Adorable Vietnam

Sapa

Vietnam probably is the country I was the less prepared to fly to. Because I didn't know what I wanted to see. Maybe that is why I love the experience I'm living right now.

Vietnam is a little bit like China... but better. There are people who just want our money, trying to convince us to buy so many useless things or to hop on their motorcycle... but they don't insist as much as the Chinese. And they really need our money.

I fought against myself by preparing nothing, booking nothing. Sending planification to hell. Trying to feel zen and to go with the flow.

So I got in Halong Bay for three days, going from island to island on a boat. All of that after booking through a "fake" agency. Hard to tell the real ones from all the copies, even when you know there is a lot of fake ones. At least, I probably got what I paid for.

We got into a grotto before going for some kayak near a floating village and swimming in the salt water of the bay. After that, we slept on the boat. In the meals of seafood, we ate calamari, tofu with tomatoes and... jelly fish.

The next day was a nice bike stroll in the fields and along the water, and we could swim on Monkey Island, where you can see some monkeys, obviously. In the evening, we slept in a hotel where the staff was rude, in Cat Ba, a town that will probably become a very important destination for tourists. One can tell by all the construction in the city. It looks like they are trying to bring people with thick wallets.

Back to Hanoi, my two Australian friends and me got on a train for Sapa, to the north of the country. The train station was interesting since you actually need to cross the rails on foot to board the train.

In Sapa, we walked for 12 km in the rice terraces to spend the night in a typical village. The heat was almost unbearable. Really! In the muddy streets, the buffalos and the children with mud on their face are walking around. Next to the house where we were sleeping, there was a pig we have never seen, but we could hear it well. Gave him the name of Chewbacca.

We started to walk again the next day to cross a bamboo forest where there was so many butterflies. Buffalos again. And still a lot of children without parents around.

In the afternoon, we rented motorcycles to explore even more. About 15 minutes after we left, when I was starting to get used to driving on two wheels, we encountered police officers. Driving licence, they asked.

Oops! In all the luggage reorganization, with the use of two wallets (one with only a couple of notes and the other one hidden somewhere), I thought I got myself in a lot of trouble. No driving licence... It was probably in the hotel. Unless...

The precious document was in my backpack... which I had with me. At home, the licence is always in my wallet, with me. But when I travel, it's not that obvious.

Two of my companions had to go back to the hotel (without their licence) to get their card.

What an adventure!

I still have a couple of days in Vietnam. I'm flying on the 24th for Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), from where I'll leave for Cambodia.