(Hastened) Summary time - Vietnam

Tomorrow I'll be heading towards the Mekong river delta. After that I'll be taken by boat to Cambodia and leave Vietnam. This will end 29 days (I didn't check when I got the actual visa expiry date, it was supposed to be 30!) of my stay in Vietnam. I'll try to summarize some of my impressions.

My initial encounters with Vietnamese were unpleasant. They weren't as nice as Lao people. They are very aggressive in trying to sell (giving a very strong, "walking ATM" feeling) and they have less personal space than us. They don't hesitate to touch or grab you, which doesn't always evoke nice reactions (Luckily as a deadly machine I was also taught restraint, saving many Vietnamese from my lethal blows. Yes, I saw the wrong movies as a kid). But slowly, like a hard nut, I discovered also nice people, eager to talk and learn about others. My initial purchase of a Vietnamese phrasebook proved itself again and again, as speaking their language is an excellent ice-breaker. I also have to thank Shiran, a guy I was travelling with for a while, who spent a lot of time trying to speak Vietnamese with the locals and did it quite well. That helped in learning the language, and it is the first country I can actually say whole sentences (not that it means that the Vietnamese manage to understand me).

Vietnam landscape is a lot about water, significantly more compared to Laos. Its rice paddies are flooded with water and the farmers wade their way knee deep tending the crops. Other than that there are huge plains, totally flat and sometimes accompanied by karsts. Or mountains and hills as you get farther from the sea.

Vietnam is much more in the process of becoming Western than other countries I've seen. The kids spend their spare time at Internet cafes, playing online games. The grown ups dress like we do, tight and exposed. I've seen gyms, fancy cars, fancy people, fancy mobiles and a lot of inner tourism.

As inevitable as beer lao in Laos were bia hoi (fresh beer) mostly in the North and coffee everywhere. I'm not much of a beer or coffee drinker back home, but coffee here was inevitable, as I was looking for relaxing moments in the chaos. When I've reached Ho Chi Minh city, the hot coffee was replaced with ice coffee, prepared the same way but poured to a glass full of ice.

Traveling in Vietnam is a 1700km journey from North to South with many stops along the way. It means that I had to discover new places quite a lot. I realized that sometimes I have a 'click' with a place and sometimes I don't, or that it just takes more time. Each time it is a collection of experiences. Arriving to Hanoi was very hard, but I managed to like it and discover its sweet spots. Ho Chi Minh city and me had an instant 'click'. The place has a nice beat to it, despite the double volume of traffic (and people) compared to Hanoi. In Dalat I had a hard time finding my nice cheap places to eat, and in Nha Trang I had in the corners of one junction all the cheap food I wanted: Pho Bo (Noodle soup with beef), Com tam (Rice with meat, I still not sure which), Kem (Ice cream) and Binh Mi (Baguettes usually filled with meat, omelette or cheese).

I used the alarm clock on this trip quite a lot. First, because of a lot of early morning rides. Second, because there are organized tours everywhere, which are a very tempting option, and because doing it yourself can be, sometimes, very hard. In some places I just took a map and walked around or a motorbike taxi for one place to another. In others I just took a private tour, a guy on motorbike who showed me around, but I was (trying to) dictate the time and places. For the rest, it was either tempting joining the crowds or just easier, as 'school trips' usually are. There is also a big benefit than the do it yourself way, you get to meet people.

Every men in Vietnam smokes and everywhere. It is uncommon among women, but I managed to see one or two. For me it was quite disturbing and somewhat of a problem when I was looking for relaxed places other than my room.

I met many tourists who said they are definitely not coming again to Vietnam but they would come back to Laos. Me? If I'll go back to Laos, I'll definitely go back to Vietnam too.