Good Morning Vietnam!!!!
I know, not my most original blog title, and maybe a bit too cliche, but it is my first morning in Vietnam so I guess its appropriate.
I arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam yesterday (Saturday, 20 January) evening around 7 PM. The 24-hour bus ride from Vientiane was okay. I didn't sleep well and we spent 7 hours sitting at the border (from about 2 AM to 9 AM), but I've certainly had less pleasant experiences on my trip.
It has been raining lightly since we crossed the border into Vietnam after such fantastic weather the entire time I was in Laos (perhaps due to the mountain range running down the western side of Vietnam trapping the weather). It was still raining when when we arrived in Hanoi. I checked into the Hanoi Backpackers Hostel and then went and walked around a little before meeting some people from the bus ride for dinner. None of them are staying in my hostel though. The hostel is like stepping into a hostel in Europe. It definitely doesn't feel like Asia in here. Its really, really nice and has a good hostel feel. And so its priced accordingly. $6 for a dorm bed which is what I pay for a shabby single room in Bangkok. There is cheaper accomodation around the corner, but I think I'm going to stay here anyways.
I haven't seen much of Vietnam yet, aside from out the bus window and a little of Hanoi on foot, but I think I am really, really going to like it here. I'm thinking I'll stay the entire 30-days that my visa is valid for. Its really different from Laos, really different from Thailand, and ever so slightly similiar to China, but not really. So I guess that would make Vietnam unique.
I don't have a guidebook for Vietnam yet, so today I am just going to go wander around Hanoi. My hostel is in the perfect location in the heart of the city. I'll make some trips out of Hanoi up to Sapa and out to HaLong Bay before heading south.
I arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam yesterday (Saturday, 20 January) evening around 7 PM. The 24-hour bus ride from Vientiane was okay. I didn't sleep well and we spent 7 hours sitting at the border (from about 2 AM to 9 AM), but I've certainly had less pleasant experiences on my trip.
It has been raining lightly since we crossed the border into Vietnam after such fantastic weather the entire time I was in Laos (perhaps due to the mountain range running down the western side of Vietnam trapping the weather). It was still raining when when we arrived in Hanoi. I checked into the Hanoi Backpackers Hostel and then went and walked around a little before meeting some people from the bus ride for dinner. None of them are staying in my hostel though. The hostel is like stepping into a hostel in Europe. It definitely doesn't feel like Asia in here. Its really, really nice and has a good hostel feel. And so its priced accordingly. $6 for a dorm bed which is what I pay for a shabby single room in Bangkok. There is cheaper accomodation around the corner, but I think I'm going to stay here anyways.
I haven't seen much of Vietnam yet, aside from out the bus window and a little of Hanoi on foot, but I think I am really, really going to like it here. I'm thinking I'll stay the entire 30-days that my visa is valid for. Its really different from Laos, really different from Thailand, and ever so slightly similiar to China, but not really. So I guess that would make Vietnam unique.
I don't have a guidebook for Vietnam yet, so today I am just going to go wander around Hanoi. My hostel is in the perfect location in the heart of the city. I'll make some trips out of Hanoi up to Sapa and out to HaLong Bay before heading south.
posted by Dustin at 7:06 PM
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