Well, two months down, and so much more has happened. Vietnam has been pivotal in my travels, I know that already. It has shown me so many different things, offered me so many different experiences and left me with a deep sense of loss at having to leave.
Again the people I have met have made this part of the trip and some of the things I've seen wil never be describable to people back home.
So my highlights of each place:
HANOI - 28th July - 31st July and 02nd August - 04th August
Top 5 moments:
- Meeting Dutch chaps, Matthijs, Jordy and Sèbastien.
- The Old Quarter.
- The Water Puppet show.
- Hoa Lo Prison.
- The street food.
SAPA - 01st August - 02nd August
Top 5 moments:
- The Sapa Squad.
- The trekking through rice fields and villages.
- Being conned out of 400,000 VND.
- Za, our tour guide.
- The epic games of Mafia at the home stay.
HALONG BAY - 04th August - 06th August
Top 5 moments:
- Sitting up all night with the stars, waiting for sunrise.
- Kayaking.
- Cat Ba Island.
- Swimming at night.
- Monkey Island.
PHONG NHA - 07th August
Top 5 moments:
- Riding a motorcycle for the first time.
- Zip lining and caving.
- Meeting Danish double, Anne and Julie.
- Easy Tiger.
- The landscape.
HUÈ - 08th August - 09th August
Top 5 moments:
- The Indian restaurant.
- Playing Jenga in a nightclub.
- Banana pancakes!
- Hiring motorcycles for the ride to Hoi An.
- Julie and Anne crashing the bike within 30 seconds of leaving the hire place.
HOI AN - 09th August - 15th August
Top moments (there's more than five because there were too many to pick from):
- Suits - selecting, fitting and buying.
- Falling down the stairs in Why Not club.
- Cargo - the best desserts in town.
- Spraying Sèbastien with the bidet hose.
- Convincing Sèbastien to stay on with us all the way to the end.
- Losing the bike lock and having to saw it off.
- Meeting Mr Xè.
- Watching Dayana eat crab and explain why she's never seen any Disney movies.
- Playing the Green and Black / CB game with Julie.
NHA TRANG - 16th August
Top 5 moments:
- Funky Monkey boat trip.
- Snorkelling with fish and sea snakes.
- Karaoke.
- Vegetarian dinner place.
- The poached regs at breakfast - finally, someone who can cook an egg well!
DALAT - 17th August - 19th August
Top 5 moments:
- Canyoning.
- The Crazy House.
- The bed bug terror.
- Winning with Julie at pool against Sèbastien, Jordy and Anne.
- The Bee Bar
MUI NE - 19th August - 20th August
Top 5 moments:
- Duning and quad biking.
- The beachside hostel.
- The live music bar.
- The relaxation.
- The food.
HO CHI MINH / SAIGON - 21st August - 23rd August
Top 5 moments:
- Cu Chi War Tunnels.
- Walking Tour.
- War Museum.
- AB Tower sky bar.
- Last drink with the Crazy Gang.
Vietnam was something really special, I'll never be able to go anywhere without remembering it. A special thanks to everyone I met this time around, and a extra special thanks to Jordy, Sèbastien, Anne Banana and Lady Julie - you guys made this for me!
Special notes:
Matthijs - You are a down to earth guy, my friend. It was great meeting you in Hanoi and Hoi An and I'm glad we had some good talks over beers. I hope to see you in England one day or perhaps when I come to The Netherlands. All the best.
Dayana - Thanks for the banter and for entertaining me when you ate crab. If I still know you in a year, and you still haven't watched a Disney Movie, I'm going to send you every Disney Classic to watch. I swear! Good luck in London and stay away from Budapest!
To the members of my crazy gang:
Jordy - What a guy! Your organisational skills, diplomacy and general zest for life is something that made you easy to be around.
I want to give you a big thanks for pushing me to do all that crazy crap, like kayaking around giant islands in Halong Bay, zip lining, cave swimming and motorbiking in Huè and all the way to Hoi An, getting me to buy ANOTHER suit from Mr Xè, abseiling off huge rocks and especially for telling me not to be a pussy and giving me the motivation to do the 11 metre cliff dive!
Thank you buddy and I look forward to visiting you in The Netherlands and for you to come to Old Trafford to watch a United game with me!
Sèbastien - What's happening Ricki? Watching you go from being conservative in every respect to a maverick with a cavalier attitude in just under four weeks has been a pleasure.
We may have done the Rush Hour impressions to death, but we ruled them. Thanks for being my wing man on the joke front, for giving me a good run for my money at pool, for sharing my indulgence of food at all times of the day and especially for singing 'Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough' with me at Karaoke. I'll never forget that.
Equally, thanks for staying with the group in Hoi An. It wouldn't have been the same without you if you'd left, and sorry for sending your food back to waste time and for orchestrating you missing your flight. I did it for the gang.
As with Jordy, I'll see you in The Netherlands and when you come over to England for the game . . . And Johnson, what panties you wearing man?
Anne Banana - Ah, what an angel. Your happy demeanour and fun style of living just made it impossible for me to dislike anything about you.
I'm always going to remember wrapping you in a white towel and cradling you just because we all wanted to see your baby face in that scenario and your giggling in the night when I was trying to go to sleep. Talking to you was so easy and I'm glad we had the chance to travel the majority of Vietnam together, seeing some crazy stuff and both of us learning how to ride bikes. You rocked it.
One thing I'll also never forget is your ability to steal my things. In our time together, you took precisely three towels, two door keys and a bar of my soap. It was lucky I was aware really.
Keep those smiles coming and I'll see you in Copenhagen! That's a promise.
Lady Julie - Best until last they say. The way in which you can look like you're going to kill me and then produce this sweet smile is something I'll really miss.
At times I know you were missing home and the people there but without you in the group, I wouldn't have had someone who could attempt to bring my energy levels down (sorry but like all others, you failed, but nice try).
Our bus trips and sleeping arrangements are going to take some time to get used to not having. It was always fun playing the green and black / CB game, doing impressions of your voice and learning Danish with you. I'm practicing still, I swear. I won't miss you pouring water over me, pinching or punching me. Oh, and I definitely won't miss you asking me to repeat everything five times.
I'll miss you Lady, and I'll really miss applying the antiseptic gel to your cut. It was the highlight of my day.
Keep your eyes open - one day, I might just appear in Denmark for surprise piña coladas!
Best of luck to you all, and thanks. You made my Vietnam trip!
