From Saigon to Halong Bay in Vietnam

Day 140

Hello from beautiful Vietnam🇻🇳

I hope everyone is doing well. We are fine. We are currently on our way to the famous Halong Bay in northern Vietnam. 

What have we experienced in the meantime?

From Kep, Cambodia, we organized a bus to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The journey started early in the morning. We were picked up in a rickety minivan, where the door didn't even close anymore. Luckily, it was only about an hour to the border. The exit and entry went smoothly. There, we were allowed to change to a comfortable, large bus. The journey was very long and tiring. On board, we met a nice guy from Berlin named Micha, who had been teaching at a school in Kep for a few weeks and had a lot to tell. Due to the long waiting time at the border and several traffic jams, we only reached the city shortly before midnight. Full of anticipation, we walked towards the hotel, where Corinne and Caro were already waiting for us. The two girls had traveled all the way from Switzerland to visit us and celebrate Lars' 30th birthday with us. After hours of chatting and a few drinks, we fell into bed, exhausted. The next day, we explored the city on foot, which was very impressive. The traffic is crazy, 10,000 motorbikes crisscross the city and crossing the street becomes an exciting experience. We visited the Central Market with its thousands of stalls, among other places. This gave the two girls a first impression of the bustling, Asian life. After that, we visited a museum of the Vietnam War. The war was vividly but also brutally depicted in pictures, weapons, and relics. In the evening, we went to an awesome rooftop bar with an amazing view.

The next day it was time to pack our bags again, the next destination was the coastal city of Mui Ne. After a short drive, we reached the city and were surprised at how quiet and cozy it is here. After settling into our beautiful rooms, we headed to the beach. Mui Ne is a paradise for kite surfers, as it is usually very windy. There were a dozen surfers out at sea, which was really nice to watch. In the evening, we wanted to celebrate Lars' birthday a little. After dinner, we played a round of beer pong and toasted at midnight. Cheers! The following day, we booked a tour to the sand dunes of Mui Ne. We were picked up by a cool jeep and visited the beautiful dunes and a fishing village. In the evening, we were able to watch the sunset and were then taken back to the hotel. To celebrate the day, we went to a fancy German restaurant for dinner. After that, we continued to the Dragonbeach Club. The club was super chic and right by the sea. We partied with the crazy Asians until the early hours of the morning. At the same time, it was also Chinese New Year, which the Vietnamese celebrate extensively for a week. After recovering from a hangover for another day, we continued to Dalat, located in a beautiful mountain landscape. 

The journey continued through winding roads into the mountains. The bus ride was delayed again due to a flat tire. We arrived tired in the city at noon. The first impression was sobering. Dalat is apparently a popular destination among Vietnamese, especially for New Year. The city was full of cars, scooters, and thousands of people. We explored the city and took a walk by the lake, later we ended the evening with dinner together. The following days, we explored the surrounding area in a cable car, visited a temple complex with a lake and a waterfall. After two nights, we continued towards Hoi An - the City of Lanterns.

We took an overnight bus to our next destination, where we once again had a flat tire in the middle of the journey. After hours of searching for a new tire, we finally got lucky. We arrived in Hoi An early in the morning and went for a coffee to recharge. We were so happy when we arrived at the hotel, the staff was so kind and helpful and the room was amazing. Since we could borrow bicycles for free from the hotel, we set off for the beach. The beach was really beautiful and we enjoyed soaking up the sun. The next few days, we explored the beautiful old town, which comes to life in the evening with its thousands of lanterns and old houses. We also visited a cat café that takes care of street animals. On the last day, we rented a scooter and visited the nearby Marble Mountain, with cave temples and a great view. The next day, we had to say goodbye, as the girls had to take the bus all the way back to Ho Chi Minh City. We hugged each other with a heavy heart and looked back on a wonderful time together. Thank you for making the long journey to visit us. For Lars and me, the journey continued to the small city of Ninh Binh.

We spent the night on the night bus, where we arrived in Ninh Binh at 4 am. Still sleepy, we got into a taxi to the hotel. After a quick ring, the owner opened the door. Since he was fully booked, he offered us the couch in the lobby to sleep on. After a short power nap, we were able to spend the remaining hours in another room until our room became available. In the afternoon, we explored the city, which was nothing special. The special thing about the hotel was the hosts, their friendliness was incomparable. As soon as we sat down for dinner, he brought us rice schnapps, also known as Happy Water. We felt right at home here, the room was super cozy and we could always make jokes or chat with the boss. The next day, we rented a scooter from him and visited the Trang An Grotto. When we arrived, we booked a boat tour and were driven through the beautiful landscape with many limestone cliffs. The highlight was passing through some caves that were sometimes so low that we had to duck our heads. After a 2.5 hour boat tour, including a visit to the King Kong movie location, we were brought back to shore. The next day, we set off again with the scooter. Today, we visited the Mua Cave and a larger temple complex. The cave was not as exciting, but we could climb a mountain where a dragon sat at the summit. The 500 steps were worth it, the view was simply breathtaking. After that, we continued with the scooter through numerous rice fields and beautiful mountain landscapes. When we reached the temple complex, we marveled at the countless pagodas and temples. We could even ride up a tower, which we of course did. The next day, our journey continued to the famous Halong Bay.

After a five hour bus and boat ride, we reached our destination, Cat Ba Island. From here, we want to explore the bay by ship over the next few days. Unfortunately, the weather is not as good anymore, but maybe it will improve in the next few days. We have about a week left in Vietnam before our flight to Hong Kong. We really like Vietnam. The warmth of the people makes it very special.

See you soon and thanks for reading

Your Anita❤️