Vietnam

From the sub zero temperatures of the Himalayas to the steaming hot Ho Chi Minh city I was in a different world and although hard to believe for friends in Vietnam the previous 21 hours in transit made sense of the contrasting environments. I had left Kathmandu at about 2pm.. reached Delhi by 5pm and had a 1:10am flight to Bangkok to wait for. So I weighed up my options. I could buy three hours in a private lounge for around 40 bucks which would include internet access, food and beverage.. I could buy a sleeping pod with a tv and dvd player for 7 dollars per hour but I would have to buy my own dvds to play. Or I could just save money and wait it out with the help of a book and various meals at the airports food court. I chose the latter... Starting with about 5 laps of Delhi International comparing prices of the first two options and finishing with an all you can eat buffet and a sleep in a cosy little corner I found. The flight was on schedule and in what seemed like no time at all I was in Bangkok with another wait on my hands. This time it was only 5 hours. So I gave myself another airport tour before running into a massage store and enjoying a half an hour foot massage. The flight to Hochiminh felt short like the previous one which made me wonder how sky scanner could possibly sell this route from Kathmandu to HCMC.. So much time at airports and so little time in the air.

From Saigon airport I was picked up by Mr Binh. Strangely similar name to Mr Bim who had taken us to Base Camp only the week before but very different in appearance and attitude. They did however have the same entrepreneurial way of life. Mr Bim in Nepal guiding the mountains, the city of Kathmandu and assisting with shopping expeditions and Mr Binh running his taxi and a health food franchise. Anyway, the main thing I noticed on the ride to Matt and Ingrid's apartment was how far ahead HCMC was compared to India and Nepal. The streets were relatively clean, the power lines slightly more organized and the general filth factor was much lower.

Staying with Matt and Ingrid was fantastic. Their knowledge of the country allowed me to make the best use of my limited time and get a really good understanding of life not only for them but for the local Vietnamese people. The first thing that struck me about HCMC was the food. Cheap and unbelievably fresh and tasty. They don't hold back on the sugar, fish sauce (salt) and spices which makes for some seriously delicious meals. The wrapping of everything in various greenery that look like the clippings from a garden working bee did get a little old however and it astounded me how wrong you could go by wrapping the chicken in the poison ivy rather than the mustard leaf (something Mr Nghiep - the easyrider caught me out on several times). Sightseeing wise my favourite place was the War Remnants Museum. It was interesting to see a history of the Vietnam/American war from another perspective. In high school we never learnt the stories of American GIs slaughtering hundreds of women and children. In this museum not only did it tell these stories but showed them through graphic pictures of GIs holding up remains and sitting in circles around piles of skulls.

After HCMC I flew (by way of Christmas present from Matt and Ingrid) to Da Lat, a 40 minute flight north of HCMC in the South Central highlands of Vietnam. Da Lat is the home of the easy riders.. and it was my plan to find a Mr Nghiep to take me on a journey through the Vietnamese countryside ending up in Hoi An. I found Mr Nghiep, He took me through the countryside but we didn't finish up anywhere near Hoi An.

Four Day Easyrider Tour with Mr Nghiep

This tour was something different to anything I have experienced throughout the past six months. Not only was it off the typical tourist track but it gave me access to the local people in a way that would be impossible with a large group. I had only learnt about Vietnam's ethnic minorities weeks before through conversations with Matt and Ingrid.. and now I was going into their houses and watching them make a living from garage factories producing silk, sugar, coffee, brooms and so on. All with their own language and many still trading without money. The cultural diversity within the different minorities throughout the central highlands was incredible. Some saw the woman as the most important figure in the family whilst others were very male dominated, some build their houses on stilts with big tee pee like roofs and others had different ladders for men and women distinguished by carvings of breasts and penises. the amount of knowledge Mr Nghiep was able to pass on was amazing and impossible for me to remember it all but it definitely opened my eyes to a society I never even knew existed.

The tour also took me to various battle grounds during the war. Where Nghiep had many terrible stories of the battles that took place. Seeing the devastating impact of agent orange and napalm fist hand was very touching and to see this beautiful country so scarred was terrible.

I was dropped off at the Laos border after four fantastic days and after a brief goodbye.. Mr Nghiep road off into the distance as my bus left for Southern Laos and some interesting times ahead..