Look out, detour ahead

Ahhh, Vietnam! A place few think about visiting but a place that I was dying to go to. I've head stories about Vietnam being this crazy populated country and Hanoi being a traffic nightmare. Well, the stories are all true. As soon as I arrived in the center of Hanoi, it looked like a scene from a horror film. Motorcycles, people, and cars everywhere! It was utter chaos. I dropped my things off and checked into my hostel, Central Backpackers Old Quarter Hostel before my journey through Hanoi. I took off on foot and started exploring Hanoi. It was probably the most nerve-racking and scariest time of my life. Literally thought I was going to get ran over. There are no street signs that tell pedestrians when to cross. It is just "walk with caution" and pray no one hits you. It was like I was in a real-life Frogger game.

Day 2

I met this German fellow named Thomas and we decided to do a little sight seeing together. We started the day by doing a walking tour of the city. It took us to places like: Turtle Lake, St. Joseph's Cathedral, Don Muang Market, street food alley, and our last stop was at Cafe Giang. It is at this famous coffee shop where we got to try the famous "egg coffee". I'm not a big fan of coffee but I had to give it a try and well, it was good, but not something I'd ever order again. Afterwards, we decided to visit Ha Loa Prison, where Senator John McCain was held captive. It was a really interesting place and cool to see but I would not want to be held captive at this prison, let me just say that. Next, we walked to the Vietnam military museum to check out some things about the Vietnam war and the weapons that they used. Cool little museum and something worth checking out none the less. All this sightseeing made us a bit hungry and we stopped at this little shop on the corner. I don't remember what it was called but I do remember ordering a Banh mi sandwich, my first and only Banh Mi of the trip. It was pretty tasty and definitely a popular food item to try when and if you ever visit Vietnam. After the small pit stop we randomly stumbled across the famous Street Train. This is where train tracks run right through the middle of people's houses and shops. You may have seen pictures on Instagram of it and if I would have known how popular of a place it was, I too would've taken some photos but I didn't. This led us to our final sight seeing stop of the afternoon and that was at Ho Chi Minh mausoleum. Ho Chi Minh was the former prime minister and president of Vietnam and the mausoleum serves as his resting place. It is open to the public, however, it closes at 5 pm. So don't make the same mistake as Thomas and I and get their late, because that is what we did and didn't get to go inside.

When we got back to the hostel, Thomas and I decided to book a 3 day trip to Ha Long Bay the next day. Random, yes. But so many people told me that I had to go to Ha Long Bay and that If I didn't go I would be missing out. Sooo, I'm not one to miss out on an opportunity. So I made a little detour in my plans (again) but one that I would not regret. So essentially tonight was my last night in Hanoi and because I never got to experience the night life, Thomas and I decided we would do that tonight before heading off. We signed up for the hostel pub crawl and made some new friends along the way. Coincidentally enough, we met two other Germans guys and some Irish girls who were doing the exact same thing as us. We had a bunch of fun playing games and kicking back some cold Vietnamese beverages before calling it a night around 2 am.

Day 3

I woke up at 7 am and went and ate breakfast before I had to pack all my things up. The beautiful Ha Long Bay islands awaits me! Ha Long Bay is about 4 hours east of Hanoi but it was definitely worth the trip if you have the time. The trip is also better if you have a good group. I happened to be going with a great group of people. Their were the Germans: Philip and Fabian, the Americans: Michael and Oakland, the crazy Irish girls, the Canadian, Kristyn and the Dutch: Jasper, Moon and co. There were others, of course, but I don't remember all their names. The "Captains" taught us a really fun and cool game called, "Shimmy Shimmy". It's kind of hard to explain but it was a really fun group game that everyone seemed to enjoy. Anyways, as soon as we got to the island, we checked in and all started playing volleyball and just enjoyed life. As the night went on, the better and better it got. It was a good time with everyone playing pool, games, and telling stories.

The next morning we went kayaking through Ha Long Bay. We checked out some fishing villages and saw how the Vietnamese fish and provide for their families. (really cool to see) It was a nice "wake up" activity before heading back to Hanoi. Although my time in Vietnam was short, it was definitely fun and my only regret is that I didn't stay long enough. That's the thing about solo traveling, you never know which city you will enjoy more and it is hard to coordinate flights ahead of time. I guess next time I'll just buy a one way flight and stay until I get bored of a city. You live and you learn!

But make no mistake, I will be back to visit Vietnam in the future, you can count on that.

And on this day, I was the best looking guy around

#travel #Asia #Backpackers #Vietnam #Hanoi #HaLongBay