Hello Vietnam 🇻🇳

Hello from Northern Vietnam :)

For over a week now, we have been traveling through Northern Vietnam and have already discovered that there is a lot to explore. Unfortunately, we only got a visa for 15 days, so we will stay in the north and then fly to Thailand.

The first days we spent in Hanoi, which is the largest city in the north. I would describe Hanoi as a very crazy city, where you can spend a few days but don't necessarily have to stay for several weeks. The traffic is a complete chaos, the streets are full and the noise is massive. Nevertheless, there is always something to see, the people live basically on the streets, everywhere you can find fresh fruits, vegetables, and everything your heart desires. You have to see that once!

These train tracks run right in front of people's houses. Although not very frequent during the day, the noise is quite strong.

From Hanoi, we started our tours, such as the one to Halong Bay. So we took the bus from there to Cat Ba, where we spent a beautiful day and one of our first beach days of this trip.

The next day, we went on our 3-day tour to Halong Bay, one of the smaller islands in the north. The first day consisted of biking and hiking. After a long uphill climb and a not-so-easy hiking trail, we had an impressive view of the sea. We also visited an abandoned village and took a boat to our bungalows.

In the evening, we slept in paradise, where we were picked up by the boat the next day. The weather was perfect and we were lucky with the group again. The view from the boat was magnificent. The nature was very impressive.

In the afternoon, Farina and I realized that kayaking is not our thing, as we were always the last ones and our arms didn't feel like it after just 5 minutes. Nevertheless, the view was great. It was wonderful to swim in the sea again. After a relaxed night on the boat, we went kayaking again the next day 🙈 In the afternoon, we took a break and relaxed on the deck, enjoying the sun!

After the tour, we spent another night in Cat Ba and the next day we returned to Hanoi, where we had a relaxed day. In the evening, we continued overnight to Sa Pa. There we met a local woman who lives in a small village in the mountains. As planned, we were picked up at 6am the next morning and set off on the long journey to her village. We chose a less touristy route, which led us through rivers, mountains, and mostly unpaved roads. So we went uphill, downhill towards Pham's village (I can't remember the name). During the 13 kilometers, we had enough time to learn something about life in her village. It would be too much to tell everything, so just a few examples. Most women get married without ever seeing the man. It doesn't matter if they like him or not. The main thing is that the man has enough pigs to host the wedding feast. Pham also told us that every woman owns about three different outfits, which are all carefully handmade (this can take up to a year).

During the way, we passed the impressive rice fields, which unfortunately had already been harvested at this time of year. However, nature with its rivers, mountains, and vast fields has a lot to offer.

Just before we reached her house, Pham had a surprise for us. So we enjoyed a bath. The herbs in the water, which were found in the mountains, serve as medicine for the people after hard work in the rice fields and are supposed to relax the body and prevent tension. The water was really hot, so after 20 minutes I had enough. I could have fallen asleep immediately after that!

In the evening, we met Pham's husband, who cooked us a delicious dinner. The two live in a modest hut, which is of course not comparable to German conditions. Each family has its own animals, which serve as food, and vegetables are grown independently. Other food is bought at the market.

Pham's home:

The next day, we hiked another 11 kilometers and enjoyed the view. On our way, we met two local women, who were very excited about Farina's Polaroid camera and were delighted with a photo.

These two days were a valuable experience and showed us how abundantly we live and how grateful we can be for our lives. This is not to say that people there have a bad life. Pham says she has a very beautiful life and doesn't want to change it.

Now we are enjoying the last days in Vietnam and will fly to Phuket on November 13th.