Fortunate Son
As must be evident by the lack of a blog post in the past couple of weeks, Dave and I had a BLAST in Vietnam. Following our trek we made our way from Dalat to the beach town of Nha Trang via a treacherous mountain bus ride with an uncanny resemblance to Derek and Ben's Himalayan bus ride (minus drunken bus driver, but including four or five very very sick Vietnamese travellers).
Nha Trang was simply amazing, every day was pretty much perfect. We were extremely fortunate not only with the idyllic weather but also the great company. At our strongest, our crew totalled 11 diverse individuals (including three awesome Aussies, one Vietnamese, two Swedes, two French guys and of course fellow Montrealer Esther). Everyone got along real well and knew how to party like it was Uncle Ho's sweet 16. In addition, they were all really cool and interesting, making for some great conversation. I'd like to thank each one of them for making my beach stint the highlight of Vietnam!
While there I went on my first ever dive (and definitely not last, I absolutely loved it, its like a whole new planet) and of course we hit the 'booze cruise' with our posse. Basically a hunk-o-junk boat takes you around to a few of the beautiful islands surrounding Nha Trang in the South China Sea, stopping a few times along the way for swimming, snorkeling and of course some floating-bar fun complete with complimentary homemade wine (don't worry, we were in rubber tubes when drinking, a foolproof safety device). They even provided live music, which was possibly the most brutal ear punishment ever devised. The 'tour guide' was quite a character, his job consisted of getting absolutely hammered and being the life of the party for a bunch of tourists, day in and day out. Not a bad gig, till the drowning and/or liver problems set in.
Following Nha Trang we spent three and a half days (instead of the originally planned 1) in historic Hoi An. The highlight of this leg was undoubtedly the motorbikes, we rented some four strokes and tore up the roads of that one horse town in a fashion that would make Hell's Angels proud. All this despite the fact our hogs topped out at 60kph.
Hoi An is a very well preserved city that offers a glimpse into life in a hub of the Renaissance spice trading route. The accessible history provided an enlightening backdrop to its gorgeous beach, where I spent the majority of my time. The seafood was very fresh - caught and cooked right in front of your eyes - and made for a great meal following a long day of motorbike and wave riding.
After bidding adieu to Esther and the Australians (Dave cried like a baby) we boarded a 20 hour bus to our last destination in The Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the capital; Hanoi. We based our selves in the quaint Old Quarter and scored a sweet room (except for the fact that the daily meat market was found directly outside our balcony each morning...mmm-mmm!). The next morning we were off to Halong Bay. I cannot do justice to this place without showing you pictures, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halong_Bay. It was definitely breath taking, but way over-touristed. Our boat was one of the 40 or so that plied the exact same route and didnt even take us out of sight of Halong City despite the 3000 islands found in the giant bay. The boats even docked in the same cove, creating a floating city atmosphere. The fact that the landscape was as moving as it was despite the overcrowding really proves how special it is. I suppose being treated like herded cows is the price you pay to see this magnificent place.
After the night on the bay, we headed back to Hanoi for a night. Rather than scramble around town visiting all the played-out tourist spots we decided to live like locals, fighting the insane traffic to hit a Vietnamese institution: Bia Hoi. Its their version of the pub, except that you sit in kiddie chairs in the streets and pay ridiculous prices for surprisingly decent (though undeniably metallic) keg beer. How ridiculous, you ask? Try 5000 dong - 30 cents US - per litre. It was a great way to meet some Hanoi-ites and close out a sweet three weeks in their country. Dave and I agree its sad to go, but we're becoming stronger and stronger believers of leaving on a high so as to capture the best sentiments. I certainly hope to return at some point.
We're now in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. It is very different than we expected, the city is very clean and quite westernized, but we're hoping things will change when we head to the less metropolitan areas. We plan to make our way north to the French colonial town of Luang Prabang from where we fly to Bangkok to catch up with our good friends Derek and Ben. I can't believe its been almost 7 weeks since we last saw them, it will be a great reunion.
As my time in Vietnam has come to a close I've realized that its the small things here that mean the most. Be it listening to the CCR classic while cruising the lush green countryside, or enjoying a Bia Hoi extravaganza in a distinctly authentic old town, Vietnam has made us feel right at home. These past three weeks have been some of the most fun and memorable ever. Vietnam really put me at ease and allowed me to have a great time. I didn't worry about a schedule to follow or monuments to catch, it was about taking it a day at a time and enjoying every moment for what it was. We spent almost three times longer here than in Cambodia but the time just flew by, even though the majority of that time involved sand and sun. This is really the laid-back, care-free escape I was looking for when I came out to South East Asia, not a care in the world but making sure I can find a shady spot to enjoy my steaming bowl of noodles and a sweaty bottle of beer.
**Note: Dave didn't actually cry, but we were both definitely sad to say bye to our travel companions
PICTURES from Dalat:
actual tiger
behind a waterfall
sweet helmet
Nha Trang was simply amazing, every day was pretty much perfect. We were extremely fortunate not only with the idyllic weather but also the great company. At our strongest, our crew totalled 11 diverse individuals (including three awesome Aussies, one Vietnamese, two Swedes, two French guys and of course fellow Montrealer Esther). Everyone got along real well and knew how to party like it was Uncle Ho's sweet 16. In addition, they were all really cool and interesting, making for some great conversation. I'd like to thank each one of them for making my beach stint the highlight of Vietnam!
While there I went on my first ever dive (and definitely not last, I absolutely loved it, its like a whole new planet) and of course we hit the 'booze cruise' with our posse. Basically a hunk-o-junk boat takes you around to a few of the beautiful islands surrounding Nha Trang in the South China Sea, stopping a few times along the way for swimming, snorkeling and of course some floating-bar fun complete with complimentary homemade wine (don't worry, we were in rubber tubes when drinking, a foolproof safety device). They even provided live music, which was possibly the most brutal ear punishment ever devised. The 'tour guide' was quite a character, his job consisted of getting absolutely hammered and being the life of the party for a bunch of tourists, day in and day out. Not a bad gig, till the drowning and/or liver problems set in.
Following Nha Trang we spent three and a half days (instead of the originally planned 1) in historic Hoi An. The highlight of this leg was undoubtedly the motorbikes, we rented some four strokes and tore up the roads of that one horse town in a fashion that would make Hell's Angels proud. All this despite the fact our hogs topped out at 60kph.
Hoi An is a very well preserved city that offers a glimpse into life in a hub of the Renaissance spice trading route. The accessible history provided an enlightening backdrop to its gorgeous beach, where I spent the majority of my time. The seafood was very fresh - caught and cooked right in front of your eyes - and made for a great meal following a long day of motorbike and wave riding.
After bidding adieu to Esther and the Australians (Dave cried like a baby) we boarded a 20 hour bus to our last destination in The Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the capital; Hanoi. We based our selves in the quaint Old Quarter and scored a sweet room (except for the fact that the daily meat market was found directly outside our balcony each morning...mmm-mmm!). The next morning we were off to Halong Bay. I cannot do justice to this place without showing you pictures, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halong_Bay. It was definitely breath taking, but way over-touristed. Our boat was one of the 40 or so that plied the exact same route and didnt even take us out of sight of Halong City despite the 3000 islands found in the giant bay. The boats even docked in the same cove, creating a floating city atmosphere. The fact that the landscape was as moving as it was despite the overcrowding really proves how special it is. I suppose being treated like herded cows is the price you pay to see this magnificent place.
After the night on the bay, we headed back to Hanoi for a night. Rather than scramble around town visiting all the played-out tourist spots we decided to live like locals, fighting the insane traffic to hit a Vietnamese institution: Bia Hoi. Its their version of the pub, except that you sit in kiddie chairs in the streets and pay ridiculous prices for surprisingly decent (though undeniably metallic) keg beer. How ridiculous, you ask? Try 5000 dong - 30 cents US - per litre. It was a great way to meet some Hanoi-ites and close out a sweet three weeks in their country. Dave and I agree its sad to go, but we're becoming stronger and stronger believers of leaving on a high so as to capture the best sentiments. I certainly hope to return at some point.
We're now in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. It is very different than we expected, the city is very clean and quite westernized, but we're hoping things will change when we head to the less metropolitan areas. We plan to make our way north to the French colonial town of Luang Prabang from where we fly to Bangkok to catch up with our good friends Derek and Ben. I can't believe its been almost 7 weeks since we last saw them, it will be a great reunion.
As my time in Vietnam has come to a close I've realized that its the small things here that mean the most. Be it listening to the CCR classic while cruising the lush green countryside, or enjoying a Bia Hoi extravaganza in a distinctly authentic old town, Vietnam has made us feel right at home. These past three weeks have been some of the most fun and memorable ever. Vietnam really put me at ease and allowed me to have a great time. I didn't worry about a schedule to follow or monuments to catch, it was about taking it a day at a time and enjoying every moment for what it was. We spent almost three times longer here than in Cambodia but the time just flew by, even though the majority of that time involved sand and sun. This is really the laid-back, care-free escape I was looking for when I came out to South East Asia, not a care in the world but making sure I can find a shady spot to enjoy my steaming bowl of noodles and a sweaty bottle of beer.
**Note: Dave didn't actually cry, but we were both definitely sad to say bye to our travel companions
PICTURES from Dalat:
actual tiger
behind a waterfall
sweet helmet
posted by Amar | 6:40 AM
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