Christmas and New Year's Eve

After our accident, we were both a wreck. It was clear that we didn't want to do any big hikes or other activities. So we decided to take it easy for the next few days and also for Christmas. How about the beach? Great idea! So we took the night bus to Ninh Binh, because there is a sea nearby and we found a beach resort there. It's December 24th and we arrive in Sam Son at 6 a.m. We go straight to the first hostel and have a nap. When we wake up, the plan is to find something to eat. The lady at the hotel is quite angry when we refuse her 'restaurant'. So we walk a few meters through the city and notice that it's dead, the city. Nothing going on. No people. No tourists and hardly any locals. Everywhere huge hotels and restaurants - but everything is closed or empty. We don't feel comfortable and decide to go back and eat in our hotel. Since the menu is not in English, we follow the pictures and order simple french fries. It takes a while, because they first go to buy potatoes and make the fries themselves. After the meal, we pack our things and take a train from the nearest big city to Ninh Binh and end up happily in a remote hostel in the mountains by a river. 

Christmas Eve turned out to be good after all - we just wasted unnecessary money, but we are still learning :) Our hostel invited everyone to a Christmas dinner - summer rolls to roll yourself - and the owner's daughter provided good entertainment. She played songs on the keyboard, on a Vietnamese flute, an old Vietnamese instrument, and on a Chinese flute. And she taught all of that herself! Very impressive! 

We spent the evening at the river with other backpackers from the hostel on a bamboo bridge. It was a completely different Christmas and I have to say that I never really felt the Christmas spirit, but it was an experience that I wouldn't want to miss or repeat. We spent about 3 days in Ninh Binh, took a boat through Tran An and watched the sunset from a mountain. 

Ninh Binh is really beautiful and there is much more to see, so I have to come back! On December 27th, we took an overnight train for nearly 14 hours to Da Nang. They have both beds and seats and we thought, go big or go home. And since the beds are obviously more expensive, we took the cheapest ones. 3rd floor. We're learning...slowly, but surely.

The journey was pretty shitty :D 13 hours of clanging and banging. In our cabin with a total of 6 beds and about 5 children, it wasn't exactly quiet, which led to some aggression when trying to sleep and a constant screeching every few seconds. In the middle of the night, an older Vietnamese man shouts through the hallway and going to the toilet was quite a challenge when everything is shaking and you are being thrown from wall to wall in a small cabin. But there are worse things, I know :) When we arrived in Da Nang, we looked for a Grab (like Uber) and were immediately approached by a driver. We followed him and ended up at his motorbike. So we were each driven on a motorbike through the Vietnamese traffic to our hostel. The two of them told us that they offer tours and that we could do a 1- or 2-day tour with them. It all seemed very professional, they were high up on TripAdvisor and had all the books with reviews with them. So we decided to take a 1-day tour to get to the nearest city Hoi An. 

But before we get to Da Nang...the city is located right by the sea and is slowly turning into a tourist city. Huge hotels are being built everywhere and the city consists only of high-rise buildings.

The beach was nice, but only on the first day, because due to the bad weather the waves were murderous and there was no beach to be seen. Due to the bad weather, we went to a 3D Artwork Museum one day. 

On December 30th, we were picked up by our Easy Rider tour guides and driven around the area. 

I have to say that I was a bit disappointed because we were taken to 2 attractions where we also had to pay admission. I thought we would drive more through the mountains and the two would tell us about their country. They did that too, but the focus was more on the individual stops. The highlight of the day was being able to watch how rice paper is made and trying it ourselves. 

In Hoi An, we stayed for New Year's Eve and my birthday. Hoi An is a super cute town with a beautiful old town area decorated with the famous lanterns. Especially in the evening, it looks enchanting.