vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Posted August 22, 2019

By the time I arrived in Ho Chi Minh City from Da Nang, I only had a couple of days time to explore. And being a city with a population of 10 million, I definitely didn’t get the chance to see everything I wanted! But I had to make due with the time I had.

I checked into my hostel, The Like Hostel, after a quick bus ride from the airport. It was pretty nice - tucked into an alley in District 1, it offered relatively quick access to many of the places I wanted to visit. It also featured a fun rooftop bar that provided free breakfast in the mornings. Read more…

Da Nang and Hoi An, Vietnam

Posted August 20, 2019

I took a short haul flight from Hanoi to Da Nang, arriving fairly late in the evening at my hostel (Christina’s Da Nang - Seahorse Hostel). At this point it was really starting to sink in that I had not given myself enough time for Vietnam - I only gave myself two days in the Da Nang / Hoi An region, which was definitely not sufficient. I’ll have to come back some day! Read more…

Cat Ba Island, Vietnam

Posted August 19, 2019

We arrived on Cat Ba Island after a 9 hour overnight bus trip from Sapa. With no charging ports on board the bus, I only had about 15% battery on my phone, so I kept it off for most of the day, and had to source my pictures from other people. Read more…

Hanoi, Vietnam

Posted August 17, 2019

Due to some visa shenanigans (i.e. I’m an idiot who didn’t read the steps for acquiring a visa properly), I didn’t end up arriving in Hanoi until a day later than I had originally planned. No big deal - I still had an open schedule with zero plans, so I could stay in Hanoi as long as I wanted or needed. Or so I thought. Read more…

Sapa, Vietnam

Posted August 17, 2019

The bus ride from Hanoi was long, and i didn’t sleep particularly well. Not that it mattered to the bus operators - we were kicked off the bus upon arrival in Sapa at 5:30am! At about 6:00am, we were picked up on a bus and driven from the main town to the villages in the valley below. I can’t say I knew what we were in for until we got our first glimpses of the valley. By the time we reached the tiny village in which we were staying that night, the sun had risen bright above the surrounding hills and was shining through the clouds, decorating the green grass and the rice fields with a magical glow. Read more…

Vietnam - Timeless Charm

Posted August 15, 2019

When choosing the countries for this trip, I wanted to end up with three countries that were as culturally distinct as possible. Japan I already knew would be on my list, so I figured I would choose New Zealand (since I wanted to see the beautiful landscapes), and a country in Southeast Asia. It ended up being a tossup between Vietnam and Thailand. In the end, I’m not sure why I chose Vietnam, but I’m very glad I did! I had an absolutely incredible time doing everything from navigating the busy streets of Hanoi’s Old Quarter to trekking through the mountains in Sapa. Read more…