No, really....I'm with them.

So you know those giant Asian tour groups that bus around a city with matching hats and/or t-shirts and flood the touristy locations until every single person in the group takes an adorably, cheesy photo? Welp...I reached a life-time goal by joining one of those groups this past week. And let me tell you - It. Was. Awesome. From the moment I arrived at school and was handed a bucket hat and a pork hair sandwich, I knew it was going to be a good week. 


Let's back up. About 2 months ago our coordinator mentioned that Sa-Nguan Ying would be bussing through Thailand and Laos to go to Vietnam for 5 days and that if there was space, the foreign staff was more than welcome to join. With the trip being paid for (minus the Visas), I couldn't refuse. So I committed, got my Laos and Vietnam Visas, and waited for March 1st to come around. We literally had no idea what to expect. When we asked about an itinerary, all we got was "Snack in Laos at 10am." Oook. Luckily, 4 days before the trip, we were given a rough itinerary with a lot of misspelled words (including the city names). With some killer Google research skills, we were able to figure out that we would be headed to Hue, Da Nang and Hoi An in Vietnam. I had heard so many good things about Vietnam from friends and random backpackers, and so I was super excited to make the (long) trek there.


As per typical Thai bus rides, the adventure was accompanied by Thai entertainment at an abnormally high volume. But, thanks to Tylenol PM and the smooth beats on my Ipod, I was knocked out until early the next morning when we crossed the Thai border into Laos. Unfortunately, we didn't spend much time in Laos besides the 4-5 hour ride across and a lunch stop somewhere along the way. However, I was still able to enjoy its beauty. Laos is a very undeveloped country, and the majority of the ride was spent admiring the greenness of the fields, the hills and the trees. Grass huts were scattered between rice paddies and long stretches of trees. It was just pretty shocking to see that people live in such simplicity. Also- it was impossible to ignore the surplus of plastic bags littering the land, as well as the ridiculous amount of goats everywhere. Seriously...big goats, black goats, baby goats- thousands of goats- everywhere. As the goats faded away, and the hills became mountains, we reached the Vietnam border. 


The ride from the border to Hue was absolutely stunning. As we wound up and around the roads, mountains enveloped the area. Down below, people in traditional Vietnamese hats worked in the rice paddies, while above us, the fog lingered. It was seriously one of the more beautiful places I have ever seen. Vietnam had already made a huge impression on me. We ventured further in and I was immediately shocked at the amount of motorbikes on the street. I have always said Thailand is filled with them, but, Vietnam is reeeaaally filled with them. For every 100 motorbikes, there is maybe one car and a big truck or two.  Scary. And I don't understand why, and I don't personally like it, but they beep all of the time. They never stop. Ever. Maybe that's a rule of the road in Vietnam, but every single vehicle beeps at every person, car, bike, ant in the road. It was unbelievable. 
    

After about 18 hours on the road, we made it to Hue, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (due to its involvement with the Vietnam War). Hue apparently suffered a lot of damage during the war since it was located so close to the North/South border, and we were able to see firsthand some of the leftovers from the battles. We walked in and around the Vinh Moc Tunnels, which caused a weird sense of guilt to stir up inside of me. It was really interesting to see the war from their eyes, but it was all very eery. Throughout the week, we were able to explore some other areas of Hue, including the Grand Palace and another temple. Sadly, since the entire tour was in Thai, I had no idea what was going on 90% of the time, so I don't know all the information I should about my whereabouts. 

Our days were spent bussing between the three cities and stopping multiple times to eat and to ...shop! I had no idea that Thai people loved to shop so much. My fellow teachers were so intense about it and knew how to get it done. Their bargaining skills are really something to admire. Their abilities rubbed off on me, and when we wandered around the streets of Old Town in Hoi An, I couldn't help but go a little shopping crazy myself. Speaking of, I really liked Hoi An. The French influence was completely obvious in this area. So, thank you France for that delicious chocolate croissant. Between the cafes and the French architecture, I really felt like I had slipped out of Asia and into Europe. And then I heard the motorbikes beeping and almost got run over by a bike and quickly realized that I was still in good ole Asia. It was a really beautiful area and I wish I could have spent more time (and more dong) in Hoi An. I did, however, get to dip my toes in the South China Sea that night at our beach resort, which is pretty cool. 

Temple in Hoi An

Old Town

Before coming to Vietnam, I expected to see a lot of similarities between Thailand and Vietnam. I had heard that Thailand is just a 'jacked up' version of Vietnam, but I was struck with how different the two countries are. Of course, there are the familiar landscapes and the heaps of motorbikes, but just about everything else was different. Vietnam seemed much calmer to me. Thailand is overflowing with its culture. Street vendors fill the streets and their accompanying smells fill the air. Stray dogs cover every nook and cranny of the streets and 7-11 is at every turn. Temples are placed in the bustling areas and somehow maintain their sparkle in the (mostly) polluted sky. Every building, billboard, and house shows their love to the King. And of course, farang are a big deal. I've gotten really used to being a celebrity here. Vietnam was vastly different. The air was so fresh and I loved being able to take a deep breath while looking around at the rolling mountains surrounding me. No food stalls took over the sidewalk, but rather people wearing their Vietnamese hats riding bicycles occupied the space. The temples were located in more reserved and hidden locations to support the idea of peace and quiet. And no one was shocked at our white skin. Whereas Thai people want to do nothing but help foreigners, the Vietnamese couldn't care less (and they have good reason). The food was still delicious, and the coffee was even more amazing. We were lucky enough to go on a boat cruise down the river while watching a performance of traditional Vietnamese music. The instruments were very different and produced a completely new sound. I think I was more surprised at how different the people were. Even their version of English was different than Thailand. And surprisingly, their selling schemes are so much more aggressive than the Thais. I was very often being pushed and pulled towards many stalls and getting followed down the street with prices being yelled out. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that I don't speak a word of Vietnamese, which lent nothing to my bartering skills. At least in Thailand I can get by with whatever Thai I know and understand some of what is being said to me. 

Tuk-tuk- Vietname style!

All in all, my short trip to Vietnam left me wanting more. I want to know more about their culture and experience it outside of a group tour. That's not to say being on the group tour was anything short of incredible. The group of teachers was the happiest bunch of people I have been around. Everyone was constantly in chipper moods and beaming from ear to ear. The bus was constantly in an uproar of laughter (or painfully loud karaoke) and I am so happy I got to be a part of it. Although, no one in Vietnam believed that the 7 farang were part of the group. At every museum, temple, and restaurant, we got stopped because they didn't believe we were with them. Umm hello- do you not see my matching bucket hat? But seriously- we had to convince a lot of people that we were indeed with the Thai group tour. Luckily for me, I will be headed back at the end of the month to explore Ho Chi Minh City down south when our friend, Megh, from BC comes to visit. Yay!

The whole gang

Sarah and Ally at Marble Village in Da Nang

Saturday morning rolled around and we packed up and headed back on the bus for an epic ride back. Goodbye cool temperatures, coffee, goats and mountains and hello mosquitoes. Literally, as we walked across the border (yes, walked), mosquitoes flooded the area. How does that even happen? As much as I loved Vietnam, it felt so great to get back to Thailand. As we drove through and all of those familiar things came back into my life, I realized how much Thailand really feels like home to me now.