I had a window seat during my flight from Hanoi to Kuala Lumpur, and the partial cloudiness offered interesting views of the landscapes across Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Malaysia.
View of Laos from the airplane
I arrived in KL on a hot but mostly clear afternoon, experiencing a brief 30-minute thunderstorm shortly after. I’m staying in an apartment in Bukit Bintang which is in the city center. Despite it also being busy, I immediately felt at home here in KL.
I am leaving Vietnam after 3 weeks here. It was the first country I visited in the Sinosphere really, and it blew my mind.
I enjoyed the extended stay on the beach of Da Nang and the hustle and bustle of the cities like HCMC and Hanoi. I successfully dodged all motorcycles and ate some amazing Vietnamese street food.
Entry to Ngoc Son Temple in Hanoi Old Town
There are beautiful and exotic spots here that really opened my mind. But I found Vietnam in some places to be very touristy and a little superficial. I know those spots are popular for a reason, but can feel soulless after a while. The train street in Hanoi being a prime example. It’s cool to see the train up close for sure. But really why are we there? Just to take another cute selfie like it hasn’t been done a million times on Instagram? The deeper beauty of nature and religious places I can understand. But some of these Instagram spots remain a mystery to me. Maybe best to avoid those in the future.
Everything is super organized and the service is at such a high level here. The language barrier is another thing that keeps you from interacting with locals in deeper meaningful ways. But luckily a few Vietnamese are undeterred by any barriers and I had some interesting conversations through translation apps.
I’ll take a couple of days rest in Kuala Lumpur now. I think it’s a great hub to explore more of South East Asia. I’m not certain where I will go after that. I hope to get more off the beaten path again after that.
It might be me coming down with a cold or just the sheer exhaustion. But even after a full day I feel like the Oldtown in Hanoi is super overwhelming and chaotic. It’s hard to put into pictures but it’s feels so crowded, dense and not clean. It’s an experience for sure. One or two days in Hanoi is about the extent I will stay here.
View of Laos from the airplane
Petaling Street at Dusk
Entry to Ngoc Son Temple in Hanoi Old Town
This street wasn’t too bad.
This was.
Hue at night
Bun Bo Hue for breakfast
Cultural cabin on the train
The view from the window
Rotating lanterns in Da Nang
Old Town in Hoi An
Lanterns and River in Hoi An
On top of the Marble Mountains in a Cave
One of the five Marble Mountains
Pagoda on top of the Marble Mountains
One of the over 1000 stalls at Con Market in Da Nang