Vietnam Adventure D1: Lost! 길을 잃었다!

What an exciting experience (crisis) to end our first day in Vietnam~

Our next destination was Ben Tre, a town along the Mekong Delta where we had arranged a homestay with a local there. I found his homestay via a travel blog. Our host's name is Phuoc and he had given instructions on how to get to his home via email:

"You can take the minivan from Sai gon:( 78.000 VND) 70B Hung Vuong 9 ward,5 distrist, HCM city and tell them bring you to : 217C  Hung Vuong, 5 ward,  Ben Tre city ( My office)."

Okay. So I keyed in the address into trusty Google maps. It appeared to be quite a distance from the frozen yogurt cafe we were at beside Ben Thanh Market, but a rather straightforward route. We still had slightly more than a couple hours before we were meeting our host around 6pm, so we decided to walk to the minivan station. I assumed it would be reachable within an hour or more and for some reason I kept thinking that Ben Tre wasn't very far away from Saigon.

Oh and this is the reason why most people wouldn't really fancy travelling with us I think. We just walk and walk and walk and just looking at our surroundings while walking is interesting enough for us. :P

But to be honest I was a teeny bit afraid of walking a lot then, because my backpack was becoming heavier and heavier and my shoulders and back were getting a lil' sore. Still, I figured it would be interesting enough and that it would be a very good workout... haha

I was a little confused about where exactly we were because I was using Apple's (not iphone, my friend) phone and it had problems using GPS to track our location. My phone was running out of battery at that point of time, her phone too...

Finally I got our bearings right and I double confirmed with a middle-aged guy by the pavement. Turns out he was a taxi driver (or was it motorbike?) and he told us where we were going was really far away and he told us to take his cab (or was it his bike service?). We politely rejected his offer and set off on our way.

Vietnam Adventure D1 - Binh Tay Market & Ben Thanh Market. 빈떼이시장과 벤탄시장.

I love Google maps, because the find directions function is so convenient! It has the public transport information of most countries, which makes it so easy to get around. ^^

On the bus to the largest wholesale market in Saigon, Binh Tay Market! They sell everything there, more of a local market than a tourist one~! I love exploring markets because they're really fascinating and especially revealing about what that country and culture is like.

Vietnam Adventure D1 - First Vietnamese Phở and Kem (Veg!) 첫 월남포와 켐 (채식!)

What's the first thing everyone thinks of when Vietnamese food is mentioned? PHO. Phở, it's pronounced fuh, with the second tone in Chinese. Yes, not fo or po like we always thought it was.

So what's a more fitting for a first meal in Vietnam than a bowl of Pho? You're right, nothing! Okay, Banh Mi and the spring rolls run a close match too.

Unfortunately, Pho is traditionally rice noodles in meaty beef broth so for a vegetarian like me, the traditional pho is out of the question.
But vegetarians still can eat their share of yummy food!!

Vietnam Adventure D1 - Long time no see, Ho Chi Minh. 오랜만이다 호치민.

Last year after my July Korea trip, before I knew I had a chance to visit Korea again in December, I decided I needed to go somewhere again during my next holiday. I needed an exciting adventure, somewhere quite foreign, not like Korea which actually felt rather like home (^^). Somewhere cheaper than Korea too, to prevent myself from becoming too broke.. Where should I go?

I was googling for inspiration online and then I came across a set of pictures of a very beautiful and surreal place, of green terraces with graceful contours upon sloping hills and mountains extending endlessly into the distance, of colourful tribes and bustling villages. And I decided I had to see that myself. That place was Sapa, a mountaineous area in the far North of Vietnam.

And so the planning of an adventure across Vietnam, starting from the south in the city of Ho Chi Minh, Saigon and all the way up to the north in Hanoi and Sapa, started! 

I recruited only one other fellow traveller, and that is none other than Apple~! She's a mature, working adult already (unlike me) and I'm so glad I went with her because her sensible and cautious thinking helped to balance out my um thoughtlessness and helped in tricky situations! Plus, we click rather well in most areas of interest~ And we both agree that most people would be bored with our walking itinerary. hahahaha

This is her blog by the way, Vietnam travels in the archive! 

Finally, 11 December 2013, Wednesday, 7.30am.