A long expected visitor and an unexpected one

We got up earlier than usual and went for coffee next to our hotel in Saigon. Today my (Ben's) sister was supposed to arrive but we didn't know when. No e-mail, no text, nothing. So we waited. The whole day. Every couple of minutes we checked the phone but nothing from her. Then, in the evening, we got a message that she had missed the connection flight in Doha and therefore will be late a day or two. Damn! We had more or less figured out what to do with her in her barely two weeks of holiday but now time was already against us from the beginning. Then another message saying that she is in Bangkok now and will arrive the next morning. Good.

We waited at the airport, above the luggage carousels in a cafe. Late again. What happened? But then she came down the stairs and surprise! My brother was with her! No one ever told me that he will join us, but here he was! I was just happy to see a part of my family after 13 months of separation. We took them to our hotel and luckily had four beds in our three bed room. We went for breakfast and started to exchange stories. But then all they wanted to do is sleep, after their almost 40 hour journey. It came out that they didn't miss the flight but that Qatar Airways changed the gates minutes before the departure without notice. Several passengers missed the flight and got a flight to Bangkok instead, paid by the airline.

After a short nap they were more or less ready for food again. Good thing to start Vietnam in Saigon. It just takes your breath (literally) with the amount of motorbikes, people and noise. They took it well and we explored the city. Next morning we got picked up for a Mekong tour. We chose a day trip to save some time for the journey later, all the way to Hanoi. It wasn't really good. But for 10$, you can't complain too much. First three hours of the tour we sat in a bus towards south. We stopped at some temple which looked rather like a tourist attraction than a holy place. Then onto a boat whose speakers almost blew my head away with a guide that repeated everything at least three times, and then all in Vietnamese too. First stop on the Mekong was a sugar cane candy factory on an island. Ride with a horse cart up and down the main road (one horse hit a truck because they blindfolded the poor animal). A small lunch was included on another island where one can feed crocodiles with meat. Seemed to be a popular attraction amongst mostly Asian tourists. We also visited a bee farm and were given the option of holding a big python for photos, which we refused by sneaking to the back towards the numerous souvenir stalls. The usual traditional music shows followed, while we were provided "exotic fruit" to keep us interested long enough. The supposed highlight of the tour, a rowing boat ride on one of the smaller rivers, finally took place at the very end of the tour. What we had expected to be a relaxed and beautiful ride was actually a hurried journey for about five minutes. We sadly had to concentrate more on the beggars than landscapes, as every person on the returning boats was screaming "5 dollar tip! Tip! Tip! 5 dollars!" as they zoomed past us in a few seconds. So we are supposed to be ready with a pile of dollars to hand them out to everyone who wants or what? We couldn't even have possibly even handed out the "tips" as fast as they passed us. Oh well, can't blame for trying, can you? After the ride the tour was finished and we headed back to the bus. The ride back was long and hot and we got to see Saigons traffic for several hours. All in all it wasn't what we normally do and enjoy but my sister and brother didn't think it was too bad, we were quite spoilt already I guess...

Then the travelling really started. On the highway to the north. First stop was Mui Ne. Beach time, one night's sleep and a ride with rented motorbikes to the same sand dunes we already visited on our way down south. The bus away from Mui Ne was late and we started to worry. When it did show up the staff was really rude and almost kicked us inside. About half an hour later we stopped next to a broken down bus on the way to Saigon. People came in to our bus and we drove off. In the next town everyone heading north had to leave, this bus now was for the stranded passengers who went to Saigon. That was weird and now we sat in the dirt with no clue what was going on. One guy from the bus company stopped each passing bus, big or small that headed north but none wanted to take us, they were all full. After a couple of hours later they sent us a minivan which took the tourists further on. The local passengers were left behind, no clue how long they waited.

Nha Trang we wanted to bypass but my brother wasn't fan of a 20 hour bus ride straight to Hoi An so we used it as an overnight stop which ended up being a over two nights stop. Beach and shopping was on. An overnight bus brought us to our next destination, Hoi An. Hoi An was my personal highlight so far so I was happy to go there again. We arrived in the early morning and planned our getaway right away. We already decided to skip Hue and to Hanoi it was another 18 hours or so by bus. My brothers feelings were already well known so we voted for the train. Sadly there were no sleepers left and sitting for such a long time was no one's dream, that left only the plane then. We found flights for around 100$ each which we booked, not from Hoi An as there's no airport but from Danang about an hour away. The rest of the time we spent in cafes or in tailor shops, my sister and Anni got new dresses. We also rented bikes and headed to the beach, which was a short drive away and very beautiful!

Hanoi! We stayed in Stars hotel again, it was good the last time so why change? We had already booked a three day trip with Ethnic travel to Halong and Bai Tu Long bay which was due to start the next day. Equipped with all the things one might need on a cruise we left Hanoi, excited about what may come. The three hour bus ride to Halong city made us more tired than anything and we were just glad to be on the boat now. Finally! Since we set foot on Vietnam we dreamed about a trip to Halong bay and now it started! We booked a slightly more expensive one that goes to places others don't. Same areas but off the crowds. And it included Bai Tu Long bay to the north-east of Halong bay, almost no companies go there. The first day (or half by now) was quite misty and foggy, normal apparently on most days here. It was stunning to drive deeper and deeper into the maze of islands and rocks. A quick stop was made at a floating village where we were driven around in a rowing boat by a local woman. Then we already stopped at our overnight place where we went for a swim. Not everyone joined, some stayed on the sun deck as lookouts for the numerous jellyfish that swam around everywhere. At night we were kept awake by a neighbouring boat which had the probably shittiest disco in south east asia aboard. Not so off the beaten track after all.

After a very brief breakfast we were forced to go kayaking. I hate kayaks. But it was pleasant enough, at least we could see the jellyfish close up now. Also the weather was perfect, the sun already hot in the early morning and the view much more spectacular than so far.

After the kayaking we already had to head back to Halong city. There the boat picked up other tourists and we took a van east, to start the second part of our trip. This time the boat was smaller but pretty nice. The harbour where we left on Cai Rong island was already between some of these karst mountains and it got better every minute. After another kayaking stop, this one quite boring we drove away from the setting sun, everyone sat on the roof, admiring the surrounding landscape. By sunset we reached our overnight stop on an Quan Lan island. The advertised home stay was a massive house with rooms for all of the 12 passengers. Dinner started with a spring roll rolling course and ended up with way too much sea food than anyone could eat (as every meal so far!). The very brave ones got up at 5am to visit the fish market. We think a fish market is not better at 5am than any other time of the day. After breakfast we got bikes and rode them to a remote beach for a swim. Then further on we met our boat again for the way back to the mainland. This was probably the most beautiful stretch in these three days and we couldn't have imagined a better way to end the cruise.

This was already the second to last day for my siblings, the time passed so quick with all these activities and traveling. I wouldn't do it again in such short time, three weeks is probably the least to be able to enjoy more places with less stress. One highlight we didn't visit at all the Phong Nha- Ke Bang national park near Dong Hoi. Another was the tunnels used during the Vietnam war (or American war as it is called in Vietnam). The last of their days we spent in Hanoi, strolling through the old quarter and buying last souvenirs. The next day they left, a sad moment after such intense time but from now on we could take it easier again with no worries about other people that relied on us.

We left Vietnam two days later and were sure to come back in future, this country is big and busy and colourful, there's always something new to discover. And the next destination had the same spell on me when I was there the first time, three years ago. Indonesia.