Vietnam (Day 100-106)

Day 100 Ninh Binh

In this hostel, we had a free breakfast, which for me meant a baguette with margarine and a banana. After that, we each took one of the also free bicycles and rode to Mua Cave. Upon arrival, we had to climb many steps to reach the top, as the whole place was on a small hill. It was very tiring, as the sun was shining quite strongly. However, the view from the top was definitely worth the effort. Once we were back down, I got a coconut and Jan got a beer. After a little break, we rode back into town to eat. Google Maps, however, directed us over a very narrow path between the rice fields. Fortunately, I managed the path without falling, as my bike was not in the best condition. After lunch, we were so exhausted that we had to lie down for a bit. In the afternoon, we rode our bicycles again to Buffalo Cave. Here, you could climb into a small cave, feed ducks and a water buffalo, and you received a drink. On the way back, Jan and I stepped in mud, so we had to wash our feet and legs in the river first. After cleaning up, we went to eat a smoothie bowl.

Day 101 Trip to CAT Ba

In the morning, I first jogged for a round and then we went for breakfast, where I even got cucumbers and tomatoes this time. Afterwards, I lay down in bed again because we didn’t have to check out until 12:00. We then went into town to get something to eat before a mini-van picked us up at 1:30 PM. We were lucky and there were only three of us in the car, so we had plenty of space. After almost 4 hours, we arrived at our next hostel. We dropped our stuff in the room and went straight to dinner.

Afterwards, we walked a bit through the streets before heading back to the hostel.

Day 102 Cat Ba Island

I felt like I had good luck in a hostel for the first time because breakfast was free and also vegan! After breakfast, we rode a scooter to the national park. At the entrance of the park, a group suddenly approached us and started talking to us. They just stood next to us and took pictures with us. We had to take a picture with each of them. The people were really very nice, but the situation felt quite absurd for us. Afterwards, we hiked to a viewpoint. Since it was extremely hot (35 degrees) and the humidity was extremely high, we were both sweating a lot. By the time we reached the top, we were completely soaked, as if we had jumped into the water. The view was definitely worth the strenuous climb again. After the exhausting hike, we went for lunch and then rode to the beach. However, the beach was right in front of a hotel and thus full of beach loungers. Since we didn’t want to pay for anything, we had to find a way to lay between the loungers.

Later, we went to the rooftop bar again. Here, Jan naturally got a beer, as it only cost 33 cents during happy hour!

That evening, we went to a restaurant for dinner. Later, we played Mario Kart on the Nintendo Switch at the hostel. At 8:00 PM there was a pub quiz that we played in a team with two Scottish girls.

Day 103 Cat Ba Island

My day started with an hour of yoga at 8:00 AM, as that was also free to do at the hostel. After that, we had breakfast, and then we wanted to go to the beach, which unfortunately was canceled due to the rain starting. So, I lay down in bed again, started reading a bit, and took a power nap. At 12:00 PM, we went into the city to have a coffee.

After that, we went to a viewpoint that gave us a good view of the beach but unfortunately also at the same time had a huge construction site. Many hotels or an entire resort were being built on that beach.

After the little hike, we went for lunch. Luckily, the sun came out again later, and we could go to the beach once more. We first went to one beach but then walked on as it was quite small and crowded. We walked over a path right at the rocks and by the sea to the next beach. Along the way, you could see people taking pictures every 5 meters. Once we arrived at the beach, we went straight into the water. It didn’t take long before the first ones arrived and said “Hello!” to us. A father even came with his little daughter to me, and the daughter took my hand. For her, it seemed to be something special to see and touch a white European-looking woman. However, the beach filled up quite quickly, and it became very uncomfortable. Additionally, we were looked at all the time, and some people also secretly took pictures of us. So, we left the beach and went back to the hostel. I then went for a run. Afterwards, we went for dinner. The next night was unfortunately not so relaxing, as a man in our dorm was on the phone until 1:00 AM! At some point, I then called over that he should finally stop. He didn’t care and just continued talking.

Day 104 Trip to Hanoi

Our day started at 6:00 AM, as the same man who had been on the phone during the night had set his alarm for 6:00 AM. The alarm rang every 10 minutes. I was so close to telling him that he was completely out of line, but I didn’t get the chance. At 8:00 AM, we had another hour of yoga. Afterwards, we went for breakfast, and I decided to go for a little run. After that, we had to pack our things already. In the meantime, Jan got 2 Banh mi. We checked out and ate our Banh mi. Shortly after 12:00 PM, our bus arrived. This time we took a speedboat to the mainland, which only took a few minutes. After another 2 hours of travel, we arrived in Hanoi. After checking into the hostel, we first went to a vegan restaurant called “Katze” for dinner. They had really delicious Vietnamese food. Afterward, we walked through the old town and had a coffee. I ordered a coconut coffee, which unfortunately did not taste good. As a small compensation, we got a piece of cake and then returned to the hostel, where we also dropped off our laundry.

Day 105 Hanoi

After a really good breakfast at the hostel (many different fruits), we all went to the hairdresser. There, a woman convinced me to get highlights. Since I couldn’t say no, I ended up getting highlights. After dyeing, my hair was washed out, and I also received a facial treatment as well as a massage on my neck, head, and shoulders. After that, my hair was cut, and I was looking forward to the highlights. However, my hair was completely blonde in the front and not just a little lighter. After they saw my dissatisfied look, they dyed the front strands darker again. That made it at least a bit better, but in the end, my hair just looked too streaky. I liked the new cut, though, so I might just buy some brown hair dye in the next few days and dye my hair myself. After the hairdresser, we went for lunch. Then we visited St. Joseph Cathedral and made our way to Note Café. This is a café filled with little texts and messages from people who have been there. We naturally wrote a little message as well. It was really interesting and partly also emotional to read the messages of other people.

Later, we sat down in a restaurant and Jan got a beer. After that, we made our way back to the hostel. After taking a break, we went for dinner.

To end the evening, we went to the beer street, got something to drink, and smoked a shisha. Of course, many street vendors passed by us, but what really shocked me were little girls. These girls had a small kitten in a basket and were simultaneously selling cigarettes.

Day 106 Hanoi

After breakfast, we rented a scooter and rode to the famous Train Street. Here, we missed the first train and had to wait over 1 hour for the next one. On the sides of the street, there were cafés everywhere, and the train passed right by! After that, we rode a bit around the city and passed some sights.

Then we went to the Hobbit Café, which resembled a hobbit cave. Afterwards, we had passport photos taken for the visa for Laos and wandered a bit through the old town, where we bought some clothes.

Then we had Banh and right after that, we had some vegan ice cream. It was really delicious.

Next, we went back to the hostel and rested a bit.

In the evening, we went to eat again, and we rode back to Train Street to see the whole spectacle once more in the dark.