Vietnam Part I: 'Foodie coffee lalaland'

Hey dear readers

Arriving in Hanoi was really acclimatizing. This big city felt overwhelming. Dozens of scooters shot past in a few minutes. Both cars and scooters did not take pedestrians into account and they all honked. Disappearing into the chaos of traffic is not at all like in Nepal. In addition, I was extremely tired from my trip in Hong Kong.

Vietnam is the second largest coffee producer in the world. Coffee lalaland for Helena! So the first two days I took the opportunity to land and blog about Hong Kong with coffees. Not only the coffee would be delicious, but also their dishes. According to some the best kitchen in the world. Before noon this foodie was already at a restaurant to try this out. And yes, taste those fine flavors, delicious! They use a lot of herbs such as mint, coriander, lime leaves, lemongrass and a lot of garlic. Vietnam, a culinary delight!

After a few days of rest, it was time to explore. It was so humid and clammy. A must do in Hanoi is to walk over the old Long Bien bridge. It was built by local Vietnamese workers during the French colonial period and survived the war. On the other side I drank a refreshing lime tea before braving the road back in the heat. Long Bien market was also worth a visit with its many stalls.

Curious noses everywhere , sniffing culture and scents, spying on people... actually wandering around without a plan... that's what I like.

In Hanoi you can't miss a bike tour. In the afternoon I chose a tour through the city. Luckily we got a plastic rain cape, because it was raining a lot. Because of that we had a lot of interruptions but it didn't make it any less fun! Our group was a nice mix of people. After that nice bike ride the three of us went to bbq in the streets of Hanoi. A typical thing in Vietnamese culture, it's full of street food here. Small eateries that set up their tables and low stools on the street in the evening. We chose a mix of vegetables, fish and meat. Yum, we also got a nice sauce with it. This was cool, to be honest, I would never do this alone. My last (finally) day in Hanoi I ended with Marit in 'the Hanoi Train Street'. We sat on a terrace next to the train tracks for two hours waiting for 'the happening'. We weren't the only ones. At one point we all had to go inside the bar and the shutters were pulled down everywhere in the street. They are not allowed to put their terrace more than a meter on the sidewalk by the police. Hehe, and they all do that. Anyway, it took too long, our stomachs complained of hunger. When we were eating at a street food stall we heard the train rushing past. Shit actually, I thought! But, you can't have it all, right?!

Five days in Hanoi was more than enough, even a bit too long. Hanoi and I, no that was not a match! Wow, those buses in Vietnam... Impossible, luxury seats that you can lay flat to sleep, USB chargers, air conditioning and crazy lighting..., not quite a luxury cinema.

Ha Giang loop : the most beautiful road trip in Southeast Asia had to be crossed off my list, right?! I chose to jump on the back of a scooter from an easyrider. The hairpin bends took me through mountains along large limestone rock formations, crazy panoramic views, authentic villages and different local cultures. The Halong Bay of the interior. Jeezes, I would never do it again but wow what unforgettable beautiful nature I saw again.

Some villages go back a century in time. Houses are made of wood and people still live on earth inside. For example, we visited a family where the women made clothes from hemp. An old woman was standing at the weaving machine, two young children were sitting on the bed and another pregnant woman was walking in and out with her two small children. There was no kitchen, bedroom, living room or dining room, everything was done in one room. We, the Westerners, stood there with twelve people watching. I regretted that, it didn't feel right for those people. Maybe it was especially inappropriate of us because we were just standing in their privacy. I asked the guide if those people received a contribution for this. He said they did. I still gave something because I felt so guilty and I couldn't bring myself to do it. They were grateful and genuinely happy. For me it was a moving experience that made me shed a tear when I sat on the back of the scooter staring at the beautiful nature.

Women have a hard life in Vietnam. Throughout the tour I saw them dragging big stones, or carrying heavy baskets, or doing construction work while the men sat next to them smoking and chatting.

What an adventure that Ha Giang loop was! My ass on the other hand... auch auch auch. Due to the poor organization I only did three instead of four days.

Wait, the best is yet to come, where do I start. Well, I cancelled the fourth day of the Ha Giang run early. Because there was no room left and the organization was bad, I demanded a refund and a seat on the bus to Hanoi. That was not so cool. The hotel I booked for the next day in Ha Giang was also lost. So I decided to follow a German couple I met during the run . During my ride I quickly booked a hotel in Hanoi Old Quarter. After a few WhatsApp messages with the accommodation I realized that something was wrong. The ride took five hours. At 23:35 I finally arrived. Normally I never take a taxi at rest stops, I usually did this via the app Grab . Well, not then. With stress I asked the taxi driver if he could take me quickly to my hotel, the check-in closed at midnight. We were there six minutes before, the man asked way too much money. I protested for a moment, but gave up because of the stress and tiredness. Inattentive and in all the stress I paid him forty euros, twenty he had taken from my hands and already hidden. That man had robbed me. I had to walk through a small alley before I reached my hotel. Everything was dark inside, I shouted: 'Hello hello, is there someone?' A Vietnamese woman appeared from behind the wall. She said: 'Yes, yes, what do you want?' I said that I had booked a room. She claimed in her Vietnamese English that the bookings were already closed from 8am and that there was no room available. To which I replied: 'I will not sleep on the street, it's night'. She suggested that I sleep in her room with her. Uh, was I in a bad comedy or what was this?! What a strange night: this woman came and lay next to me in her satin pyjamas with bears on them, kept repeating in her best Vietnamese English: 'I am so tyed, I am so tyed, I am so tyed' and she turned the air conditioning and fan on full blast. She brought a sheet for me in which I wrapped myself up to my head. Although I felt super bad, this made me laugh. Every five minutes she got a phone call to open the door of the hotel. Phew, finally it was morning. Sweaty dirty, without a shower I sat in the reception hall looking for a bus to Mai Chau. Anyway, to make a long story short, the internet was blocked. So I went to a travel agency where I paid double. Fuck it I thought, I can still do that. Get out of Hanoi ASAP was my only thought.

Yes, three hours later I was on the bus! Yippee! When I got off in Mai Chau I left all my bad experiences on the bus. Exploring Vietnam with a clean slate.

Mai Chau radiated peace. The atmosphere was relaxed, completely different from Hanoi. Vietnamese people rode around on bicycles, few scooters and cars... wonderfully quiet. In the evening I went to dinner with Sieghlinde and Roland. That day did me good, because I didn't feel so great. Was it me or Vietnam, am I not feeling you?! I experienced some people as sneaky, I had to be on my guard all the time... But maybe I was just tired and more susceptible to those things. Traveling alone can be hard. Why? Because you have to decide and organize everything yourself and sometimes I missed everyone. The euphoria from the beginning had (temporarily) faded away. A certain disconnection had crept in with the home front and I felt far away from everything and everyone. The words for my blog didn't come either. Anyway, difficult to explain, but it was just as hard. Fortunately I didn't get stuck in bad moments for long. Moreover, Mai Chau was the perfect place to allow all these feelings and to leave them behind.

But hey, I wasn't planning on returning to Belgium just yet.

See you soon, very soon. Nice things to blog!

Warm greetings!

Love & kisses, Helena 💖🦩