For the past two weeks I've been working at a hostel in Hanoi running party tours out to Ha Long Bay.
And it has been incredible.
Not only have I been able to save money and party like a rockstar on a daily basis, but the people I have met here have been AMAZING.
The say a journey is to be measured in friends not miles, and it is true.
The tour I've been running consists of a night on a boat in Ha Long bay, followed by a night on Cat Ba Island. In both places I was lucky enough to work with some really incredible Vietnamese people who were so friendly and welcoming and immediately made me feel like a part of the team. I had heard a lot of negative things about the Vietnamese before coming here, but I can say in all honesty I have yet to meet a Vietnamese person I don't like.
And it really feels like you are their friend, not just some random foreigner who happens to work with them.
Example:
On the boat, there are 6 or 7 Vietnamese staff, including one girl. As a female, I tend to try and bond with the other females as much as possible (lends you more street cred if the girls like you), so it was really important to me that she like me.
On my third or fourth tour, I was sitting at a table in the boat restaurant and she walked up to me without saying a word and put a bracelet around my wrist.
It's not a particularly gorgeous or expensive bracelet, but to me it is one of the best gifts I have ever recieved. To me, that bracelet means I'm accepted and welcomed in a place where I am an ignorant intruding...and as a traveller, I don't think there's a better feeling than that.
I leave Hanoi tomorrow...I'm FINALLY going to meet up with Brandon and Adam in HCMC, then off to Nepal at the beginning of May.
Let the good times roll.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Good Morning Vietnam!
Updates, updates, updates. Finally.
Three days ago I arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam after having spent two and a half weeks (I think?.. time stands till when you travel) in Laos.
I'm going to try and describe some of the differences between the two countries, although I'm realizing more and more how hard it is to share my experiences with people at home. You sort of have to see these things to really understand them....I say this because I remember reading Brandon's blog on Vietnam when he first left, and the descriptions he gave of what he saw here never really registered until I arrived and saw all of these things for myself.
But I'll try my best to convey some bits and pieces.
Laos first.
Laos is GORGEOUS. Even though it is a landlocked country and we all know how much I love the ocean, I still say it's one of the most beautiful places I've been.....when the smog lifts.
For the first week I was there, everything was engulfed in thick clouds. You could vaguely make out the outline of hills, and imagine how beautiful the country might be if you could just SEE something.
The reason for the cloud cover is because in northern Thailand, Burma and Laos the farmers burn their fields in March. Apparently the ash is a powerful fertilizer. It's also a powerful pollutant, but nobody seems to care (eco-consciousness hasn't really hit south east asia yet).
However. Once I got to Vang Vieng it rained for a day, and then BAM. The Laos that everyone talks about appeared:
Rolling hills, mountain peaks, and limestone cliff formations surround Vang Vieng on all sides while the Nam Xong river flows along the western edge of the town. It's green and lush and the jungle is exactly how you would imagine a tropical forest. Spectacular.
Hence why I got stuck in Vang Vieng for two weeks. It was just too pretty to leave. And fun.
Ambience wise, I would compare VV to summer camp for big kids: everyone in town knows each other within three days of being there and there's tons of outdoor activities to do: tubing, rock climbing, biking, caving, hiking, swimming...PLUS you get all those things you wanted at summer camp but couldn't have cause you were little: co-ed rooms, bars and debauchery on a regular basis. Those who have been know what I'm talking about.
Good times had by all. And then I came to Hanoi.
Holy different city batman.
Hanoi is a city of four million people, with an estimated 2.5 million motorcycles. That's a lot of motorcycles in one place. Sort of a shocker after the relative calm and quiet of Laos.
The streets are narrow and filled with people, food stands, vendors, animals (not dogs and cats, ANIMALS: chickens and cows and turtles...); there are piles of bricks and dirt everywhere (things appear to be in a perpetual state of construction or destruction, I can't quite figure out which it is)...basically picture a city in Canada and then imagine everything being exactly the opposite of that. You'll start to get a bit of an idea of what Hanoi is like.
The poverty level is a bit hard to figure out, perhaps because of the socialism thing. You get the impression that people aren't as poor as in laos, but at the same time people here harass you a lot more...I don't know if it's because they need the money , or they've just figured out that tourist = rich.
Because even if I'm dirt poor by Canadian standards, I'm definitely still in the top 1% of the population here. Wierd.
-----
Ok that's all I've got for now folks. Hope this satisfies the cravings of those who are still reading the blog. Miss you all and hope everyone is having a happy easter.
My Easter Dinner was a medly of snake meat, intestines, ribs and snake blood. Delicious.
Enjoy the ham.
Three days ago I arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam after having spent two and a half weeks (I think?.. time stands till when you travel) in Laos.
I'm going to try and describe some of the differences between the two countries, although I'm realizing more and more how hard it is to share my experiences with people at home. You sort of have to see these things to really understand them....I say this because I remember reading Brandon's blog on Vietnam when he first left, and the descriptions he gave of what he saw here never really registered until I arrived and saw all of these things for myself.
But I'll try my best to convey some bits and pieces.
Laos first.
Laos is GORGEOUS. Even though it is a landlocked country and we all know how much I love the ocean, I still say it's one of the most beautiful places I've been.....when the smog lifts.
For the first week I was there, everything was engulfed in thick clouds. You could vaguely make out the outline of hills, and imagine how beautiful the country might be if you could just SEE something.
The reason for the cloud cover is because in northern Thailand, Burma and Laos the farmers burn their fields in March. Apparently the ash is a powerful fertilizer. It's also a powerful pollutant, but nobody seems to care (eco-consciousness hasn't really hit south east asia yet).
However. Once I got to Vang Vieng it rained for a day, and then BAM. The Laos that everyone talks about appeared:
Rolling hills, mountain peaks, and limestone cliff formations surround Vang Vieng on all sides while the Nam Xong river flows along the western edge of the town. It's green and lush and the jungle is exactly how you would imagine a tropical forest. Spectacular.
Hence why I got stuck in Vang Vieng for two weeks. It was just too pretty to leave. And fun.
Ambience wise, I would compare VV to summer camp for big kids: everyone in town knows each other within three days of being there and there's tons of outdoor activities to do: tubing, rock climbing, biking, caving, hiking, swimming...PLUS you get all those things you wanted at summer camp but couldn't have cause you were little: co-ed rooms, bars and debauchery on a regular basis. Those who have been know what I'm talking about.
Good times had by all. And then I came to Hanoi.
Holy different city batman.
Hanoi is a city of four million people, with an estimated 2.5 million motorcycles. That's a lot of motorcycles in one place. Sort of a shocker after the relative calm and quiet of Laos.
The streets are narrow and filled with people, food stands, vendors, animals (not dogs and cats, ANIMALS: chickens and cows and turtles...); there are piles of bricks and dirt everywhere (things appear to be in a perpetual state of construction or destruction, I can't quite figure out which it is)...basically picture a city in Canada and then imagine everything being exactly the opposite of that. You'll start to get a bit of an idea of what Hanoi is like.
The poverty level is a bit hard to figure out, perhaps because of the socialism thing. You get the impression that people aren't as poor as in laos, but at the same time people here harass you a lot more...I don't know if it's because they need the money , or they've just figured out that tourist = rich.
Because even if I'm dirt poor by Canadian standards, I'm definitely still in the top 1% of the population here. Wierd.
-----
Ok that's all I've got for now folks. Hope this satisfies the cravings of those who are still reading the blog. Miss you all and hope everyone is having a happy easter.
My Easter Dinner was a medly of snake meat, intestines, ribs and snake blood. Delicious.
Enjoy the ham.
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