Vietnam, my entry point to Southeast Asia. Robbie and I have met up with Boyd and our journey began in Ha Noi. Vietnam was a huge change from my previous countries; to start, there are plenty of backpackers around my age. The mindset of seeing and doing touristy things has changed to making friends, having fun, soaking up the sun, and creating our own little adventures. Aside from our trip to Sapa, the time spent in Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) was the only "touristy" stuff we really did. Making our way from the north to the south via trains and busses, hitting up beaches along the way, was quite a change from motorcycles and planes.
The currency is crazy, about 20,000 Dong to $1 (US). So it was a bit nerve decking when you hand over 50,000 or so Dong; "wait, how much did I just give you?" However, it was always a good laugh saying you have a million in your pocket, or, "hey you owe me 40 grand."
While we were in Vietnam during the tourist down season, it was nice to be there when things weren't slammed packed. I am not sure why it was the off season though? The beach weather was good, not too hot, and the water was rather cold. Who wouldn't want to be there then? (When we arrived, Vietnam was making the transition from tourist season to non-tourist season, not the other way around.)
Before I left the States, I had envisioned myself finding a great beach town and staying there for at least a week. While we did have to be in Bangkok by a certain time to meet Boyd's parents, I didn't really find a place where I would have wanted to stay for that long. Now that I have started traveling, I am somewhat stuck in this fasted paced mode where I want to see and experience as much as I can. People ask me, would you ever go back to Vietnam. Nothing against the country, but probably not. The same can be said for every country I have been to thus far, except for Turkey and Nepal because there is still so much that I want to see in those countries. With around 200 countries in the world and lifetimes upon lifetimes of things to see and my desire to see it all in one lifetime, I can't afford to start doubling up on countries. Don't get me wrong, Vietnam was an amazing and beautiful country and the people are as nice as they can be.
My wrap up is rather short, there really isn't much to say. Since it is such a touristy country like my next country, Thailand, there wasn't much personal culture to absorb. There is still a strong cultural division between the north and the south. Similar to the division in the US, some people in Vietnam hate the north (or south) and some just see them as different. While the country is still Communist, it is doing surprisingly well; the infrastructure and businesses are developed beyond what I was expecting.
Like I said, my next stop is Thailand, regarded by some as a backpacker hotspot or the gateway to Southeast Asia. There we will be meeting up with Boyd's parents after a couple days on our own in Bangkok. We need a couple days to ourselves to check out "all" that Bangkok has to offer.
What to expect? In Bangkok, it is limitless, while only time will tell and anything is possible.
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