un~

Chao Vietnam

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.

Hanoi

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.

This street wasn’t too bad.

This was.

Thien Mu Pagoda

Hue

Hue at night

Bun Bo Hue for breakfast

Hai Van Pass

Cultural cabin on the train

The view from the window

Lanterns

Rotating lanterns in Da Nang

Hoi An

Old Town in Hoi An

Lanterns and River in Hoi An

Marble Mountains

On top of the Marble Mountains in a Cave

One of the five Marble Mountains

Pagoda on top of the Marble Mountains

Con Market

One of the over 1000 stalls at Con Market in Da Nang

Son Tra Linh Ung Pagoda

Lady Buddha, 67m

It rained the last three days in Danang. With rain came high humidity and lots of fog. The fog finally lifted this morning. I used this small window of clear air to rush halfway up the Monkey Mountain. I wanted to see the Linh Ung Pagoda — a Buddhist temple sanctuary on the absolutely stunning Son Tra Peninsula.

Monkeys were playing between in trees while groups of visitors strolled around the extensive site and marveled at the ornate devotional art and buildings.

Inside the Pagoda

I am blown away by all of it. Sad that there is so little to find about this on the English Wikipedia and even on-site there was not a lot to read in English. An exhausting but insightful day on the mountain nonetheless.

The second Pagoda, Reclining Buddha