We really enjoyed our adventures in Phong Nha, but something about Vietnam wasn't winning us over. We knew that we had to give it more then a week before we formed a solid opinion. We were having a hard time fitting in. That may be a strange way of explaining it, because we aren't brace faced teenagers trying to win the hearts of the popular kids. It was very simple transition from Canada to Thailand. We were having a hard time finding our place as backpackers from Thailand to Vietnam.

After Phong Nha, we traveled to Hue by sleeper bus. The bus was over filled. People were laying on the floor and amongst those people was courageous Jenika. She graciously let me have the seat as a noble knight does for any diva.  It's common for the busses to be over crowded. I've seen bus drivers ask locals to leave their seats so tourists can have them. Which may seem like a kind gesture, I find it uncomfortable and awkward. 

When we arrived in Hue, we sat down for breakfast and tried to somewhat plan the rest of our trip. We planned things that we wanted to see, and tried to alter our beachy expectation of Vietnam. I should have known better, my plans rarely stick and are ever changing. During breakfast we kept talking about Thailand. We tried not to compare the two countries but we were having a hard time. We really love Thailand. With one familiar look from Jen, I knew she had a game plan. If you don't know already, Jenika is a Make-It-Happen wizard. I've seen this girl turn a piece of fabric into a fabulous birthday dress, a cheap can of soup into a main course masterpiece and now she was going to turn Vietnam into Thailand.

First we made a pros and cons list. We didn't want to leave Vietnam because we missed Thailand. It didn't seem like a valid enough reason.  We worked through our finances, flights, visas and carefully weighed our options. This deliberation took hours. We didn't want to be rash, and we sure weren't going to back out because Vietnam wasn't what we planned it to be. All in all, it's not Vietnam's fault. It was our poor planning that ultimately lead us to this moment. We ended up flying from Hue to Ho Chi Minh City that night. We adjusted all our flights, sorted out visa issues. Instead of flying home on the 27th, we'd be BKK-ing on the 13th. 

We had 5 days in Ho Chi Minh city before we flew out. We really enjoyed our time there. We even made it to a beach. We took a bus to Vung Tau, and laid like lizards for hours. We found wonderful vegetarian restaurants and tried new Vietnamese food. We started feeling like backpackers again, and not like annoying dumb tourists. We even made a few new local friends. One night we decided to check out Ben Thanh Market in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City. We were walking though a park when a smiley young woman approached us and asked if we had a minute to talk. We said yes, because as backpackers we have an infinite amount of time to simply chat. We were greeted by 2 other women. They asked us to sit on the ground with them. I thought they were going to ask me a few questions, and that would be it. We ended up talking for an hour and a half. We swapped stories about our countries, what we did for work, our hobbies and passions. I found out that these lovely women were practicing english for an exam. Before we knew it more people started sitting around us. At one point we had an audience of 10 people wanting to talk to us and practice their english. It was a little overwhelming, but I really enjoyed meeting new people who were so eager to learn.

As the days passed Jen and I were starting to get anxious. We so badly wanted to get back to Thailand. We had a couple dangerous moments that only pushed our desire back to Thailand. One being that I nearly saw Jenika get hit by a scooter. It was such a close call. We looked both ways, and took our first steps to cross the road when this pink scooter piled high with people whipped around the corner and nearly whipped out guava snacking Jenika. We retreated safely to the side walk and were dead silent. Which is saying something cause we are always talking, singing, or shouting. Then to top it off, we saw a dead cat and Jen walked through human urine. That was a full day.

Our time in Nam came to a close, and with some really great experiences and some not really great experiences; we are happy with the decision we made to leave early. We also decided that those 13 days weren’t our last time in Vietnam. I would totally go back there, now that I know what to expect and acknowledge that there needs to be some sort of planning to have an optimal experience. 

Firstly, my 60 day visa for Thailand had expired and I needed to leave the country. I really didn't want to leave cause I was having so much fun. Secondly, Jen and I had planned Vietnam to be a  beach vacation for a month. We imagined parking our glowing white asses on soft sandy beaches to flourish into bronzed, coconut drinking, salty haired babes. Thirdly, we did not research what to expect. Which ultimately supported terrible packing decisions, startling culture shock and two hungry vegetarians.

After collecting our belongings, Jen and I headed to the Bangkok airport to fly to Hanoi. We flew out at 6am on January 1st. Yes, you can assume we did not sleep and may have had remnants of spilled Leo on our bodies. Despite our graceful exit out of Thailand; we were excited to see a new country, try the ever coveted pho, and hit up the white sandy beaches we have been lusting over. 

We flew from Bangkok into Hanoi. This city is located in northern Vietnam. Being off season, and where its geographically located. It was farking cold. I'm talking an easy 20 degree difference then Bangkok. "No problem!" We said. Well just bundle up in our warmest clothing and work to head south as fast as we can. Unpacking my bag, I realized I left all my warmest clothes in sweaty Bangkok. When I was packing all I was thinking was "BEACH" not "CANADA". Luckily I had one pair of cropped yoga pants, and a sweater. Which I so stylishly wore with frilly hiking socks and dirty berkinstocks for days. Remember how I went to fashion school? My inner diva was crushed and shes still trying to recover from that revolting style challenged moment.

Hanoi, which we cleverly renamed "Hanoisey" is quite a interesting city. The down town is a grid of busy streets, filled with Bun Mi and Pho restaurants, cafes, and specialty shops offering decorations, souvenirs, and knock off H&M. C'mon Nam.. Knock off H&M? Immediately we noticed the commuters. Not because of flashy cars, but because they were so loud. Hence "Hanoisey". Everyone was beeping their horns. I could not figure out why. It seemed that instead of using an indicator, they just used and abused their horns. Not only are the commuters loud but scary. We nearly lost our life every time we crossed the street. Scooters are the primary mode of transportation. Every which way we were being circled by scooters. The driving rules in Vietnam is there are no rules. Just go, and go fast. Crossing the street became a game for us. The trick is to walk into on coming traffic and trust that the driver knows what their doing. This may sound like I'm being sarcastic, I'm not. 

Due of our attire and need for sunshine was stronger then ever. We moved on from Hanoi quickly. Headed south we  used our open bus ticket to explore Phong Nha. This town is small and slightly turned out by tourists. We were disappointed by this, but being in a touristy town for a few days isn't that bad. Especially because of the killer mountainous views and lush jungle forests that surrounded the town. We stayed at Easy Tiger hostel, which we loved. It had amazing veggie options for food, extremely clean rooms and a wonderful social scene.  It also has free bike rentals and incredibly helpful staff who helped us plan our days. 

The first day in Phong Nah we rented bikes and explored the country side. I absolutely love biking, this was such a highlight for me. On the dusty streets we passed cows, chickens, and children yelling out any English words they knew. We watched farmers work on their fields and dogs playfully chase us. It was so peaceful in comparison to Hanoi. 

The next day we rented a scooter to explore Paradise Cave. Jen was the masterful pilot and I was the gravel paranoid backseat driver. I've seen so many backpackers with bandaged feet and hands due to scooter accidents and I was determined not to be one. After a while I loosened up and told Jen I no longer required her to tell me whenever a bump was approaching. 

Arriving at Pariadise cave we were excited. I've never been in a cave before and I didn't know what to expect. We hiked to the cave mouth, and after scaling the steep wooden stair case. We were officially spelunking. We were welcomed by glorious stalagmites and stalactites. These bad boys are monstrous. It felt like we entered Dracula's cave which prompted us to spend the whole adventure talking like vampires. By throwing our Dracula voices we discovered a mind boggling echo. We defiantly were those obnoxious tourists playing with nature. I unfortunately forgot my camera, so google images will have to be your Paradise cave tour guide. 

After a bit of a culture shock in Hanoi, then seeing the beautiful scenery in Phong Nha. We had some mixed feelings about Vietnam. We weren't sure if we liked it or disliked it. It had only been a few days so we couldn't make a fully informed opinion. We weren't getting exactly what we wanted, we decided to be patient and see what the rest of Vietnam had to offer.