Vietnam
Ván Ho

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    • Day 49

      Hanoi, Vietnam

      February 10, 2017 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

      Good morning Vietnam! We arrived to the capital without much of an itinerary but quickly found things to do that kept us busy for a few days.

      To get familiar with the Old Town which is the heart of the city we met up with a local college student who in exchange for spending a few hours showing us around got to practice her English. She took us to a local market selling everything from wholesale items to fruits and vegetables and even seafood like live turtles and frogs! We were pretty grossed out by that but it was interesting none the less to see what other cultures find acceptable. We also stopped at the temple of the white horse where we learned more about the predominant religion in Vietnam which is based on legends and folklores rather than a god. And after bit of walking we decided to stop for a local favorite; egg coffee which as the name suggests is made with eggs instead of milk! Although we were skeptical if it'd taste good it turned out to be this delicious creamy coffee drink that was perfectly sweet. We wrapped up the tour in the French Quarter and parted ways with our new friend as she had to make her way to class.

      Now that we were oriented in the city we walked around effortlessly without getting lost however we had to always mind the traffic and make sure we didn't get too distracted by gazing at food stalls or stores on the streets selling everything and anything you could imagine. Mitch's favorite street was the "Lowes" street which had store after store of tools and hardware.

      We also visited the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" or Hoa Lo Prison which was built by the French when they ruled in Vietnam and later in history was used during the Vietnam War to keep American prisoners of war such as John McCain captive. The museum was full of propaganda and definitely offered a different take on the war than we learn about in America but that's what we expected. One thing we didn't expect though was to see how friendly the Vietnamese people are to Americans and tourist in general. It was nice to not feel too taken advantage of as a tourist as we've felt in other countries.

      To top off our time in Hanoi we definitely enjoyed our fair share of Ban Bo: vermicelli and Banh Mi: pork sandwiches, 25 cent beer and more egg coffee!

      Oh and how can I forget to mention we had the best $2 rental ever when we stumbled upon a night fair...a modified Hover Board that you cruised around the closed off streets on. Mitch raced the little kids while I didn't go as fast but once when I did I forgot how the brakes worked and almost went flying off. I survived and laughed it off as did the locals who saw me!
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    • Day 168

      Hanoi Ethnography Museum

      February 21, 2017 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

      We visited the Ethnography Museum in Hanoi before we left. It helped us to understand more about all the different groups of people who live in Vietnam and had some interesting displays, both indoors and outdoors. All of the different traditional types of houses, made from wood and bamboo, were the most fascinating and we all had fun climbing into these and exploring. There was also an "interesting" burial display, with graphic "fertility symbols" adorned all around it (see photo) - cue some "interesting" questions from Solana afterwards!!! Whilst at the museum, we also went to see another water puppet theatre show - this time an outdoor one. Thankfully Solana was more awake than the first time we tried to take her, on our 1st day in Hanoi, and this time there were no tears and she loved it. She's been talking about it and wanting to make a puppet ever since! As entertaining as the show itself was the fact that we were the only Western faces at the show - the rest of the outdoor theatre was full of Vietnamese nursery and school children. Solana was a BIG hit with the theatre & school staff afterwards and was much in demand for photos - from them, not us!!!Read more

    • Day 3

      Ho Kim Lien

      September 13, 2015 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

      Hierher zu kommen war der totale Horror, der Verkehr und der Lärm... Erstmal n päuschen 😊
      Hier wurde ich das erstemal beschiessen! Hab es allerdings noch gemerkt 😜
      Der Verkehr und die Geräuschkulisse haben mich so fertig und müde gemacht, dass ich mich erstmals getraut habe, mir n Mofataxi zu leisten🚨 , abgesehen davon, dass ich niemals zurück gefunden hätte...War auf jedenfall ein Abenteuer, habs überlebt ! 🍀

      Unterwegs war ich ein wenig shoppen ☺️ fehlt nur noch die Regenjacke ...
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    • Day 10

      Dag 8 24 februari

      February 24, 2017 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

      Dagje rustig aan: na ontbijtje met een eitje op de fiets richting markt, ongeveer 1 uur op de pendalen via onder andere zandwegen, bergen van de 3e categorie en natuurlijk langs de rijstvelden. Markt had niet veel om het lijf maar je moet toch een doel hebben. Terug naar de homestay, nog een rondje dorp gedaan en daarna vertrokken naar Hanoi voor de nachttrein richting Hue. Onderweg wat stops gemaakt voor foto's en prima lunch, waarbij Peter er niet aan ontkwam om te 'shotten' met de locals.
      Zojuist afgezet bij het station, gids heeft ons begeleid naar het perron waar we afscheid hebben genomen en afgesproken dat we contact met hem opnemen als we een reis door Noord-Vietnam willen boeken. Wie weet tot volgend jaar.
      Inmiddels is de trein vertrokken voor een rit van ongeveer 14 uur. Als jullie dag 9 lezen hebben we het in ieder geval overleeft. We vrezen het ergste: schoot net een muis onder het bed vandaar. Ach, dan heb je dat maar gehad.
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    • Day 3

      Day 3

      November 2, 2023 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌙 27 °C

      Not quite the day that was planned . A combination of a viral throat infection and chronic jet lag and I ended up at the doctors - you could not make it up but hopeful tomorrow will be a better day !

    • Day 1

      Hanoi

      November 8, 2022 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

      Nach ca. 17 Stunden Flug mit einem Zwischenstopp in Taipei bin ich endlich in Hanoi angekommen. Mit einem Mitreisenden aus Deutschland habe ich den lokalen Bus vom Flughafen in die Innenstadt genommen. Hier haben sich erst einmal unsere Wege getrennt, aber wir haben uns für den folgenden Tag verabredet. Voll beladen und übermüdet habe ich dann versucht, mich von meinem Halt aus über die "Gehwege" in Richtung meines Airbnbs zu machen. Dieses war jedoch sehr gut versteckt. Wie in Hanoi üblich, befand sich zwischen den am Straßenrand ansässigen Garküchen und einem Meer aus Plastikstühlen und Tischen ein schmaler Gang, der in ein Hinterhaus führte. In diesem befand sich die Toilette des nahegelegenen Essensstands. Eine zugleich unebene und schmale Treppe führte mich in den dritten Stock, wo ich dann meine Unterkunft fand, die lediglich mit einem Vorhängeschloss gesichert war. Das Bett war bequem, auf dem Balkon befand sich die Küche samt Kühlschrank. Die Rohre im Badezimmer wurden durch Tesa zusammengehalten. Nach einer kurzen Pause habe ich die Gegend erkundet und für die Nacht eingekauft.Read more

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