Motorbikes, Motorbikes and more Motorbikes!

My 10 day tour of Vietnam was fantastic. I started my travels in Ho Chi Minh City (still known as Saigon by the locals).  My first impression of Vietnam was – MOTORBIKES! I have never seen so many motorbikes in one place! Apparently there are 6 million motorbikes in Saigon for a population of 9 million people. I found Ho Chi Minh to be a buzzing cosmopolitan city clutching onto it’s eastern roots.

A land of history and forgiveness

A visit to Vietnam would be incomplete without a view into  the history of the country. I visited the War Remnants Museum in Saigon to hear of the atrocities that war can bring to any nation or people. It was heartbreaking and, to be quite frank, shocking to see photos from the “American” war. Graphic photos show the war wounds of this nation and how inhumane humanity can really be when faced with war.

Vietnam today, is rebuilding and transforming itself into one of the most prosperous and ambitious nations on this side of the world.

Mekong Delta

Given I was in Saigon, I took the opportunity to travel to the Mekong Delta,  a seemingly unchanged part of Vietnam. It really seems as if the market sellers of this area have been trading fruits and vegetables for generations. The Mekong Delta thrives under the daily throng of tourists visiting the area every day. If you want to catch the floating markets you have to rise early as most vendors have sold their goods by mid morning before the heat of the midday sun.

A railway adventure

After three days in Saigon, I decided to take a little adventure…and catch the train to a city called Da Nang which would be my gateway to the beautiful and infamous Hoi An. Da Nang is around 886 km north of Saigon. Thanks to advice on a really good site (www.seat61.com) I was able to organise my soft berth train tickets prior to arriving in Vietnam and had tickets delivered to my door for only a handful of extra dollars.

As for the journey itself… well a 17 hour overnight journey and umm… functional but interesting toilets were definitely enough to fulfil my adventurous travelling soul! Let’s just say I restrained from drinking water for 17 hours…

Quaint Hoi An

I had high expectations for Hoi An and expected it to be an isolated quaint and pretty French inspired town stuck in a time warp in the middle of Vietnam. Well it was all of these things. However, I soon found that I wasn’t the only tourist enjoying such a beautiful town, as often happens in beautiful destinations such as Hoi An. Hoi An quickly became the Noosa of Vietnam to me. Beautiful, charming French colonial buildings now house souvenir shops and restaurants in this culinary Mecca for tourists from all over the world. Despite the many tourists, the town still holds a harmonious and down to earth atmosphere and is actually a nice welcome for a lone traveller.

The highlight of my stay, besides the food, was a short bicycle ride from Hoi An Old Town, where village life is still preserved. Beautiful vegetable and herb gardens and rice fields adorn the local countryside. Thanks to the “Love of Life” Bicycle tour company (http://vietnamindochina.vn/) I had a memorable day where not only did I ride a bike for the first time since I was a child but I also had the pleasure of enjoying meandering village lanes and the sights, sounds and smells of the local countryside.

A familiar face

My last stop in Vietnam was Hanoi where I stayed with a couple of friends – Sue and Viv – who are both teaching in Vietnam. I was very much looking forward to seeing a friendly face. The lovely ladies were very welcoming and Sue kindly introduced me to her class. Sue was the inspiration for me taking action and following in her footsteps in becoming an English teacher to speakers of other languages. I am very grateful to Sue for sharing her experiences and her personal journey over the last few months – it certainly gave me food for thought.

Apart from seeing old friends and making new friends, I also had the opportunity to try the local cuisine in Hanoi. Hanoi held culinary experimentation for me as I tried snails for the first time and went on a fantastic street food tour (http://streetfoodtourshanoi.blogspot.com/) where I tried local pho and delicious delicacies such as crab spring rolls, young green rice cakes and Sua Chua Nep Cam (Yoghurt with fermented rice).

Hanoi was also the gateway to Halong Bay for me, one of the world’s most beautiful natural wonders. Halong Bay (“Bay of the descending dragon”) hosts a great variety of ecosystems and houses a number of floating villages. A perfect way to end a 10 day tour of Vietnam!