Vietnam was a surprise

Sapa

I don't like when people ask what was my favorite country around the world. Because it's impossible to compare Asia with Europe or South America.

I can at least say that one of the best surprises, if not the best was Vietnam. I wasn't expecting anything. I found a lot.

If, for some, the noise of the motorbikes was disturbing, I found it charming. Of course, crossing the street is a hazardous challenge. But with a deep breath and the sense of adventure, you can make it alive. For me, traffic in Hanoi is asian way of life, nothing more.

To travel in Vietnam, it is better to use the services of a travel agency. The prices are usually better and it's easier to make your way around than trying to go from point A to point B by yourself. Even if it is possible.

If you need to see a travel agent in the country itself, you need to know there are numerous fake agencies. One name, written in different ways, can be used by at least ten agencies, all copying the original one. I made that mistake but managed to negociate a good price anyway.

All in all, I was really touched by my visit in Sapa. It's true the type of trip I was doing looked like it was made for backpackers. But I'm convinced you can find something similar and make it the way you want it. With my backpack, I left Hanoi in the evening for a short night without sleep on a hard sleeper, in a night train. It would stop in Lao Cai, where a bus waited to bring us in Sapa.

Sapa is a village in mutation. Hotels are being built at a very fast pace. But a group trek brought us in a school, in the rice fields, in a bamboo forest, in the mountains where clouds are very low in the morning and the evening. Sleeping at a local's place (let's be honest, his house was more of a dorm), in the middle of the rice fields, was magic and restful.

The women from the village are not restful at all though. Accompanied by children, they try to sell at high prices some bags, clothes or bracelets. But there is a workshop in the village itself, hidden somewhere in the market where the Vietnamese go, where they sell the same products way cheaper.

For the rest, towns are only towns. The soup (pho) is delicious everywhere. But seeing Sapa before it steps too much into modernity was priceless.

Hi, I'm a student

Sapa

Ok! We'll set things clear once and for all. When you come to me saying "Hi! I'm a student. Where are you from?", there is something telling me I can't trust you.

Since my friend Jeannot told me not to talk to strangers, and with what I experienced in China, I'm starting to believe you're trying to get some money from me.

Guess what. In Shanghai, Beijing, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), there are young couples talking to tourists saying they want to practice their english. I've already written about the tea ceremony scam in China. In Vietnam, the intentions are not that obvious.

In Hanoi, I agreed to let a young girl follow me so she could ask some questions to improve her english. But I was fast to set things clear : I didn't have a lot of time to spend with her. She gave up by herself.

Was she sincere? Don't know. But it was clear she wouldn't be able to get any money from me and there was no way she could steal anything from my bag or my pockets.

Had the same experience in Ho Chi Minh City. Left behind a couple who tried to talk to me. When two girls started following me, laughing, and one of them asked for me to answer a couple of questions for a school assignement, I agreed to participate. Again, I kept my belongings really close to me. Maybe they were sincere after all.

Radar

Everywhere in Asia, motorcycle drivers have the eye of an eagle. A tourist just needs to walk around the corner for someone to flag him on the other end of the street. If you are of those having trouble to say no, it's time to practice. Here, you need to say no all the time.

Some insist enough to grab us by the arm... "Where do you go?", they ask.

Saying "no" once and ignoring them is the best solution, I believe. But as soon as you got rid of the first one, another one comes to you. It barely never ends...

And at night, the same drivers offer you to get some massages... They insist for that too...

Vietnam visa

Hanoi

Since I got in Hanoi, Vietnam, I can confirm the electronic process to get the Vietnam visa works. But it is possible you encounter some problems on the way.

First, you need to register on www.myvietnamvisa.com. With a credit card or a PayPal account, you pay the fees. It is not the amount for the visa itself, but the service fees.

Two or three days later, by e-mail, you receive an acceptation letter and a list of the people who are part of your "group". Because the company makes requests for groups. So don't be surprised to see so many names on your acceptation letter.

You need to print the documents and two copies of a form you need to fill. You also need a passport picture.

That process is possible only if you get in the country in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City airport. Otherwise, you need to get help from a travel agency.

In Hanoi airport, the desk where you get the visa is clearly marked. You give all the papers, pay the 25 $US in cash. No ATM to be seen anywhere. So make sure you have the money. Afterwards, bingo, you get a visa for 30 days.

However, in Tokyo-Narita airport (where I was leaving from), the employee at the desk clearly had never heard about that procedure. Seeing no visa in my passport, she got worried. When I showed her the acceptation letter, she needed to talk to her boss. The boss looked as surprised as the employee.

She finally made photocopies and decided to let me go. I don't know why, I was getting worried too. Keep smiling! No panic. Deep breath.

Other anecdote : the flight to Hanoi had a stopover in China. Never as easy in China, since I needed to wear a sticker on my clothes to prove I needed to change plane. Instead of identifying the luggages so they get directly to our destination, like everywhere else in the world, we needed to fill a really small coupon with our name, final destination and a phone number to reach us.

Me : Euh... I don't have a phone.
A surprised woman : REALLY?
...
...
(Big silence)
A surprised woman : Put the number of your hotel then.

GET OVER IT! Some people still don't have a phone when they travel, even in 2012!

It is true the payphones are harder to find almost everywhere in the world and some hostels now reduce the time they have someone at the desk. They put a sign on the front door saying you can call 24 hours a day to get in. Like if you're stuck outside at night. That is them assuming everybody has a phone...

Tip

In Vietnam, like in China, Syria or United Arab Emirates, for example, Facebook is censored. It is necessary to install a proxy on your computer BEFORE you get in the country itself if you want to poke you friends while you're there. The most popular one seems to be Freegate. Other than a problem that lasted for a couple of days in China, the software worked well.