in China because it takes me ages to draw). In the evening we met Konstantin and Katie for dinner and it was one of the best evenings I've had so far. The owner of the restaurant sat down with us, showed us how she could open 4 bottles of beer at once with homemade bottle openers, and gave us each one of said bottle openers at the end of the feast. The atmosphere was exuberant and we moved 3 metres further into the bar next door, sat down next to the locals on the tiny chairs and treated ourselves to 40 cent beers. The highlight was of course the food again, and when Charlotte and I picked up fried corn kernels one by one with our chopsticks, the beer almost came out of my nose from laughing.

Accordingly, the next morning was slow and leisurely. Charlotte made her way to Hoi An, which was also my next destination for the following day. Konstantin, Katie and I travelled together to an abandoned water park. Yes, the location was pretty cool, if a little creepy. Climbing up steps in a giant dragon that looked like it had barely survived the Vietnam War is semi-relaxing.

The food tour through Hué continued, which my stomach didn't like for the first time. And so I spent the evening lying in bed, phoning home and reading my book.

The next morning we had the obligatory Banh Mi and together with Konstantin we travelled south to Hoi An!

Hoi An

Apart from the Ha Giang Loop, Hoi An was the city that most travellers raved about. When I arrived, it was raining. Not too romantic, if I'm honest. Off to the hostel, check in and chill out. But who did I see on the terrace of the hostel? Lukas, from Ninh Binh! Well, at first his face just looked familiar and I couldn't really place it in my memories. I sat down next to him with my Coke and stared at him unobtrusively. Thank goodness he stared back just as unabashedly and said ‘We know each other!’. Yes, indeed, and after a little brainstorming session together, we remembered how we knew each other. 85 seconds later we both had a beer in our hands, 7 minutes later Charlotte was sitting to my right and after half an hour we were playing cards with Lukas' mates.

Together with a friend of Charlotte's, the three of us went to a vegan restaurant, sampled the local specialities and strolled back to the hostel with food babies. I really just wanted to go to bed, but when we arrived, the pub crawl had just started and the boys were waving wildly for us to join them. Charlotte and I looked at each other and the mischievous smiles said it all. An hour later we were dancing the night away in a bar called Tiger Tiger. Oh yes, it was very, very nice to go out again. After all the energy was left on the dance floor, hunger kicked in and of course there was only one option for Charlotte and I: late night Banh Mi. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the euphoria, or maybe it was just a really damn good Banh Mi!

Despite the late night, I woke up surprisingly early and made my way to the gym to sweat out the hangover. There was a hip-thrust machine! The day could only be good. I met up with Katie for breakfast and we arranged to meet for drinks later that evening. After a quick shower, I was off again with Charlotte and we went to the east of the city to make our own rings. It was very cool, we were guided by the jewellers and hammered and fired the rings into shape.

In the evening, the fun started all over again and we girls went out for dinner and on to the party neighbourhood, where we met the boys for another round of dancing. The late night banh mi was of course a must at the end of the day and we fell blissfully into our beds!

The next morning greeted Charlotte and I with bright sunshine, and that could only mean one thing: BEACH! A coffee, breakfast banh mi, and moisturiser session later, we were on our (admittedly very fragile) bikes on the way to the sea. The 20-minute bike ride took us through rice paddies and palm avenues, past water buffaloes and Vietnamese farmers. We rented sunbeds and ran into the ocean. It was the first time I'd had real sun in Vietnam. Unfortunately, I completely underestimated the UV index and didn't remember to reapply sunscreen after my morning session. The result: my entire backside was completely burnt. Yay. The thought of putting on my rucksack the next morning was not amusing (the reality was even less amusing). But was it worth the vitamin D boost and a day at the beach with the girls? Definitely!

Before the blog escalates again, I'll make a cut. The rest of my Vietnam adventure will be told in the next blog! Kisses and hugs to you x