My First Solo Trip : Vietnam
Vietnam is one of the places that I really wish I could return to. When I went, Vietnam was having an unnaturally cold season. It snowed for the first time in over 70 years during my visit. Most of the inhabitants of Vietnam had never seen snow before in their lives so naturally they were enchanted by the magic of snow. Snow isn't a novelty for me so I was mostly just annoyed. All that said, I really enjoyed my time there. I was able to sample a lot of delicious food, learn lots of history and watch some amazing artists at work.
Day 1
I left for Hanoi, Vietnam immediately from work at my job in Guangzhou, China. China and Vietnam are very close so my flight was direct and only took a few hours. I arrived in Hanoi at about 10 at night. As a US citizen, I had to apply in advance for a visa. Upon arrival I also had to pay $25 in cash. I prearranged a taxi to pick me up and take me to my hotel. I stayed at Lucky 3 Hotel, which is very close to Hoan Kiem Lake.
Day 2
The hotel where I stayed offered a beautiful breakfast on the top floor. I never sleep well on my first night in a hotel so I woke up super early and watched the sun rise. The breakfast was very good and the view was incredible.
I was really excited to be in a new city so I immediately set out exploring. My first stop of the day was Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Taxis in Vietnam are relatively inexpensive so I just took a taxi to keep my life simple. I could've walked there in about 30 minutes.
I was surprised by the security to get into the Mausoleum. I had to go through a metal detector, check my bag and my camera. There were guards everywhere.
From what I understand, Ho Chi Minh is viewed as kind of a savior of Vietnam. He has almost God-like status. Before I visited his body in the Mausoleum, we were shown several videos and I was reminded to be respectful.
I was only able to look at his body for a few minutes. We walked by the casket without stopping for long. With all of the lights shining on the body, his skin was kind of glowing. He looked so well preserved that he was almost like plastic.
After I left the room with his body, I got my camera back and took some pictures of the area.
Nearby to the Mausoleum, you can find the Vietnamese Woman's Museum, the One Pilar Pogada and the Temple of Literature. I skipped the Vietnamese Women's museum but really enjoyed walking around the pogada and temple.
The One Pillar Pogada is a historic Buddhist Temple considered one of the most beautiful and iconic temples of Vietnam. It was originally built by Emperor Ly Thai Tong who ruled from 1028 to 1054.
The Temple of Literature was built in 1070 and is one of several temples dedicated to Confucius. The Temple is divided into 5 courtyards with a main gate at the front. The gate opens to 3 paths with the central path traditionally reserved for the monarch. The Temple is featured on the 100,000 baht note so if you want a cheesy tourist pic then this is a perfect opportunity.
It started to rain pretty hard so I found a cute coffee shop and dried off.
After the rain stopped, I returned to the area surrounding my hotel. I ate some delicious Banh Minh for dinner and walked around the lake.
Hoan Kiem Lake literally means "Lake of the Returned Sword." It gets this name from an old story that Emperor Le Loi was had to return a magic sword to a Golden Turtle God after he finished fighting with the Chinese.
Now, people visit the lake and release turtles for good luck.
Day 3
If you haven't picked up on it yet, I'm pretty into history so I pretty much dedicated my third day to the history of Vietnam. I started my day off with a visit to Hoa Lo Prison aka "The Hanoi Hilton."
My parents grew up in the midst of the Vietnam War so they were very interested in hearing about the prison. As someone who grew up only knowing the American perspective, it was really interesting to learn about how Vietnam viewed the war.
Afterwards, I stopped for lunch of pho. Since it was pretty cold and rainy, the pho was perfect.
My next history stop of the day was the Vietnam Army Museum. To be honest, I was a little disappointed. The Museum had some interesting exhibits but I'm not that interested in weapons or vehicles so I found those parts boring. I know a lot of people who would've appreciated it much more.
Next to the museum is a super cute cafe covered in post-it notes from around the world. It had started to rain a lot so I spent a lot of time cuddling my book and coffee.
Other museums that are pretty cool to check out are the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum and the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology. I really enjoyed my time at both, but museums aren't everyone's cup of tea so I really only recommend these if you had lots of time or you're unlucky with weather like I was.
For dinner, I visited a nearby snake village.
The area is meant to specialize in dinners serving only snake. Eating snake is traditionally supposed to be a kind of sex supplement for men. And I was certainly the only woman around.
For me, it was a super cool experience. I picked out the snake that I wanted to eat and then the cook prepared a massive meal using all parts of the snake.
I even took a shot of the snakes heart.
Now, personally I don't think that eating the animal like this is cruel. Or any more cruel than eating any other animal. Personally, I think it's good to be aware that an animal died so that I could eat. The snake was killed quickly and humanely. And I ate all of it. I was a vegetarian for 5 years so I like to think that I am a mindful eater. But some people take issue with it.
I will mention that restaurants or shops will also sell wine or whiskey infused with snake. I'd advice against buying one of these because sometimes they will drown the snake in the alcohol to give it stronger powers as a sex supplement.
Day 4
On the fourth day, I woke up super early for my cruise on Halong Bay. Halong Bay is absolutely a must. It's crazy beautiful. Personally, I opted for a cruise because I wanted to seriously relax and just enjoy the views but you just as easily visit it on your own.
The cruise that I went on included all meals so the only added cost were drinks.
The first day, I just relaxed on the boat. After dinner, we went kayaking and watched the sunset over the water.
Day 5
We woke up early, had breakfast and then went to explore a cave. Then, we went back to the boat for lunch.
After lunch, we went on a tour of a pearl factory. It was a pretty obvious money grab and there was no way that I could afford anything that they were selling but it was interesting.
After shopping, there was more food and then bed. Some people opted to stay up and sing karaoke.
Day 6
This was my favorite day by far. We visited Cat Ba Island. Me and a few others rented motorcycles and drove around exploring the island.
We visited one of the caves that served as a hospital during the war. We had a really informative guide and i definitely learned a lot.
We then drove to the highest point of the island to watch the sunset.
We spent the night sleeping on the island. There was no cell service and I really enjoyed falling asleep to the natural sounds of the island.
Day 7
On the 7th day, we had a cooking class on the boat. The cook taught us how to make flowers and other things with fruits and vegetables. I enjoyed watching him but it wasn't really something that I felt like I would ever use.
During the second part of the class, we made spring rolls. Eating them was the best part.
I returned to Hanoi and checked back into my hotel.
Day 8
I only stayed for the night in Hanoi before heading out to my new adventure. Since it was my first time traveling solo, I almost entirely only booked trips with tour agencies. I woke up at 7:30 in the morning to visit Sapa. Normally, a bus ride from Hanoi to Sapa should take about 3 hours but since it snowed for the first time in 70, we were stuck in traffic for about 8 hours.
When we arrived, we went for a small trek up and explored the Black Hmong village. Many of the women walked around on the street in their traditional dress. Our guide told us that the village had very traditional values. The women did all of the work and the men would lie around and drink all day.
I think it's important to remain respectful of a different system of values, but I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the women of the village.
I bought a skirt from one of the women selling on the streets. She didn't speak any English beyond asking me where I was from and talking about the price, but I really liked her smile so I asked to snap a picture.
Day 9
I only stayed one night in Sapa so I really only got a small taste of everything that the city had to offer. but I found that it reminded me a lot of the resort towns of places like Eureka Springs or Denver, Colorado. There were stores selling arts and crafts everywhere, nice places to get massages and really beautiful views of the mountains. I stayed in a room with an older woman travelling from Germany. She told me that it reminded her of the Swiss Alps.
We had breakfast at our hotel and then set out for a trek to a waterfall. Along the trek, we walked through some beautiful villages living without internet or other forms of modern technically. I have mixed feelings about villages like this because the tour is kind of set up to walk through these villages as if they were a zoo. To be honest, as interesting as the villages are, they're not really a fair representation of what Vietnam is.
In this area, there's a really beautiful style of textile work involving indigo dyes. As we walked through, many of the women were working on the fabric or weaving with a child in their lab. Their hands were dyed blue from the work.
When we arrived at the waterfall, it was honestly the most beautiful waterfall I've ever seen. I've visited lots of others after and they've almost always paled in comparison.
At the base of the waterfall, we were welcomed by traditional flute music. I walked around and pretended I was in a music video. Then, we walked into a performance hall and watched a traditional bamboo dance.
The dancers jumped back and forth while their partners smashed the bamboo sticks together. It was so cool, but I was cringing the whole time because I was convinced that they were going to break their legs.
For our final stop of the day, we went out to an overlook and I took my favorite picture of the trip.
I took the night bus to return to my hotel in Hanoi
Day 10
The last day of my trips are almost always dedicated to shopping and relaxing. I spent the day exploring the Old Quarter and shopping. There's lots of cool stuff to buy. If you're interested in fake goods then Hanoi is perfect. One of my big regrets is not buying a fake Northface Jacket.
For my last meal, I decided to visit a French Restaurant. Vietnam was previously occupied by the French and the influence is very evident in several places.
I really enjoyed the French meal that I had, but I was a little underwhelmed. I had set my expectations pretty high because of the high price. So maybe anything would've disappointed me.
Day 11
I woke up early to catch my next flight.
I really enjoyed my time in Vietnam and I'm glad that I made the decision to stay in the north. All the same, I really hope to return one day and see the rest of this beautiful country.
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