Vietnam

For my recess week (spring break) I traveled to Northern Vietnam with three other students! We went from Hanoi, to Sapa, back to Hanoi, to Ha Long Bay, and finally back to Hanoi again.

The trip spanned 10 days, and it was by far the most fun I’ve had in Asia so far!

Hanoi - Hanoi is an interesting place. We stayed in the Old Quarter, which seemed to me like an up and coming area. Our hostel is widely known, and it included everything from a full restaurant to laundry services, etc. This hostel was really the most I’ve been engulfed in backpacker culture as well. We met a lot of other travelers, some traveling for two weeks, some for two months, and even some for two years!

The Old Quarter is filled with shops, both old and new, and trendy/artsy areas while still upholding its history. We toured several museums covering things from the war to the place of women in Vietnam’s history, as well as just walked around. Our hostel was just blocks away from a small lake that was always filled with activity, so at times I would just put my headphones on and walk around and people watch!

Funny enough, one of my good friends from U of I contacted me and told me that her father was in Hanoi on a business trip. I ended up getting dinner with him and 10 of his Vietnamese co-workers! It was an awesome experience!

In order: Old Quarter Lake, Hostel Street, Hao Lo Prison, Vietnam Women's Museum

Sapa - We took a night bus from Hanoi to Sapa, arriving around 3:30am. They were nice enough to let us sleep on the bus until about 7:00, but after that we were whisked inside a small cafe for breakfast. We were greeted by our trek-guide Mao, a 4-foot, sassy, happy Vietnamese lady. After trekking for nearly 7 hours, 15ish miles, and what seemed like an eternity of going up and down hills, we arrived at her family’s home. We stayed there with around 8 other travelers, eating a home cooked meal, and bonding with her Vietnamese friends and family. There were two lightbulbs in her house, no working electronics, and we were all in bed by 9:00pm.

The next day, we woke up to a big breakfast prepared by Mao and her family, and then hiked back halfway and took a ride back to Sapa.

The point of Sapa is to see the rice fields, but we unfortunately encountered some poor weather. We could see virtually nothing the first day, but as we made the return trek it started to clear up just a bit. Here’s some of the best photos that I got:

Ha Long Bay - We took an organized trip through our hostel to Ha Long Bay. With about 35 other travelers, we took a bus, then a boat, then a bus, then a boat to our private island owned by our hostel. We had all meals provided, slept in bungalows, and had sand in every nook and cranny for 3 straight days. The island offered tubing, wake boarding, rock climbing (I got halfway up!), and a cruise on day 2. It was awesome to meet and hang out with all of the travelers, some of who were also exchange students at NTU!

After returning from Ha Long Bay towards the end of the week, we met up with a mutual friend of one of the people I was traveling with who happened to be living in Hanoi for over 7 months. The meal we shared with him was delicious, but unfortunately it upset my stomach. While the girls I was traveling with went to ride motorbikes around Vietnam the last day, I stayed in the hostel and watched some soccer. It’s alright though, I needed the break.

Hopefully someday I’ll get to return to Vietnam!