One very special thing we got to do in Hoi An was take a photography class! Our guide gave us a small rundown on how to use our cameras most effectively and how to control lighting and all that jazz before taking us on a boat to visit some of the less-touristy areas. Take a moment and grab a glass of water if you need to because this post will be photo-heavy! This post is dedicated to my beautiful mother and amazing friend Anna, whom without this trip would not have been possible nor as incredible as it was. Your infectious laughter and loving spirits made this experience so wonderful for me and I will treasure the memories for the rest of my life.
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From Sapa we took the overnight train back to Hanoi where we planned to stay for another day before heading further south to Hoi An. We got in early in the morning and headed to our hotel for a cat nap. Anna and I decided to head out and walk around the city for a few hours. We ended up finding a couple of book stores and a cafe where we ordered coffee and talked about life and all it's goodness. If you are ever in Hanoi, make a quick stop at Joma Bakery! The coffee and veggie plate are worth the time. After an awesome meal and a walk through the night market back to our hotel, it was a good night's sleep, followed by a pit stop to pick up some Banh mi sandwiches before heading to the airport to catch our next flight. We flew from Hanoi to Danang and took an hour taxi to our hotel, which was situated on the beach in Hoi An. While it was probably a place more suitable for honeymooners, we definitely lived it up for the three following nights. They graciously upgraded us to a ocean-front villa! I was pretty happy to be in a place where the sun was shining and I didn't have to wear two coats just to keep warm. Since it was already pretty late in the day, we kept ourselves busy at the hotel for the rest of the night with the pool, gym, and room service. I know, its a tough life(!). The next morning we rented bikes and headed into town. Since there aren't really any rules when it comes to driving, I was a bit apprehensive, but it turned out to be a really nice ride without any incidents. We tooled around looking at clothing shops before deciding to have a couple of things made, and than headed to a cafe for lunch. This particular cafe had air conditioning, and make your own sandwiches! Score! We ended the day by taking the shuttle into the old part of town and walking around. It was so beautiful and I wish I had taken my camera, but the pictures wouldn't have done it justice. The town was lit up and along the river people had released floating candles. There were vendors and live music, and art galleries and clothing shops. I highly, highly recommend checking out Hoi An if you are ever in Vietnam. It is an incredible place. The next day we had scheduled a photo tour with a local photographer. I was very much looking forward to this because I wanted to get some pointers of how to work with my camera a bit better. I'll be putting up a follow-up post about the experience and pictures! On our last evening in Hoi An, we went for dinner at a taco restaurant which turned out to be the best meal we ate while there. It was so incredible to be in such an amazing place with amazing people to share all of the experiences with. It was a bittersweet dinner because the next morning, Anna and I were up at 4 a.m. and packed up our backpacks to catch out flight to Phuket. My mom was staying another day and than flying back to Yangon to go back to work. Hoi An was most definitely a wonderful place to end our joint vacation. Very thankful for the memories!
Our next destination was Sapa, which is northern Vietnam. The most popular way to get there is by overnight train. I was really excited because I had never really taken a train before, let alone an overnight one. We left Hanoi around 10 p.m. at night and settled into our bunks on the train. It was a pretty small space but being with my mom and my best friend was pretty nice. We had one stranger in with us who was a Chinese man. He was pretty nice and would break out into American songs from time to time to try to communicate with us. We arrived pretty early in the morning around 6:30 a.m. and quickly realized that our hotel was actually a 45 minute drive from the train station. 45 minutes in a cramped van on a windy road later, we finally reached our destination and checked into our hotel. We lucked out with our room! It was on the third floor and had a balcony that overlooked the town. Unfortunately, it was the foggy season and the visibility was pretty terrible. The first afternoon there we bundled up and took a stroll down the hill into town to look around. A couple of women started walking alongside us. They were dressed in traditional vietnamese clothing with colorful skirts and head ware. They started talking to us and asking lots of questions about where we were from and so forth. Though they were friendly I was caught of guard and a bit unsure of their motives. They walked with us all the way into town to the market center. It turns out, they were selling handmade goods and wanted us to buy them. It turned out to be okay because we were planning on buying some souvenirs anyways, and were able to bargain, and they were pretty nice ladies, but personally I don't really like being heckled much and this felt a bit intrusive. After looking around the center for a bit, we made our way to the outdoor food market. Though it was small, there were some crazy things I had never seen before. The most incredible thing was probably seeing huge fish still flopping around after being cut in half. I know it sounds gruesome, it was pretty off-putting, but at the same time it was really interesting to see part of the culture. The next day was another early morning because we had a day of trekking planned! Trekking is very popular in Sapa because there is amazing backcountry as well as incredible views of hills filled with rice paddies. Many people travel up to Northern Vietnam just for this and I was really excited to get out and do some exploring. It started out very cold and I had put on a lot of layers in anticipation of the same rainy weather we had experienced the day before. We met our guide, Bitsy, and started off on a road out of town. Right away we saw a (very pregnant) sow digging for roots and tubers. We continued up a (longish) hill before coming to a ridge that looked out over the valley of tiered rice fields. Luckily the visibility had cleared up, but it was incredibly muddy and the next hour was spend meandering down the mountain, trying not to slip and fall into the muck. It was a long day of trekking but we saw so many amazing things that it was all worth it. I definitely credit our guide with making the experience so wonderful as she was kind, knowledgeable, and held our hands down every slippery muddy spot. We arrived back at our hotel around 5 p.m. and took a dip in the pool before getting ready for the night. It was New Years Eve and the hotel was putting on a banquet for all the guests. It was lovely to get dressed up (by our own backpacking standards that is) and meet people from different parts of the world. We met a German couple that night that we ended up running into on the streets of Hanoi a few days later, small world! The dinner itself was incredible and had just about everything you could imagine. From potato salad (my personal fav) to a pasta bar and roast duck, I was a happy camper. There was also a traditional dance performance that was so beautiful. The women twirled around with parasols and their performances told stories through their dancing. It was a very special evening and I was happy to share it with some of my favorite people. After that, I was in bed well before midnight struck. I know, not a very crazy new years, but I wouldn´t have wanted it to go any other way. If anyone wants a postcard from me over the next few months, drop your name and address in the contact section and I'll be sure to send one!
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Amani P.Last fall I took off for a year abroad. Now I'm back in the states, trying to figure out this crazy thing we call life! Archives
February 2017
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