Cao Bang

Cao Bang. A small town in the far north of Vietnam. We traveled here by bus for about 8 hours. The 'Nightbus' is equipped with seats converted into beds, but overall it is too uncomfortable to sleep well. However, it is definitely an experience. During the stopover, I tried some new food: Chicken Porridge. In the end, it's just rice porridge with chicken. It's quite strange to eat something like that, but it actually tastes quite good.

In the morning, I arrived at my hostel and was greeted very warmly. The taxi ride from the bus stop to the hostel was also very amusing. The driver stopped, rolled down the window, and briefly spoke to a local, who then got into the car with two boxes. It took me a moment to realize that he was transporting chickens in the boxes, which were poking their heads out of the holes in the pictures. It looked so funny that I couldn't help but laugh. But the two of them laughed too.

By the way, everything here is illuminated with colorful lights at night, which creates a really cool effect.

In the morning, I needed some more sleep. Especially because I caught a cold from the air conditioning on the bus.

In the afternoon, I spent time in the city. No tourists, no strangers, just me and a bunch of children staring at me in amazement, or locals greeting me kindly. I'm starting to get the hang of just going with the flow. By chance, I discovered a huge market where they sold fresh fruits, fish, meat, clothes, pottery, spices, basically everything you can imagine. Among other things, they have the green fruits in the pictures. They're called 'Dao' here. They taste a bit like a pear, just not as sweet. I really like them.

By the way, the coffee here tastes thousand times better than the German one. You should definitely try fresh coffee when you're in Asia! It's worth it.

I started the next day with this amazing breakfast made by the owner of the hostel. In the hostel, it was possible to rent a scooter and take a tour. So I set off on the challenging journey to Ban Gioc Waterfalls. It was challenging because it was very cold in the mountains with 12 degrees and rain. Plus, there was the wind while riding the scooter. But the destination was worth it, even with poor visibility, and on the way back I rode with a group of Spaniards who happened to be staying at the same hostel as me. We had tea together and some of us ate before heading back.

After a cold ride, a little piece of heaven was waiting for me at the hostel: Lin, the owner, had cooked Hot Pot, a Vietnamese national dish. It's basically a soup fondue. There's a pot of hot broth in the middle of the table and everyone cooks what they want in it. Fish, meat, mushrooms, corn on the cob, dumplings, and all sorts of vegetables. I didn't want to stop eating. Plus, I had great company with the family, a Canadian, and a Russian. Such a nice group and just a great feeling. I hope it continues like this.