Back in Germany !!!!

our luggage on our balcony in Leipzig

Hello guys :)

since yesterday I'm back! Even the last days of the trip were outstanding, so I have really to hurry to write my diary of the trip into this blog. The 21 days were so full of experiences and impressions that I'm happy for having the idea to keep diary ^^

@all from LE: See you guys soon :D

Day 16: Travel into the Mountains

Today, we went together with the family of Thuat (younger brother of my father), my grandfather and Tai (the first son of the youngest brother of my father). Our destination was Tam Đảo which you can translate to "The Three Islands". The name was chosen because the area consists of three mountains.

On the Streets in the Morning

After a short breakfast in the "Pasta Cafe" with Phở Bò, the Vietnamese noodle soup with beef, we started the trip. Like at the "Cloud Pass" where we went before, the nature dominated this area too.It was a fantastical place with fresh air, green landscapes and some mountains which reached literally into the clouds. The whole scenery gave this place a mysterious and magical atmosphere :)


Tam Đảo
The village Tam Đảo was more covered with buildings than I thought at first. Especially hotels were built all over the place. I was quite impressed how much effort and time they must have needed to build the whole village.

We stayed at the "Cây Thông Hotel". I don't know the meaning of this name really good, it was something with fir tree :D The beds were really soft but unfortunately the pillows were already moldy oO Well ... for one night ... it was ... acceptable ...

And they are still building ...

At the restaurant in the hotel, we had all lunch, for example Xu Xu or better known as Chayote. We actually ate nearly everything from the plant: the leaves, the fruit and the stipe. There were also boar meat, french fries, chicken, small and deep-fried fishes, pork and a sauce made out of fermented mung beans.


After the meal, we just took a short break and went then to the radio tower at the top of one of the mountains nearby. But it was no real hiking, the whole way there was made of stairs. On the way, we also visited a temple and prayed silently. At the place in front of the temple, there was a truly army of statues ;)

After we went up for some time, rain fell down in tropical dimensions. To avoid being swept away, we went down and called a taxi for the way back to the hotel ^^

To let the day fade away, we had a good dinner with fried eggs, fried birds from the mountains, pork with onions and tomatoes, sliced bamboo, "kingfish" (don't remember which one exactly), beef with mushrooms, a soup, rice, Bia Hà Nôi (local beer brand) and Wodka :D

Seems like the day was worth it :D

Inside our Taxi in the Morning

Entry to the Place with the Army of Statues ^^

At the Temple

My Cousin and Me

Day 15: Shopping in Hanoi and Back to the Family

For breakfast, we went to a phở (Vietnamese noodle soup) restaurant which was very famous among the locals. And they were right about it :) The noodle soup had sliced pieces of beef meat from the ribs, pieces from the knuckle of a pork (aka "Eisbein"), pieces of boiled blood and the banana flower. It was much better than first expected and tasted really good.

Afterwards, we went to "Big C" which is a big shopping center. I just thought: "Oh my god, why would we go to a shopping center? Is this some kind of punishment?" For the record, I don't like going into a shopping center without really knowing what to buy ;)
It was very similar to the so called "Loewen-Center" in Leipzig. Maybe it's also comparable to "Walmart". But here, they sold other fruits and vegetables, of course.

For example, they had much fresh fish, seafood and meat. You could even watch some employees who did cut raw meat. There was also a crocodile which was skinned up to the head. Many products were piled to a pyramid with a height of about 2 meters. Of course, they also had local sweets, like dried fruits and peanuts bars with honey and sesame.

We found many German products too, some were even unknown to me like a yoghurt brand called "Fruchtgeister" (engl.: fruit ghosts). The more known ones were "Leibniz" butter cookies, "Riesen" and "Schogetten". Maybe not suprising, because we learned later that "Big C" was built by a German.

Then we went to my grand-parents house with the taxi. For a distance of about 50km, we payed 800.000VDN (= 32 Euro). Here we went our for a walk in the village with uncle Niam, the oldest brother of my father, to his house. On the way there, we saw many buffaloes and rice fields. It was a very calming walk.

Little Buffalo on the Way

Many kites were flying high up in the sky, because at the ground it was nearly windless. Only in the higher air currents, there was enough wind for them to stay. Uncle Niam told us that the kites usually remain some days(!) in the air. They had also a special feature (for me): On their bottom was a pipe. In combination with the wind, the air was filled with a very weak but also mysterious sound. Really hard to describe :D

He gave everything to bring this Kite into the Sky ^^

Uncle Niam had a really great house with lots of plants and some chickens. But we did not stay for long, after a short time, we visited his mother-in-law together. After this, we went back to his house for dinner, where the core of the family (grandparents, uncles, their families) and some friends were already waiting for us. Before we went to sleep, we also prepared light luggage for one night in the mountains. Tomorrow, you will see where we went ;)

Taking a walk with my Cousin

Uncle Niams House

Next Grumpy Cat?

Part of Uncle Niams Garden with the Chicken House

Dinner

Day 14: Puppets On Fire

We woke up at 7am. The forenoon wasn't really spectacular, we just prepared our luggage to get off the boat. The lunch was quite European with broiler (=chicken leg) and (chewy) pork. Everyone got also his own plates with food which is kind of uncommon in Vietnam, because you usually share with each other.

Rain in the Morning

We also were still frustrated about our "3-day tour" which was just the same 2-day tour twice. At 5pm we arrived in Hanoi by bus. Finally something to do :D
First, we went through the old town around Hoàn Kiếm Lake. Here we bought many presents for our friends and family in Germany :) But the highlight of the day was the "Water Puppet Theater".

The last time I saw a performance was 12 years ago! This time, they used even more advanced effects as before. For example, they had rain on the stage and puppets with fire. Well, the most impressive one was maybe the flute player who did some awesome solos during the performance ;)

The whole performance was a fabulous mix of music, acting and puppet show. It was so immerse, I could literally sink into the scenery :D

Carina and me had also the best night at this day. And No, not what you think :D The other nights we had some problems with sleeping because of noises and some diseases. This night, we were finally able to sleep through. But hey ... No adventure without obstacles ;)

Here are some more pictures of the Water Puppet performance. Enjoy it! :)

The Band

Gathering in the Mist

Puppet on Fire :)

Beautiful Voice

Boat Trip

Dance of the Dragon

Another Dragon? A Merlion?

At the End of the Performance

Day 13: Rain, Rain, Rain

We started the day with a small breakfast. It rained the whole day, but this didn't mean we wouldn't do something. At first, we went to the biggest cave in Hạ Long Bay. It was very impressive to see what nature can create in millions of years :)
Sometimes the stalactites and stalagmites had special meanings. For example, there was a happy Buddha, a fossil of a dragon and a lion with a pig face. Actually this is no joke, those were the meanings, so I was told ^^

Inside The Cave

After the trip, we changed to a little boat, because we were the only ones out of the group who made a 3-day trip. We continued out trip in Hạ Long Bay while the others went back to solid ground ;) To pass the time, we did kayaking again, this time we even saw monkeys, crabs and other little animals at some of the islands. And we collected some oyster shells ^^

Our lunch at the boat consisted of chips, cucumber, tomatoes, shrimps, Nem (spring rolls with meat), Vietnamese cabbage, chicken, paprika, onions, unknown fish out of the sea and water melon ... Maybe I should stop describing our food until the last detail ;)

While the others went to an oyster farm afterwards, I used the time to get some sleep. Don't know exactly why, but I was just tired oO The others told me the oyster farm was very interesting and brought back some pictures ^^

We continued our travel through the bay, and I sat down on the prow of the little boat. Here again, I felt an indescribable peace and calm. While I sat there, thought and was moved by the surroundings, I got my next spiritual ... well, let's call it realization, I don't find a better word for the German word "Erkenntnis". It was too big to describe it here, but the topic was about my place in this world, my search for it and that I'm already there. Hope my future self will still know what I meant ^^

Deep Thoughts?

Later, we returned to the big boat again, the next group was already on it. To be honest, they didn't seem so cool  and open-minded like the people before. Everyone put a lot of distance to each other and it was very quiet oO

On the boat, we found out that the following activities were the same we already did yesterday! In the end, it wasn't a 3-day tour like promised from the Sinh Café. Just the 2-day tour twice :(

It was also quite strange to bond with the new group, because we couldn't get any connection to them. My advice for you: If you're planning a trip in Hạ Long Bay, don't believe the official descriptions of the trips. As harsh as it sounds, many Vietnamese travel agencies will try to rip you off! Search for the comments and review from other tourists, if there are some.

Actually just a Still Life

Because there wasn't much to do for us, we decided to stay the rest of the day on the boat and relax. Well, it wasn't the best day of the trip ...

Time for some notes in my Travel Diary

The picture is entirely made out of nacre

Getting the Pearl out of the Shell

Can image how a Life just on these Boats would be ...

Day 12: The Bay of the Dragon

We woke up at 6:30am to get on our bus to Hạ Long at 8:00am from a "Sinh Café". With the bus, or better the big Van, we went together with the other participants of the tour and some others of another one. To shorten the time, the tour guide told us some more or less interesting facts. For example, the name "Hạ Long" means descending dragon. Once, the city was the capital of Vietnam.

The Back of the Dragon

After 2 hours, we had a short break in a big store for tourists where you could buy anything, from pictures over clothes to vases. For example, Carina bought a traditional red Vietnamese dress which suited her really good :) And she got it for about 43 Euro which was about 27 Euro cheaper than normal. Next time, we may ask for the "native" price first ;)

At 12am, we arrived at Hạ Long Bay. First, we had to stay about half an hour at a checkpoint, because four people of our group came with a different bus. After they arrived, we finally got on the boat and were welcomed with juice made of water melons.

We also got lunch, which was a mix of Western and Asian cuisine:

• beef with paprika and rice
• pork meat on sticks with chips
• boiled oysters and squid
• Vietnamese cabbage
• fresh fish out of the sea, from which no one, not even the waiter, didn't know the name
• water melon and Chinese apple

After lunch, we went to a fishing village where we went by kayak. Carina and me took a 2-persons kayak and we went around a bigger island. By the way, Hạ Long Bay has 1969 islands in every size, from small rocks to big islands. When we got out of the kayak, we swam some minutes in the sea, before we had to get back on the boat. By that, I got my first scar of the day on the knee from sharp oysters which had stuck on the pier. Well, you know what they say: "Scars are the first tattoos of a real man." And I sure have a collection of them already :D

It's Time for Wine ^^

In the afternoon, we got some red wine, litchi, water melon and other fruits to boost us. Afterwards we stopped within a bay, so we could swim. I was the first (and bravest *cough*) and jumped right from the deck on the top of the boat. Amazed by my performance, the others just did the same ;)

Walking in the Air is not difficult as it seems ;)

The feeling to jump right into the water was just ... amazing! Two seconds of pure adrenaline that made me feel alive :) Then I used the time to swim through the sea, lay myself on the water and just listen to the sea, like in Hội An (see previous post).
Three minutes were just filled with peace and calm. But everything has its price, so I got stung by a jellyfish which had tentacles with a length of about 2m. Also Carina, who jumped some minutes afterwards, was stung too, but she had luck and it wasn't so bad like mine :D

The enemy ...

Well, after a bit ice and a bit of ointment from the tour guide later, I was able to move somehow. And so I got my third wound right afterwards, when I nearly felt from the slippery stairs and cut my arm at a piece of iron sheet from a lamp on deck. Maybe this was my divine punishment for forgetting to ring my bell this morning ;)

Can you guess what image the rocks in the center represent? :)

For dinner, we had again a very big meal. Before, we also learned how to make and roll "Nem" (you know, the Spring Rolls with meat). Well, actually my family and me did them already a lot by ourselves in Germany before :) The menu this time:

• pumpkin soup with coconut milk
• fried corn pieces and boiled oysters
• soup with meshed meat and some vegetables
• grilled shrimps and boiled water spinach
• cucumber and tomatoes with white dressing
• chicken with some vegetables
• dragon fruit and Chinese apple

The night was really great for me, because it was very stormy and because we slept on the boat, I could feel the power of nature :) Man, that's how I like to sleep ... when the world around is in chaos ;)

Day 11: Shopping and Sightseeing in Hanoi

The first half of the day got away by traveling with the train to Hanoi. When we finally arrived, we were picked up by Thao, the daughter of a friend from my father. She learned German since 6 months, so we talked a bit during our stay in Hanoi with her, so she could practice :)

First Thing I saw in the Morning ^^

For the time we stayed here, we could use her apartment. At this point I want to thank you Thao, for your hospitality and for spending time with us in Hanoi! :)

Her apartment was really huge, looked awesome, was very clean and comfortable. If I live in Hanoi someday, I want such an apartment too :D The apartment itself was in the area around the "West Sea" which is much bigger than the "Hoàn Kiếm Lake".

The train had no showers, so at first we refreshed ourselves :) We even found the time to book a 3-day-tour in Hạ Long via internet. Then we went with Thao to the best restaurant for seafood in Hanoi, so she said ;) And I have to admit she was right. The quality of the seafood was one of the best I've ever tasted! We ate so much different things, from grilled shrimps to boiled oysters, scallops and slugs :D

At the evening we went to the "Water Puppet Theater" at the "Hoàn Kiếm Lake". Unfortunately the performances of this evening were already sold out. So went a bit around for shopping and sightseeing. After searching for a while, Carina and me finally got the bags we saw the last time in Hanoi. Back then we hadn't the time them and we needed them for our trip to "Hạ Long Bay". With these new acquisitions we went around the lake and then back to Thaos apartment.

Actually, these lights seem to be here always
and not only for a festival or so :)