Here’s the sitch.

Some of my nearest and dearest peoples in my life have traveled to Vietnam in the past, and swear by its beauty, uniqueness and wonder. I, on the other hand, haphazardly booked a flight to Vietnam sometime last year, when my UK based travel buddy and I decided to make the most of the 14 day school holidays in April and meet up ‘halfway’ for a little Asian rendezvous.

However, this holiday coincided with a few huge happenings. The settlement of my home, the crazy build up of my business, extra curricular commitments coming out of my eyeballs, and so on. SO when the trip finally, and excitedly, rolled around … I found myself sitting on a plane, bound for Hanoi, with absolutely no idea about where I was going, what I’d likely see and experience and what the heck Vietnam had to offer.

So this is my ‘learn on the fly’ guide to Vietnam and a bit of a reflection of two wonderful weeks spent abroad in this wonderful, dualistic, happy little country.

DEETS //

Dates – April to May 2018

Cities/Towns travelled – Hanoi; Halong Bay; Ninh Binh; Hue; Hoi Ann and Ho Chi Minh.

Forms of transport – Plane, boat, kayak, walk, bicycle, motorbike, vespa, train, taxi.

Currency – Vietnamese dong [Officially my favourite currency. Ever].

HANOI //

This was the first city of le tour and, thus, was my first taste into Vietnam culture and vibe. Holy hectic balls. I am a fully fledged country girl these days, crowds and frenetic energy overwhelms me, so you can imagine my (slight) overwhelm when it came to gettin’ dropped in this big city. It was a little smokey, a little (lotta) traffic laden and very very fast paced.

I did a self guided tour walk on the first way, making my way from the old quarter to the lake. Watching Vietnamese locals do Tai Chi is quite possibly my new favourite pastime, p.s. It felt safe to venture out solo but the navigation through this busy and bustling city was a little challenging at times, for me anyway. With my travel plus one in tow the next morning, we headed out to see a little more of the traditional and noted sights in the area. Kicking things off with a rip off taxi (when in Vietnam, right?) to the Botanical Gardens, we ventured to the Ho Chi Min mosaleum and the One Pillar Pagoda. They were … fine. Nothing to write home about, from my very humble perspective, but a good way to spend the day.

The night is where Hanoi really shows off. As soon as the sun goes down, the pace of life amps up a little more (if that’s even possible) but in a really contagious way. We were lucky enough to join Vespa Adventures for a food tour and, by George, it was amazing. Beer cocktails, deep fried sweet potato, Vietnamese salad, morning glory (the food kind), Bun Cha, Pho … the list of delicacies were endless and all enjoyed via vespa! If you’re in Hanoi, it’s definitely worth looking into a tour with these guys – their service and knowledge were second to none.

You can’t possibly visit Hanoi without a quick ‘hello’ to Beer Junction//Beer Corner. Aptly named because the main export from kitchen to kerb is beer. All kinds of beer. A word of warning – because we were absolutely floored when it happened to us … if you notice errybody up in the street going nutso, an old Vietnmaese lady shoos you off your plastic stool and grabs it from under you and hurries you off, without even the chance to ask ‘what the heckkkkk?’ … chances are you’re in the midst of a random police patrol. The police vans, and po po themselves, cruise down the junction and if they’re able to snag a stool or two, it’s been a good night for the boys. Basically street drinking (i..e drinking beyond the borders of the kerb) is a no no, but in a weird “we’ll pretend we don’t see and make a game of it” kind of situation – the shop owners pretend to comply (getting people out who are beyond their bar borders), the police pretend to patrol (we literally saw a policeman sneak behind a group of people, to steal a $2 plastic stool from an unsuspecting middle aged Vietnamese woman with a clipboard) and, bizarrely, when the police have walked past a mere 15m – out come the stools and drinks and customers are warmly welcomed back. It’s amazing to watch and be a part of. Just try to nab a stool inside.

Coming up on ze blog … Halong Bay and Ninh Binh.

Blessings, beer and police patrols x