Vietnam

Our first stop in Vietnam was Ha Noi, which is in the north. The weather was a great surprise especially after Cambodia. Everyone was in jeans and a long sleeve shirt. The weather made it so enjoyable to wander around. Each day we would pick a different side of town, stopping in at different restaurants or shops. There was a street for kitchen appliances, a street for clothes, a street for shoes, a street for flowers. We found the area to be cozy since all of the shops were family owned.

We loved the vibe of Ha Noi. There was a big lake in the middle where couples, teenagers and families would join to play games and eat at night. They closed down the streets from motor bikes so that people could walk around as they wish. Small children would ride around in the motorized cars and others would play hacky sack. The mid-20s age group would sit outside restaurants in kid size chairs eating their meals and drinking their beer.  As a surprise to us there was a coffee shop every third shop. Vietnam grows the second largest amount of coffee in the world. The egg coffee is a must here! The other great item is a Bah Mi Sandwich. It is a local Vietnamese sandwich normally warm with meat (pork belly is the most popular), cheese and vegetables.

   

The one downside to Ha Noi was the street crossings. It was a heart attack waiting to happen. You just go for it. As there are little to no street lights you have to just start walking and hope that no one hits you. Happy to say I am still alive.

Our second stop was Sapa. This small mountain town is still up and coming as the highway was only built a few years ago. The bus ride was 5 1/2 hours away and was a nice getaway from the busy streets of cities. As soon as you get off the bus you are greeted/hounded to buy handmade items from the women from the local villages. Most of the items being hand made pillow cases or bead work. These women hike 10-15km from their homes each day in the hopes to sell and item or two.

For activities we took the cable car to the highest point in Indochina, 10,300 feet. The cable car took 15 minutes and was a such a surprise since we didn't even know it existed until the day before. You can see temples as well as a big Buddha at the very top. I however couldn't be bothered with the view as apparently I am a celebrity in Vietnam. Four separate groups came up to me asking me to take a photo with them. Now I know the life of Kim Kardashian and I don't know if it is for me.

Our second activity was trekking through the rice fields. We started at the town of Sapa and worked our way down to a local village about 12km. From the very beginning we had a tour guide, but then other ladies followed us down to help us through the mud and steeper spots. Ching was 54 years old helping my young butt down the mountain. Jesse was nice enough to switch bags with her half way down the mountain. Little to my knowledge these women followed us for 12km just in hopes for us to buy something. The entire time I thought they were getting a wage from what we had paid for the hike, but they were hiking with us to have us buy one of their pillow cases for $7. It was hard not to after chatting with them down a mountain for five hours, and they make you feel guilty if you don't buy.

In general Sapa's food was nothing to write home about. For the most part we were just trying to find restaurants that looked clean, as Jesse had his second run in with getting sick from the food.

Now we head south to Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City!