Northern Vietnam

Hello everyone,

I'm very sorry that you had to wait so long for my update. Unfortunately, Anton got typhoid fever in Hanoi and had to fly back to Germany... This also means that I now have to rearrange my trip a bit, as I will be traveling alone and with Olga in Laos and Cambodia, but more on that later.

So our three trips started with two nights on Cat Ba Island. The island itself is not necessarily very beautiful, as there is a lot of construction going on and it seems a bit run down. However, it is all the more beautiful if you take some time to explore the area. On the day of arrival, we went for a hike and ended up in a small fishing village. The locals were very excited to see us Europeans and were very happy to take a photo together. But above all, they were fascinated by Anton's height, so he had to stand next to the smallest Vietnamese woman so that the others could have a laugh.

After our little trip, we chose a restaurant and spent the rest of the evening chatting, eating and playing cards.

The next morning, we had to get up at 7 a.m. because we had booked a day tour on a boat. From 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. we sailed on the boat to a completely natural spot, where everyone got kayaks and could paddle through the caves to the hidden lakes for 2 hours. So you paddle through complete darkness through a cave and after about 10 minutes of paddling, you arrive at an abandoned lake. At 2 p.m., we met again at the boat and were taken to Monkey Island by water taxis. On the island, there were many wild monkeys who naturally attracted the full attention of tourists with their lively nature. With the others in the group, we went to the highest point of the island, enjoyed the view, and were taken back to our hostel by boat. The next morning, we were driven back to Hanoi by bus and ferry.

After another night in Hanoi, we took a bus to Mai Chau the next day. A small rural area belonging to Hoa Binh province and located 130 km southwest of Hanoi. The district is known for its rice fields, mountains, and beautiful accommodations. We chose a farmstay and had a very cute bungalow with a direct view of the mountain range. In Mai Chau, we had a lot of contact with the locals. Everyone welcomed us very kindly and invited us to eat and drink. We even had the pleasure of tasting homemade rice wine on the second evening. We also got to see a lot of traditional dancing and eventually danced and played with the children of the families. In summary, it was two very nice days to immerse ourselves in the culture of the locals, although the poverty there was very shocking compared to Hanoi.

After another stay in Hanoi, we drove to the south for 3 hours the next day. Our destination: the city of Ninh Binh. Again, we had a beautiful, quite large bungalow located directly on a lake between the mountains. Upon our arrival, we rode bicycles through the various small villages, visited a very old cemetery, another temple, and in the afternoon, we were taken on a boat through caves and stunning nature. At 7 p.m., we had dinner at our hotel and then tried in vain to fish with a homemade fishing rod from our bungalow, as the Vietnamese do. On the last day, we walked up to a viewpoint with 664 steps and enjoyed the view over the villages and the city. In the late afternoon, we were picked up from our bungalow and brought back to Hanoi.