galmc2Report

As we sit here on our lovely cruise ship in Ha Long Bay (yes, somewhat aware I have not blogged in a bit, apologies to the reader), I see that we have hit the one month away milestone. Our plan was to enter softly, with an easy familiar first stop in Bali and Gili Air.

With that done we shifted to “new” travel with our visit to Vietnam. So far it’s been the adjustment to the intensity of Ho Chi Minh City, then the more “chill” atmosphere of Hoi An, then a few days experiencing Hanoi and the New Year, and now a lovely couple of days on the water on famous Ha Long Bay.

I’m glad we had the familiarity of Bali first, as Vietnam, while lovely in many ways, has also been an adjustment and required us to shake the cobwebs off a bit in order to fully enjoy our experience.

Perhaps the biggest cobweb is we remembered that we need to give locations time for us to adjust and find the proper rhythm before casting judgement. Both HCM City and Hanoi require a lot of energy to get around in. For me one of the things l like best is to just wander and see what comes. I call it urban hiking. Here given the lack of sidewalk space due to merchants, cars and scooters, I found it took a lot to continuously have my “sensors engaged” to make sure we are safe as we explore. Now I find it’s almost second nature to move around the city (well, except on really old bridges with very low guardrails. That’s now a no-go zone for me)

Other adjustments basically boil down to living out of a carry-on sized suitcase. I think I am overdue to have a critical look at what I am lugging around. We’ve flown Vietjet a couple of time here (flying is somewhat affordable), but since we have a few extra kilos than what is allowed we’ve had to check our bags. Which kind of defeats the purpose of having carry-on luggage. There’s also a book I either need to start to read or let go.

I’ve also realized that I have become very used to having clean clothes available and laundry service whenever. Now the sniff test is often used, and attempts to hand wash/dry takes clothes out of circulation for a couple of days (unless you happen to have access to a blow dryer and a lot of patience)

Then there is the constant dilemma of choosing one’s clothes for the day. Do you spruce it up and wear something different from yesterday, or do you subscribe to the theory of wearing the same thing for multiple days to stretch out what clean clothes you have available? Thankfully Heather and I have an unspoken “I won’t complain about you if you don’t complain about me” pact. And don’t get me started on “why the hell did I pack this/not pack that” internal debate.

But all these things pale against the positive of being out here, seeing and experiencing new things and meeting new people.

Wandering about Hanoi and seeing its people celebrate the New Year was very cool. Experiencing Vietnamese food has been fantastic, especially as it’s not fare that I would typically have at home. Learning a little about the country from the sites and the guides we have met, and seeing iconic sights such as Ha Long Bay and the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum has been a lovely jolt of positive travel energy.

And then there are the people. There is something about travel that creates easy conversations and connections. In HCM City it was a lovely night drinking at the Banana Mama Rooftop Bar, where we had a great night drinking and swapping tales with a couple from Northern Italy, 3 Aussies and an American/Swedish couple. In Hoi An it was the girl from France who gave us the lowdown on the city. It was the local students who stopped us and asked if we had time to help them practice their English. In Hanoi it was the Aussie couple who we chatted with at breakfast and ended up wandering out with to see the NYE fireworks.

And at Ha Long Bay we spent a lovely 3 days with a Romanian couple recently moved to Berlin, a young Belgian couple who exhibited great bravery to lead off Karaoke Night, and an interesting gent from Rome working remotely while seeing the sights (and who wore super cool pants).

Now onto our second month. Back to Hanoi for a couple of nights before we finish the second chapter of our journey and say goodbye to Vietnam and hello to Thailand. And perhaps this upcoming month recall the sage words of the great philosopher Bart Simpson, and …..