Backpacking Vietnam in 2014 (Part I)
Before I called Vietnam my home (twice!), I visited in 2014, on an ambitious backpacking trip from the north to the south. Open a map and you’ll discover that Vietnam is a long, narrow country that stretches 1650km, so it was going to be tricky to complete this in just a few weeks if I wanted to stop and enjoy it.
Spoiler alert — I ran out of time and only made it halfway!
Fortunately, my later residencies in 2016 and 2020 gave me an opportunity to explore the rest of VN… and then some!
Fresh off a 6-month teaching contract in Thailand, some friends and I met in the Vietnamese capital — Hanoi to start our adventure.
Wow — Hanoi is wild! Arriving for the first time was an overwhelming sensory experience that I still remember well to this day. Don’t get me wrong, the city has a lot of charm, magical qualities, and even, dare I say — peaceful areas. The French architecture is a complete contrast to the ancient pagodas, making every street a unique experience on the eye, the markets are enchanting, and the crowds of people in contemporary hustle are fascinating, but it’s hard to concentrate and appreciate these things when you first arrive because of the traffic.
Traffic? Yes — traffic! The city is alive with the constant buzz of motorcycles weaving through the cars and other bikes…
