Vietnam. 10 days. Solo. A trip that made me (re)discover myself!

The language barrier hit me and hit me hard as soon as I reached Hanoi. The immigration officer was an arrogant chap who was anything but helpful. He muttered something in Vietnamese and shooed me away to the adjacent counter. An equally disinterested officer stood there as well, who snatched my passport and e-visa from me and called the next person in line without telling me what's next. Instead of the excitement and rush of a new destination, it was a sort of fear and trepidation that I experienced while waiting for my passport to be stamped. The ordeal finally came to end when I saw my photo and details on the screen displayed in front of me and was handed over my passport, now stamped with the Vietnam visa!

My hostel was right in the middle of the backpacker's street in Old Quarter. The street was packed with tourists and bustling with activity! Being the weekend, vehicles were banned here which was a huge relief in the otherwise motor-bike filled alleys. I could sense a lot of happiness and freedom here. People sat on small plastic stools by the street, sipping on freshly brewed beer ( you will really appreciate a cold one in that humidity! ) and digging their chopsticks into a bowl of pho or carefully picking up pieces of meat from the live barbecue on each table.

Day 3 started off on a very interesting note. I was woken up by a guard at 5am, who was holding a golden ring pointed at me. With a stern voice, he told me something in Vietnamese. ( Not quite the morning I was wishing for when on vacation! ). Still half asleep, it took me a while to get a hold of the situation. I noticed the ring and told him that it was not mine. But he did not seem to understand at all and kept talking to me in his language. With a mixture of sign language and google translate, I eventually conveyed that it was not my ring and asked him to keep it!

Sapa welcomed me with a slight drizzle and a wave of soothing, cold breeze. Right in the centre stood the conspicuous Sapa Station which is the starting point for the train to the cable car station. I had pre booked a trek with Sapa Sisters, so I headed straight to their office. After a small briefing about the trek route and meeting the rest of the group, we set off.

It was a beautiful morning. Rays of sunlight were now piercing through the cloud cover, coercing them away in different directions. It was one of those places where I could just sit peacefully, soaking in nature at it's fullest. Every time I go somewhere, I get the feeling that it is the best view I've ever seen. But with each passing trip, the views just keep getting better!

The second day of trek was pretty tricky. Trekking downhill is difficult on it's own. To add to my problems, the slopes were filled with slush and every step I took was just skimming over the muddy incline. I had a pretty scary fall. Rolled over quite a few times and if it wasn't for some bushes along the way, I would've made this 1 hour down trek, a 5 minute affair.

The hotel check-in was only at 2pm, which meant that I had a lot of time to kill. Visited the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum first. This is where an embalmed body of the founding leader of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, is kept. It ridiculed me that so much money was being spent to keep a dead person's body intact when majority of the country was still struggling economically. But then, I was reminded that things are not too different back home in India where we spend lavishly on some statues!

The 3 hour drive from Hanoi to Ha Long bay took me through the highway with banana plantations, rivers and paddy fields on either side of us. The Ha Long marina looked real fancy! It was my first time ever in such a scenery. There were numerous junk boats anchored close to each other. We hopped into a small boat which took us to our abode for the next two days, Rosa Boutique Cruise.

The second leg of my journey was in the south of the country, Saigon (now known as Ho Chi Minh city). Saigon looked quite upscale. The roads in Saigon were crowded yes, but much bigger than that of Hanoi, the buildings newer and taller! I visited the War Remnants Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon, Central Post Office and the Ben Thanh market. Got some souvenir shopping done as well for the folks back home. The market comes alive at night with hawkers and street food vendors.

The floating markets of Mekong Delta was something I really wanted to see. I went on a day trip with a local tour operator. It was quite touristy but not too bad. Cycling through the small pathways after lunch was something I really enjoyed during this trip. Throughout my trip, I had fellow travellers telling me really good things about Hoi An, a place I feel I missed out on. So for those planning a Vietnam trip, try and include Hoi An in your itinerary!

I had booked a food tour with Back of the Bike tours, for my last day in Vietnam. It was about 4 hours of riding through multiple districts in Saigon, while relishing on the local delicacies from the town's small joints. I highly recommend this tour!