Last destination in Vietnam. Hanoi looked to me a lot like other big Vietnamese cities: full of noisy motorbikes and without much pretty sights. But I was on a mission: since it was my last stop in this beautiful country, I had to make sure I tasted as much of its delicious cuisine as possible. No disappointments here, and the “ca phe trung da” or “egg coffee” was definitely one of the highlights
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A bit disappointed that I had to leave the nice people I met on the Bays cruise, I jumped on the night train to Sa Pa, the major tourist hub for hikes through the rice terraces of Northern Vietnam. Sadly, it was too early for the rice to have been planted, and despite some research, I ended up with a below-average tour guide. Nevertheless, the landscape was still pretty amazing and the sunny weather (not so evident in the hills of Sa Pa) made up for a lot.
After the fantastic caving tour in Phong Nha, another main tourist attraction was on the menu: Ha Long Bay. Since Lonely Planet indicated that Lan Ha Bay was just as pretty but less touristy, I decided to book a 2-day, 1-night tour which combined Ha Long Bay, Lan Ha Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay. I ended up on a boat with a lot of French people, and a German couple, all very easygoing people. In addition, our guide did a great job at avoiding the all too touristy areas of Ha Long Bay, so it ended up being a great trip. Only minus was the pollution of the bays, which at times were full of beer cans, plastic bottles etc. Come on Vietnam, you will be a n°1 tourist destination if you have that mess cleaned up!
After Hue, next stop was Phong Nha Ke Bang NP, in short “Phong Nha”, a place renowned for its karst caves, and home to Song Doong, the largest cave in the world. Unfortunately, tours to Song Doong cost around 3000 USD, so not exactly fit for a backpacker budget. But during the bus ride to Phong Na, a Dutch backpacker told me about a tour to Hang En Cave, the third largest cave in the world. After having seen a couple of pictures of Hang En, I was sold. I left the traditional “backpacker-friendly” caves for what they were and decided to splurge a bit to do the 2-day, 1-night trek to Hang En cave. The night would be spent camping in the cave itself. It was an amazing experience, and one I would recommend to anyone with a reasonable physical condition!
The description in LonelyPlanet of Hue was that of a majestic city with a lot of charm. I had some trouble seeing this; at first sight, the city looked like any other large Vietnamese city. However, once you enter the old imperial citadel, the noise of the motorcycles quickly dies away and you get a feel of how magnificent the old Hue must have been.
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