My trip to Vietnam was amazing! We were there for roughly a week and arrived home last Saturday (I'm sorry that I didn't write sooner). The day that we left for Vietnam I had to wake up at 4:00am, which was not fun... I was a very tired sausage. On the first flight, to Hong Kong Airport, I was fortunate enough to have been seated next to my friends :) We then had 5+ hours at HK Airport. Which we spent shopping and wandering which was actually a lot of fun. I was tempted to buy several books from Page One but I thought that it would be more practical to buy books on the way home; so that I didn't have to carry them on the trek. We arrived in Hanoi late that evening and were swiftly escorted to the Eden Hotel. Which was a lot nicer than the hotel that I stayed at in Cambodia. It even had a mini buffet breakfast with eggs and bacon! (slurp;)
On the second day, we took a five hour bus ride where we were supposed to start our trek. On the way we stopped in a small village for lunch. We had some delicious local food and then had a look around. There were a few stalls here and there. They mainly sold the likes of traditional clothing, key rings and bracelets. I bought a few bracelets from a girl and her younger brothers for Isla. On the way back to the bus I spotted a GIANT spider! It was easily bigger than the palm of my hand. Needless to say, I didn't stick around for long. The first leg of the trek was 9km and, unlike a fair amount of my class mates, decided to carry all of my belongings. Which weighed an approximate 15kg! The scenery was absolutely stunning... I was speechless. Im not sure where we were exactly... But we were in a valley of sorts, surrounded by mountains and terraced rice patties. When we arrived at the first camp I was exhausted! But I managed to stay up for a few hours afterwards, to play cards with my friends. I learnt how to play Blackjack, Catch the Joker and Texas Holdem Poker. All of which I am fairly good at; I got a straight in poker in my first hand and I went all in!
On the second day, we took a five hour bus ride where we were supposed to start our trek. On the way we stopped in a small village for lunch. We had some delicious local food and then had a look around. There were a few stalls here and there. They mainly sold the likes of traditional clothing, key rings and bracelets. I bought a few bracelets from a girl and her younger brothers for Isla. On the way back to the bus I spotted a GIANT spider! It was easily bigger than the palm of my hand. Needless to say, I didn't stick around for long. The first leg of the trek was 9km and, unlike a fair amount of my class mates, decided to carry all of my belongings. Which weighed an approximate 15kg! The scenery was absolutely stunning... I was speechless. Im not sure where we were exactly... But we were in a valley of sorts, surrounded by mountains and terraced rice patties. When we arrived at the first camp I was exhausted! But I managed to stay up for a few hours afterwards, to play cards with my friends. I learnt how to play Blackjack, Catch the Joker and Texas Holdem Poker. All of which I am fairly good at; I got a straight in poker in my first hand and I went all in!
The next day, we did some community work at a local primary school. We picked up rubbish and did a lot of gardening. After that we taught some of the children "Head, shoulders, knees and toes. Knees and toes!" which was adorable! Most of the children were about 4-5 years old.
The next leg of the trek was 20km... We were walking for a very looonnng time and a large portion of it was up hill. We stopped for lunch around noon in a small village. The food was delicious! (Especially the bread). Then we walked another 5km to the next camp. We stayed there over night and had delicious banana pancakes for breafast the next morning. Although, it wasnt your typical banana pancake... Its hard to describe, but it was delicious all the same.
The next day, we walked another 14km. And the view was amazing! We were right up in the mountains, so the trek was mainly downhill. Then we walked through another small village and right down the middle of a rice field. We also saw some local kids along the way, and we stopped to play soccer with them. Eventually, we arrived back at the bus. We then had a brief lunch and we thanked our guides. Then we hopped on the bus and drove back to Ha Noi.
We stayed in the same hotel and went out to a nice restaurant for dinner. When we sat down to eat, there were little cups of clear fluid by our plates. We all asumed that they were cups of tea... We later learned that they were mini shots... Our teachers had a mare and quickly collected them up before any of us drunk them. The food was amazing, my favourite dish was the spring rolls.
Then next day we drove to Ha Long Bay. We stayed over night on a floating hotel and I ate crab for dinner. Which was surprisingly tastey :) We then stopped by at some caves that the French discovered in the early 1900's. The caves were huge! We then stopped off at a little beach and went for a swim. Oddly enough, the water was freezing! But, unlike the majority of my peers, I was unfazed by it; I found it refreshing.
The next day, we went back to Hanoi. That afternoon we also went to a market where I bought a really pretty coconut bowl. That evening, after dinner, we went to see a water puppet show. Which I believe is a performance that Ha Noi is renowned for. I really enjoyed it, there were even fire breathing dragons.The next day we flew back to nanjing, where Mum and Dad picked me up from the airport:) Overall, I had an amazing time.
What a great trip.
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