After an eternity from LAX, I finally landed in Hanoi! It appeared many were back for Tết as the final immigration check was filled with people.
I took the taxi to the first hostel where I met with Grant, who had been there for the past two days. It's a great feeling to have another to rely on when you're in a completely foreign, chaotic place.
As we acclimate to the new surroundings, we get ourselves well-fed and retrieve all the items we need to prepare ourselves for the next two months on the road.
Our first stop is Ninh Bình, a World Heritage Site renowned for its rich, unique, and diverse topography. We first get out of the Hanoi Province. The first leg is 100km! To get to our next destination, we rely on Google Maps. We select the “Walking” route and enjoy the random roads and neighborhoods it takes us through. Accommodation and food is so cheap! We spend roughly $5-$10 on a hotel room and $1-$5 on food.
We cheat a little 😬 (by little I mean 500km keke). We embark further south via train to celebrate Tết in Huế in time.
By the time we reach Huế, Tết is on full blast; most restaurants and stores are closed. The whole city shuts down during the holiday week. We spend our time joining a local tour of the many pagodas, temples, and tombs of the old emperor of Vietnam in Huế. I learn a lot more about the history of Vietnam including the many dynasties, French Colonization, and the Vietnamese War. Vietnam has been through a lot and is so resilient. That's admirable.
We then bike further south where we reach the beach cities of Da Nang and Hội An. It's a seafood paradise here and finally, the sun is out! ☀️ With the weather getting hotter and Grant's visa expiring soon, we plan to take another train down further south, bike our way to Saigon, and then cross the border to Cambodia!!
Some observations/thoughts:
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From an initial look at Vietnam (Northern/Central), it feels like life is good in the big cities and rural areas. People seem happy and friendly, and the energy is great. I'm not 100% sure if it's simply the culture, economy, or just the people we've met. Food is cheap and great, and it seems like there are a lot of places where people or families are always hanging out. I wonder what an average person's struggles here are. Do they worry about finances? What's good and what's bad?
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The US is so expensive 😭. Just another point off for capitalism...? it's great to come here as a US citizen since the dollar is so strong, but how in the hell is fruit tea in the US $6 and here it's $1? And wtf why does everything here taste so much better!? In my opinion, the USA kills the quality of things for the sake of accessibility (like getting strawberries all year round vs in season).
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SE Asia has a lot of creeps. It's a stereotype, but I've noticed there's a disproportionate amount of people who come to travel here for a certain intention in the bigger cities.
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Buddhism is awesome. From a lifestyle perspective, it's a philosophy you can learn a lot from. TLDR: what comes around, goes around. Be nice and nice will come back to you.
I'm extremely excited to continue the journey. Some days I miss home, but every day I'm learning new things about the world and myself.
Written the room in Hội An!
Bye bye!
