Hey, everyone! I am now in Vietnam which is quite a change compared to both Singapore and Malaysia. I’m still getting accustomed to the new culture but my impression so far is that the people are friendly, the culture is rich, and the food is delicious. I think I’m going to end up really liking it here.

A couple housekeeping things:

1) If you’re interested in my art, have a look at my merchandise on RedBubble!
2) If wanting to read my first novel, Eclipse Me, you can find the link here.

Singapore to Vietnam

Getting from Singapore to Vietnam was relatively easy. I was able to take a subway from my hostel to the airport – talk about modern conveniences. I arrived early and had to wait to check in. Once the gates opened, I went up to the counter and was asked to provide proof of onward travel – which I did not have haha. Sometimes I wing it. If I know I’m going to be in a new country by a certain date (to meet Kory in Bali for instance), then I usually have a ticket bought already. Sometimes they ask for the proof, sometimes they don’t. Well, this time they did ask and I did NOT have proof. She said that I can just buy a bus ticket from Vietnam to Cambodia so that’s what I did – but of course, my internet was being wonky and I was like oh, man, am I not gonna be able to get this sorted in time? All good, though.

Once through security, I was able to enjoy a cute perk of Singapore’s airport: a butterfly garden! This is something that all airports should have. What a fun way to pass the time. The garden had a bunch of butterflies and even a case with chrysalis/caccoons in various stages. Just lovely.

It was raining out and I wondered if my flight to Vietnam would be delayed. This is, in theory, my last flight around Southeast Asia. From here on out, I’ll be able to travel by bus/train from one destination to the next. No more flights. Yahoo! So I thought, surely SOMETHING has to go wrong, right?

Nah. All good. AND my visa is good for two months, which is perfect. I think the only bummer is that I didn’t get a stamp on my passport for Singapore but apparently they don’t do that anymore. Oh, well.

Old Quarter

Upon arriving in Vietnam, I ordered a Grab to my accommodation. Initially, I was going to take the busses but I thought – fuck it, it’s my last airport experience, let me just pay for the convenience to get there. I was surprised to discover that they drive on the right-hand side of the road in Vietnam. Aside from the States, it has been a LONG time since I’ve experienced that! Everywhere else is left-handed.

Lots was going on during the drive from the airport to the Old Quarter, where I would be staying. People were getting haircuts on the side of the road (with mirrors affixed to trees), scooters were whizzing past. Merchants were carrying fruits, vegetables, or sweets – peddling them throughout town. And of course, many storefronts had crowds of people seated on what are essentially children’s’ stools, eating lunch.

Hanoi was a bit hectic. A bit chaotic. Similar to Indonesia in many ways but also somehow more genuine, if that makes sense. I noticed that the locals hardly pay any mind to tourists – they observe them but they aren’t necessarily annoyed with or dismissing us. I suppose they are used to foreigners passing through. Hanoi is part of what was once the Silk Road after all – a fact that, once I remembered, made me connect with Hanoi a bit more.

At first, it was too much for me. I felt like I was grasping for straws, unable to get into the groove of Hanoi. It was a struggle. After the orderliness of Malaysia and Singapore, I had kind of forgotten about all the other things that typically are connected to Southeast Asian countries: litter, noise, an onslaught of people. But boy is Hanoi colorful!

Eventually, I arrived at my hostel – perfectly located in the bustling Old Quarter. I was going to have a room to myself for the next few nights. Yahoo! My room even had a balcony. What an upgrade from the 6-bed dorm I had just stayed in for a week.

After getting situated, I had two main missions: find a vape and get bánh mì for dinner. I managed to find out that vaping is illegal in Vietnam, too. DAMN IT.

My brother Dan and his wife Maisie went to Vietnam a couple years back and so they sent me a small list of food recommendations in Hanoi. Bahn Mi 25 was one of them – and so off I went. Unsurprisingly, there was a queue but it went very quickly. Before long, I was seated at a table with my sandwich and a smoothie. Yum.

While the travel day hadn’t been too awful, I was still wiped out. After dinner, I returned to my accommodation and relaxed for the remainder of the evening. Part of my plan in Hanoi was to not do much – get adjusted to being in a new country and enjoy the peace and quiet of my solo room. Mission: complete.

I will also note that despite a number of days in Hanoi… I was constantly getting lost. I’m usually very good with directions/learning the neighborhood I’m staying in. However, the Hanoi streets felt like a maze to me. One night, I said to myself, “I’m not going to use GoogleMaps, I’m just going to try to see if I can find my way back to the accommodation from here.” NOPE.

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

The night before, I tried to dive into how I might fill my time in Hanoi. Actually, during my time in town, I did quite a bit of planning. I wanted to iron out my itinerary wishlist and see how everything might fit together in terms of traveling from the north of Vietnam down to the south.

One of the things I found on my first night was the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, which seemed like quite the oddity. Ho Chih Minh was North Vietnam’s President during the Vietnam War. He passed away before the war had ended. Despite his wishes to be cremated, the people of Vietnam decided to embalm him and, like Lenin in Russia, keep him on display. Wild, right? He has been on display since 1975.

The public is only able to visit/pay their respects to Ho Chi Minh on certain days and hours. I saw that the museum was open until 5pm so I thought I had all day to get there. Despite that, I walked over in the morning. And sure enough… I missed the viewing hours by ten minutes LOL. The line was insane, though. People must have been queuing the equivalent of five blocks – not even exaggerating. Maybe more.

Unfortunately, the next time the mausoleum was open was on Tuesday and I was only booked at my accommodation until Monday. I ended up extending my stay.

I woke up early Tuesday morning and made it for the opening. There were already maybe 40 people in front of me but the line moved quick. Along the way, we saw military officials ceremoniously setting wreaths in front of the mausoleum as well as a changing of the guard. Pretty cool.

Moments later, we were let into the mausoleum. It is a very quick affair and no photos are allowed. Basically, you walk through the halls of the mausoleum which then lead to the chamber where HCM is displayed in a glass case. It is pretty eerie to think he has been dead since 1975. He has been on display for FIFTY YEARS. Isn’t that crazy? I later learned that, like in Moscow, they do “upkeep” on his body every now and again.

I can’t get over that HCM wanted to be cremated and the public was like “……..nah, we gonna display your body forever, bro.” Hateful!

Despite the quickness of the visitation, it was definitely worth extending my stay another day. What a strange attraction!

Thăng Long Water Puppet Show

Somewhat near to my accommodation was Hoàn Kiếm lake. After visiting HCM, I took a siesta at my accommodation and then ventured out in the afternoon. I strolled around the lake, where (possibly?) hundreds of people were hanging out. Some were playing music, others were selling donut holes. Others were taking photos around the lake. Oh, LOTS of people were taking selfies around Hanoi, that’s for sure.

Once I’d done a lap around the lake, I decided on a whim to purchase tickets to the Thang Long Water Puppet theater – which was just across the street. Tickets were very affordable and I later learned that the theater has been running since the 70s. How cool is that? They have taken the show all over the world.

The puppet show was super cute. It must have run for maybe an hour (it’s supposedly the longest puppet show in the world) and had a lot of different stories throughout. There were dragons, phoenixes, UNICORNS, farmers, emperors, and more.

I couldn’t help but giggle at how fun the whole thing was – I only wish I had been seated closer. Because I booked my ticket so last minute, I was in the middle of the theatre. Not bad, but I’m sure the experience would have been tenfold had I been front and center!

Oh, and so just to explain it a bit more. The reason it’s called a WATER puppet show is because the puppets are literally on a stage of water. They’re not held by strings from above, but rather maneuvered from under the water, behind the stage. I’m honestly not too certain how exactly it works but I think that’s part of the fun. Maybe it’s magic?

On either side of the stage were musical performers. There were singers, percussionists, strings, and there was also one really lovely instrument that I wish I knew the name of. It almost seemed like a sitar laying flat. Pause. Okay, I just looked it up and I guess it’s called a Vietnamese monochord. Look it up – the sound is very unusual.

Before too long, the show had ended. What an absolute delight!

B-52 Museum

After visiting HCM, I discovered that I was nearby the B-52 museum, a small museum with free entry that has some artifacts from the Vietnam War. I figured I might as well check it out and so I went.

At the very entrance of the museum, they had a downed B-52 presented on the front lawn. Just absolutely wild.

In addition, there was a plethora of other war memorabilia. They had a Vietnamese aircraft, some of the guns used to take down said B-52, and basically just… warped junk.

I entered the museum itself and walked throughout the rooms. The English translations weren’t always the best – the grammar didn’t make sense at times and so I found myself struggling to read it. Still, it was wild.

They had American bombs displayed, weapons, clothing attire, photographs, etc. They called the US the American Empire, which I thought was interesting.

There was one photograph that I forgot to take a picture of but it had a small, female Vietnamese solider who had captured a massive male American soldier which looked kind of silly. And they also had a photo from many, many years later of both of those soldiers reunited, only this time in peace.

They had a photo of an American soldier who had survived the crash of his plane and, in the water, a number of Vietnamese soldiers surrounding him, taking him prisoner. And also another photo of a female Vietnamese soldier whose entire family had been killed with her eye trained on her gun.

Pretty wild stuff. It is interesting to be here as an American. I know that this was a long time ago, but I can’t help but wonder what the general opinion of Americans is presently. I’ll write about this in my next post but I was just recently at another homestay – the hosts were an older couple who didn’t speak English. I wish I could have asked them about their experience, though, because something tells me they have an opinion or two.

I’m glad I went to the museum. It was a somewhat brief affair – only two floors and a handful of rooms. When I get to Ho Chi Minh City, I will go to the main war museum, which I’m sure will have a lot more artifacts and information to observe.

Had to stop for some bánh cuốn after the B-52 museum!

Train Street

I knew that Train Street was a thing but I actually forgot that it was in Hanoi. For some reason, I thought it was in similarly named Hoi An. Nope. Hanoi.

Train Street is famous for being… well, a narrow street lined with cafes and shops. And in the center of that narrow street are train tracks. Throughout the day, people have to lift their coffee, fold their tables, and stand back as the train passes by. Talk about a novelty.

I ended up, kind of unplanned, visiting Train Street on three separate occasions. I wasn’t sure I would even be able to go because I had read that you have to be “invited” to a cafe in order to sit down along the street. They restricted access to the street because too many tourists were overcrowding the area and it is essentially a safety risk at that point.

One afternoon I stumbled upon the area and in passing, a woman asked me if I would like to come buy a tea. Absolutely! How easy was that?

I ordered a milk tea and maybe twenty minutes later, the shop owners urged all the tourists to fold up their tables. We stepped closer to the walls as the train began to approach.

Honestly, it’s kind of a funny thing. EVERYONE had their phones out, taking all these pictures on the train tracks pre-train and then, OF the train as it started to pass by. But for me, it’s like… you guys, it’s not that big of a deal. It’s just a train. I suppose I’ve taken a lot of trains in my life and am not all that impressed. Although, I get it – it truly is a cute, novel thing.

Another morning, I had to go to the ATM to withdraw some cash. Because I was near Train Street and it was around lunchtime, I decided to grab a bite to eat. Once again, I was invited into the area by a man. I asked him if he knew where I could find bún chả, and he led me to a spot. So nice!

I was seated next to an Australian couple who sparked up a conversation with me. When it comes to sitting next to strangers – Australians and I always tend to hit it off. Anyway, the two of them had been married for 20 years. This blew my mind because they looked so young. They had three kids back home and this trip to Vietnam was their first time being away (their oldest kid is, I think 17?).

We covered a lot of ground in maybe 30min of conversation – particularly the wife and I. After the train passed, the couple got up to leave and I began to pull out my wallet to pay for my meal. “Don’t worry about it, I already got it,” the husband said. WHAT? He had secretly paid for my meal. I was honestly so delighted by that small gesture. It truly made my day. What a sweet, sweet encounter. Nothing like the kindness of strangers, eh?

I did return to Train Street one last time before leaving Hanoi but this time was with intention. I hadn’t mentioned yet, but it is certainly worth noting, that while guests are waiting for the train to pass… locals will come up to you incessantly offering their wares. One day, I noticed that there was a Train Street tote bag that looked like it could perhaps serve as a nice replacement for my beloved Whitehouse tote bag that I recently parted with. After continuing to think about it, I took the plunge. 80,000 Vietnamese dong later, AKA USD$3, and I’d bought myself a new tote bag. And honestly, I’m so pleased with it. I don’t typically like wearing things with graphics on them but the design looks very Studio Ghibli to me and ALSO it has a pouch inside (which is perfect – I love compartments) AND it also zips closed, which is great for a little bit of anti-theft protection.

YAY! Thanks, Train Street! A lovely, wearable souvenir.

On my final evening in Hanoi, I didn’t go to Train STREET but I did pass by the train… bridge? Haha. I wanted to go check out the sunset and see the Red River, so I walked along the footpath that runs parallel to the train tracks. You would not believe how many people were riding their scooters along the bridge. I mean there must have been a hundred passing me by per minute lol. It was absurd.

In the end, I decided that I did like Hanoi. It was crazy, it was chaotic… but it felt genuine. After I read somewhere that it served as part of the Silk Road, I think my opinion on the city started to change. I was like, damn, Steven, you have to keep history in mind. This has been a culture hub for millenia. Enjoy it. Of COURSE it’s busy, OF COURSE there is going to be a bunch of stuff to buy. These people trying to sell you lighters – think about 500 years ago. Maybe they were trying to sell you incense or textiles or XYZ. It’s pretty wild to think about and something I’ll need to keep in mind when I visit places moving forward.

Miscellaneous

You might notice that a lot of the Vietnamese words have the accents/tone marks/diacritics. Vietnamese is actually the language that uses the most amount of those which I think it pretty cool! I will try to honor them but sometimes I might just write the colloquial “Hanoi” instead of “Hà Nội,” etc.

The food, the food, THE FOOD!!! It’s so good and so healthy and fresh. I am loving Vietnamese food. So much more I need to try. I’m having the best poops LOL.

I went to the food spots my brother recommended – one of them was down a narrow alleyway, up a flight of stairs, and basically in someone’s living room. I was the only white person there and everyone was looking at me. The phở was incredible.

I should have taken a photo but I didn’t… one evening, after dinner, I got myself a BUTTER smoothie. What the hell? I’ve never heard of that anywhere before, other than maybe a Harry Potter Butterbeer. Surprisingly, it tasted pretty good! I wasn’t sure what to expect but thought, what the hell – may as well try it. However – what I did get a photo of was this weird smoking dessert. It had dry ice added to it so as you took a bite of what was essentially flavored styrofoam peanuts… cold water vapor emits from your mouth.

People in Hanoi have WAY too much energy in the morning. When I was leaving, I had to wake up around 5.30am. On the way to my bus stop, I passed a massive group of people (I mean, probably 30 people) exercising to what I am assuming was K-Pop blasting from speakers. Too early for all that, people. Go back to bed.

I need to learn to confirm prices before any discussion moves forward in reference to buying things in Vietnam. There have been a few times now where the vendor has moved forward on the purchase and then surprised me with prices I wasn’t necessarily pleased with. This is my own thing. It is frustrating to be surprised by prices you didn’t necessarily want to pay when the goods are already in a plastic bag and handed to you.

Art of the Week

I was feeling a little restless one evening and usually I don’t draw so late at night. But this time, I did. And I’m so pleased with it! I thought my last art share was my favorite of the past year but actually THIS one has turned out to be. New phone background (sorry Other one, you only lasted a week). I originally was going to incorporate crocodile + pitcher plant + maybe some type of fish but after starting with the crocodile, it seemed to want me to stick with only that one element + the human. I’m pleased that’s what I did because it certainly turned out, in my opinion!

Reflections

Once I left Hanoi, I took a shuttle bus to Ba Be National Park, where I stayed two nights. I was going to stay three at least but decided to cut it short because the infrastructure wasn’t that excellent for solo-exploring-without-a-tour. I did go on a couple tours. After a long, two-bus journey, I am now in Lao Chai Village in Sapa, waiting to check in to my accommodation. I have hardly slept but I’m overlooking mountains and gorgeous, rolling rice terraces. These are the views I have wanted to see for many years. Bali gave me a taste of it but this is next level.

I was going to combine a post for Hanoi + Ba Be + Sapa, or just Hanoi + Ba Be, but I decided it would be better to do Hanoi on its own and then do Ba Be + Sapa together.

I’ll stay in Sapa for a few nights, exploring the rice terraces and otherwise just hanging out at my accommodation. There is a patio overlooking the fields and it is perfection. I am also secretly hoping for a rainy afternoon – but preferably once I’m done exploring for the day.

Today… I don’t know that I’ll do too much. I desperately need a nap. Then maybe I’ll go for a walk in the afternoon.

Much to do, much to see. I have two months in Vietnam and I’m only about a week in. It’s going pretty well so far!

Until next time, sending you all my love. x