Gooooood Morrrrrning Vietnam!!!

We've made it to our fourth country in Southeast Asia.....it's exciting but very very sad as I can see how people could easily spend 6 months tooling around this region....I think I'll be back soon :)

So anyway, we made it to Vietnam which means....we got another travel buddy: Megan!!!! For those of you who don't know who Megan is, she is a girl Katy and I used to work with in Chicago who currently lives in Shanghai for her husband's job- so it was easy for her to fly south for a bit to meet up with us. I am a little surprised she doesn't want to kill us yet as it's been a rough initiation to the backpacker lifestyle for her...her original flight was cancelled so she arrived in Ho Chi Minh a day late, giving her less time before we started our train of overnight buses (they dominate overland travel in Vietnam).  But I think she's getting used to the lifestyle and I guarantee you she's spending less money than she anticipated :)

So on to Vietnam....traveling through this country in only 2 weeks has, and I am certain, will provide us with a multitude of climates, cultures, and experiences.  We started in Ho Chi Minh (or Saigon), which is a city of 6 million people and 3 million motorbikes....you literally can't walk 2 feet without being in a sea of motorbikes. We quickly took the "how to cross the road" advice that we had heard so many places: close your eyes (or look straight ahead, whichever makes you more comfortable), and just walk at a steady pace across the road. There aren't many stoplights, and trying to wait for a break in traffic is a laughable concept. The motorbikes are used to pedestrians and will swerve to your anticipated movement. Looking left or right and then speeding up, slowing down, or stopping will surely get you hit- so just hope for the best.....and we'll usually see ya on the other side :)

Hungry?

Near our hostel

Many backpackers had relayed to us that Ho Chi was too busy for them, but being a city girl myself, I found it refreshing. Don't get me wrong, I love all of the small towns we have stayed in, especially places that have been a little less touristy than average, but it was comforting to see tall buildings, men in suits (versus farming clothes and straw hats), and to hear the sound of traffic and horns.

And the other thing I was bracing myself for? I had been told by everyone that Vietnamese people were not the nicest, were very pushy, would not back down when trying to sell you something, etc, etc. I had mentally prepared myself to feel irritated and be ready to shake it off.....but so far, everyone has been really nice! Katy and I got a little turned around the first day and went up a bank security guard with our map...he couldn't speak English (and we obviously couldn't speak Vietnamese)....so he went into the bank, found one of the workers, brought him out. He looked at the map, looked confused, told us to hold on, went and got another friend- together they figured out in Vietnamese where we had gotten lost and then explained to us in English where to go and THEN said they were heading that way for lunch (it was noon and everything in Ho Chi closes at noon for lunch) and we could follow them if they wanted. They dropped us off at the corner where we needed to turn and we were back on track (and following a local is a much safer way to cross traffic, so added bonus). Other examples? Our hostel, which we paid only one night for, let us stick around all day the next day until our night bus left. This entailed storing our bags, letting us use towels/showers, and even providing us with umbrellas when we encountered our second big downpour since we have been gone!

Moral of the story: With the exception of two nasty cab drivers (see Katy's blog for stories on that) so far, Vietnamese people are just as nice as the rest of our Cambodian, Thai, and Laotian friends :) 

So after the big city we headed up to Nha Trang, a town completely opposite of Ho Chi. With a population of less than 500,000 people, there is really nothing to do here except for wander around and lay at the beach.....bingo. We spent 2 days doing just that, and then the third on a boat tour to the local islands. The climate was also much milder here. Each night we were able to sit outside without completely sweating through our clothes in a matter of minutes, which has been unheard of thus far. We were also able to celebrate our Irish heritages (ha) at a bar called "Booze Cruise" on St. Patrick's Day...you can use your imaginations for that one as it was quite the entertaining night.

Beach across the street from our hostel in Nha Trang

Island tour around Nha Trang

I clearly packed the wrong beach attire......for all of the Southeast Asians, you don't go out in the sun without sweaters, hats, umbrellas....and usually gloves and socks.

St. Paddy's day celebration

The celebration may or may not have lasted all the way until sunrise.......

After sadly leaving Nha Trang, we moved onto Hoi An for just about 24 hours. This was a whole new type of town. Hoi An Old Town (a section of the town) is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Chinese, Japanese, and European influence is apparent as you roam around this town full of colonial looking buildings with colorful lanterns hanging throughout.  Once dusk hits, lanterns outside cafes, along the bridge, and dangling from trees fill the streets with light.  There are nightly streetside performances by traditional dancers and singers as well and it is just really a very cute, romantic, town.

Today we will arrive in Hue, a former capital of Vietnam, and in a few days we will move on to Hanoi, where it is currently only about 60 degrees. I am quite excited about the variety of cities we are experiencing in this country...hopefully more pictures to follow!

We made it to Hue!!