NORTH VIETNAM

• Beers drank: +54
• Temperature: +37C
• Kilometres by train: 510 (9 hours)
• Different methods of travel: 8
• Nights spent moving: 3 (2 on the boat, 1 in a train)

Good morning, Vietnam! Is what we said the morning after we had arrived and gotten Kai some medication for his stomach. We felt better and wanted to explore. Hanoi was still under a heavy rainfall, remnants of the storm that passed by, but we didn’t mind getting soaked, at least it was warm. We had dinner at a nice western place (Kai was not allowed street food, nor anything spicy) and stumbled upon a bar street by the rail tracks. To our surprise the train was already coming, so we had to quickly sit down and order a drink. Within 2 minutes the rails were trembling and we heard the train whistle. The street was really narrow, basically only allowing the train to fit, so we all had to scoot inside the bar to not be hit by the train. It was quite amazing, just sitting there, 40 cm away from the moving train, sipping a beer.

It was really quite hot, which was new to us on this trip. The thermometer showed around 34-37 Celsius every day, but the humidity and sun made it feel like 42C. Walking in that heat a few hours we were exhausted and needed a daily afternoon nap. At night it was easier, the heat was bearable. And of course cold beverages helped, too. We found a place that sells a (plastic) cup of beer for 5,000 dong, which is about 0.20€ - undoubtedly the cheapest beer I have ever had. We spent a couple of nights there. I am so glad this country has beer!

Hanoi has the worst traffic I had ever seen. It doesn’t make it easy for the pedestrians, who are forced to walk on the streets as sidewalks are full of restaurant chairs and tables or parked motorcycles. There simply is no space to walk where people should walk, and as they are roaming the streets where cars and motos drive, it all gets a bit confusing and dangerous. Also, the green light means nothing. You are not safe thinking you can cross the street on green light for pedestrians, no! Biggest always has the right of way. Scooters yield cars, bicycles yield scooters, people yield bicycles.

After our ordeal of sickness and bad travel moments, we decided it is time for a little luxury and booked a 2-night 5 star cruise on Halong Bay, probably the most famous destination in Vietnam. That would include everything, so we didn’t have to plan and organise and stress out at all. They picked us up from the hotel with an airconditioned limousine van and took us to a small cruise ship with about 25 cabins, a restaurant, spa and lovely top deck. We felt like royalty staying on that boat. The staff was extremely kind and helpful, even too helpful at times, when they take away your plate when you’ve just swallowed your last bite and might still want to use the cutlery. When we came back to main boat from activities on the day boat the staff was there to greet us with a cold drink and a wet towel to wipe our sweaty faces.

The activities included canoeing, swimming, visiting many caves, cooking class, squid fishing, bicycling, boating around, and just chilling, and a lot of eating. The food was good and plentiful. One day, after a day activity we were back in our large, modern, lovely cabin with a 2 metre wide bed (a rare luxury for budget travellers) I stepped onto our balcony after shower to take in the magnificent view. A lady in a rowing boat below was waving at me: “hello, miss, cold beer?” I could not fathom how on earth she could have cold beer to sell and how I would get it as she was about 8 metres below me on the sea level while our cabin was on Deck 3. But she could. She put the beers into a fishing net with a long handle and send them to us. We sent the money back in the net. Wonderful service! And cheaper beer than on the boat.

The cruise was pleasant and we got the well-deserved rest and peace of mind. I did not like the fact that it was very dirty and touristy everywhere. There were at least 20 other boats docked where we were for the nights, the water was dirty and plenty of plastic waste was floating around. Halong Bay is a Unesco world heritage place and one of the 7 natural wonders of the world, and even this place we cannot keep clean… it is a real shame, as this could be a paradise.

From Halong Bay it was time to get back to Hanoi on our limousine van. We spent the hot afternoon in Hanoi working and drinking the last cheap beers with the company of people we met on the boat and other travelers. Our overnight train to Dong How was scheduled for that evening. We barely made it, as we stayed in the beer place one beer too long, and realised some streets were closed from cars because it was Friday night and there was a party everywhere. So we needed to catch a taxi a bit further which proved to be a challenge. We just made it and settled in to our tiny cabins shared with a local couple - who luckily were quiet and did not smoke inside. The ride was bumpy. So bumpy in fact I was bouncing around in my bed so badly I could not sleep much. Also the noise from the train was too much even with earplugs. I wonder why I still like trains and especially sleeper trains so much even when I never can sleep in them?

We made it to Phong Nha the next morning quite exhausted and decided to rest the day. The next day we rented a scooter and rode around the countryside for about 60 km and visited a giant cave and a garden where we could swim. It was a good day, but I cannot remember much about it anymore. Hence the short description... 

The last 5 nights of our Vietnam experience will be spent in Da Nang - a flourishing city in central Vietnam, where it is not as touristy as what it has been so far. We had to take a strange sleeper bus there from Dong Hoi as all the trains were fully booked. It was otherwise quite comfortable, but we are just too big for them. Luckily the trip only took about 4 hours, which is 2 hours less than we thought it would. The drivers here are quite mad indeed and drive too fast - in this traffic it gets a bit intimidating at times.