Day #23 - Goodbye Vietnam

Goodbye Hanoi @ Hoan Kiem Lake

It is my last day in Vietnam, so much has happened in the last three weeks that is impossible to describe, tell everything that I have seen, listened and felt.

Last night @ volunteers house

After finishing my volunteer experience I left the volunteers house and came to an hotel in Old Quarter in Hanoi. I had spend my traveling in a low cost budget so I decided that I would spoil myself on my last days in Vietnam. Staying in a nice hotel was a start and then shopping in the Old Quarter was the second step and a perfect way to say goodbye to this city. Also was the perfect way for me to be lost in the Old Quarter as well! You know me and my lack of sense of directions... add a neighborhood where all the streets look the same and are full with people and motorbikes and taraaa!! - 30 minutes wandering around. I only knew one way to get to the hotel which started in the lake, however I couldn't find the dam' lake for quite long time. Result of being lost in the Old quarter? - I did quite a lot of shopping.

Water puppet show

In the evening I met with the other volunteers again and we went to the water puppet show. It was nice and funny but after 20 minutes I think I had enough and we were kind of half way. If I understood Vietnamese would have helped a lot, but well at least I ticked the box. After we went for drinks, this means beer and we ended up in a bar full of foreigners that only played hip hop. Let's say that this is not really my favorite type of music and even less the rubbing in each type of dance that usually comes with this music. Nevertheless I was having fun and this guy approaches me. He starts to talk with me because of my glasses. I don't really understand this, is it not normal people wearing glasses?? Well, maybe not ones so big and probably they avoid to take it when going out. Well, I don't!! So he thought that my glasses were fake and then when he finds out that I am Portuguese living in the UK he says he is from Leeds and then shoots "Oh you are Portuguese... if you were English I knew exactly what you were thinking but now I really don't know!!" - what the f#$% is that supposed to mean?? You know me right so I said "Well I am here in a bar having fun with my friends and just talking with you, as simple as that!!" If that is what he uses as an approach I think he is not going to be very successful. Moving on... After this we went to another bar and once the night ended we took a taxi. Going in a taxi in Hanoi is always an adventure and being foreigner means "they will try to rip you off!!" and that's exactly what happened. As we said we wouldn't pay 5 times the correct price, we gave him money and he threw back to our faces. We left the money in the taxi and then left. The taxi driver got our of the taxi and came after us threatening with chopsticks. Now that I think about it is quite funny but at the time was really scary. It was almost 3 in the morning and we had a crazy taxi driver chasing us with chopsticks and me ridiculously trying to avoid the guy being "stabed"!!

Halong Bay

But this was the last stressful moment of this trip! On Thursday I went in a 2 day cruise in Halong bay. Halong bay is one of the 7 Wonders of Nature. This is a beautiful bay! The day started very early, with a bus trip of 4 hours from Hanoi to Halong Bay and once we got to Halong city we were transferred by boat to the big boat. From the moment I checked in at the hotel in the Old quarter until I sat at lunch table at the cruise I had to keep saying that I was traveling alone... no I don't have a husband and no I don't have a boyfriend. Everyone seemed confused and I don't understand why is so difficult to understand that I am single!! I forgot to tell you, the last time that I was on the bus to the volunteer house the man that sells the tickets started to talk with me. Myself and Eve made the mistake of asking him for directions and then when Eve got out of the bus he kept talking with me. From asking my age, where I come from - the usual, until are you married!! Well I told him that I wasn't and he carried on asking "Why not?" - what kind of question is that??.  I told him "I haven't find the right husband yet!!" - what else could I say... He was not done yet so he asked where I bought my watch and how much I paid. Well let's say that the watch I was wearing is worth as much as the average salary in Vietname, so I just told him that it was a present - which is actually true. So he nodded and gave the final shot "I see why you are not married, you think you are too young and you don't need to get married." By this moment I was getting a tiny bit annoyed so I just looked at him and repeated "Not really, I just didn't find a husband!!" he smiled and lots of people came in the bus so he had to go work... Anyway let's say that if you go alone anywhere in Vietname and you are a woman you will be asked a thousands times if you are married and if the answer is no you will see their confused expression looking at you.

My cruise buddies: Amy, Lisa and Myriam

Once I got to the cruise we sat at the dinning table and I met Myriam, Amy and Lisa. Myriam was traveling alone as well and Lisa and Amy were traveling together. Once Myriam and I realized that we were the only ones traveling alone we became kayak buddies and we kept on enjoying the cruise together. The cruise included visit the caves in one of the Halong Bay islands. I always knew that Halong bay was going to be a busy place full of tourists but... I never thought it was that busy. It was almost impossible to take a picture without someone on the other side appearing in it. The visit to the caves was quite nice and the best part was the guide. The way that they tried to make it more interesting and also justify the presence of the guide was by showing us some "rocks" and say that they had a particular shape, animal, fingers, etc

The penis rock

Let's say that I never saw what he was saying and one of the times we all disagreed with his interpretation. There was this bit of rock that the first moment you look at it, you just see a penis. Well, the guide said it was a pointing finger... Ok, saying that it looked like a penis probably wouldn't be very appropriate but it definitely looked like one. After the caves we cruised to the Tip To beach where we could swim and also go up the mountain to enjoy the view. Well, I didn't swim, it was not hot enough for me as we were on the side of the island where there was only shade - I know, I Know!! You are thinking "Not hot enough?? Is she crazy?!" Yes It was not hot enough for me, end of story! I went up the mountain and the view was just stunning. Everything was so beautiful and peaceful - well if you manage to forget the noise of the boats and the Chinese making movies of the view (I still don't understand this bit. Why make a movie of a bay?? Weirdos!!) The day ended with one of the best sunset that I have seen and back to the boat. In the evening we learned how to cook fried spring rolls, that is just delicious and had dinner with a gazillion of courses and all very much amazing!!

Australian Family

After spending all day traveling in a bus going in a cruise with super tight schedule, I just felt like going to the top deck and enjoy the evening in the bay by myself, just enjoy the view. Well... that didn't happen. Once I got to the top deck Myriam and Lisa were playing cards with an Australian family that were also in the same cruise. They were a big group of family and friends traveling all together, parents, sons & daughters and boyfriends and everyone was playing cards. We joined them and it was so much fun. They were so competitive and just so friendly - we made another group of friends for the rest of the cruise. So no Me time at all for myself.

The second day on the cruise was so nice, we had the chance to go kayaking for an hour around some caves  and the best part was that there wasn't so many people in this area when we went but once we were trying to get to the boat this bamboo boat full of Chinese appeared and once they saw us they just started to take pictures of us. Right, I don't really have anything against Chinese but... they are weird! What are they going to do with hundreds of pictures of 2 foreigners struggling to take the Kayak back to the boat?? Honestly!! The cruise was really nice and I really enjoyed Halong bay, I believe everyone should go and see it but at the same time it's just sad that they are not taking care of the Natural wonder to make sure that it will "survive" as it is for a very long time.

Spring rolls

Cruise over, time to go back to the hotel and realized that Amy and Lisa are staying in the same hotel. We met for dinner and in the beginning they wanted to try Pho so we looked for a restaurant. we found one that only serves beef Pho so we moved to another one and once I asked what exactly they wanted to eat Lisa just said "Spring rolls!! I just love spring rolls" hahaha, me to! I was exactly in the same page. And after trying to talk with the front man of a restaurant and he telling me that they didn't have Pho and that it was not a Vietnamese restaurant... We actually decided to go inside because it looked nice and we realize that the restaurant OF COURSE it is Vietnamese food and, guess what? It does have Pho in the menu. Ok probably I was not saying Pho with the best pronunciation but either way. The food was amazing and it was the best way to enjoy my last meal in Vietnamese soil and also to say goodbye to Hanoi city. After saying goodbye to Amy and Lisa I went to the hotel.

Before I went to Vietnam I had some good news, I was offered with a new position at work and also I got promoted. Until my last night in Vietnam I haven't done anything to celebrate this so I decided that I would do something to spoil myself. I believe I deserved it so when I looked for the hotel for my last night I looked for a spa hotel and I found it. So to end my trip to Vietnam and to celebrate my new job and promotion I did a hot stone massage and foot spa! I know that this all goes against the purpose of the trip - I am really spoiling myself - but it just felt so good and it was so cheap, both treatments costs was like $35 USD, is not even 30 pounds!!! The hot stone was really nice, it felt amazing and so on but the foot spa... everything was amazing until she decides at the end that the best way to finish this amazing and relaxing treatment beating the shit out of me in my back!!! You know when they hit with the hands in a vertical way?? I actually never thought that would actually happen but now I can say, Yes it does. Crazy!! And because this was not enough she started to beat me with the palm of her hands!! Auch!! I am glad that I didn't ask for a Thai massage!! Myriam told me that was not a relaxing massage and that's why I changed to the hot stone. I don't think I would be here to tell the story after that. They would be still trying to put all my pieces together after that.

And this is it, time to say good bye get on the plane and return to reality. My trip back to UK it was fine, it was so long but ok. It would have been better if Qatar airways didn't disappoint me so much by not having hot chocolate. There was 2 funny moments during my trip back. Well, probably more but I don't remember anymore: 1. The moment that I realized that I really wanted hot chocolate, but after being offered with champagne they tell you that there is no hot chocolate in the biggest bloody airplane in the world, so I am not going to have it; 2. In Doha airport I went to have another strawberry and banana smoothie and the girl recognizes me from 3 weeks ago. It was hilarious and also so nice. I had to tell her that they make the best smoothies!

Last stop Paris! I got to Paris with all my luggage, I didn't loose anything during all my trip, which was very surprising. I bought a couple of paintings in Hanoi and all made to Paris. Yahoo!! But not everything made to England because I forgot the stupid paints in the airport in Paris. Yes, everything made all the way from the other side of the world and on my very last stop, I manage to forget my paintings, the ones that I went on purpose to the Old Quarter in my last hour in Hanoi to buy. The ones that I specifically looked for a lady from whom I bought previously. Yes, those ones! I left it in Paris airport. Big, massive BUMMER!

World Nature Wonder - Halong bay