8th post: "Good Morning Vietnam" !!...(and good bye !! :-)

Dear friends,


SUCH A LONG TIME without giving you any news (sorry:-()...but I am still here :-) I haven't been able to properly spend time on internet in the last 3 or 4 weeks, and no time neither to order my pictures...I have been running as always !! Hahaha.


So to make a long story short (chronological !):


- I finished my volunteering in Nepal end June: you can see in this blog the 6th post is the last one from Nepal with some pictures of the 2 last weeks...and even pictures of Bera-Didi in a sari (you can check it, click on the post here on the left...). I also talk about the donations for those who like to help...;-)


- Then I went to  Vietnam and stayed there for 3 weeks (I actually extended my stay and changed my flight tickets twice...too many things to do !!) 


- Now I am in Bali (arrived 3 days ago!) and plan to stay here for 3 weeks (although there are so many activities and sights to see that I would need another sabbatical year...hahaha!)


So let's get back to Vietnam...here below are (all) the pictures (difficult to select). I will not write too much, just few notes to comment...hope you enjoy the pictures :-)


Now you understand my post title: "Good morning Vietnam"...and good bye!!
Berangere.
(PS: by the way, here also in Bali I need to use "Bera"...cause nobody can pronounce my full name !!!...)


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Hanoi (capital), water puppet traditional show, lazy walk around the old quarter and major sightseeing...even a morning jogging around the lake wouhhh ! ;-)

Then heading to Cat Ba island in the famous Halong Bay...and now I know why it is famous: wonderful !! 2 days on a junk boat and 1 night on the deck sleeping with stars :-) I made 2 nice dutch friends on the way, Merel and Daan, whith who I shared quite a few adventures in Cat Ba...

And...to be faithful to my personality (you know...extreme sports!) I did some climbing on the rocks of Halong Bay, above a desert beach...my eyes remember the scenery (my fingers remember the rocks !!).

Then I met Ellie from UK and we travelled together along the coast, heading south, visiting Hue and Hoi An...riding bikes !! (Well we took 2 nice Easy Riders guides). I love traveling on the bike !!

In Hoi An I took a cooking class...spring rolls and green papaya salad !! Let's see if I can make t back home... And just enjoying Hoi An with a bicycle :-)

Then THE Vietnamese experience: the local train for 12 hours !! Luckily for me I was in the soft sleeper...but with an entire family !

Then arrived at Nha Trang...beach for 3 days ! And a bit of diving and water skiing :-)...and the best seafood I have ever had grilled on the beach and eating directly on the sand !

...Ahhh and also a party boat (!! the picture speaks by herself !!) and a flod in the streets !

And those bikes ???...Saigon (= Ho Chi Minh) !
From there I visited the Cu Chi tunnels (the tunnels used by the Viet Congs during the Vietnam war with USA)...and these ones are for tourist (bigger) can you imagine how small they were ?

South south...the (also famous) Mekong Delta...with its floating markets and nice rivers and canals... I slept in a nice "homestay" (family house) next to the river. 
And I added few pictures of the local market products: snakes, frogs, crabs, fishes, etc...all of them fresh and alive !

Last day in Saigon with a local student guide ;-)

And my last 2 days (but sooooo nice....) in the wild and still untouched island of Phu Quoc, with white sandy beaches and clay ground. And staying in a bungalow with a hamac just in front of the beach !! ;-)

Good bye Vietnam !