Over spring break I took a trip to Vietnam. Though I went by myself, I met a lot of people from the hostel that I stayed at, and from the tours I did. I got into the airport in Hanoi around midnight. The only way to get into the city that late is by taxi, so I had decided to stay
there until the morning when the shuttles started running again. I found some couches in a corner along with a group of three other people from France. We happened to be right next to a little snack bar, and had to listen to the rats rustling and squealing all night long. Most of the lights in the airport were off between 1:00 and 5:00, so it was relatively easy to sleep. I wasn’t
able to find the shuttle busses in the morning, and ended up being directed over to the city busses. I got on this bus, not really knowing where it was going or where I had to get off. It was terrifying, but that is where they had told me to go. I ended up having to get off when we were near the city and get a cab the rest of the way so I could get to the hostel in time to leave for my first tour.
there until the morning when the shuttles started running again. I found some couches in a corner along with a group of three other people from France. We happened to be right next to a little snack bar, and had to listen to the rats rustling and squealing all night long. Most of the lights in the airport were off between 1:00 and 5:00, so it was relatively easy to sleep. I wasn’t
able to find the shuttle busses in the morning, and ended up being directed over to the city busses. I got on this bus, not really knowing where it was going or where I had to get off. It was terrifying, but that is where they had told me to go. I ended up having to get off when we were near the city and get a cab the rest of the way so I could get to the hostel in time to leave for my first tour.
I spent my first two days on a boat in Halong Bay, which is absolutely gorgeous. The bay is about 1500 square kilometers, and has about 2000 little islets. I was on a small boat with about 18 people. We got to go swimming off of the boat, and kayaking that first afternoon. 
The water was quite cold, but it was lots of fun. We took kayaks to one of the small islands that had a cave in it that we got to explore. The evening on the boat was not quite as pleasant. I signed up for the boat through my hostel. At the time I didn’t know that this particular tour is known as the biggest party boat on the bay. Everyone started drinking 
as soon as we got on the boat, but the serious drinking games started at 8:30. Everyone participated so I couldn’t even go up to the deck by myself without feeling weird. I ended up just sitting and watching everyone make fools out of themselves until I had finally had enough and went to bed around 11.
The next morning one other girl and I convinced the crew to let us go swimming before breakfast. He wouldn’t put the ladder down for us, but there was a rope that we could climb
up. It was really cold at 6:30 in the morning, but it woke us up, and it was fun telling people that we had done it. The rest of that day was cruising back to the docking area, and driving back to Hanoi.
That night I took an overnight train out to Sapa, where I spent the next two days trekking to some of the villages. On the train, there were four beds in each cabin. There were two other young girls from Germany in my cabin. A few minutes later when an older Vietnamese man walked in the door his face just fell. The poor man was visibly upset to have to share the room with three younger girls.
There were four people in my trekking group. One was a young girl from Switzerland, and the other two were a little older and from California. Our guide was a 17 year old girl from one of
the near-by villages. As we started walking, a bunch of ladies started following and talking to us. They meet and walk with all of the tour groups, hoping that after a few hours they will be able to sell you something. At one of our stops, our guide got a big stick of sugarcane. She peeled the bark off and gave us each a piece. It was kind of like eating a sweet stick.
It was a pretty foggy day, but the mountains were beautiful. They were fully covered with terraced rice paddies. There were some places where there were at least 100 separate terraces from the bottom to the top of the mountain. I can’t even imagine how much time and work
went into creating those things.
That night we stayed in the home of a woman, her two kids and one grandkid. She had basically built a loft above the rest of her house for guests to stay in. It was kind of odd because most of the house
was really traditional. Their living and sleeping area was all one room, the kitchen consisted of a large cooking fire place and a table to prepare food on. There wasn’t a sink or refrigerator or anything like that. However, they had added a modern bathroom to the side, which seemed completely out of place. Her bathroom, out in the middle of nowhere, was
cleaner than the one at the hotel we stopped at in the city!
The next day we just continued trekking. We stopped briefly at a waterfall, and also went by a village school. The kids were on their lunch break and there were no teachers in sight. Most of the kids had left, but some were playing in the school yard. Though the school was locked, I was able to seek inside some of the classrooms because there were a few broken windows. It reminded me of when I was in second grade and went to visit an old one-room schoolhouse. They had a chalkboard, desks, pencil and notebooks, but not much else. I get frustrated in my classroom because we don’t have sets of leveled readers, materials for science experiments, or math manipulatives. But compared to this I have it pretty good!
The water was quite cold, but it was lots of fun. We took kayaks to one of the small islands that had a cave in it that we got to explore. The evening on the boat was not quite as pleasant. I signed up for the boat through my hostel. At the time I didn’t know that this particular tour is known as the biggest party boat on the bay. Everyone started drinking 
as soon as we got on the boat, but the serious drinking games started at 8:30. Everyone participated so I couldn’t even go up to the deck by myself without feeling weird. I ended up just sitting and watching everyone make fools out of themselves until I had finally had enough and went to bed around 11.The next morning one other girl and I convinced the crew to let us go swimming before breakfast. He wouldn’t put the ladder down for us, but there was a rope that we could climb
up. It was really cold at 6:30 in the morning, but it woke us up, and it was fun telling people that we had done it. The rest of that day was cruising back to the docking area, and driving back to Hanoi.
That night I took an overnight train out to Sapa, where I spent the next two days trekking to some of the villages. On the train, there were four beds in each cabin. There were two other young girls from Germany in my cabin. A few minutes later when an older Vietnamese man walked in the door his face just fell. The poor man was visibly upset to have to share the room with three younger girls.
There were four people in my trekking group. One was a young girl from Switzerland, and the other two were a little older and from California. Our guide was a 17 year old girl from one of
the near-by villages. As we started walking, a bunch of ladies started following and talking to us. They meet and walk with all of the tour groups, hoping that after a few hours they will be able to sell you something. At one of our stops, our guide got a big stick of sugarcane. She peeled the bark off and gave us each a piece. It was kind of like eating a sweet stick.
It was a pretty foggy day, but the mountains were beautiful. They were fully covered with terraced rice paddies. There were some places where there were at least 100 separate terraces from the bottom to the top of the mountain. I can’t even imagine how much time and workwent into creating those things.
That night we stayed in the home of a woman, her two kids and one grandkid. She had basically built a loft above the rest of her house for guests to stay in. It was kind of odd because most of the house
was really traditional. Their living and sleeping area was all one room, the kitchen consisted of a large cooking fire place and a table to prepare food on. There wasn’t a sink or refrigerator or anything like that. However, they had added a modern bathroom to the side, which seemed completely out of place. Her bathroom, out in the middle of nowhere, wascleaner than the one at the hotel we stopped at in the city!
The next day we just continued trekking. We stopped briefly at a waterfall, and also went by a village school. The kids were on their lunch break and there were no teachers in sight. Most of the kids had left, but some were playing in the school yard. Though the school was locked, I was able to seek inside some of the classrooms because there were a few broken windows. It reminded me of when I was in second grade and went to visit an old one-room schoolhouse. They had a chalkboard, desks, pencil and notebooks, but not much else. I get frustrated in my classroom because we don’t have sets of leveled readers, materials for science experiments, or math manipulatives. But compared to this I have it pretty good! When we finished trekking that day I had a few hours to explore Sapa before I had to leave for my overnight train back to Hanoi. I went for a run around the city (eliciting quite a few strange looks) and went to the local market to explore. Actually, the fog moved in and soon it was
almost impossible to see where you were, so I spent the last hour or so just at the hotel waiting.
almost impossible to see where you were, so I spent the last hour or so just at the hotel waiting.
Well I'm quite sick of typing, and I'm sure that anyone who made it this far is quite sick of reading. I'll tell you more about my trip next week.
I only have about 9 weeks until I come home for the summer. Plus, I just found out that I get an extra week home in August! I am so excited!
I hope everyone has/had a great Easter. My volunteer group took the kids from the orphanage to Olympic park for an egg hunt/picnic/games, and we had a great time.
Love you all!
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